04 June 2014

Ashar 20, 1421 Ramadan 5, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 94

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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‘LOOK EAST’ AND PROSPER

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WEEKEND | SCHOOL POLITICS

PALESTINE BOY’S FUNERAL DELAYED

11 | THE UNDEAD CITY

Tofail vents anger over US GSP decision USTR says Bangladesh must do more to get back the facility Shahariar Zaman and n Sheikh Emran Hossain Shaikh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday termed the US decision to not restore GSP facility for Bangladesh “unfortunate” as a review concluded that Bangladesh must do more to address the workers rights and safety issues.

The report on the GSP review was made public on Wednesday.

“After the review, we understand that it is not possible for Bangladesh to satisfy the US,” Tofail told the Dhaka Tribune.

It would be politically motivated decision if GSP was not restored The review has no reflection of reality, the minister retorted.

“If such non-cooperation continues from the US side it may have negative impact on the execution of Ticfa,” Tofail said.

He said some non-workers are engaged in trade union activities and were creating problems.

US President Barack Obama suspended GSP facilities for Bangladesh last year and placed for Bangladesh a 16-point Action Plan which provides a

basis for the president to consider the reinstatement of GSP trade benefits The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has reviewed the progress made in implementing the Action Plan and concluded that Bangladesh has made some important progress but must do more to address the workers rights and their safety issues.

“The Obama administration has been engaging the Bangladesh government and stakeholders over the past year to press for changes to address the workers rights and workers safety issues that led to the president’s decision to suspend GSP trade benefits,” said United States Trade Representative Michael Froman.

Washington remained concerned about the large number of factories that are yet to be inspected, the lack of progress on needed labour law reforms, and continuing reports on harassment and violence against labour activists who are attempting to exercise their rights, Froman said.

Tofail Ahmed had a meeting with Froman in Washington last month and discussed about restoration of GSP facility for Bangladesh.

After coming back, Tofail at a press conference said he was hopeful that GSP would be restored as Bangladesh  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Brazil’s Neymar (L) dribbles the ball as Maicon (C) and Ramires trying to defend during a training session in Rio de Janeiro ahead of their match against Columbia

Winning ugly not an issue for anxious Selecao n AFP

Brazil striker Neymar has admitted he is happy to win ugly as he looks to take another step towards delivering his country’s sixth World Cup on home soil against Colombia in Fortaleza on Saturday.

La Selecao have been criticised for some of their less convincing performances on route to the quarter-finals, most notably in squeezing past Chile on penalties in the last 16.

“You can’t always enjoy yourself and win 4-0 or 5-0. Football nowadays is so

Ershad: Do not laugh at us n Tribune Report

Main opposition Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad yesterday asked the ruling party to not laugh at him or his party.

“Have you [Awami League] played your just role as opposition in the past... [I have heard] that the [members of] cabinet laugh at us [JaPa]. Please do not laugh at us. That would be injustice to democracy. Do not learn from bad examples in the past,” Ershad told the House while delivering his closing speech for the second session of the 10th parliament.

Ershad, who is also a special envoy to the prime minister, yesterday questioned the ruling Awami League’s past role as the opposition party.

His wife Rawshan Ershad, also the leader of the opposition in the House, was not present for the closing session.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina could become immortal like her father Bangabandhu if she could ensure that people lived peacefully. For that, he said, she needed to eliminate lawlessness.

2 | News

Nearly 4 crore poor people to get food during Ramadan and Eid under GR and VGF

4 | News

With India making export dearer by $200 per tonne, the Bangladesh government has decided to go for open market sale of onion to leash the shooting Ramadan demand.

5 | News

Parvin Aktar had no idea that she would have to go to the hospital after having Sehri made by a member of a notorious dope gang.

6 | Nation

Bongosonahat land port in Kurigram is vulnerable to rapid erosion in Dudhkomor River and no reformation of a 100-year old bridge.

as Chile’s Gonzalo Jara missed the decisive spot-kick in the shootout in Belo Horizonte with teammates Julio Cesar and captain Thiago Silva also seen to cry in relief as much as joy.

Worried that carrying the expectations of 200 million Brazilians is becoming too much for his squad, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari called the team’s sports psychologist Regina Brandao in for an extra session with the players on Tuesday.

And Neymar said the sessions were having the desired effect.

“I had never done anything like it

before and I am quite enjoying it,” added the 22-year-old.

“It is not only us, in football, who are surrounded by emotion every day and need psychologists. I think it could do every person good, to make one more relaxed.”

Neymar also insisted he will be fully-fit to face the Colombians despite suffering thigh and knee injuries against Chile.

One of the major concerns for Scolari has been the lack of support for Neymar in attacking areas as he has

Nahid: Prove graft in private univs or apologise

JaSoD faces music in JS for post-71 role n Kamran Reza Chowdhury and

Reza Chowdhury and n Kamran Mushfique Wadud

The education minister at parliament yesterday termed the TIB report – styled “Private Universities: Challenges of Good Governance and Way-out” – ill-motivated aimed at embarrassing the government.

“They have made some allegations without giving any specific examples.

Either you have to show instances or withdraw the report…Nobody has

The ruling Awami League and opposition Jatiya Party yesterday got united against the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, which has a member in the cabinet, for the later’s “anti-government” role between 1972 and 1975.

The heated debate created a tension for a while in the assembly.

This is for the first time in the last 56 working days of the 10th Jatiya Sangsad that parliament saw a chaos as a minister said the creation of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD) gave the anti-liberation forces an opening to unite under its banner.

Replying to a notice of Jatiya Party MP Kazi Feroz Rashid, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said the nation was paying for the mistakes of the JaSoD. While reading out his private-member resolution asking the liberation war affairs minister to bring the list of the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) from India, Kazi Feroz said

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difficult, so even, that the team who is most committed on the pitch ends up winning,” said the Barcelona man on Wednesday.

2nd Round

Details on page-15

“I don’t want a show. That’s the last thing we are trying to do. We are not necessarily here to produce a spectacle.

We are here to run to the end, until we are tired, and come out as winners.”

Neymar fell to the ground in tears

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday asked the Transparency International Bangladesh to present specific proof of government’s corruption in private universities or apologise for its recent report.

The Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based corruption watchdog has claimed that it has enough evidence of corruption in the 22 private universities it surveyed in the past two years.

“We have already sent the full report to the Education Ministry. If necessary, we will provide them with evidence and other documents, but there is no scope to withdraw the report,” TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

In its June 30 report, the TIB alleged that a section of officials at the Education Ministry, the University Grants Commission and private universities

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INSIDE

AFP

SEHRI & IFTAR TIME Day

Sehri

Iftar

Ramadan 5/July 4

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were involved in corruption at different stages.

The Education Ministry has decided to sit with the vice-chancellors and chairmen of the trustee boards of private universities on Sunday and discuss the report.

TIB says there is no scope to withdraw report

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Emran Hossain Shaikh

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, July 4, 2014

Eid and Ramadan food support for nearly 4cr people n Mohosinul Karim Nearly four crore of the poorest people in the country will receive food support during Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr as part of the Gratuitous Relief (GR) and Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programs, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has said.

Some 39,865,833 of the poorest people in the country will get GR and VGF help from the government during Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr.

The rice will be distributed to VGF cardholders. Each family will receive 10kgs of rice each.

The ministry has allotted a total of 398,658.33 metric tonnes of rice against the constituencies of elected parliament members, reserved women parliament members, upazila chairmen and municipal mayors.

Of the total allotment 345,329.33 metric tonnes will be given as VGF and

Joy wishes to be active in politics n Emran Hossain Shaikh Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has expressed desire to be active in politics.

“So far, I have not been visible in politics. Now I want to be visible,” he told a meeting of the ruling Awami League’s organising secretaries at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office.

After the meeting, Joy told reporters that the party had various plans for the development of the country.

“The Awami League has ruled the country for the past five years successfully. We will continue it for the next five years and go ahead,” he said.

Joy, who is also the ICT adviser to the prime minister, said they were going to develop a database for all party leaders, from the ward committees to the central body, very soon.

“The Awami League has been successfully leading the country and now our duty is to maintain the party’s strength.”

On his meeting with the party leaders, Joy said he had told his party’s young leaders how they could help the party.

He said he would continue the views-exchange meeting with several wings of the party.

AL leaders Ahmed Hossain, Bir Bahadur, BM Mojammel Haque, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Misbah Uddin Siraj, Abu Syed Al Mahmud Swapan, Khalid Mahmud Chaowdhury, Dr Hasan Mahmud, Wasim Kumar Ukil, among others, were present at the meeting. l

53,329 metric tonnes will be distributes as GR help.

The allocation of special gratuitous relief (GR) will be distributed among the most vulnerable.

Public representatives have been instructed to distribute the allotted rice in their electoral territory from stocks in local food warehouses.

Warehouse authorities were asked to release the allotted food to local representatives.

According to the ministry, the allocations were given on June 30, the last day of the previous fiscal year. The ministry has asked public representatives to distribute the allotted food grain immediately and to report to the ministry.

Representatives have started withdrawing allotted food grains from local food warehouses. It will be distributed within the next week, the ministry’s Public Relation Officer Omar Faruq Dewan said yesterday. l

DEATHS OF TAREQUE MASUD, MISHUK MUNIER

High Court puts verdicts on hold for transferring compensation cases n Nazmus Sakib The High Court ended its hearing yesterday on the writ petitions for transferring two compensation cases, regarding the deaths of film-maker Tareque Masud and journalist Mishuk Munier, from lower court to the High Court, with the verdicts on the petitions kept as CAV. Curia advisari vult (CAV) means a court has decided to consider a case privately before giving judgement.

On October 3, the High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed issued a ruling asking why the two compensation cases – pending before the Manikganj district judge and Motor Vehicles Accident Claim Tribunal – regarding the deaths of Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier should not be transferred to it. The court also ordered to sent the records of the cases to it.

Masud and Munier were killed in an accident on January 13, 2011 at Manikganj; the compensation cases were filed on February 2, 2012.

Sara Hossain, a lawyer of the petitioners, told the Dhaka Tribune that the pleas were filed by the families of the two victims under article 110 of the constitution as there was no guideline how to determine the amount of compensation.

The constitutional provision says the High Court can withdraw a case from a lower court, if the case involved substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the constitution or general public importance, in order to resolve the case.

Catherine Masud, wife of Tareque Masud, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Tareque Masud will never return. But we move to the High Court to set an example for families of those who had died in road accidents.” l

Winning ugly no issue  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

scored half of his side’s eight goals after four games, whilst other forwards Fred, Jo and Hulk have struggled to make an impact.

Neymar, though, claimed the team isn’t overdependent on him.

- Paulinho in for Gustavo “I don’t feel overburdened either on the pitch or off it. I have team-mates who help me by winning the ball back, scoring goals, setting them up,” he said.

“The Brazil team doesn’t have just one person who has to do everything.”

Scolari will be forced into at least one change from the side that faced Chile as Luis Gustavo is suspended so Tottenham Hotspur’s Paulinho is expected to come back into the side.

Gustavo’s absence is even more critical for the hosts given the sensational form of the tournament’s top goalscorer, Colombia’s James Rodriguez.

The Monaco playmaker has taken on the mantle of his side’s focal point with ease in the absence of the injured Radamel Falcao with five goals in four

games, including a sensational dipping volley to open the scoring in his side’s 2-0 win over Uruguay in the last 16.

A fourth consecutive win for Jose Pekerman’s men took them into the last eight for the first time and ahead of the biggest game in Colombian football’s history, midfielder Carlos Sanchez insisted they won’t be overawed by their opponents.

“Afraid? No, respectful, yes, because it’s Brazil, the organising country, because of its players, its coaches, and for everything Brazil represents,” he said.

And Rodriguez believes Brazil should be just as worried about him as his countrymen should be about Neymar.

“We’re facing a very tough rival, which has great players, but they also have to think that we have great players.”

History, though, is against the Colombians as they have only beaten Brazil twice in 25 previous meetings and only once in a competitive fixture at the 1991 Copa America. l

US GSP decision unfortunate  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

had fulfilled most of the conditions in the Action Plan.

Tofail said it would be politically motivated decision if GSP was not restored.

However, the US review found that the government has not yet implemented substantial parts of the Action Plan.

The GSP sub-committee expects to carry out its next review of Bangladesh’s progress on the GSP Action Plan in December 2014.

The latest review said the government is behind schedule in carrying out many hundreds of critical safety inspections at garment factories as well as meeting its commitments to hire additional inspectors.

The government has also been slow to respond to continuing reports of harassment and violence against labour activists, it added.

“The review concluded that the government needs to develop a credible and effective mechanism for respond-

ing to and addressing allegations of unfair labor practices.”

Since the suspension of GSP, the government has also not advanced the labour law reforms called for in the Action Plan, including changes to ensure that workers are afforded the same rights and protections in Export Processing Zones as in the country, it said.

The decision to suspend Bangladesh’s trade benefits under the GSP programme means that US imports of GSP-eligible products from Bangladesh are no longer eligible for duty-free treatment.

In 2012, the total value of US imports from Bangladesh under GSP was $34.7 million and the top GSP imports from Bangladesh included tobacco, sports equipment, porcelain china, and plastic products.

Legal authorisation for duty-free treatment for all countries under GSP expired on July 31, 2013. Congress is considering legislation to renew the programme. l

SC scraps acquittal of Mir Nasir, son n Nazmus Sakib

An uncovered manhole lying unattended in Shantinagar area of the city poses serious danger for vehicles as well as road users. The photo was taken yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Nahid: Prove graft in private univs or apologise  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

the right to mislead the people,” Nahid said while talking on the private-member resolutions moved by independent MP Salim Uddin Tarafder (Naogaon 3).

“The TIB has no evidence of corruption allegations. It claims to have been carrying out the investigation for the past two years but never talked to the officials of the ministry. This report is baseless.

“Either you have to come up with specific instances or you have to seek apology – there is no alternative,” Nahid said in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the assembly with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

He also said his ministry had already started investigation into the allegations raised by the TIB. The TIB’s research report said approval of a private university involved illegal transactions of money between Tk1 crore and Tk3 crore. For a fake certificate, the amount is between Tk50,000 and Tk3 lakh.

According to the report, private

universities must pay bribe between Tk50,000 and Tk1 lakh for getting permission and submitting their audit reports to the Education Ministry.

The amount of bribe for getting approval for the appointment of vice-chancellor, pro-vice-chancellor and treasurer ranges between Tk50,000 and Tk2 lakh, the report said.

The study was conducted on 22 out of 79 private universities between 2012 and 2014.

The TIB in a statement on Wednesday asserted that it had carried out the study to help establish good governance in the sector, not to undermine any individual or institution.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has issued letters to the universities concerned, inviting them to a meeting on Sunday.

Education Secretary Mohammad Sadik confirmed this to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the ministry and the University Grants Commission sent letters to all 79 private universities, asking them to provide necessary

information on alleged grafts.

A senior UGC official told the Dhaka Tribune that they had got all information from these universities.

“We have yet to finish checking the information, but we have so far found that everybody replied in the negative,” he said.

TIB refuses to withdraw report

About the remarks of the education minister Iftekharuzzaman said: “This is nothing new. Ministers often come up with such reaction.

“Such remarks will help encourage corruption. We do not expect such comments from Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid.”

The TIB executive director also claimed that they had maintained international standards while carrying out the research study. “We have enough evidence in support of the report.”

He thinks that the denial of corruption will encourage officials and employees to get involved in irregularities.

“No one should encourage corrupt persons.” l

JaSoD faces music in JS for post-71 role  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Bangabandhu would not have been assassinated if the JaSoD had not formed its armed wing Gono Bahini.

The House adopted the first private member resolution according to which the government must bring the BLF list from India.

In presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and JaSoD President Hasanul Haq Inu, who is also information minister, Moyeen Uddin Khan Badal of JaSoD termed the government-opposition consensus against the JaSoD surprising and said his party was “slaughtered”.

He said: “Mind it my friend, there could be explosion anytime if you walk in the minefield of history.”

Surrounded by the opposition MPs, Badal came under verbal attacks from Jatiya Party lawmakers, who stood up and started shouting at him.

“Say what you did between 1972 and 1975,” Pir Fazlur Rahman, a former Chhatra League leader and a present Jatiya Party MP, said without microphone. Kazi Feroz Rashid and Mohammad Noman also shouted at Badal, who took the floor on a point-of-order.

Kazi Feroz Rashid, a BLF member who took armed training in India to

fight the occupation Pakistan forces in 1971, first pointed his gun at the JaSoD while reading out his private member resolution to bring a list of the BLF members from India.

“The BLF was created to stop any counter revolution after the liberation war. But one of the members of the force Sirajul Alam Khan came out of the organisation and formed the JaSoD. The JaSoD and the Gono Bahini killed Chhatra League-Jubo League activists,” Kazi Feroz told parliament.

He said: “If the JaSoD had not been created, the Gono Bahini would not have been created and nobody would have dared kill Bangabandhu.”

Mozammel Haque told the House: “Sirajul Alam Khan has paved the way for a counter revolution. The anti-liberation forces gathered centring the JaSoD. Those, such as the Muslim League, who could not accept Bangladesh turned JaSoD overnight.”

“But the nation is still paying for the mistake; we have been paying for 43 years,” he said requesting the House to accept the private member resolution of Kazi Feroz Rashid.

Taking floor on a point-of-order mainly to counter the minister, Badal

said: “A surprising incident has taken place at the sangsad today: the opposition has tabled a proposal and an alliance of the ruling party has been slaughtered merrily.”

He said the JaSoD had been involved in every democratic movement since its inception.

“The events of 1972-75 were the curve of history; time will speak which was right and wrong,” he said.

“Speaking like that is not proper for an autocratic force against whom all parties fought,” said Badal saying that over 20,000 JaSoD activists were also killed.

He said the JaSoD aligned with the government with a decision.

“I was asked at a TV show why I defended the Awami League more than the Awami League. In reply, I said we have been aligned (with Awami League) to compensate the unfair way we treated our father.

In his wind-up speech, the Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad said a “bitter situation” emerged on the last day of the session. He said the previous bad precedence should not be revisited.

“Let us bury the past”, said Ershad. l

The Supreme Court has annulled the High Court judgement that acquitted former BNP state minister Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin and his son Mir Helal Uddin in a graft case.

In 2007, a lower court handed down 13 years and three years’ jail for Nasir and Helal respectively, in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of illegally accumulating wealth worth around Tk28 crore.

However, in 2011, an HC bench, led

by Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain, acquitted the duo.

Mir Nasir told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “A five-member top court bench headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain said the HC verdicts was scrapped because it was incorrect. Then, the Appellate Division sent the matter to the High Court bench led by Justice Nizamul Huq for further hearing.”

The BNP leader claimed that ruling Awami league leaders Mohammad Nasim and AHM Mostofa Kamal had been acquitted by the High Court despite being convicted during the army-backed caretaker regime.

The “obedient” ACC did not appeal against the HC verdicts.

He said they would seek review of the apex court decision.

Mir Nasir also said as the Appellate Division had not cancelled their bail, they would remain free. l

Do not laugh at us  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Terming the Election Commission spineless, Ershad said: “We do not want such an Election Commission.

Please let the constitutional bodies work independently.”

Ershad also urged the government to make way for the student body elections at the public universities for the sake of developing more able leaders.

In the late 80s, student leaders played a key role in toppling the former military ruler.

At one point, Ershad read out one of his poems that highlighted the dreams of Bangabandhu.

Later, while delivering her own closing speech for the session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina termed BNP chief Khaleda Zia as Ershad’s “sister-inlaw” and said he had failed to impress Khaleda with his poems.

“His sister-in-law, whom he gave houses and car, threw him and everyone from his party into jail in return.

You [Ershad] wrote so many poems; was not any of those good enough to melt her?” Hasina asked with a smile on her face.

Criticising the military rulers, Hasina said: “We have always wanted the democratic process to continue. But the military rulers gave birth to weapons, money, drug and loan defaulters.

They created an upper class for the sake of cementing their regimes. There were 19 coups from 1995-1981. Hundreds of soldiers were killed in each of them.

A total of 562 navy men were killed in just one of those coups.”

Hasina also said the ways BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and Ershad took over state power were similar. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Friday, July 4, 2014

PM: Violence not allowed in the name of agitation She claims economy upbeat in the face of agitation of BNP, Jamaat her government wants good relations good governance then how we have n Emran Hossain Shaikh with India as well as other South Asian achieved over 6% growth rate?

and East Asian counties.

Lambasting Khaleda’s interview published in The Indian Express claiming Awami League was responsible for the recent situation of the country, Hasina said the BNP chairperson had talked to foreign media but did not look at her own face.

The prime minister claimed that military dictators introduced guns, muscle power and black money in politics.

“Ziaur Rahman spoiled the politics of the country and Ershad followed suit,” she said.

Referring to BNP government’s action against Jatiya Party leaders including its Chairman HM Ershad during the 1991-96 term, Hasina said it was true that most of the Jatiya Party leaders were arrested at the time but she could not understand how it was done.

“Why did Khaleda arrest Ershad who had provided Khaleda and her family with all kinds of facilities including lands?” questioned Hasina. l

Responding to BNP’s threat of a fresh anti-government agitation after Ramadan, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government would not allow violence in the name of movement.

“She [Khaleda Zia] is threatening movement all the time. Her party wants to overthrow the government through movement but their movement means killing, arson and bombing. This county is ours, we cannot allow such a situation to continue here,” Hasina said while delivering her concluding address of the budget session.

Criticising the agitation of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami in the name of resisting the parliamentary election, the premier said their target was to destroy the country and democracy but they had failed.

“We have been able to ensure continuity of democracy,” she said.

The Awami League president claimed good governance prevails in the country, saying: “If there is no

“We have been able to keep the wheel of the economy moving in the face of their terrorism they had unleashed in the name of movement,” she said.

Recalling seven murders in Narayanganj and Fulgazi upazila Chairman Ekram killing, Hasina said there were some incidents where some of her party men lost their lives.

“We are not sitting idle. We are taking action against the culprits,” the premier said, adding: “A criminal is a criminal. He will face legal actions no matter what party he belongs to. We will not defend anyone considering their party identity.”

Calling on people to pray for having the Bangladesh-India maritime boundary row verdict in favour of Bangladesh, Hasina said: “The verdict will be delivered in the first week of this month. We hope the verdict will be in our favour.”

Explaining the foreign policy of Bangladesh, the prime minister said

SQ Chy lawyer’s bail plea rejected

EMBEZZLEMENT CASE

n Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday rejected the bail petition of Fakhrul Islam, a counsel of war crimes convict with death row and BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in a case filed for the verdict leakage of a war crimes case. A bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore passed the order after rejecting the bail petition.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said: “Fakhrul tried to tarnish the image of the judiciary by writing fake judgement, which is tantamount to killing the judiciary. The lawyers’ verdict copy collected from him was not akin to the original of International Crimes Tribunal 1.”

On October 1 last year, the ICT 1 found Salauddin Quader guilty of war crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War and awarded him the death penalty.

Prior to the judgement, a fake verdict copy was spread in the social media. l

A high government official’s car speeds along the wrong side of the road in front of the capital’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel yesterday while a long queue of cars lays immobile because of dense traffic on the correct side NASHIRUL ISLAM

Shahjalal Bank Director Solaiman remanded for seven days n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday placed Mohammad Solaiman, a director of Shahjalal Islami Bank, on a seven-day remand in an embezzlement case.

After the court session, when the accused was being taken to police station the supporters and followers of the accused, also former chairman of the same bank, swooped on the journalists, leaving four newsmen injured, said court sources.

The journalists were carrying out their professional duties on the court premises. The attackers also threatened to teach the journalists a good lesson in future.

The injured are staff reporter Jamshedul Karim and Cameraman Shafique Ahmed Sajib of Channel 24

and staff reporter Ahmed Kutub and staff photojournalist Mohammad Rashed of daily Samakal.

Police would go for further action if any complaint was lodged in connection with the assault on journalists Receiving information, police appeared on the scene and took the situation under control while the injured newsmen were taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Additional Deputy Commissioner Rezaul.

He said they would go for further action if any particular complaint was lodged in connection with the assault

on the journalists.

Chittagong Press Club, Chittagong Union of Journalists, Television Journalists Association, TV Camera Journalists Association and other journalist bodies condemned the attack on them and demanded strict action against the attackers.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (prosecution) Md Rezaul Masud of Chittagong Metropolitan Police said the investigation officer of the case sought a 10-day police remand, but the court granted a remand of seven days.

On April 13, a case was lodged with Kotwali police station against Solaiman on charges of embezzling money.

Later, the case was listed with the Anti-Corruption Commission while Solaiman was detained from Dhaka city’s Bijoy Nagar ara on June 26. l

n Nazmus Sakib Tarique Rahman yesterday asked ruling Awami League Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud to apologise for his comment on Tarique’s Swiss bank account.

The BNP Senior Vice-chairman asked the ruling party lawmaker to seek an apology publicly in a legal notice issued yesterday.

On July 1, Hasan accused Tarique and his brother Arafat Rahamn Koko of possessing money in Swiss banks.

Tarique’s lawyer Kaiser Kamal sent the notice to former minister for environment and forest Hasan urging him to prove his statement within two weeks or seek apology publicly, otherwise legal action will be taken against him.

The notice said Tarique and his borther Koko do not have any account in the Swiss Bank.

When contacted, Hasan Mahmud told the Dhaka Tribune that he had not

yet obtained the notice and declined to make any comment on it.

Hasan added that Tarique earlier sent legal notices twice but he had not replied but he served a counter-notice to the BNP leader.

A recent report of the Swiss National Bank said the amount of the deposited money by Bangladeshis in Swiss banks rose to 37 crore 19 lakh Swiss Franc (nearly Tk3,163 crore 37 lakh) in 2013, which was 22 crore 89 lakh Swiss Franc (nearly Tk1,908 crore) in 2012.

Following the Swiss Bank report, the Bangladesh central bank decided to investigate fictitious accounts held by Bangladeshi nationals. The Bangladesh Bank would require signing a memorandum of understanding with the Swiss Bank to conduct such an inquiry.

Tarique has been living in London since September 2008. He was arrested on March 7, 2007 during the army-backed interim regime. l

WAR CRIMES CASE AGAINST AZHAR

University teacher held over demeaning comments on PM, president

Defence gets more time to cross-examine the investigator

n Our Correspondent, Khulna Police have detained a teacher at the Khulna campus of Northern University who allegedly made derogatory comments against Bangabandhu, the president and the prime minister.

Rajib Hasnat Shakil, a law teacher at the university, was held from the campus in Shibbari of Khulna yesterday afternoon under special power act. Police also took campus incharge Dr Anwarul Karim to Sonadanga police station but released him after interrogation.

Confirming the arrest, Assistant Commissioner of Sonadanga Zone of Khulna Metropolitan Police Md Nasir Uddin Zobayer said police as plaintiff had lodged a case against Shakil under special power act.

Rajib allegedly made disparaging remarks on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while delivering a lecture in the class in late January this year.

Md Nayeem, a student who was present in the class, protested against the remarks and informed the campus in-charge of the issue. The university authorities, however, expelled him without taking any action against the teacher.

At a press conference at Khulna Press Club on June 29, Nayeem said he had received death threats and claimed involvement of the university authorities in this. called a press conference in Khulna press club on June 29. He demanded restoration of his studentship and security of his life.

Several newspaper published the report the following day.

Based on the report, Advocate Abdul Malek alias Moshiur Malek, president of Bangabandhu Foundation, filed a defamation case against Shakil and Anwarul with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka on Wednesday. l

Tarique asks Hasan to apologise for Swiss account comment

n Udisa Islam

Different organisations form a human chain in front of the National Press Club demanding implementation of the polythene prohibition act yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

ICT seeks probe progress report against Forkan by August 14 n Udisa Islam International Crimes Tribunal 2 yesterday asked the prosecution to submit a progress report on the investigation against Forkan Mollik, a war crimes suspect, by August 14 in a crimes against humanity case.

Forkan, an alleged razakar, was produced before the tribunal yesterday as the tribunal previously asked the inspector general of police to place Forkan before the tribunal on July 3.

According to the case statement, Forkan, 62, was a razakar commander in Mirzaganj upazila of Patuakhali during the Liberation War in 1971.

The suspect – who did not have any counsel representing him yesterday – told the ICT that he was never a razakar and claimed that one of his family members had filed the case against him because of an existing land dispute. For-

kan added that he had secured bail from the High Court for this particular case.

After Forkan sought permission to make further statements, the tribunal asked him to appoint a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The three-judge panel of the ICT 2, led by its Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan, also asked for a probe progress report from the prosecution, after accepting a petition which was earlier submitted by the prosecution on June 30 seeking permission for showing Forkan arrested for his alleged crimes.

After passing the order yesterday, the tribunal ordered to send Forkan to jail.

During his submission yesterday, prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal claimed the suspect was an influential razakar, adding that many local intellectuals, cultural activists and freedom fighters were killed by the Pakistani occupation forces with Forkan’s assistance.

The accused was involved in several crimes committed between May and December 15 of 1971, said prosecutor Mokhlesur.

“From the report sent by Patuakhali deputy commissioner it is clear that the accused was associated with razakar bahini during the Liberation War,” he added.

On June 25, the police arrested Forkan from Rupatali bus stand area of Barisal.

On July 21, 2009, Abdul Hamid of Shoulabunia in Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj upazila lodged a case against Forkan with Mirzaganj police station.

In the case, the complainant alleged that Subidkhali residents Abdul Qader Jamaddar, Dr Debendranath and his wife, and Kakrabunia resident Habib alias Yazuddin Khalifa were detained and killed by Pakistani occupation forces in cooperation with razakar commander Forkan. l

The International Crimes Tribunal 1 yesterday asked the defence counsel of war crimes accused ATM Azharul Islam to complete the cross-examination of investigator SM Idris Ali by Sunday and place the first defence witness before the tribunal on the day.

The tribunal passed the order after Md Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, the lawyer for the accused Jamaat leader, failed to complete Idris’ cross-examination even though the ICT had previously on three occasions asked him to wrap up the grilling of the investigation officer. Yesterday was the sixth day of cross-examining Idris.

In his deposition on June 15, Idris told the ICT 1 that Azhar was the Rangpur district commander of al-Badr, a notorious auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

Testifying as the 19th and the last prosecution witness in the war crimes case, Idris had claimed that during his investigation, he found that Azhar was involved in genocide, rapes, killings, torture and other crimes against humanity. Azhar, who is on trial on six counts of crimes against humanity, was present in the dock during the hearing.

The tribunal yesterday also expressed its discontent with the defence and questioned their intention, after the defence counsel placed a petition saying they needed more time to inspect a probe report before finishing the cross-examination. The tribunal criticised the defence for placing the petition at the end of the cross-examination in an attempt to delay the process.

In his submission, prosecutor Zeadal-Malum said the defence was trying to mislead the tribunal by not previously mentioning their need to inspect the probe report, which had been prepared four months ago.

Defence counsel Tarafder, however, claimed of having no bad intention and sought apology from the tribunal saying that it was his junior’s fault.

After hearing both sides, the tribunal rejected the plea and asked the defence to continue cross- examination of Idris; to which, Tarafder asked for one more hour on Sunday to finish the session. The tribunal later adjourned the trial until Sunday, asking the defence to place its first witness after ending the cross-examination of Idris.

Earlier in the day, the tribunal also rejected another petition by the defence. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, July 4, 2014

Government plans OMS for onion Weather-triggered fear of bad crop causes India to increase export price by $200 onion last year was a curtailed producthe green signal, TCB will start collect- $300 to $500 per tonne. n Asif Showkat Kallol That is likely to take Bangladesh’s tion in India because of bad weather, ing onion from the local market.”

With India making export dearer by $200 per tonne, the Bangladesh government has decided to go for open market sale of onion to leash the shooting Ramadan demand.

The plan is that the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will collect onion for OMS from the local market, which still appears to be stable despite the export price hike in India.

TCB Chairman Brig Gen Sarwar Jahan Talukder told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “We have already discussed the matter [of onion OMS] with Commerce Ministry high officials... If we get

He said TCB did pretty well to cool down the onion market when price hit an all time high of Tk110 per kg in September-October last year.

As of yesterday, imported onion from India sold for Tk38-40 in the kitchen markets of Dhaka while locally grown onion was sold for Tk42 per kg.

The price of local onion has been there at the current level for the last couple of weeks. Onion is one of those agricultural products that has a long history of registering fluctuating prices.

On Wednesday, fearing adverse weather, India raised export price from

cost of importing per kg of onion from India to Tk38.81.

Yesterday, per kilogram sold at Rs35 in the Indian market. Only three days ago, the price was Rs30 per kg, said a Bangladesh Commerce Ministry report.

Ministry sources said TCB’s demand for onion was 1,200 tonnes although it has no onion in stock.

However, TCB’s plan this year is to collect 5,000 tonnes of onion from the local market. The target was approved by its board of director last month, sources said.

The reason for the shooting price of

creating a supply crunch. At that time, India raised its export price to $900 from $250 – marking a 260% rise.

Bangladesh imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of onion from India every year to meet the local demand. Last year, Bangladesh produced about 13.58 lakh tonnes of onion against an annual requirement of 22 lakh tonnes. The shortfall of 8.50 lakh tonnes was imported from India.

In September last year, TCB started selling onion at Tk55 per kg in OMS across the country to tame the raging price of the vegetable. l

Zubair murder hearing deferred n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday deferred the recording of depositions in the Jahangirnagar University student Zubair murder case as none of the witnesses was present before it.

Judge ABM Nizamul Haque of Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 deferred the trial proceedings following a time petition filed by the tribunal’s public prosecutor SM Rafiquel Islam.

After granting the petition, the court set July 9 for the next date of hearing.

Till now, 25 out of 37 prosecution witnesses gave depositions in this case.

Zubair Ahmed, 23, an undergraduate of English department, died in a city hospital on January 9, 2012, hours after he was abducted and tortured on the

campus by his political opponents. The university authorities filed the murder case with Ashulia police station.

Sub-Inspector Mir Shahin Shah Parvez of Ashulia police station, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet on April 8, 2012.

On September 8 last year, the court indicted 13 JU students, also Bangladesh Chhatra League JU unit activists, for the killing which sparked massive protests in the campus for punishment of the killers that led to the resignation of JU Vice Chancellor Shariff Enamul Kabir.

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

PRIVATE MEDICAL AND DENTAL COLLEGE ADMISSION

40-mark passing requirement to lower student numbers n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The government decision to set 40 marks as the pass-mark for written admission tests of private medical and dental colleges may end up causing the educational institutes to not get enough students for its MBBS and BDS courses in the next academic session, college authorities have raised concerns.

Officials from several colleges said they feared that around 30%-40% seats in the private medical colleges and 70%-75% in the private dental colleges may remain vacant in the 2014-15 session, following the government decision to set 40 as the minimum requirement for qualifying in the 100-mark written admission test.

Earlier, only those who got a minimum of 120 out of 200 marks (100 marks based on their combined SSC and HSC results, and the rest on their written test) were eligible for admission.

Shah Md Selim, secretary general of Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA), told the Dhaka Tribune that the Health Ministry’s decision was correct for the public medical and dental colleges, but not for the

private ones. To get admitted in the private sector, financial capability was also a factor along with merit, Selim said.

Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, a trustee of Gonoshasthya Kendra, suggested a two-pronged solution: lifting the minimum requirement of having combined GPA 8 from SSC-HSC results for sitting in the written exams, and introducing a psychological aptitude test to select candidates.

Asked about the move, Health Secretary MM Niazuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that the decision was made by the recommendation of the Deans Committee of Dhaka University.

Through this system, the meritorious students would have a better chance for admission, he added.

However, health sector insiders said a large number of students might now be prompted to go abroad to study, instead of choosing local medical colleges.

Top officials from different private medical and dental colleges told the Dhaka Tribune that they might have to shut down their institutions, as not getting enough students admitted would result in irreparable financial damages for them. l

A very usual sight of home-bound people scrambling to get on buses during Ramadan. The picture was taken yesterday from Farmgate area of the capital on the fourth day of the fasting month NASHIRUL ISLAM

Chittagong metro area to get first prepaid gas meters Shyamal, Siddiqur made BSRF n Aminur Rahman Rasel Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited plans for the first time to install 60,000 prepaid gas meters for its customers in the Chittagong metropolitan area to reduce the misuse of gas and prevent bill manipulation through meter tampering.

Under the natural gas efficiency project funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency prepaid meters

will be installed by June 2019, Managing Director of Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) Meer Md Abdul Motin told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The estimated project cost is around Tk250 crore.

The KGDCL has already invited expression of interest (EOI) from eligible international consulting firms and joint ventures for consultancy services for installation of the prepaid gas meters.

The last date for EOI submission is August 18 this year.

The KGDCL intends to employ a consulting firm to design and prepare bid documents, carry out bid evaluation, monitor and assess project activities including construction supervision as well as provide advisory services for the project implementation, added Motin.

On the other hand, on May 20, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Com-

president, secretary n Tribune Report Shyamal Sarker of the Daily Ittefaq and MD Siddiqur Rahman of the Daily Manab Kantha were made president and general secretary of Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum respectively.

Mohsinul Karim of the Dhaka Tribune was also made organising secretary to the committee comprised of 15

members. The committee was formed yesterday, said a press release.

The other members of the committee include Vice-President Md Mahfuzur Rahman of Banglavision, Joint Secretary Shawkat Osman Rochi of the Naya Diganta and Treasurer Faizullah Mahmud of NTV, and Research Secretary Md Mostafizur Rahman of the New Age. l

Baira: Some firms overcharging clients

Gonojagoron Moncho needs unity n DU Correspondent International interference, Jamaat conspiracy and pro-war-criminal spies in the International Crimes Tribunal might hamper the speedy trial of the war criminals. The government should take strong initiatives so that none could interrupt the execution of all war criminals, speakers at a programme said.

They also urged the Gonojagoron activists to be united giving up the divisions among its activists and termed it an “obstacle” for Gonojagoron movement.

The speakers made the comments at a view exchange programme titled “Speedy Trial of War Criminals and A Ban on Jamaat Shibir: Our Duties,” organised by the Gonojagoron Moncho faction led

by Kamal Pasha Chowdhury at Dhaka University’s TSC cafeteria yesterday.

Dainik Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shamol Dutta said many international organisations were trying to save the war criminals by creating pressure on the tribunal. Besides, lack of co-ordination at the tribunal was also a major reason for delaying the verdict. He said the Moncho leaders were criticised for its divisions, adding that the movement should be carried out in a united manner.

Cultural personality Gulam Kuddus also echoed Shamol and urged all activists to come under one umbrella to fulfil the demands of freedom fighters.

Sholakea Eidgah Imam Mawlana Farid Uddin Mashudi said: “Internal conflicts were hampering the movement which is a negative sign for the pro-liberation forces.” l

pany Limited and Singapore-based Itron Metering Systems Singapore Pte Ltd signed a deal for the installation of 8,600 household prepaid meters in the capital’s Lalmatia and Mohammadpur areas.

Besides, Titas Gas plans to install 200,000 prepaid gas meters for its customers in the Dhaka metropolitan area.

On January 11, 2012, some 4,500 prepaid gas meters were installed in houses in Mohammadpur and Lalmatia areas under the pilot project. l

n Rabiul Islam The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) yesterday informed the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment that some recruiting agencies were charging very high prices to prospective migrants.

“We have informed the ministry that some recruiting agencies are charging Tk6,00,000 to Tk7,00,000 to send their clients to Saudi Arabia,” Baira president Mohammad Abul Bashar told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Bashar admitted that migration costs in Bangladesh were high compared with countries like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“We have reached an agreement with the government that we would reduce migration fees and we have sent letters to each recruiting agency in this regard,” Bashar said.

Normally, a migrant should spend Tk4,00,000 to Tk4,50,000 to go to Saudi Arabia but two recruiting agencies are charging Tk6,00,000 to Tk7,00,000 to send their clients to Saudi Arabia, he added.

“If necessary, we will cancel the licenses of these recruiting agencies,” Bashar said.

According to the Baira letter sent to the Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, a number of recruiting agencies purchased work from Saudi companies at a high cost

Road accidents kill 5 in Dhaka n Abid Azad

This high-voltage electric pole twisted badly at the base has been balancing precariously for quite a long time in bustling Tejgaon area of the capital with the relevant authorities turning a blind eye to the risk it poses for pedestrians and traffic MEHEDI HASAN

At least five people were killed in different road accidents in the capital yesterday, confirmed Mojammel Haque, in-charge of the police camp in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Around 10:30am, a collision between an easybike and a speeding covered van badly injured three men on Mayor Mohammad Hanif overpass near Kutubkhali area in Jatrabari, eyewitnesses said.

The victims – Md Kamal Hossain, 35, from Barisal, Tarekur Rahman, from Noakhali and an expatriate in Oman, and Md Jahangir, a service holder – were taken to the DMCH by the locals around 11:30am, where the doctors on duty pronounced two of them dead.

The other one died around 20 minutes later, said the DMCH authority.

In another accident, a Tongi-bound train hit Mohammad Manik, 60, in the capital’s Malibagh Railgate area, said Mojammel.

He was brought to the DMCH by a passer-by named Sabuj Mia, where he died around 1:30pm, he added.

Around 9:45am, a collision between a human haulier and a staff bus of Sonali Bank Ltd near Mukda Community Centre injured Md Habib, 14, said his brother-in-law Md Helal.

Habib, a Class-VII student at Kazi Zafar High School, was going to Motijheel on the human haulier. He was taken to the DMCH, where he died around 1:30pm, Helal said. l

and then charged migrants Tk6,00,000 to Tk7,00,000 in defiance of the association’s initiatives.

Baira, in its communication, explained that the Saudi Arabia-based firm, Seder Trading & Contracting Company, had issued 1,322 visas. Of those, Rabbi International (Recruiting License No-258) purchased 400 visas and Assurance Services Company (Recruiting License No-1122) purchased 600 visas at a high cost.

Other agencies were trying to purchase the remaining 322 visas at high cost.

“We have just received Baira’s allegations,” Deputy Secretary Kazi Kalam told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday. l

Tk15.5 lakh snatched, one shot at Gazipur

n Tribune Report

Criminals allegedly snatched Tk15.5 lakh by shooting an employee of a readymade garments factory last night at Konabari in Gazipur near Dhaka.

Manjurul Islam, 33, was an employee of the Oishi Willier Garments Factory. He was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) with gunshots in his legs.

Owner of the factory Mehedi Hasan Mahin said a gang of six criminals riding two motorbikes intercepted him and Manjurul at around 8:30pm while they were going to Harinachala in Konabari from Jorun area by a rickshaw with the money. He also said Mahin’s statement had been taken as the allegation. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, July 4, 2014

Dope gang active ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr Chittagong police begin crackdown on listed dope gang members Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Abid Azad

Young and beautiful girls are among the criminals

Parvin Aktar, a 60-year-old woman who lives in the capital's RK Mission Road in the capital's Gopibag area, had no idea that she along with other family will be admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after having Sehri prepaired by a member of a notorious dope gang.

“When we woke up, we found ourselves receiving treatment at DMCH as sedatives were mixed with our food during Sehri. The dope gang looted around Tk2 lakh in cash and gold ornaments by breaking open the almirah,” said Parvin's grandson Md Abdul Sami.

Parvin Akter lived with her son Md Uzzal, 40, and two other domestic workers named as Jamirun Begum, 60, and Parul Akter, 30. Sami also told the two housemaids were still in critical condition.

Three days earlier, Parvin brought in another domestic worker, Rani, but did not collect the new maid's identification details. The robbery was preplanned and Rani helped the gang to loot the household,” he claimed.

DMCH police camp in-charge Mojammel Haque confirmed the incident.

Activities of such dope gangs rise when Ramadan approaches.

In many cases, young and beautiful female members of these dope gangs take work in different households disguised as domestic maids and later rob the household of its valuables by mixing sedatives in food items.

Besides dope gang, a new gang has been active in the capital, who orchestrate a quarrel with people by spitting on them and later rob them of their valuables over the issue.

According to medical and police sources, at least two people were killed and 90 others poisoned after falling prey to such dope gang.

There have been claims that law-enforcing agency had totally failed check dope gangs active in the country. Even when law enforcers manage to arrest members of such criminal rings, most of these criminals manage to come out free on bail due to poor investigation and evidence collection.

Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Julhas, who used to operate a dope gang in capital Old Dhaka’s Mitford area said there

were over 50 such groups active in the capital and each group consists at least 6 to 8 members. “In recent times, many gangs include huge number of female members, both young and old, to carry out their criminal activities,” said Julhas.

'We have already ordered all the police stations to conduct rapid drives to nab the listed members dope gangs' He also added that most of these female gang members consists of college students, who came to capital for education but failed to continue due to financial constrains.

“We first train them and then divide them into two groups. The beautiful ones are used for deceiving commuters to and from the capital while the rest are used as domestic helps in different households.

“These girls first board a passengers bus and start a conversation with

young boys on the bus. They then take the advantage of their beauty and convinces the victim to get off the bus at a designated place or feed them sedatives with other foods during a deep conversation.

In other cases, these girls ask for lifts from passing-by vehicles, mostly where the driver is alone, on highways. In the same way, they manage to dope the driver by feeding something while engaging the driver in a deep conversation.

“These girls can easily fool people as most believe them very easily,” Julhas added.

According to intelligence agencies, dope gangs were especially active in capital's Keraniganj, Tongi, Ashulia, Savar, bus terminals in Sayedabad, Gabtoli, Mohakhali, Sadarghat launch terminal, Demra, Sarulia, Dholaipar, Kataban, Babubazar, Gulistan, Ashulia, Shahabagh, Uttara, FDC gate, Mogbazar, Shyamoli, Shishu Mela, Kachpur, Mohammadpur and Postagola Bridge areas.

Contacted, Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of Police, told the Dhaka Tribune that special raids and operation were underway to nab all dope gang members and all kind

of criminal activities in the capital. “We have already arrested a number of dope gang leaders and members and it would be a continuous process,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chittagong Metropolitan Police has ordered all deputy commissioners (DCs) of all zones of CMP to take action against listed dope gang members ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.

With a rise in criminals activities of such dope gangs in the port city, CMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operation) Banaz Kumar Majumder said they have taken special measures to tackle the activities of these dope gangs.

“We have already ordered all the police stations to conduct rapid drives to nab the listed members of Molom and Ogyan parties [dope gangs],” he said.

“Special police teams have already been deployed in shopping malls and markets, city roads and entry points of the city for regular checking during the Ramadan,” he added..

According to the CMP’s list, there were 103 active gang members under the jurisdiction of 11 police stations out of 16, where 58 have been arrested while 45 others, who are mostly notorious, remain at large. l

DMP chief: We are also Pundits n Tazlina Zamila Khan The DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed yesterday said they had expertise like other scientific and industrial research bodies and organisations to make the anti-formalin drive successful.

Benazir made the claim during the an anti-formalin drive in the capital’s Gulshan-2 circle yesterday.

Recently, researchers of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) had raised questions

The BCSIR have raised questions about the capability of the DMP’s formalin detection kit about the capability of the DMP’s formalin detection kit.

In this regard the commissioner said: “They are Pundits and we are also Pundits.”

During the briefing, he talked to different classes of people and distributed leaflets about harmful effects of formalin into human body.

The DMP commissioner said the drive would continue according to the current law of the country.

On June 28, Benezir also said the DMP would continue its drives against food adulteration during the month of Ramadan. It is mentationable that the DMP has recently set up check-posts at several points of the capital to check formalin-mixed fruits entrance to the city. l

WEATHER

FRIDAY, JULY 4 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:50PM SUN RISES 5:16AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 32

27

Chittagong

30

26

Rajshahi

30

26 26

Rangpur

30

Khulna

30

25

Barisal

31

26

Sylhet

30

25

Cox’s Bazar

30

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.2ºC Dinajpur

23.3ºC Chittagong

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

One held with 28 gold bars in Chittagong airport n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

THUNDERSHOWER OR RAIN OR

Dhaka

Members of Dhaka Metropolitan Police conduct an anti-formalin drive at Agora super shop in the capital's Shantinagar area yesterday in a bid to prevent the abuse of chemicals on fruits MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

3:48am 5:14am 12:03am 4:44pm 6:50pm 8:18pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

The customs authority in Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong yesterday seized 28 gold bars weighing 3.27 kilograms from a luggage of a Dubai-returned passenger, who arrived at the airport on June 30 through a Bangladesh Biman flight.

The authorities also nabbed the passenger identified as Md Nizam, 29, hailing from Rawzan upazila in Chittagong, said Moshiur Rahman Mandal, assistant commissioner (AC) of Chittagong Custom House positioned in Shah Amanat International Airport.

The AC said after the arrival of Nizam at the airport customs officials seized his luggage sensing existence of gold in it.

“After examining the luggage yesterday morning, the authorities recovered the bars from the luggage of Nizam,” he said, adding that Nizam was asked

The customs sources said about 2,900 gold bars and worth more than Tk100 crore had been seized from the airport in 2014

to present at the airport before starting examining. The customs officials arrested him after finding the gold bars.

He said,” The worth of the gold is about Tk1.40 crore.”

The bars will be sent to Bangladesh

Bank, he said, adding that a case was lodged with Patenga police station in this connection.

Existing law allows a person to carry highest 200 grammes gold from abroad paying necessary duty while the passenger can bring highest two kilograms gold giving early notice to the authorities concerned and paying duty according to a circular of Bangladesh Bank, added the AC. From July 1 till yesterday, the customs authorities seized a total of 13.21 kilograms of gold bars and jewelry worth about Tk6 crores in separate drives from the airport, the AC further added.

The customs sources said about 2,900 gold bars and worth more than Tk100 crore were seized from the airport in 2014. l

5 50-year-old stabbed to death in the capital n Abid Azad A middle aged person was stabbed to death by unknown miscreants at Dakhkhin Manda in the capital’s Mugda area early yesterday.

The victim, Shahidul Islam, 50, son of Akkas Ali and a printing press worker, was a resident of the area.

Quoting the victim’s family members, Sub-Inspector Nurul Islam of Mugda police station said a group of miscreants swooped on Shahidul while he was returning home from his workplace around 2:45am yesterday.

Miscreants stabbed Shahidul indiscriminately near his residence, leaving him critically injured.Hearing the scream of Shahidul, locals and the family members rescued him and took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Shahidul succumbed to his injures at the DMCH around 3:30am yesterday.

Police suspected that the attack was preplanned as they did not take the victim’s cell phone and other valuables from his (Shahidul) possession. l

Woman stabbed to death by husband's elder brother n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj A 36-year-old pregnant woman was stabbed to death by her husband's elder brother in the early hours of yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Taslima Begum of Islambag at Bandar upazila in Narayanganj.

Deceased Taslima's 12-year-old son Rakib, who witnessed the incident, said his uncle Amir Hossain owed Muktijoddha Mulch-Purpose Ltd, a cooperative society, ASA and BRAC Tk1,60,000. On Wednesday, people from the multipurpose society came to collect money from his uncle.

There took place a ruckus between his uncle and those from the society's behalf. This irritated Taslima, who later asked Amir to pay back the loan soon, when a row also took place between them.

The next day, she went out for responding to the call of nature and was stabbed by him on the chest, back and neck. She was declared dead soon after being taken to Bandar Upazila Health Complex.

Bandar police station Officer-in-Charge Akhter Morshed said they had on information rushed to the scene and recovered the knife used in the murder.

The body was sent to Narayanganj General Hospital for autopsy.

Police have detained Amir's wife Shilpi Begum for interrogation over the murder. l

HC says 'no' to batteryrun rickshaw in Dhaka, Chittagong n Nazmus Sakib The High Court has ruled that no battery-driven rickshaw would ply in the Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations.

A HC bench comprising Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the verdict yesterday afternoon.

The bench passed the verdict after rejecting four writ petitions that sought the High Court's directive to the city corporations authorities for giving licence to battery-driven rickshaws to run on city the roads.

Ruhul Quddus Kazal, lawyer of Dha-

ka City Corporations, said, “As there is no scope to give licence to such rickshaws under existing law, the court has rejected the pleas.”

Various organisations of such rickshaw drivers submitted applications to the city corporation authorities for licence, but their applications were not disposed, prompting them to file separate writ petitions with the High Court.

The court earlier had issued ruling in this regard.

However, after hearing both the sides over the ruling, the bench led by Justice Mirza Hussain Haider rejected the petitions. l

Consultancy firm signed up for Dhaka-Chittagong Expressway n Rabiul Islam The government signed a contract with an Australia-based consultancy firm yesterday to conduct the feasibility study and draw the detailed design for Dhaka-Chittagong Expressway Project.

The contract was signed by Roads and Highways Department's Chief Engineer Mafijul Islam Rajkhan and SMEC International's Gavin Harold Strid at the conference room of Sarak Bhaban, according to a press release.

The consultancy cost, which in-

cludes feasibility study, detailed design, transaction advisory services and safeguard implementation support, has been estimated at around Tk98 crore.

The cost of feasibility study and detailed design has been put up at Tk over 83 crore.

The consultancy services will have be completed by 2017 as per the contract.

The Roads and Highways Department plans the implementation of the project with the financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank by 2013. l

Owner of a motor bike leaves his vehicle in the middle of rail gate intersection in Rajshahi city yesterday as he did not have proper documents. The Rajshahi Metropolitan Police has recently started a drive against unlicensed and stolen motor vehicles DHAKA TRIBUNE

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Bongosonahat land port at risk Locals fear that the century-old port may be eroded at any time

n Our Correspondent, Kurigram The Bongosonahat land port in Kurigram is in a vulnerable condition because of rapid river erosion by the Dudhkomor river and lack of reformation of the hundred-year-old Sonahat bridge.

Extreme river erosion in the area has damaged the link road of the bridge, leading to regular accidents in the area.

Locals expressed concerns that any big accident on the bridge might shut down the 18th land port of the country.

Sources said the port was shut down

in 1947 and was reopened on April 28 this year. The port has permission to import and export 10 items, including coal and stones.

Meanwhile, the Sonahat bridge was damaged by the freedom fighters in 1971 to prevent the Pakistani occupation force, which was later “repaired” in 1989.

Abul Kalam, a local, said though a project to establish an embankment to protect the river began in 2012, it was yet to be completed.

Another local Anwarul Haque

opined that if the course of the river was changed by cutting the 300 meter char area, the bridge and the road could be saved.

Deputy Divisional Engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board Abdul Kader said the embankment project worth Tk16 crore was yet to be completed, which had angered the locals.

On the other hand, Kurigram Deputy Commissioner ABM Azad said necessary steps had been taken to protect the bridge and the link road, adding that the work would be completed soon. l

Government employee killed n Our Correspondent, Bogra

A peon was hacked to death by unidentified assailants at Mohishbadhan village under Kahalu upazila in Bogra yesterday.

The deceased family members said a gang of miscreants stormed into the house of Hafijar Rahman, 40, a peon at district registrar office, and hacked him indiscriminately.

Later, he died. l

Arson in revenge for murder in Kushtia n Our Correspondent, Kushtia

Labourers dry paddy at a Chatal, a place where paddy is dried up and processed, in Rajshahi city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ruling Awami League activists yesterday set afire the house of a BNP leader in a revenge attack for the murder of a Juba League leader at Mirpur upazila in Kushtia.

Police say the arson was in a revenge attack for the murder.

Earlier on Sunday night, three to four criminals hacked to death Chithalia Union Parishad Juba League Organising Secretary Mamun Gazi at his hose.

Witnesses said ruling Awami League men blamed Chithalia Union Parishad Swechchhasebak Dal president Jihad Ali for the mur-

der. Yesterday noon, they vengefully attacked and set fire to the house of Mamun.

Locals and firemen rushed over and managed to douse the fire in around an hour of frantic efforts. Three houses next to the BNP leader’s however were gutted.

Mirpur police station Officerin-Charge Shahidul Islam Shahin said: “The arson has taken place in sequel to the murder and so we will look into it and take take strict steps against those involved in it.”

He added that they had kept Jihad detained on suspicion of his involvement in the murder. l

Abducted boy rescued n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Three days after he was abducted, police rescued Polash, 8, from Gaibandha and arrested two men, Jahidul Islam, 30, and his assistant MA Firoz, 28, in connection with the abduction at 3pm yesterday.

Sub-inspector Hafizur Rahman of Joydebpur police station, who was also a member of the rescue team, said Polash’s family are from Daotala village in Sherpur district, but

they live in Chokroborty village in Joydebpur, Gazipur as both his parents worked in RMG factories.

Polash is a first-grader in the local Brac School. On Monday morning, Jahid lured Polash out of his house by offering him chocolates and after abducting him, demanded a ransom of Tk10 lakh from his parents. Police used technology to locate Polash and rescued him from Jahid’s residence at Shomoshpara village. l

Friday, July 4, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Friday, July 4, 2014

7

‘Look East’ and prosper

T

n Ifti Islam he prime minister’s backto-back state-visits to Japan in May, and China in June, has prompted a great deal of discussion among economists and political analysts about the prospects for Bangladesh’s relations with the region’s largest economies. The fact that this has occurred at a time of heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the South China Sea territorial issues makes her latest economic diplomacy initiatives all the more interesting.

Adding to the geopolitical mix has been the recent election of India’s new PM Narendra Modi, and uncertainty about India-Bangladesh relations in light of the Awami League’s perceived bias towards the Indian National Congress as well as Narendra Modi’s pre-election rhetoric on sending Bangladeshi immigrants home.

We are already seeing significant economic results for Bangladesh.

Following PM Hasina’s visit, Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, committed 600bn yen ($5.9bn) in economic assistance to Bangladesh over the next four to five years. The joint communiqué has emphasised that the funds, mainly in low-cost loans, will be used to build infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.

What is really noteworthy is how much the Chinese president’s comments echo those of Japanese PM Abe’s talk of Bangladesh being part of the ‘Big B’ or Bay of Bengal growth zone

Also exciting is Prime Minister Abe’s statement that “Bangladesh has great economic potential. In order to realise its potential and expedite further growth, Japan has come up with the concept of the Bay of Bengal industrial growth belt …” or what he termed “The BIG-B.” Beyond that, it was reported that Hasina asked her counterpart to consider a range of specific projects like a Ganges barrage, building multi-modal tunnels under the Jamuna River, a railway bridge over the Jamuna River, a multi-modal Dhaka eastern bypass, and the ecological restoration of four rivers around Dhaka.

Similar progress was seen in Hasina’s subsequent six-day state-visit to China in June. Significant economic agreements reached with China included a joint venture to establish a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant in Pataukhali; Chinese assistance for the construction of a multi-lane road tunnel under the Karnaphuli river; an economic and technical cooperation agreement, and commitments on disaster rescue equipment and on a flood prevention and management study.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the creation

of a Chinese economic and investment zone in Chittagong.

Although there was a failure to reach an agreement on Chinese construction of a deep-sea port at Sonadia, Chinese President Xi Jinping described Bangladesh as an important country along the “Maritime Silk Road” (MSR) project that he has been championing, which envisages deepening connectivity, building ports, free trade zones, and boosting trade with littoral countries in the Indian Ocean region and in Southeast Asia.

What is really noteworthy is how much the Chinese president’s comments echo those of Japanese PM Abe’s talk of Bangladesh being part of the “Big B” or Bay of Bengal growth zone.

Among many conversations I have had in the past month on this subject, two really stick in my mind. Firstly, at a dinner party in Dhaka, one ambassador of an important economic trading partner argued strongly that Hasina’s state-visit to Japan was a mistake on two fronts: both in terms of antagonising China given the regional tensions mentioned above, while at the same time offending the Indian premier with PM Hasina the only South Asian leader to not attend his inauguration.

In another discussion in Singapore, the head of an EM hedge fund, while appreciating the potential economic benefits for Bangladesh from greater engagement with Japan, also warned of the risks for the country by failing to engage with a newly resurgent Indian economy under the new BJP government. The debate on the merits of Modi-mania and the prospects for India’s economy are complex, and deserve a separate, more detailed discussion. But where I disagree with both the ambassador and the hedge fund manager, is the presumption that India’s geographic proximity necessitate it being Bangladesh’s most important economic relationship.

Bangladesh’s economic-structural transformation will come from a new “look East” policy of engagement with China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan among others. Bangladesh should not have to choose between alignment with Japan as opposed to China, but establish strong economic ties with both countries and others in the region based on mutually beneficial economic ties, not political favours.

The first notable “look East” policy was adopted by Malaysia in 1983 and championed by it’s then premier, Mahathir Mohamad. It primarily focused on attracting foreign direct investment and technical assistance from Japan that transformed Malaysia into a manufacturing, export-driven economy. India itself most famously adopted it’s own “Look East” policy in 1992 under former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, as part of a strategy to deepen economic ties with the new Asian Tiger economies such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore among others.

Coming back to the development of Bangladesh’s own “look East” policy, while Sheikh Hasina’s two state-visits to Japan and China are an important start, we must be wary of the perennial problem in Bangladeshi economic diplomacy – lack of follow up.

Hence, I would recommend that the Government of Bangladesh works with the embassies of some of the

key Asian economic partners, starting with China, Japan, and Korea, along with development partners such as ADB, and formulate a policy roadmap to capitalise on the “look East” initiative in the following four key areas:

Investment What is the best strategy to catalyse “look East” FDI? Bangladesh should offer a number of country specific economic zones or allocate a reserved proportion of future economic zones to key Asian partner countries.

We should also engage in thorough research to do a sector mapping for each country to see which are the most likely sectors and indeed joint venture partners for FDI. For example, this can be on the basis of Japanese or Korean investments in countries such as Vietnam as well as close collaboration and feedback with Jetro, Kotra and the equivalent Chinese commercial development agencies.

Effective engagement with the private sector can also be helped by working with associations such as the Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) and their equivalents in other countries.

We should also consider what regulatory changes or fiscal incentives have worked effectively in other countries to catalyse FDI into economic zones.

Trade For each of our key Asian trading partners, an assessment should be made on our import and export mix. Do we produce the range/mix of products that for example are in demand in China, Japan or Korea? What is the tariff structure for import of their products?

Perhaps reduced tariffs or duties on their imports can facilitate greater market access for our products. Of course greater FDI from those countries as part of their China relocation strategy or taking advantage of Bangladesh’s low labour costs will also help this process. But we need a broad and holistic assessment of reforms needed to our trade strategy.

Regional Connectivity As mentioned earlier in this article, a common focal point for China and Japan is the importance of Bangladesh’s geographic position. Chittagong port is around 700km from Kunming, the capital of China’s westernmost province Hunnan. The equivalent journey to the nearest Chinese deep sea port is Guangzou, more than twice as far away. In addition, domestic trade of India’s northeastern states with rest of India, and its trade with outside world, is contingent on movement of goods through the chicken neck (a distance of about 1200-1600 km).

The primary institutional mechanism to realise this has been the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) economic corridor strategy that originated in the Kunming Initiative back in 1999, in part motivated by research

by Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of Bangladesh’s Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD). India’s vice president, Hamid Ansar, who, on a five-day state-visit to China, stated on June 29: “BCIM is a good and positive initiative, we will be supportive of it.”

Although he hedged his comments by also asking for more details from Beijing about its plans for a Maritime Silk Route (MSR). What Bangladesh needs to do is to target five key development projects that will fast track the BCIM initiative so we can move on from just the ongoing dialogues that have taken place every year since 1999. This can be the terms for the deep sea port at Sonadia, road and rail connectivity, or even gas pipelines from Burma crossing Bangladesh to India.

ladesh needs to have a healthy and constructive engagement with it’s adjacent regional superpower (with which it has a 4000km border) that is set to become the third largest economy in the world by 2050.

India is clearly sensitive about Bangladesh’s proactive attempts to “look East.” In a June 11 article, the Hindu stated that “While Ms Hasina has pledged to boost ties with India … her reported reference to being an ‘active partner’ in a ‘China-led’ century in her meeting with Premier Li is likely to be noticed in New Delhi.”

In the development of Bangladesh’s own ‘look East’ policy, while Sheikh Hasina’s two state-visits to Japan and China are an important start, we must be wary of the perennial problem in Bangladeshi economic diplomacy – lack of follow up

Infrastructure While closely linked to regional connectivity, we must also focus on the scope for China, Japan and Korea to facilitate the development of Bangladesh’s infrastructure. We are already seeing some encouraging signs of this from Hasina’s Japan and China visits.

But we need to ensure that bureaucratic bottlenecks or inertia does not slow down these and other new initiatives on infrastructure. All three countries have impressive construction and engineering companies. China and Japan also have massive forex reserves and the resources to help with financing. These facillities are critical given that it has been estimated by the World Bank that Bangladesh needs $9bn of investment per year to close the infrastructure deficit.

As I hinted above, a critical component in Bangladesh successfully capitalising on it’s geographic location, and hence the pivotal element in any “look East” policy is a strong and collaborative alliance with Myanmar.

In that context, the recent tensions over the shooting of a Bangladeshi border guard by the Myanma needs to be resolved as does an agreement on the Rohingya refugees. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry needs to appreciate the economic consequences of any rift with Burma given the massive China and Japan investments in that country. And it’s surplus of natural resources can also be a key element in Bangladesh’s economic development in terms of power generation.

Let me finish with a discussion on how to balance a new Bangladesh “look East” policy with engagement with India. Even though I expressed some disappointment earlier in this article about India’s failure to deliver on expectations in it’s relationship with Bangladesh, the reality is Bang-

I would argue that Bangladesh’s “look East” policy can be positive for it’s relationship with India and is by no means mutually exclusive. D Suba Chandan, writing in Eurasia on June 27, stated: “A regaining of momentum (in India Bangladesh relations) could be done by engaging Dhaka in a constructive roadmap and making it a gateway for India’s look East policy (LEP). Geographically and strategically, Dhaka should be the gateway for India’s LEP. Land and maritime access and trade and travel routes have to criss-cross eastern India comprising West Bengal and the Northeast and Bangladesh before entering Myanmar and progressing further east.”

He goes on to note that “Like India, Bangladesh also has a serious stake in looking east … Dhaka has to look east for it makes much economic sense in terms of trade. This provides an opportunity for India and Bangladesh to work together; in fact, New Delhi and Dhaka could Look East together.”

In conclusion, now is the time to build on Sheikh Hasina’s visits to Japan and China with a well-thought out roadmap for economic engagement at both a government-to-government, as well as private-sector level.

The proposed visit to Bangladesh in September by Shinzo Abe, the first by a Japanese premier since 2000, will be another important catalyst in deepening economic relations.

Let us focus on making sure this is the turning point in economic relations and not another missed opportunity. Now is the time for Bangladesh to look East as the key driver of future economic growth. l Ifty Islam is the managing partner at AT Capital, and can be contacted at ifty.islam@ at-capital.com

8 Kurdish president urges holding of independence vote n Reuters, Arbil, Iraq The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish north asked the region’s parliament yesterday to prepare the way for a referendum on independence, according to lawmakers who attended the closed session.

Iraq’s five million Kurds, who have ruled themselves within Iraq in relative peace since the 1990s, have expanded their territory by up to 40% in recent weeks as Sunni Islamist militants seized vast stretches of western and northern Iraq. Though calls for a referendum on independence are not new - Kurds strongly backed independence in a 2005 non-binding vote - the dramatic change in the situation on the ground means the Kurds now see a fully sovereign state as within their grasp.

“The president asked us to form an independent electoral commission to carry out a referendum in the Kurdistan region and determine the way forward,” said lawmaker Farhad Sofi, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Saudi deploys 30,000 soldiers to Iraq border n Reuters, Dubai Saudi Arabia deployed 30,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq after Iraqi soldiers abandoned the area, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said yesterday, but Baghdad denied this and said the frontier remained under its full control.

The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where Islamic State insurgents and other Sunni Muslim militant groups seized towns and cities in a lightning advance last month.

King Abdullah has ordered all necessary measures to protect the kingdom against potential “terrorist threats,” state news agency SPA reported on Thursday.

The US-allied kingdom overcame its own al Qaeda insurgency almost a decade ago and is wary of any encroaching

new threat from radical Sunni Islamists.

The Dubai-based al-Arabiya said on its website that Saudi troops fanned into the border region after Iraqi government forces withdrew from positions, leaving the Saudi and Syrian frontiers unprotected.

The Iraqi prime minister’s military spokesman denied the forces had withdrawn. “This is false news aimed at affecting the morale of our people and the morale of our heroic fighters,” Lieutenant General Qassim Atta told reporters in Baghdad.

He said the frontier, which runs through largely empty desert, was “fully in the grip” of Iraqi border troops.

The satellite channel said it had obtained a video showing some 2,500 Iraqi soldiers in the desert region east of the Iraqi city of Karbala after pulling back from the border. l

Friday, July 4, 2014

Al Qaeda leaves east Syria strongholds to Islamic State n Reuters, Beirut Fighters from al Qaeda’s Nusra Front withdrew from two towns in eastern Syria yesterday, leaving most of the border province of Deir al-Zor under the control of advancing forces of the Islamic State, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It said the Nusra Front pulled out of Mayadin and Shuhail, the group’s regional stronghold, while local tribal fighters had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which has also swept through Sunni Muslim provinces in Iraq.

The Observatory, a British-based monitoring group, said the Islamic State, previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now controls an area of Syria five times the size of neighbouring Lebanon.

In Deir al-Zor province only the re-

NEWS BITES

French govt denies meddling in Sarkozy corruption case

n AFP, Paris

gional capital and airport - still held

by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces - and a few villages remain outside the Islamic State’s control, it said.

Earlier this week the Islamic State seized the town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi frontier from the Nusra Front, securing both sides of the border crossing.

“For the first time the Islamic State has taken control over territory extending from the strategic town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi-Syrian border to the north-eastern edge of Aleppo,” it said.

Albu Kamal is around 400 km (250 miles) from Aleppo.

Islamic State fighters seized control of several Iraqi towns in a lightning offensive in June. The group says it is restoring an Islamic caliphate on the cross-border territory it now controls and has called on Muslims to join it in jihad. l

Arthur becomes first hurricane of 2014 Atlantic season

France’s Socialist government yesterday rejected claims it was using the justice system for political ends after ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy accused his enemies of being behind corruption charges.

Charged with three corruption-related counts on Wednesday, the right-winger angrily hit back in a televised interview, denying he broke the law and denouncing “political interference” in the case.

Sarkozy insisted his political career was not over, but an opinion poll released Thursday showed nearly two-thirds of French voters against a comeback by the conservative who ran France from 2007 to 2012.

“The judiciary is independent, there is no longer any intervention,” government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told Europe 1 radio.

“Some people have a hard time believing this, for reasons I don’t want to comment on,” Le Foll said, in a reference to left-wing allegations that Sarkozy’s government unduly influenced the justice system. l

Hollande, Merkel urge Putin to broker Ukraine ceasefire

n Reuters, Paris

NOAA satellite image obtained July 3, 2014 and taken at 1945Z on July 2, 2014 shows the center of Tropical Storm Arthur AFP / NOAA

n Reuters, US Tropical Storm Arthur became the first hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic season yesterday after sparking evacuations, closing beaches and tourist sites and disrupting Independence Day celebrations along parts of the US East Coast.

Arthur was about 190 miles (305 km) south-southwest of Cape Fear, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said after upgrading its status.

It was moving at 9 miles per hour (15 kph) in a northerly direction toward the coast and is expected to turn to-

ward the northeast with an increase in speed on Thursday.

Authorities had on Wednesday begun closing campgrounds, lighthouses and beaches on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Several towns and villages rescheduled Independence Day festivities and fireworks plans as the storm picked up speed.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency on Wednesday for 25 eastern counties to help prepare for possible damage.

Local businesses were worried about losses, though computer forecast models showed the hurricane was not a threat to key oil and gas producing areas in the Gulf of Mexico.

With the United Nations and Tudor City in the foreground, lightning strikes in the sky over the East River Arthur could be packing Category 1 hurricane-force winds of 85 mph (135 kph) when the outer bands brush the Carolinas on Thursday and Friday before weakening, forecasters said.

The storm could also cause dangerous rip currents, rainfall, fierce winds,

and flooding along coastal areas of Southern states.

Farther up the coast, the resort town of Ocean City, Maryland, said it was moving its July 4 fireworks display to Saturday because of the storm.

Boston officials also delayed a na-

AFP

tionally televised concert by the Boston Pops and a fireworks display, which draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to the city’s riverfront.

A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 kph). l

Palestinian boys funeral postponed, Is Europe’s troubled union really ready to change?

Israel boosts forces near Gaza n

n Reuters, Brussels

Reuters, Jerusalem

The funeral of a Palestinian teenager abducted and killed in Jerusalem has been delayed so that a post-mortem examination can be completed.

Mohammed Abu Khdair’s father says he hopes his son’s burial can still take place on Thursday.

The 17-year-old’s murder raised tensions amid claims it was in revenge for the killing of three Israeli youths.

Meanwhile, Israel said on Thursday it was beefing up its forces along its frontier with the Gaza Strip, in what it called a defensive deployment in response to persistent Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks.

Israel also faced the challenge of a further eruption of Palestinian anger in Jerusalem, where violent protests broke out on Wednesday after the body of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was discovered in a forest on the edge of the city.

Israeli police are investigating the possibility that he was the victim of a revenge killing over the deaths of three Jewish teenagers, whose abduction on June 12 Israel has blamed on Islamist Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank.

Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said troops were taking up “defense positions” in Israeli communities that have been struck by the rockets from Gaza. He did not comment on the scale of the deployment.

It is the first time since the border began to heat up in mid-June - in tandem with an Israeli military sweep and search for the three abducted Israeli youths in the West Bank - that Israel has announced troop movements near the Gaza Strip.

“We are moving and we have moved forces,” Lerner said in a conference call

Jewish youths mourn on the grave of one of three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the occupied West Bank, in the Israeli city of Modi’in July 1 REUTERS with foreign journalists. “Everything we are doing is to de-escalate the situation but on the other hand to be prepared if they don’t de-escalate.” Israel, he said, has “no interest in deepening the conflict with Gaza - the absolute opposite is true.”

Jerusalem was quiet on Thursday but tensions remained high in anticipation of Mohammed Abu Khudair’s funeral. No time has been set for the burial, an event that will stir strong emotions among Palestinians and could trigger further confrontation.

The military said Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired 14 projectiles into Israel on Thursday and that rockets struck two homes in the southern town of Sderot, causing no casualties.

Israel launched air strikes against at least three Hamas training facilities in Gaza, residents said, adding that 15 people had been injured.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay condemned both Israelis and Palestinians on Thursday for the latest flare-up of violence across the Gaza border and also Abu Khudair’s killing.

“From a human rights point of view, I utterly condemn these rocket attacks and more especially I condemn Israel’s excessive acts of retaliation,” Pillay told journalists in Vienna.

‘Martyr’s death’

The Palestinian youth Abu Khudair was last seen alive being bundled into a van on Wednesday near his home in the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in Jerusalem, a day after the burials of the Jewish teenagers, who were abducted on June 12.

Abu Khudair’s family said police, who have stepped up patrols in the city, told them the body would be released in the pre-dawn hours of Friday. l

After six decades of relentless if incremental integration, might the European Union be about to go into reverse?

The “ever closer union” enshrined in EU treaties since 1957 no longer looks so assured after a voter backlash in May’s European Parliament elections and Britain’s increasingly strident demands for a looser relationship with Brussels.

As the smoke clears from the battle over nominating Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission, the gulf between Britain and its EU partners looks wider than ever although all sides talk of focusing more determinedly on public concerns about jobs and prosperity.

Brussels insiders say that for all the talk of radical reform, the 28-nation union is unlikely to change much either towards deeper integration or to greater decentralisation in the next five years.

Asked whether the “wind of change” was likely to lead to any discernible shift in the coming years, more than one official quoted Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s “The Leopard,” a fresco of stratified 19th century Sicilian society.

“Everything needs to change so that everything can stay the same,” said a Commission veteran with 20 years’ experience.

“We’ve heard the promises many times before. They are always genuine and probably well intentioned, but the reality is different. Things don’t change just like that.”

Since the creation of a coal and steel community among six countries in the rubble of World War Two, the objective

has been to unite Europe’s nations economically and politically to prevent a return to conflict.

Through waves of expansion, including the addition of 11 east European states since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the union has grown to 28 countries comprising 500 million citizens, all part of a single market with a swathe of common rules.

The euro single currency, launched in 1999 and now used by 18 member states, is perhaps the greatest symbol of Europe’s determination to forge a common future.

But the last decade has called into question the overriding principle of ever closer union.

Founder members France and the Netherlands voted down a proposed EU constitution in 2005. A debt crisis that began in Greece brought the euro zone close to collapse in 2012, and anti-EU populist parties scored stunning gains this year.

The EU has seldom suffered such a deep identity crisis.

At the forefront of the doubters is Britain, an awkward member of the club since 1973, with a population mistrustful of Europe and a prime minister determined to renegotiate its relationship with the European Union.

In January last year, Cameron launched his campaign for fundamental change, including erasing the common aim of “ever closer union,” etched in Europe’s founding treaty since 1957.

He promised to put the result to an in/ out referendum in 2017.

“We understand and respect the right of others to maintain their commitment to this goal,” he said. “But for Britain - and perhaps for others - it is not the objective.” l

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday to encourage separatists in eastern Ukraine to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities, the French president's office said.

Hollande and Merkel stressed in a conversation with the Russian president the importance of implementing a deal reached in Berlin on Wednesday between the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine in order to achieve a bilateral ceasefire, according to the statement from Hollande's office.

"They (Hollande and Merkel) called on the Russian president to support the organization of a meeting of the contact group before July 5 in order to define conditions for the ceasefire," Hollande's office said in the statement.

"To this effect, they asked President Putin to intervene to encourage the separatists to negotiate and find an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities."

Hollande and Merkel are due to hold a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the coming hours, Hollande's office added. l

Iran eases demands for nuclear capacity at Vienna talks

n Reuters, Vienna

Iran has reduced demands for the size of its future nuclear enrichment programme in talks with world powers although Western governments are urging Tehran to compromise further, Western diplomats close to the negotiations said yesterday.

The diplomats, who spoke to Reuters at the start of a two-week round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, said that despite some movement from Tehran it would not be easy to clinch a deal by their self-imposed deadline for a deal of July 20.

Tehran’s shift relates to the main sticking point in the talks - the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges Iran will maintain if a deal is reached to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual end of sanctions. Ending the decade-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions is seen as instrumental to defusing tension and averting a new Middle East war.

“Iran has reduced the number of centrifuges it wants but the number is still unacceptably high,” a Western diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity and without further detail.

On Wednesday a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran has refused to back down from its demand to maintain 50,000 operational centrifuges, a figure deemed by Western officials to be out of keeping with Iran’s stated need for a strictly civilian nuclear energy programme.

Iran, a major oil producer, says it plans a future network of nuclear power plants to diversify its energy supply, though just completing one of them would take many years, analysts say. But the Western diplomats said that behind closed doors Iran was no longer insisting on 50,000 machines. It had signalled it would settle for a lower figure but declined to be specify the number so as not to disrupt the negotiations. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Modi and McCain talk of desire ‘Over one lakh suicides in India every year’ to ‘revitalise’ India-US ties n Reuters, New Delhi Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for improving US ties during a meeting with Senator John McCain in New Delhi yesterday, as the two countries seek to patch up their differences and boost their economic relationship.

The treatment of an Indian diplomat arrested in New York in December triggered a serious spat between the two countries and was widely blamed for the resignation of the US ambassador to India.

The Obama administration has been seeking to revive ties since Modi’s election in May, seeing India as a key strategic counter-balance in Asia to an increasingly assertive China.

Modi “conveyed his desire to further deepen and expand the strategic partnership,” a statement from the Indian government said.

It said that he hoped for a “forward looking, result-oriented visit” to the United States in September when he is due to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

McCain, who told the Senate last week that Washington should seek to help India’s economic and military development, spoke of high expectations about a new momentum in India’s economic growth under the new government. There was no mention in the statement of defence deals.

Both governments have signalled they are keen to ramp up bilateral trade,

which stands at about $100 billion annually and is considered to be below potential due to disputes over protectionism and intellectual property rights.

McCain’s visit comes at an awkward time - just days after reports that the US National Security Agency was authorised to spy on Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 2010, when the party was in the opposition.

On Wednesday, India’s foreign ministry summoned a senior US envoy in Delhi and said it had sought an assurance that the surveillance would not happen in the future.

The Indian government statement of their remarks released after the McCain-Modi meeting did not mention the snooping row. l

H O P E S FA D I N G FA ST

n Agencies

The highest incidents of 16,622 suicides were reported from Maharashtra in 2013, followed by 16,601 suicides in Tamil Nadu. Both account for 12.3 per cent each of the total suicides.

Andhra Pradesh (14,607 suicides), West Bengal (13,055 suicides) and Karnataka (11,266 suicides) accounted for respectively 10.8 per cent, 9.7 per cent and 8.4 per cent of the total suicides reported in the country, said the report.

These five states together accounted for 53.5 per cent of the total suicides reported in the country. The remaining 46.5 per cent suicides were reported from the rest of the 23 states and seven union territories.

Among the 53 mega cities, Chennai tops the list by witnessing 2,450 suicide

cases in 2013, followed by Bangalore 2,033, Delhi 1,753 and Mumbai 1,322 cases.

These four metro cities have contributed more than 35 per cent of the total suicide reported from 53 cities, it said.

The report attributed family problems and illness to be the main reasons for committing suicides. The two reasons account for 24 per cent and 19.6 per cent suicides out of the total suicides.

Unemployment, debt and drug abuse are the other factors that compel a person to take one’s life.

It pointed out that the number of married men (64,098) committing suicide in 2012 was double the married women (29,491).

“The incidence of married men committing suicide mainly due to family stress is on the rise,” Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP) president Kumar V. Jahgirdar told IANS Thursday.

Studies conducted by the CRISP said the married men committed suicide mainly due to alleged misuse of Section 498 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Domestic Violence Act of 2005.

Section 498 (A) deals with harassing a married woman.

“We are demanding setting up of national commission for men on the lines of the National Commission of Women to look into the problems faced by the married men,” Jahgirdar added.

“When a married man faces the domestic violence in the form of verbal abuse, mental abuse and economical abuse, there is no provision in law to seek justice,” said Save Family Foundation-Delhi founder member Swarup Sarkar.

On the analogy of the Lokpal Act, which has a special clause to punish those who misuse the law, there should a law to check misuse of Section 498 (A) and the domestic violence act, he added. l

source close to the Chinese leader told Reuters in Beijing, requesting anonymity. “In the past, the mainland compromised toward Hong Kong too much and was perceived to be weak.”

This tightening grip has fuelled resentment and sparked a civil disobedience movement called “Occupy Central,” which threatens to blockade part of Hong Kong’s main business district.

Mass protests can paralyse this high-density city. Business leaders have warned that Occupy could damage businesses: Four of the largest multinational accounting firms placed advertisements in local newspapers warning against the movement, which has been branded illegal by Chinese authorities.

Occupy’s primary aim is to pressure China into allowing a truly democratic election in 2017.

Beijing says Hong Kong can go ahead with a vote in 2017 for the city’s top leader. But mainland officials stress that Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, specifies that only a nominating committee can pick leadership candidates. Pro-democracy activists demand changes that would allow the public to directly nominate candidates.

Nearly 800,000 people voted in an unofficial referendum that ended on Sunday, which called for Beijing to allow open nominations of candidates for the 2017 poll - a vote China’s State Council,

or cabinet, called “illegal and invalid,” said the state Xinhua news agency.

Fears that the screws are tightening were heightened when Beijing published an unprecedented cabinet-level White Paper in June on Hong Kong. It bluntly reminded Hong Kong that China holds supreme authority over the city.

“The high degree of autonomy of (Hong Kong) is not an inherent power, but one that comes solely from the authorisation by the central leadership,” it says.

The policy document took about a year to prepare and was approved by the 25-member, decision-making Communist Party Politburo around a month ago, a second source close to Xi told Reuters in Beijing.

It’s a tricky issue for China’s new leadership. Hong Kong’s democratic experiment is seen as a litmus test of Beijing’s tolerance for eventual political reforms on the mainland, where calls for greater civil liberties and grassroots democracy have been growing, experts say.

President Xi, who has swiftly consolidated power in China since taking office by taking a hard line on domestic and foreign affairs, is unlikely to compromise on Hong Kong, the sources close to the leader said.

“Hong Kong is no different,” the second source with ties to China’s leadership said. “Pushing for democracy in Hong Kong is tantamount to asking the tiger for its skin.” l

Over 1,00,000 people commit suicides in India every year on an average. The number of suicides in the past decade has recorded an increase of 21.6%, said a government report.

The number of suicides increased to 1,34,799 in 2013 from 1,10,851 in 2003, said the National Crime Record Bureau report titled Crime in India, 2013, released this week. The report showed that suicide rate has declined in the country after 2011.

The population has increased by 15 per cent during the decade while the rate of suicides has increased by 5.7% in 2013 over 2003 (from 10.4% in 2003 to 11 per cent in 2013), hence showing a mixed trend in incidents of rate of suicides during the decade, it said.

The number of suicides increased to 1,34,799 in 2013 from 1,10,851 in 2003

In this photograph taken on July 2, Indian rescue workers carry the body of a victim from the rubble of a multi-story building collapse in Porur Town, near Chennai. Rescuers pulled out 13 more bodies from the rubble of a building that collapsed at the weekend with hopes of finding any more survivors fading fast, officials said July 3 bringing the confirmed death toll to 55 AFP

The battle for Hong Kong’s soul n Reuters, Hong Kong/Beijing

Since Britain handed back colonial Hong Kong in 1997, retired primary school teacher and Falun Gong devotee Lau Wai-hing has fully exercised the freedoms China promised this city of 7.2 million.

Lau and fellow believers regularly staged protests to explain the teachings of their spiritual movement and draw attention to the persecution of followers on the mainland, where the sect is banned. Until about a year ago, their protests were uneventful. That changed when a noisy rival group set up their placards and banners on the same pavement in the busy shopping area of Causeway Bay. The 63-year-old Lau and her fellow protesters said they’ve been punched, shoved and sworn at since the newcomers from the “Care for the Youth Group Association Hong Kong” arrived with their blaring loudspeakers. Each protest is now a battle to be heard. “It is much more difficult now given these attacks, this external pressure, these forces from China,” said Lau amid the amplified din on Sogo Corner, Hong Kong’s neon-lit version of New York’s Times Square.

For critics of the pro-Beijing government in Hong Kong, groups like the Care for the Youth Group Association are part of a campaign from the mainland to tighten control over China’s most freewheeling city. Increasingly,

they say, Beijing is raising its voice. In the streets, boardrooms, newsrooms, churches and local government offices, individuals and organisations with links to the state and China’s Communist Party are playing a bigger role in civil and political life, well-placed sources in Hong Kong and Beijing say.

Whenever there are anti-government public protests, a pro-Beijing counter movement invariably appears.

This year’s 25th anniversary commemoration of the protests centred on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square drew a rival demonstration to defend China’s bloody crackdown on June 4, 1989.

Mainland officials based in Hong Kong now routinely seek to influence local media coverage.

Catholic priests in Hong Kong report that agents from China’s security service have stepped up their monitoring of prominent clergy.

And, Beijing’s official representative body, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, now is able to shape policy in the office of city chief executive Leung Chun-ying, say two sources close to the city’s leader.

Residents of this global financial centre could not help noticing a more overt sign of China’s rule in the former British colony: Huge Chinese characters spelling out “People’s Liberation Army” in a blaze of neon alongside the military’s waterfront headquarters that suddenly appeared at the beginning of June.

Afghan president signs terror law needed to avoid blacklist n Reuters, Kabul Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a law aimed at curbing the financing of terrorist groups, a government statement said yesterday, the second of two measures needed to save its banks from being put on an international blacklist.

“After the judiciary verified that this law does not violate our national sovereignty and human rights, he (the president) ratified it,” the statement said.

Together with the anti-money laundering law that was signed last week, the legislation will help persuade the international financial watchdog that the Afghan government is serious about combating financial crimes.

Many banks have already stopped dealing with Afghanistan because of weak regulation, making it difficult for businesses to pay for imports or families to

send money to children studying abroad.

In May, many Afghan banks and importers were dealt a blow when their Chinese counterparts halted to dollar transactions.

The international watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), warned Afghanistan in February that its banks would be blacklisted at its next meeting in June unless it showed a more serious commitment to clamping down on financial crime.

Despite a last-ditch effort by the central bank and others to push the laws through, only the money law was signed by the deadline, but that turned out to be enough to avoid the blacklist at least until FATF meets in October.

Although both laws have now passed, Afghanistan will still have to prove that they are being adequately enforced to remove the threat of the blacklist. l

For Beijing’s critics in Hong Kong, the 1997 handover is feeling more like a takeover.

“Blatant interference is increasing,” says Anson Chan, who led Hong Kong’s 160,000-strong civil service in the last years of British rule and continued in that role for several years after the handover.

Chan cited as examples pressures on Hong Kong companies not to advertise in pro-democratic newspapers, attempts to limit debate about democratic reform, and the higher profile increasingly being taken by Beijing’s official representatives in the city.

“It’s not another Chinese city and it shouldn’t become one. Hong Kong is unique,” said Chan.

Xi’s tougher line

In China’s opaque political system, it is impossible to determine whether the party’s growing clout in the territory is entirely the result of a campaign organised from on high, or partly the doing of mainland and local officials eager to please Beijing. Still, a tougher line on Hong Kong is coming from the top.

Despite promises that post-handover Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy, China’s President Xi Jinping, is said to have decided that Beijing has been too lenient.

“Xi Jinping has rectified (China’s) policy for governing Hong Kong,” a

9

Friday, July 4, 2014

FA N FA R E I N BA N D U N G

NEWS BITES

Indian nurses taken from hospital in Iraqi militant stronghold

n Reuters, New Delhi

A group of nearly 50 Indian nurses have been taken against their will by bus from a hospital in the militant-controlled city of Tikrit in Iraq, India’s foreign ministry said yesterday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin declined to say who had taken the nurses, or where they were headed, but said the government had spoken with them shortly before they boarded the bus.

Asked about reports of an explosion near the hospital, he said was not aware of a blast, but that some nurses had been lightly injured by broken glass.

“In zones of conflict there is no free will,” Akbaruddin told reporters at a briefing, when asked if the nurses had been kidnapped. “This is a situation where lives are at stake.” l

Karnataka Cong MLA assaults cop, yet to be held

n Agencies

Bangalore police are yet to arrest Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar who assaulted a constable at a posh pub in the city late on Tuesday evening.

However, his friend, underworld don Somashekhar Gowda who was involved in the incident has now been arrested.

The ruling party MLA, who was celebrating his birthday at the Skyee Bar at UB City mall, and his friend Gowda, reacted violently when the police tried to shut the party down for breaching the city’s nightlife deadline.

All pubs and bars in Bangalore must shut by 11.30pm on weekdays and 1am on weekends.

Kashappanavar allegedly refused to wind-up even after 1am.

When the police tried to get him to leave the premises, he started threatening and arguing with them.

He also attacked constable Kiran who was recording the episode on camera.

Gowda soon joined in the shoving and jostling. l

TMC searches for people who filmed, sold videos of Pal’s speech to media

n Agencies Trinamool Congress leaders are hunting for people who had recorded and then handed over to the media video clips showing party MP Tapas Pal threatening to unleash rapists on CPI(M) women workers.

“I have asked local Trinamool leaders to identify the persons. It is a difficult job as many villagers cutting across political lines gather when a star like Tapas Pal arrives,” said Tapas Saha, Trinamool Congress general secretary of Nadia area, where Pal had made the speech on June 14.

The episode has unleashed a storm in the country. While the party was cornered by every section of society, concerns grew after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said “what else can I do? Shall I kill him?” She was replying to a reporter who asked her whether Pal would be punished after he submitted an “unconditional apology,” saying “he had no excuses to offer.”

On Wednesday, Mamata told her party leaders to refrain from making statements when the media is around.

She also blamed the media for buying the videos that have caused the party its biggest embarrassment yet. l

Buddhist-Muslim violence in Myanmar leaves 2 dead

n AP, Yangon

Indonesian presidential candidate Joko Widodo (3rd L) attends a campaign in Bandung on July 3. The Democratic Party, Indonesia’s ruling party threw its support behind presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto ahead of elections next week, a further boost for the ex-general and a blow to frontrunner Joko Widodo AFP

Buddhist mobs on motorbikes drove through Myanmar’s historic city of Mandalay in a second night of attacks on minority Muslims that left two people dead, 14 injured and raised fears of wider violence, officials said yesterday.

The dead included a Muslim man, who residents said was on his way to a mosque before dawn Thursday when he was attacked by the mob and left dead in the street. The second victim was a Buddhist man, whose cause of death was under investigation, said a police officer on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation, has been grappling with violence since 2012 that has left up to 280 people dead and another 140,000 homeless, most of them Muslims attacked by Buddhist extremists. Most of the violence has taken place in western Rakhine state. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Friday, July 4, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Let’s get off this list

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

D

haka is the worst city in the world to live in, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s global liveability study. Our capital has consistently been in the top ten of this unenviable list in recent years, and this year has won the distinction of being number one, “beating” cities like Tehran, Tripoli, and Karachi.

The largest city in Bangladesh scored abysmally low on the study which tries to assess how tolerable a city is based on certain indicators – crime levels, threat of conflict, quality of medical care, levels of censorship, temperature, schools and transportation links.

Cities are given a score out of 100, a lower score indicating less liveability.

Dhaka scored 38.7 out of 100.

Although the methodology of the report is not entirely beyond criticism, hardly anyone would disagree that Dhaka is highly unliveable. Unacceptable road and traffic conditions, astronomical levels of environmental and water pollution, food contamination, difficulty to conduct business activity, bureaucratic corruption, a broken law and order system, and political instability are causes of just some of the woes faced on a day to day basis by inhabitants of this city. EIU’s ranking may be controversial, but there can be no doubt that Dhaka is in need of drastic improvements.

We may start by looking at the cities that consistently get ranked among those most liveable – cities like Vancouver, Melbourne, and Vienna. Our city is still a long way from being ranked among the best cities to live in, but we can at least work towards edging ourselves off the ignominious list of the world’s worst.

Although the report is not beyond criticism, hardly anyone would disagree that Dhaka is highly unliveable

Pay attention to PPP

A

ccording to official sources, the Prime Minister’s Office is likely to place the policy on unsolicited publicprivate partnership (PPP) proposals before a cabinet committee meeting on economic affairs. A large number of these proposals are for innovative ideas, technologies, and management projects which could help make strides towards the country’s infrastructural development.

When it comes to granting approval, or speeding up the process for potentially beneficial projects, the decision should be an easy one. PPP proposals seeking to remove the many bottlenecks hampering the country’s infrastructure should be approved without undue delay.

In fact, the government should speed up the review of its policy framework to try and encourage more successful PPP initiatives, since they offer the quickest available route to making the much-needed improvements to our country’s infrastructure, if implemented properly.

It should also be noted that the slow pace of implementation of mooted projects is a cause for concern, especially at a time when many businesses are looking for new investment opportunities. The proposal’s aim to incentivise original entrepreneurship would also send out a signal to the many dormant entrepreneurial talents in Bangladesh to step up and work towards new and vibrant solutions.

Failing to take advantage of the opportunities from these PPP projects in developing the country’s infrastructure is something the government should try and avoid to its fullest.

The government should try and encourage more successful PPP initiatives

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Clothes maketh a woman?

June 28

Lonewolf A society’s obsession with what women wear is usually inversely proportional to their level of economic and social development.

Lisa_54 Lonewolf: Agreed. The comments on Facebook about Shakib’s wife disgusted me. Hundreds of people commented that she deserved to be teased, or even worse, because of the way she dresses up. And the saddest part is, her clothes were not provocative at all. The type of people who say that a girl deserves

Zero-Agenda Excellently written! This piece also serves to weed out another blight plaguing the minds of the average Bangladeshi: An overt obsession over aesthetics.

One police officer versus Goliath

NConn The road surface itself is terrible and poorly-drained; this effectively eliminates lanes. Policing backwards-driving cars would also help. These bus stops need to be real bus stops, with divots in from main roads. Eliminate the impromptu bus stop at the on-ramp to the Mohakhali flyover. More turning lanes and stop signs! More pedestrian-crossing bridges, etc.

Rodders There are many honest people out there, who aren’t brave enough to stand up like that, because their lives and their families come first. This incredibly brave act by Mr Bashir should hopefully act like a snowball factor. Many more police officials who want to do good for the country, but find their workspace incredibly constricted, will now feel confident enough to work without any restrictions. We are already seeing it in Dhaka city, with the Mirpur police removing these horrendous bamboo archways that really serve no purpose other than creating a hindrance.

tee Good points. However, I doubt this problem will get solved any time soon, as the number of people in Dhaka will keep increasing, not the other way around. Also, the people in the administration are too busy keeping most of the money in their own pockets, the money which is supposed to be used to make the roads and transportation system better.

Robert Imam Any given road is reduced to up to 50% by haphazard stops made by buses, and other vehicles too, sometimes also creating bottlenecks. So, the parking thing can really have a chain reaction effect over a lot of areas. Other than that, the focus has to be on decentralisation, strict and smart urban planning, and rehabilitation plans for the people who come in a state of destitution.

WaliulHaqueKhondker One last point. “Aimless wandering,” of which we Bengalis are very fond of, must be reduced by indoctrination! You need proof? Just stand on a footpath and look up at the sky, pointing your fingers at some imaginary thing. At least a few hundred will soon gather around you trying to locate the same!

All these are aimless wandering people! :)

Exit orchestra, enter heavy metal

June 30 Jay Brazil should definitely change their strategy and try not to focus on Neymar only. Otherwise, Colombia might create an upset in the quarterfinals.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

to be harassed for her dress-up are the ones who would not bother to harass girls who are perfectly covered up. How many women wear provocative clothes on the streets in our country? Not many. Yet every girl in Bangladesh is harassed in one way or another. I wonder when the people in this country will stop thinking like this.

On the verge of breakdown

June 27

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 5 represents C so fill C every time the figure 5 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them 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 30

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.

JT Some people might think of the bravery of ASP Bashir as stupidity. There are very few people left who do not let go of their principles even when their job and safety are threatened. Hopefully, the people with power will feel ashamed seeing the heroic act of this simple police office and be encouraged to live with dignity and integrity.

Business with meaning

June 29 TJ It is very inspiring that the concept of social business has become so popular in the Japanese business sector. Hopefully, over time, this will help to make the friendship between Bangladesh and Japan even stronger.

Barely legal alien TJ: Absolutely. There’s a lot that the two countries can learn from one another. What better way to strengthen ties than to swap ideas?

Beat the system, not the spectator

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Quickly (mus) (6) 5 Bricks carrier (3) 7 By way of (3) 8 Standards of perfection (6) 11 Armed conflict (3) 12 Dissolves (5) 14 Eating place (4) 16 Surrender (5) 18 Efface (5) 20 Faithful (4) 21 Smallest amount (5) 23 Become firm (3) 24 Staggered (6) 27 Before (poet) (3) 28 Term of respect (3) 29 Part of the foot (6)

DOWN 1 Hawaiian dish (3) 2 First woman (3) 3 Thai (7) 4 Story (4) 5 Small mooring cable (6) 6 Mock (6) 9 Expensive (4) 10 Arch (3) 13 Laughs restrainedly (7) 14 Stops (6) 15 Waver (6) 17 Bait (4) 19 Corn spike (3) 22 Observed (4) 25 Permit (3) 26 Immerse (3)

June 30 goodbro Oh, great! The author realised the situation after a week, but good to see somebody comment on this issue.

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

June 29

LS Everyone is aware of the massive scale of food adulteration in our country. Yet, we keep consuming formalin along with the food and poisoning our bodies.

Evil people politics Everyone’s a victim here. We’re the victims of adulterated food, the farmers are victims of circumstance, and the men and women who are making all this happen are victims of plain ol’ greed.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

Fareed Wakil When the head rots, the body follows. When the country’s political leaders lie and cheat and rob, it’s open season for everybody.

Muslim World Cup players face Ramadan decision SUDOKU

June 28 asl I’m not Muslim, but if one is going to play football in the “holy” month of Ramadan, then why should one bother fasting? Shouldn’t there be a ban against playing football because of its unholiness?

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Friday, July 4, 2014

Mirror of society n Syed Ishtiaque Reza

“J

ournalists are dogs. When we were children, affluent people used to keep pet dogs ... now, people who have gained wealth are using the media as pets. They are like Alsatian dogs ...”

Narayanganj godfather Shamim Osman made these remarks recently, immediately after the Narayaganj-5 by-elections. The statement of the parliament member is now a subject of debate among the journalist community.

Shamim Osman’s stance against the media reflect the psychology of politicians

Can we clean it up?

Raihan Hadi is Founder, Ideas: For Bangladesh, and Deputy Secretary, KBCCI.

The lawmaker made disparaging remarks about journalists and the profession in general, and every time when he shouted at journalists, tried to split the community into pro and anti-liberation groups. He also critically castigated some of the leading media owners of the country, calling some of them thieves, thugs even.

Shamim Osman’s remarks are not only an attempt to humiliate the profession, but also a threat to the journalist community. The lawmaker, in his parliament speeches, public meetings, talk shows, and other ways, has tried to establish that some media houses were gunning for him because of his stance against anti-liberation forces. The Narayanganj don does not rough up or harass journalists, but he keeps the newsmen in his area under constant threat.

Pro-Awami League journalist union leaders have condemned Shamim Osman. “The words Shamim Osman has said, the comments he’s made, his body language, have brought his education, taste, politics, and family culture under question,” said the BFUJ representative.

But media owners and other professional groups of the media community so far have not reacted to Shamim’s remarks. No reaction came from the government’s end either. The silence and blanket support to Mr Osman rather gives us the impression that the ruling side is happy with the Narayanganj boss.

Now is the time for the journalist community to think of doing something. They can go for a thorough review of the media policies to define journalism in a new way because of such political games.

The ruling party high-ups will not accept democratic life in Bangladesh.

They are confident that they can live above the law. Shamim Osman’s stance against the media and democratic institutions reflect the psychology of politicians in Bangladesh. They do not care about the press, the judiciary, or the civil society.

The media landscape today is in real crisis. There are bodies within the media itself which are against it.

The government is against the media and politics, and sometimes, the civil society is against media as well. All relationships are in urgent need of repair, redress, and balance. We know that freedom without responsibility is as bad as repression without accounta-

not between East Bengalis and Islam, but between East Bengalis and most of the rest of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent.

of the local language, Bengali, to bring the sacred Islamic texts to East Bengal.

At about the same time, most Muslims of South Asia were in the process

NASHIRUL ISLAM

The undead city

I

n Raihan Hadi

was born in this great city at a time when it still had a lot of fresh air, a large amount of trees, plants, and gardens, a lot less turmoil on the roads, and a lot more peace. Dhaka was the city I never wanted to leave. I gave up my life in places like New York and London because I was just too confident that my city would never fail me.

Today I came across this article in the Daily Telegraph which, despite knowing for several years now, told me once again that Dhaka is now the worst city on the planet to live in. Some of us would wonder why. I would advise them to stop being so pleased of living in our own filth and take a deeper look at this beloved city of ours.

If I were to look into Dhaka very closely from different angles to find out why it has become so uninhabitable now, I would first point out to the great influx of people from across the nation without the government first having planned out appropriate ways to accommodate these people.

Not only has this had an extremely negative impact on the cost of living in this city, but it has boosted up the overall congestion, pollution, traffic, and unwelcome agitation in this city, one of the greatest in South Asia.

Not only has the increase in the number of inhabitants given rise to the aforementioned problems, people are also forgetting to be cordial to each other on the roads because there are just too many of us here – too many to tolerate anymore.

To top that up, Dhaka is experiencing probably the highest rate of construction work since the last decade compared to any other city in the world, there are hardly any steps being taken to prevent the pollution caused by such high levels of construction, and the city has become more welcoming to ginormous earthquakes, the knowledge of which should have been enough to move us out of our homes.

Of course, the city needs to be developed, but should that be at the cost of the gradual decline in the health of its population?

stating the obvious.

One of the most irritating sights on the roads, especially after dusk, is passing by people urinating on the pavements, and then some even defecating on the foot-bridges (over bridges). Before blaming these people, we need to blame our government for not having planned out appropriate numbers of public toilets in the first place.

Do any of our MPs or ministers urinate on the roads? Since the answer is “No,” then why don’t they care a little more for the people who voted them into their positions and make more

Necessary steps must be taken in order to dispose of our waste, but that’s just stating the obvious

There is more to this. Have you seen the number of roadside garbage disposal boxes on the streets of Dhaka?

Even near my home in Eskaton, an area once celebrated to be the home of top government officials and MPs, there are three big disposals that are always oozing out waste and making many people even throw up to add to that waste. Are we so uncivilised that we can live beside garbage like this?

Necessary steps must be taken in order to dispose of our waste, but that’s just

public amenities available? Why do we common people have to feel as small as ants when we think of common facilities that we deserve, and yet have to beg to avail?

Water sanitisation has become quite impossible in Dhaka due to the overflow of waste into the waterlines lately.

It is so bad that in some areas they have actually stopped even trying to purify water, and when you open the tap you get a whiff of excrement in the water, which you are supposed to use

to clean yourself with, and later boil to drink or cook. But I guess people are okay with it, because I see people more concerned over making the biggest flags of Brazil and Argentina to use as drapes for their ten-storeyed buildings than to actually worry about the necessities they need to live with.

Trust me, I can really go on writing about the problems us denizens of Dhaka are facing at the moment. The city that once used to be known for holding horse races, or for its huge natural parks full of colour and life, is today deemed as the worst city on the face of Earth to live in. We have pretty much forgotten that besides working our lives away and later on sitting on Facebook posting pictures of every movement we make, we also need to worry about this once lovely city that we live in, and that we need to save it by all means.

Solutions, you ask? Well, start pushing the government to plan better from this instant, and try becoming more concerned as a citizen. If needed, create your separate communities and make community service a compulsory thing not only for the poor people living in your area, but yourself. Try studying what other better cities in the world do in order to keep in clean, safe, and lively, and then try and implement that suited to our conditions. My dear people of beloved Dhaka, we need to save this city, we need to save ourselves, so let’s start working for it now. l

bility. This extraordinary episode must serve as a reminder of this truth to us all, but at the same time the question arises: How long can a society remain silent when thugs are continuously attacking its bearers of truth?

What Shamim Osman has said needs to be scrutinised. Bangladesh’s journalists are being threatened from many different angles. The ruling party is always a threat, while the opposition, and even professional pressure groups, are always on hounding journalists as well. Threats will increase manifold when the country is being run by a government which came to power through an improper election.

Now is the time for us to think about how we can overcome these threats and attacks. People like Shamim Osman, and others like him, are glaring examples non-state factors, but the problem is that the state is in support of them.

The first step in overcoming such a threat is to continue the fight for freedom of expression. The power of media in Bangladesh, a country where politics directly affects almost every citizen, gives journalists the ability to shape public debate. For that reason, young people are still attracted to the profession, despite the fact that the profession is risky as well as not having enough job security.

To ensure that journalism and press freedom develops in Bangladesh, there is a need for a public response, and for the media professionals to unite. The journalist community today is divided into two groups.

Before 1991, there was only one Federal Union of Journalists, now there are two groups of Federal Union of Journalists in Bangladesh. The division in the journalists union, because of political differences among topnotch community leaders, paved the way for thugs to target newspersons.

The divisions in the media is not only making journalists more vulnerable to attacks, but also weakening their fight for justice, truth, and democracy.

Journalists are the mirror of any given society. We can request our leaders to unite in the interest of fundamental rights guaranteed in democratic countries, for that is the need of the day.

However, not all journalists adhere to scruples. Some of them are interested in a partisan form of journalism in order to satisfy particular parties. They do not follow press ethics and they use their journalistic powers to make a fortune. But in general, the journalist community of our country is in a relentless struggle to defend democracy and defend the freedom of expression.

How long can a society remain silent when thugs are continuously attacking its bearers of truth?

It is high time media owners and professionals gathered on a united platform and come up with a singular response in the form of policies that uphold the safety and dignity of journalists and the profession. Media personalities should have faith in themselves that unity and discipline will surely defeat their enemies. l Syed Ishtiaque Reza is director of news, Ekattor Television.

The tangled web of history n William B Milam

“O

h what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,” wrote Sir Walter Scott. I have been reflecting on those words lately and how history sometimes deceives us. This started, I suppose, when I purchased a new book on the ideas of the great political theorist, Hannah Arendt, who taught the undergraduates of my generation (the 1950s) to think differently about history. Arendt taught us, among other things, to look beyond conventional historiography which sees history in trends and behaviour that can be linked to the past, and to determine the roots of ideas that have been the basis of human political behaviour, and particularly the nature of politics.

In her first and groundbreaking work, The Origins of Totalitarianism, she wrote of the horrors of 20th centu-

ry totalitarian regimes – the Stalinist/Leninist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany – as having made quantum leaps beyond anything that could have been imagined by looking back to the history of previous tyrannies. There was not clear historical line from the kind of tyranny seen before and that seen in the 20th century.

Her argument was that the tyrannies of previous centuries used terror and violence as an instrument of state power. For the 20th century totalitarian regimes, she thought, terror and violence became ends in themselves.

These regimes were based on ideas that essentially required terror and violence to accomplish what they believed was their destiny – either the triumph of a classless society, or the triumph of a chosen people over what they defined as the degenerate races.

In the 21st century, however, while the threat of new totalitarian systems developing is remote, the lesson that

history is not necessarily a well-defined path that predicts the future is still very relevant. History is still written by historians, and they get to pick and choose the facts they want to emphasise and those they want to de-emphasise. Some historians select their facts to fit a political agenda, most probably just do not look deeply enough into the context and possible alternative meaning of a fact. And when politicians get into the act of using history to support their arguments, distortion is inevitable and sometimes dangerous.

Sufia Uddin’s 2006 book, Constructing Bangladesh, is instructive in this regard. She paints a fascinating picture of what we might call the Bengalisation of Islam in what was then East Bengal. The Islamic missionaries of the day made strenuous and sincere efforts to bring Islam to the East Bengalis, beginning about the 15th century, and in doing so, caused alienation

Urdu came to define a Muslim in most of the subcontinent while East Bengalis were quite happy to be Muslims who spoke Bengali

This unforeseen consequence came not so much from incorporating local customs as is sometimes asserted (not primarily Hindu customs as she points out but customs of a culture that had taken root in that area over a number of centuries), but primarily because their primary tool – which also developed over the centuries – was the use

of adopting Urdu as the language of Islam in India. Urdu came to define a Muslim in most of the subcontinent while East Bengalis were quite happy to be Muslims who spoke Bengali.

Some historians and politicians make a linear connection and assert it was the language issue that drove East and West Pakistan apart. But history

is a tangled web, not a straight line. A study of the press during the run-up to the war of separation shows that it was the denial of political rights and economic equality, not the language issue, which dominated East Pakistani minds.

Some Bengalis may have understood this at the time of the 1947 Partition. The great Bengali leader, Hussain Suhrawardy, seems to have been apprehensive about the Two-Nation Theory early on, and spoke out against it in the early days of the new Pakistani republic. His prediction of serious problems for a united Pakistan, if the still fragile state clung to this notion, proved true eight years after his untimely death. l William B Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, and former US Ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh. This article was first published in The Express Tribune.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Friday, July 4, 2014

Azad Abul Kalam: Collective effort needed to improve TV industry

Shakira to perform at World Cup closing show n Entertainment Desk Pop star Shakira will perform before the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, headlining a closing ceremony that includes guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana and rapper Wyclef Jean.

Shakira, who is making her third straight World Cup appearance, will sing "La la la (Brazil 2014)" with Brazilian star Carlinhos Brown, FIFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Santana, Wyclef and Brazilian singer Alexandre Pires will perform the tournament's official anthem, "Dar Um Jeito" at the legendary Maracana Stadium.

Pires will also perform a medley of local music with Brazilian star Ivete Sangalo.

"I'm thrilled to be performing my song 'La la la (Brazil 2014)' at the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony," said Shakira, who had a son last year with Spain defender Gerard Pique.

"I have an intricate relationship with football for obvious reasons, and I truly understand what the World Cup means to so many people, myself included."

While FIFA announced the musical lineup, eight teams are left battling for two spots at the Maracana, but defending champions Spain were already eliminated in the group phase.

Shakira's native Colombia will play Brazil in the quarter-final on Friday following France-Germany.

On Saturday, Argentina play Belgium followed by Netherlands-Costa Rica. l

FROM AKHARA TO FUSION: TRANSFORMATION OF BAUL MUSIC (PART-3)

Bauls from a Sufi Chistiya order perform at the shrine of Fakir Lalon Shah in Seuria, Kushtia ERSHADUL HAQUE TINKU

The first fusions of faith, belief and music – the Vaishnavites and Sufis n Maqsoodul Haque The timing of the Vaishnavite influenced Bhakti movement and was unique in our history for it coalesced favorably with the then inroads of Sufi tarikats (orders) such as Qaderiya, Chistiya, Naqsbandiya, and Mujadedia from Turkey, Iraq and Persia into India. Both Sufi and Vaishnavite doctrines propounded more or less the same principals of belief. The reasons for Sufi success and acceptance in India were attributed to similarities with those of the Bhakti exponents.

The earliest of Muslim invaders in India had made Islam a puritanical, intolerant and highly tyrannical religion, which was challenged, chastised and its influence was already waning.

By the late 17th century, the Akharas of Bengal strengthened and emerged as benign institutions were peace, moderation and Bengal’s tradition of communal harmony, non-sectarianism, secularism and importantly humanism were propounded and established firm roots in our culture.

Both traditions discovered a lot of similarities in their thoughts, beliefs and practices, which led to easier understanding of the other and cemented the bonds for their assimilation into our culture. Cohesion and acculturation became the order of the times. For instance what Akhara was for the Vaishnavites, the Khanka institution was that for the Sufis, with

both insisting on values of discipline and regimentation with music the ultimate “weapon of choice” used in spreading the message of sages, saints and poets. Both traditions established the primacy of a sage or saint termed guru among Vaishnavites, which in the Sufi parlance was Murshed. They were preceptors and able elders who would take pain in guiding seekers and disciples in fomenting peaceful coexistence and to dedicate their lives for toiling humanity. This was also the time that devotional literature, music and various fine arts forms developed very rapidly.

As the cultures coalesced, enriched and became dynamic, two specifically problematic aspects surfaced in the study and appreciation of Baul Music. Firstly ancient tracts, treatise and music of Shahajiya, Kartabhajas, Shaheb Dhoni, Balahari, Ponchoshokhi, Nath etc and other subgroups who are thought to be original stakeholder to Baul practices became rare and are limited today to small pockets in West Bengal, India - quite possibly on the verge of extinction. On the other hand, many traditional musical forms of the time having both Vaishnavite and Sufi overtones entered mainstream by piggybacking on Baul music given its success and wide acceptability. That being the case even Boyatis, practitioners of Kobi gaan and many traditional Kirtan and Bhajan artist as of now claim to be Bauls, which theoretically they are not. l Maqsoodul Haque is a jazz-rock fusion musician and cultural researcher who is writing a series on the transformation of Baul music.

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Along with a successful acting career, the versatile Azad Abul Kalam is also a talented theatre director and writer.

He will be seen today in a single-episode drama titled “Magician” at 8pm in the title role.

Dhaka Tribune caught up with the activist in the office of his theatre troupe Prachaynaut where Azad talked about his recent works and perception of today’s TV media.

The popular teleplay writer is taking a break this Eid as he is busy scripting

Most of the productions are very substandard now-a-days. The diminishing budget, haste deadline, inferior quality of acting from most of the actors etc are killing the industry his serial “Khonikalaya” which is being aired on Maasranga TV and another upcoming serial. However, the versatile artiste is not satisfied with the TV industry. “Most of the productions are very substandard now-a-days. The diminishing budget, haste deadline, inferior quality of acting from most of the actors etc are killing the industry,” he said.

When the actor was asked how the situation can be improved, he said: “It is not expected of the government to be involved directly in the quality building process, but it can provide a guideline. On the other hand, the channels should think over the materials they are airing rather than concentrating on the profit aspect only.

Many new directors appeared to work but it seems that they hardly know the pros and cons of quality productions.”

Azad thinks a collective initiative from the government, TV channel

Preity Zinta to make movie comeback with Bhaiyyaji Superhitt n Entertainment Desk Preity Zinta is set to make her big screen comeback with Neeraj Pathak’s “Bhaiyyaji Superhitt.”

The actress will reportedly play a foulmouthed bandit in the movie, which stars Sunny Deol in the lead role as a gangster from Uttar Pradesh.

Pathak confirmed the news, telling IANS: “Preity plays an Uttar Pradeshwali. Her character is a gangster’s daughter, and a no-nonsense [Uttar Pradesh] gangster herself, who is also Sunny Deol’s wife.

“Preity’s interpretation of the firebrand wife’s character is bang-on. She will not be seen as an actor suited only for urbane sophisticated roles after ‘Bhaiyyaji Superhitt.’”

Deol is said to be so impressed with Zinta’s performance that he is now keen to cast her as Sohni’s Punjabi mother in the remake of “Sohni Mahiwal,” in which Deol’s son is to play the lead role.

Her last film was an ill-fated home production “Ishkq in Paris,” which failed to release. l

PRAJNA TASNUVA RUBAYET

authorities, directors and actors is necessary to improve the situation.

He cherishes how he was appreciated by the audience who watched his early works in TV and regretted over his recent works which lack some criterion.

Talking about his favourite work till date, Azad named a number of TV serials and single-episode plays including “Bondhon,” “Miththe Ekti Proshno,” “Shilpi” “Bondhuboreshu,” “Ekhane Nongor,” “Koup” “Atoshi” and “Mamuly Ekta Manush” by Shihab Shaheen. “The character I play in ‘Khonikalaya’ is one of my favourite.

The role of a mentally devastated person is not very significant to the story,

but I love the challenges in portraying his psyche.”

Azad’s career in theatre started some three decades ago with the troupe Aranyak. He left Aranyak and formed a new troupe about 17 years back named Prachyanat, which is now considered as one of the top troupes in the country for producing some quality experimental productions such as “Koinya,” “Circus Circus,” “A Man for All Seasons” and more.

“Theatre should be contemporary.

We always try to keep ourselves up-todate and we believe that the young audience appreciate our work. The love and acceptance we get from the new generation is our source of inspiration.” l

TODAY IN DHAKA Film

X-Men: Days of Future Past 3D NonStop(2D) Walking with Dinosaurs Transformers: Age of Extinction3D Time: 10am – 10pm

Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City

Theatre

Hamlet Dhaka University Theatre Department, Time: 7:30pm Natmandal, DU

Sonali Danar Chil airs today n Entertainment Desk

A single episode drama titled “Sonali Danar Chil” will be aired today on Channel 9 at 10pm. The original story of the drama is written by Samaresh Majumdar. The cast of the drama includes Touhid Abeer, Aparna, Monira Yusuf Memi and others.

Nitul is suppose to pursue his higher studies abroad. But when his online girlfriend ends their relationship, the heartbro-

ken youngster tries to express his emotions by writing a poem. After a while, he meets his next door neighbour Tonni and shows her his poem and asks for her opinion. In return, Tonni gives him an omnibus of Jibanananda Das to read and Nitul impressed by the narration of the beauty of nature in Das’s poetry gets inspired. On the day he was suppose to leave for Canada, he leaves a note for his family and takes off to experience the beauty of rural Bengal first-hand. l

Shadow of Concave on display n Shadma Malik

A group printmaking exhibition “Shadow of Concave” is going on at the Gallery Shilpangan and will remain open till today. The exhibition is the outcome of a ten day workshop on etching and aquatint prints. With ten participants from the faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, the workshop has been initiated by Sohel Pranon and Shantona Sharin Ninir, and was instructed by Rashid Amin.

The workshop introduced the basics of etching, aqua-tint and playing with lines while making prints.

Rashid Amin's abstract expressions are done by etching thick and full lines, using the colour black and green, gave an impression of night vision to his works.

An artwork titled “Swim” by Md Sohel Rana Pranon's is a thought provoking piece representing rural Bengal and will

propmt the imagination of the spectators.

Biswajit Goswami who mostly works on metaphor and symbols has displayed his artwork titled “Waiting” which showcases the dynamics of lines by representing a tall bar stool.

Tania Sultana's artwork “Face” has been distorted which hints at the aesthetic of an imposed face. The eye has been influenced by Safiuddin's landmark eye motif.

International artist Elizabeth Bass from Moscow portrays a female body in her artwork. Her depiction of an unrealistically thin woman with a big face and well defined facial features is quite intriguing and the woman wears an exasperated expression of being under scrutiny.

The exhibition offers a great range of theme and surely will give a look into the works of emerging artists. l

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, July 4, 2014

13

BCB tinkers with domestic calender The Bangladesh Cricket Board is still to reach a concrete decision over the dates of the Dhaka Premier League 2014-15 thus pushing the league to further uncertainty.

The board is trying to accumulate five months of activities – Bangladesh Cricket League, Zimbabwe tour of Bangladesh and the Premier Division – in just over three months, hence making it hard to decide when to hold what.

The board had declared of holding the premier league in October and the BCL in December. But suggestions were made to hold the BCL in October as it will help the national cricketers in the bilateral series against Zimbabwe while the premier league in December can help the Tigers prepare for the ICC World Cup in February.

However, according to a BCB official, it is unrealistic to host and complete all the three events from October to December.

Zimbabwe was scheduled to tour in October/November for around 48 days

to play three Tests and five ODIs. To accommodate the domestic calender, BCB had requested Zimbabwe Cricket to postpone their tour to December and which was also agreed upon with Zimbabwe making changes in their own calendar. However, soon after the decision came in from Zimbabwe, the BCB changed their mind once again and this time requested Zimbabwe to go as per the old schedule, which is in October. The request was made around four days ago and the BCB is still waiting for a reply.

It is very likely that Zimbabwe will also agree to the latest request but this doesn’t mean the knots with the domestic dates will be solved. Minus the 48 days for the Zimbabwe series, the board will need around 103 days more to complete the BCL and the premier league.

According to a BCB source, those concerned in the board also knows it will never be possible to complete the two tournaments. Meanwhile, the full availability of the national cricketers, a prime demand of the participating teams in the tournaments, is also very unlikely. l

Algerian national team players are greeted by fans upon their return from the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, on Wednesday, in the capital Algiers

Extra Time is all about Minutes AD minutes

I am not ashamed to admit that I earn my living from advertising. Admitting so requires no small measure of courage since we advertisers are not a popular bunch in Bangladesh. Among other things, we have been charged with destroying Bengali culture, corrupting Islamic tradition and annihilating good taste. I have often wondered what it says about our august religious, cultural, familial and educational institutions if decades of their “work” can be undone by a 30 second TV spot – but that’s a different article altogether.

The second round of the World Cup, however, has me rethinking the power of my industry. We all know that advertisers have the ability to influence media content.

After all we in collusion with the television channels have brought the entire Bengali TV fiction industry to its fawning knees. It recently dawned on me that my professional brethren may also have a say in what happens on a football pitch. Let me explain.

The first round of this World Cup produced more goals per game than any in recent history. Teams amply demonstrated that they have what it takes to put more than a few in the net. The best of these teams made it to the second round where extra time became an option. Suddenly scoring goals in the first 90 minutes became more difficult than finding Fred’s right foot. It’s not like the teams forgot how to score. They just became much better at scoring in extra time. In fact 720 odd minutes of regulation time football produced a grand total of ten goals, while 150 minutes of extra-time yielded 8. It seems almost counter-intuitive that footie skills should improve and not suffer after running around for 90 minutes under the hot Brazilian sun.

The perspective changes, however, when I don my advertising goggles. You see, football as a sport does not naturally lend itself to advertising. There are no ad breaks during a football game whereas a cricket match dishes up ad time every five minutes or so. Much to the consternation of cricket fans, TV channels even eat up

the first few balls of an over to cover the happy ending of the new RomeenBanglaTel ad. There is no such opportunity in football. The only way to fit in extra commercials is to do away with half-time shows, which our channels are doing anyway, or if there is extra-time, or, better yet, penalties!

Therein lies the rub. FIFA’s income from advertising alone in this World Cup will be approximately 4 billion dollars. It does not take a genius to figure out that there is a lot of extra moolah to be made if the powers that be can ensure games stretch beyond the regular 90 minutes.

It’s almost as if, FIFA in an uncharacteristic moment of weakness allowed itself to be swayed by corporate greed and instructed the knockout round teams “extra-time or else”! I know what you are thinking –“FIFA are capable of this?” I suggest you take a cooling break to think it over. l Farshed Mahmud made some ‘beautiful changes’ to this article and is thus credited as a co-author. Sub-editors of the world rejoice your efforts are worth it.

AFP

Federer, Djokovic braced for young and restless Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic face young and restless Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov for places in the Wimbledon final on Friday as men’s tennis reaches a potentially game-changing moment in its history.

In the space of 24 hours at the All England Club, the big four of the game were reduced to the big two following the shock exits of Rafael Nadal and defending champion Andy Murray.

Suddenly, Dimitrov and Raonic have the opportunity to tip the balance in favour of the next generation by breaking down the door which has been frustratingly ajar for a decade. But the odds are stacked against them.

Federer is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, the holder of a record 17 majors and will be playing in his 35th Grand Slam semi-final and ninth at the All England Club.

Djokovic’s 2011 Wimbledon title was just one of his six majors and he will be playing in his 23rd last-four at a Grand Slam and fifth in a row in London.

Dimitrov and Raonic, both 23, score nought on all of the above.

Federer, who was stunned in the second round last year 12 months after winning his seventh title, has a 4-0 ca-

Messi film depicts tough route to the top

ICC World Cup trophy tour begins this month

A documentary portraying Lionel Messi’s tough route to the top was given a first screening in Rio on Wednesday.

The work, “Messi”, directed by Spaniard Alex de la Iglesia and scripted by former Argentina international Jorge Valdano, shows how Messi battled a growth hormone disorder as a youngster before becoming a megastar at Barcelona.

“We know what a genius he is on the pitch, and we wanted to know how he is off it. Although behind every genius lies an enigma I think we got close” said Valdano, a World Cup winner in 1986.

Valdano also drew a comparison with Brazil starlet and Messi’s Barcelona teammate Neymar.

“If we were to do a documentary on Neymar it would be more about a popstar footballer – Messi is much more reserved,” he explained. The film depicts the various stages of Messi’s career, from playing in the streets in his home town of Rosario to the would-be professional battling a growth hormone deficiency.l

The ICC Cricket World Cup trophy will be visiting Bangladesh for couple days on July 25 and 26, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced yesterday. The 50-over mega event is billed to take place in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29 next year and as part of its promotion the trophy will take tour in each participating nation’s land.

The trophy tour begins from Sri Lanka where the prestigious silverware will arrive in Colombo for three day from Friday July 4. The coveted trophy will be received by six members of Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning squad Marvan Atapattu, Upul Chandana, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillerkaratne, Chaminda Vaas and Pramodaya Wickramsinghe.

The trophy will return to Dubai which will be later followed by a five-day tour of India from July 19. After visiting 12 countries over four months, the trophy will land in Melbourne on November 6 in time for the 100 days celebrations. l

reer lead over Raonic, the first Canadian man in the semi-finals in 106 years.

Despite his desire to lift what would be a record eighth title, Federer insists he is happy to see a new breed coming through, even of they are already edging towards their mid-20s.

“It’s just hard breaking through. The points, you fetch them from semis on, not really quarters anymore like it used to be,” he said.

“So it’s hard I think for a youngster to win or be consistent over three, four, five matches in a row where the big points are.”

Federer will be the sentimental favourite on Friday against eighth-seeded Raonic whose quarter-final win over Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios, the shock conqueror of Nadal, was brutally effective but far from pretty.

Many watching saw the performance, which produced 39 aces, 73 winners and just 20 points conceded off serve, as a throwback to the bad old days when grasscourt tennis was a oneshot shoot-out.

“Well, he’s got a big serve. Clearly that’s what is most visible when you see him play,” conceded 32-year-old Federer.

“It keeps him in the match. I’ve played him in some interesting places like Halle (on grass) where we basically didn’t have any rallies whatsoever.” l

Oh Shakib, not again!

Shakib al Hasan might find himself in trouble of breaching the code of conduct once again as the ace all-rounder this time flew to West Indies for playing in the Caribbean Premier League without the cricket board’s permission.

Bangladesh Cricket Board’s acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune, “Shakib has been asked to join the camp immediately.” He, however didn’t exactly mention whether he will be released in time for the start of the CPL from July 11.

Shakib, part of the Tigers squad that began their training camp on July 1 for the tour of West Indies next month, left the country on the morning of July 2. It was learnt, Shakib will return to Dhaka from London this weekend. The issue of Shakib’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) is expected to be discussed in the upcoming board meeting on July 7.

Shakib was expected to play the entire CPL that ends on August 16 and join the Bangladesh team who will begin their tour with the ODI series on August 20. l

Russel’s slump continues Muktijoddha Sangsad returned to winning ways after beating defending champions Sheikh Russel by a comfortable margin of 3-1 in the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj yesterday.

Courtesy the win, the All Reds leapfrogged Mohammedan in the points table to climb to third place with 37 points from 23 matches. The Muktis have lost only one game at home so far which came in their previous match

against leaders Sheikh Jamal. Russel, winners of the treble last season, on the other hand continued their misery in the league as they are now sixth in the table, a full 22 points behind Jamal.

Enamul put Muktijoddha ahead at the stroke of the opening half which was cancelled out by Russel’s national forward Mithun Chowdhury five minutes into the second half. Nigerian striker Nkwocha Kingsley, who is the top scorer for the Muktis, gave his side the lead a minute later before Sunday Chizoba sealed the scoreline in the 67th minute.

It was Nkwocha’s 14th goal in the league this season while Mithun’s second-half strike was his 11th of the season.l

Hockey legend Yousuf no more Former national hockey player Sabbir Yousuf, also a national award winner, passed away on Wednesday night in Singapore. He was 66. The deceased left behind his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF),

Bangladesh Sports Writers Association and different other sports organisations expressed deep shock at the death of the hockey legend and extended heartfelt sympathies and deep condolences to the family of the deceased.

Yousuf was elected vice president of the BHF in last year’s election. l

14

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, July 4, 2014

Rodriguez, Neymar take spotlight James Rodriguez and Neymar showed the bright and sporting side of individual South American football talent in Saturday’s last 16 matches at the World Cup in stark contrast to the furore sparked by the Luis Suarez biting incident.

The fresh-faced 22-year-old Rodriguez -- who has lived up to the mantle of being ‘El Pibe Nuevo’ (the new kid) as successor to Colombian playmaking great Carlos Valderrama -- scored a double including a wonder-goal to see off South American champions Uruguay 2-0 and take his tally to five for the finals.

Rodriguez has shown maturity beyond his years in assuming the responsibility of inspring the team which had been left devastated prior to the finals when iconic striker Radamel Falcao was ruled out because of injury.

Rodriguez -- who like Falcao plays for big spending French championship runners-up Monaco -- earned high praise from a gracious Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez.

“For me, special talents are those who do things that are completely out of the ordinary,” said Tabarez.

“Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, James Rodriguez -- they do things because they have certain gifts that make them special.”

Tabarez refused to blame his side’s defeat on their being distracted by defending Suarez over the biting incident that resulted in his expulsion from the finals, a four month global ban from world football, a nine game international ban and a six figure dollar fine.

The team did not make a protest when they lined up for the match but showed their solidarity by laying out his kit in the dressing-room prior to it.

“I don’t know what energy we could have lost,” said Tabarez.

“We simply accepted that he was suspended. We criticised the excessive nature of the sanction, which was very subjective, it’s true, but it’s the feeling

of an entire people who follow football.

“We tried to defend him, as should be done. He’s part of our group and pursuing the same objectives, but when he was no longer able to be with us, that was the end of that.”

Neymar came into the finals under enormous pressure after a mixed debut season with Barcelona.

However, he also showed that at 22 he can handle it as he tucked away the penultimate penalty in the shootout with Chile, who had more than matched them during 120 tense but absorbing minutes that ended in a 1-1 draw.

That gave the hosts a 3-2 lead in the shootout and put the pressure on Chile’s final penalty taker Gonzalo Jara.

RODRIGUEZ

QUARTER-FINAL

COLOMBIA

Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza 04 JUL 2014 - 17:00 Local (2:00AM BST) His effort cannoned off the post and across the face of goal to keep alive the dreams of 200 million Brazilians that they can land their sixth world title on home turf.

“He is 22 but he plays as if he were 35,” purred Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari when asked about Neymar’s pressure spot-kick.

“He handles the pressure naturally.

He is so strong mentally and you could see even when we was 17 or 18 that he was ready.”

The striker, who has scored an already remarkable tally of 35 goals in 53 appearances for his country, insisted that he played without fear despite the pressure on him and his team throughout.

“I felt no fear. Fear removes the desire to win. We knew that we would be playing a great team, but there was no fear,” he said. l

Colombia honor slain Escobar Colombia paid tribute Wednesday to football star Andres Escobar, who was gunned down 20 years ago just days after scoring an own goal at the World Cup finals.

of Colombia’s World Cup quarter final against Brazil on Friday.

The city of Medellin, where he was murdered, honored Escobar with a football match, cultural events and flowers. “I still wonder why they killed him,” his brother Santiago Escobar said

Supporters pose for pictures before the monument of late Colombian footballer Andres Escobar and attend a ceremony in his honour in Medellin, Colombia on Wednesday AFP The killing, widely said to be an act of revenge for the 27-year-old defender’s own goal, set off international controversy and put a spotlight on Colombia’s notorious gun culture. The act still resonates, particularly ahead

at one ceremony.

Carlos Valderrama, the team’s goalkeeper at the time and biggest star, expressed his sadness on Twitter.

“Andres Escobar -- always in our hearts. We will never forget your kind-

NEYMAR

4 MATCHES PLAYED 309 MINUTES PLAYED 5 GOALS SCORED 15 SHOTS 130 PASSES COMPLETED 7 RECOVERED BALLS 8 TACKLES 30.9km/h TOP SPEED 36km DISTANCE COVERED

V BRAZIL

v

ness, humility and your fight. I miss you my brother,” he wrote.

Colombia were playing the United States in a group match on June 24, 1994 when Escobar tragically diverted a John Harkes cross into his own net.

Colombia lost 2-1 and were eliminated from the tournament.

After, Escobar said “life doesn’t end here”. He started negotiating a transfer to Italian giants AC Milan.

But 10 days later, on July 2, Escobar was harrangued about his own goal inside a Medellin bar. The argument went on the car park outside. He was killed with 12 bullets. Witnesses heard the word “gol” shouted after each shot.

A rap band, 12 Pasos Flow, wrote a song his honor, dubbing him the “Gentleman of Football” who “died for a mistake.”

“He had a date with death the moment he scored that goal,” Gonzalo Medina, author of the book on the murder, told AFP. Some accounts have blamed drug lords or gangsters, angry at losing money betting on Colombia. But no firm motive for the killing has ever been given.

His family is angry that the investigation has never gotten to the bottom of the crime.

Only one person was arrested, Humberto Munoz, the driver of two bar customers who had mocked Escobar for the own-goal. l

4 369 4 15 113 13 6 31.8km/h 40.8km

Psychologist helps Brazil

FACT BOX Probable teams Brazil

12-Julio Cesar; 2-Daniel Alves, 3-Thiago Silva, 4-David Luiz, 6-Marcelo; 5-Fernandinho, 11-Oscar, 16-Ramires, 7-Hulk; 9-Fred, 10-Neymar Colombia

1-David Ospina; 2-Cristian Zapata, 3-Mario Yepes, 6-Carlos Sanchez, 18Juan Zuniga, 7-Pablo Armero; 8-Abel Aguilar, 11-Juan Cuadrado, 10-James Rodriguez, 9-Teofilo Gutierrez, 21-Jackson Martinez Key stats:

History is in Brazil’s favour, with a 60 percent win rate against Colombia during the 25 matches between the teams. Brazil have scored 55 goals to Colombia’s 11.

Brazil have, however, had a less efficient attack than Colombia during the World Cup, scoring once in every six shots at goal. Colombia have scored a goal for every three attempts on target.

Colombia are the second highest scoring team in the World Cup behind the Netherlands with 11 goals.

Previous meetings

The teams have played each other 25 times, with Brazil winning 15 and Colombia two.

Last meeting

Nov. 14, 2012, New York, United states, friendly - Brazil 1 Colombia 1.

Tears shed by Neymar and his fellow Brazilian stars at the World Cup have shocked some of the country’s football legends and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has ordered extra coaching with the team psychologist, a report said Wednesday.

Sports psychologist Regina Brandao made an “urgent” and unscheduled visit to the Brazil training camp on Tuesday, ahead of Friday’s quarter-final with Colombia, Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said.

Some football elders such as Carlos Alberto, captain of the team that won the World Cup in 1970, said today’s Brazilian stars cry too much. While the

team have not commented on whether the sessions were “urgent”, Neymar said Wednesday that he was enjoying talking with the psychologist.

The special visit came after a jittery Brazil scraped past Chile on penalties in the last 16. Neymar, goalkeeper Julio Cesar, David Luiz and captain Thiago Silva were all seen crying after.

Brandao held a meeting with all the players and the technical team, according to Folha. She did not speak individually with players.

The psychologist, who has worked with Scolari for more than 20 years, told CBF TV: “The visit formed part of our initial planning. I have classes and I couldn’t be here for long.l

Colombia ban shaving foam Colombia will ban the sale of flour and shaving foam in Bogota for Friday’s quarter-final World clash with hosts Brazil, with thousands expected on the streets and passions running high in the football-mad country.

Colombians often celebrate by dousing people in shaving cream or making flour “bombs,” but police, who will be out in force for the game on the streets of the capital, want to stamp out the practise because it can lead to fights.

Alcohol sales will also be banned on Friday.

President Juan Manuel Santos, who will watch the team in Fortaleza, called on his countrymen to “keep calm.”

After the victory against Uruguay on Saturday, authorities logged more than 3,200 fights and 34 were hurt in postgame violence across Colombia.

On Saturday, it will be Costa Rica’s turn, when they face the Netherlands for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

Costa Rican authorities said Wednesday they would clamp down on domestic violence that has spiked on game days of the country’s historic run in the tournament. l

FIVE REASONS COLOMBIA CAN OVERCOME BRAZIL HOODOO

1. King James

2. Neymar fitness concerns

3. Fred and Jo

4. Brazil’s anxiety

5. Gustavo gap in Brazil midfield

In a World Cup in which the star names have turned up at the party, it is not Neymar, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo who lead the scoring charts but Colombia’s James Rodriguez.

James has netted five times and provided two assists in his first four World Cup games, including a goal of the tournament contender with a sumptuous dipping left-foot volley to set Colombia on their way to victory in a 2-0 win over Uruguay in the last 16.

Brazil’s own talisman continues to show remarkable courage whilst shouldering the expectation of the host nation as he slotted home his side’s fifth penalty in their shootout win over Chile in the last 16.

However, the 22-year-old was on the end of some rough treatment from the Chileans leaving him battered, bruised and far from fresh to face the Colombians.

La Selecao’s reliance on Neymar has been exaggerated through four games thanks to the lack of any real end product from their number nines Fred and Jo. Fred does have one goal to his name against Group A whipping boys Cameroon, but has been replaced by Jo with his side in need of a goal against both Mexico and Chile.

The former Manchester City striker has failed to provide that breakthrough on both occasions and wasn’t even among Brazil’s five penalty takers against Chile.

Neymar, Julio Cesar and captain Thiago Silva were among those to break down in tears of relief following their narrow escape over Chile. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has also shown concerns over his side’s mental state, calling in the team’s sports psychologist for an extra emergency session with the team on Tuesday. With so much nervous tension and 120 minutes of high intensity football against the Chileans in their legs, Colombia may well be able to call on greater energy reserves in the heat of Fortaleza.

Another setback from Brazil’s encounter with the Chileans was a second yellow card of the tournament and subsequent suspension for the understated midfield general Luis Gustavo. The Wolfsburg midfielder is key to Scolari’s system in covering a huge amount of ground to allow full-backs Marcelo and Dani Alves to fly forward.

Moreover, Gustavo normally occupies the role in front of the defence where James will be looking to turn Brazilian dreams into another World Cup nightmare on home soil.

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, July 4, 2014

15

Colombia, Costa Neymar and James Rodriguez, Rica seek to join glowing both and off the field Bitter Sweet club Colombia and Costa Rica will be trying to break into - and quickly escape from - an exclusive group of World Cup semi-finalists which could be known as the Bitter Sweet club.

There are only eight members and although Costa Rica and Colombia would be delighted to join it by beating the Netherlands and Brazil in the quarter-finals, they would just as quickly like to leave it again by winning their semis.

For the Bitter Sweet club comprises the eight countries who have reached a World Cup semi-final once only, and never made it to the final, and never got back to the semis either.

In fact, no country with just one semi-final appearance to their name has ever made it to the final.

Spain, who had been members since 1950, finally escaped in 2010 when they went on to win the trophy in South Africa.

Although winning the World Cup remains the dream of every player, just getting to the semi-finals can provide a career highlight, even if it is tinged with slight regret as Yordan Lechkov, vice-president of the Bulgarian FA, told Reuters.

The former midfielder was a key member of the Bulgarian side who reached the 1994 World Cup semis, scoring with a brilliant header in Bulgaria’s 2-1 defeat of Germany in the quarter-finals in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“Bulgarians are known as individuals who are difficult to work with,” Lechkov said.

“It’s hard for us to form a solid team,

it’s part of our national characteristic and that’s why we achieve more success in the individual sports.

“But it was a different story in 1994.

We had very talented and skilful players, who already played for some of the top European clubs and we managed to build a great team - I’m talking about Hristo Stoichkov, Krasimir Balakov, Emil Kostadinov and me,” he said.

“For me, I never regretted so much that we couldn’t reach the final.

We’re only a small country and it’s a big achievement to reach the World Cup finals, let alone we make it to the semi-finals.

“We realised what we had done when we returned to Bulgaria and we saw these exuberant crowds in the streets. People still stop me and thank me, telling me they experienced unbelievable moments during the summer of 1994,” Lechkov added.

“It made us more responsible because people always expect us to do things in the best possible way. But what saddens me today is that we’re constantly talking about the 1994 World Cup while we can’t even qualify for the major tournaments now.”

The United States became the unlikely founder members of the Bitter Sweet club when they reached the semis in the first World Cup in 1930, still their best ever showing.

They are in the company of Chile (1962), Russia, who reached the last four as the Soviet Union in 1966, Belgium (1986), Bulgaria (1994), Croatia (1998), South Korea (2002) and Turkey (2002) who made the semis in their first World Cup in 48 years. l

With their prodigious talents, superb repertoire of skills, keen eyes for goals, Brazilian star Neymar and Colombian ace James Rodriguez have taken the World Cup by storm both on and off the field. Their similarities do not end there as they both wear the iconic number 10 shirt and are of the same age, 22.

On the field the South American duo have announced themselves as the chief protagonists of their respective teams in the biggest stage. However, James with five goals and Neymar with four goals also have something in common – they both have beautiful partners by their side. Neymar is currently having an affair with Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine while James is married to national volleyball player Daniela Ospina, who is also the sister of the Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina. Bruna and Daniela have virtually become the unofficial first ladies of their countries.

Ahead of their duel in the quarterfinal later tonight, both of their better halves have generated quite a considerable amount of media attention.

So far, Daniela has been present in the stands to inspire her husband in all the four games but Bruna was in the gallery for only two matches, against Mexico and Chile. Bruna was so excited after the shootout triumph over Chile in the round of 16 that she started crying alongside her sister Rafaella. While the Marquezine sisters were shedding tears, Brazilian businessman Raymer Monteiro was filming them along with the Brazilian players on the field. Later, Raymer uploaded the video on Youtube and the businessman instantly turned into

James Rodriguez and Daniela Ospina with their daughter Salome a celebrity. “She’s nice, simple and very beautiful. More beautiful in person than the screen,” said Raymer on Bruna, who has starred in several soap operas for Globo television channel. The video has so far attracted more than 200,000 hits.

Daniela on the other hand is also chased by TV cameras and paparazzis whenever she comes out in public. In a recent interview she elaborated how she met James and admitted that it was love at first sight. The couple got married in 2011. James, then 19, and Daniela, 18, tied the knot in Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia. Daniela then accompanied her husband to Portugal where James used to play for FC Porto

Neymar and Bruna Marquezine

before moving to French club Monaco.

Their first child, a girl, Salome, was born last year. Not only matches, Daniela is also ever-present in the stands during Colombia’s practice sessions and never stops cheering her husband.

While James and Daniela never encountered a bumpy road in their successful relationship it has not been that smooth a ride for Neymar and Bruna.

The famous Brazilian couple began their relationship in late 2012 but announced their separation last year as Bruna started to date soap opera actor Manoel Carlos. During that time Bruna had deleted all the pictures of Neymar from her social networking site. But

ever since the World Cup got underway, the couple sorted out their differences and patched up their relationship.

Neymar and Bruna appeared together at a party in Rio de Janeiro after Brazil’s group stage draw against Mexico and spent the rest of the day at the Loft Suite, recognised as one of the best designed suites in the world. With an 180º view of the Guanabara Bay, Christ the Redeemer and the hills of Santa Teresa, the suite has large living rooms with a panoramic balcony, a private bathroom with two relaxation areas and tubs, a super king-size bed, a minibar, a LCD TV, a DVD player and special outfits. At $5445/day, it was paid for by Bruna as a gift for Neymar.l

Blatter says ‘fair play’ to Suarez after bite apology

Joel Campbell takes a selfie next to a sculpture of Brazilian legend Pele, during a visit of Costa Rica’s national football team to the Pele Museum, in Santos on Wednesday

AFP

Ticket tout probe opens ahead of QF drama As France and Germany prepare to serve up the first dish of a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final menu, a ticket tout inquiry continues Thursday with Brazil’s 2002 title winner Ronaldinho’s brother one of those wanted for questioning.

Brazilian authorities are investigating whether members of the Brazilian,

TOP SCORERS

Players James Rodriguez (COL) Thomas Mueller (GER) Lionel Messi (ARG) Neymar (BRA) Karim Benzema (FRA) Arjen Robben (NED) Robin van Persie (NED) Xherdan Shaqiri (SWI) Enner Valencia (ECU)

Goals

Argentine and Spanish football federations were involved in the illegal sale of World Cup tickets after police dismantled a scalping gang.

The brother and agent of Ronaldinho, Roberto de Assis Moreira, will be questioned in the case, though he is not under investigation, said Marcos Kac, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor. The probe comes as the 2014 World Cup prepares to enter its gripping concluding stage.

Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium is the fitting backdrop for Friday’s meeting of the two European powerhouses, with France falling to Germany in the semi-finals at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

The victor will face either hosts Brazil, or one of the sensations of the tournament Colombia, who clash in Friday’s second quarter-final in Fortaleza.

The last eight drama continues Saturday with Argentina facing Belgium

and the Netherlands up against minnows Costa Rica. History hangs heavy over the encounter as it evokes memories of the ‘82 semi-final which Germany won 5-4 on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 extra-time draw.

The ‘Tragedy of Seville’ attained notoriety when Germany keeper Harald Schumacher shoulder-charged Patrick Battiston, leaving the Frenchman unconscious on the ground. l

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter praised Uruguay striker Luis Suarez on Wednesday after he apologised for biting an Italian defender during the World Cup. Suarez was banned for nine competitive internationals and cannot take part in any soccer activities for four months after he sank his teeth into the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat of the Italians on June 24.

It took the forward nearly a week to confess that he had bitten his opponent, after protesting his innocence when the furore surrounding the incident first broke.

“He said ‘I’m sorry’ to the soccer family, and that’s fair play too,” Blatter told reporters at an event in Rio de Janeiro.

“That shows he’s a great player and I hope he can have his soccer career back.”

Barcelona officials were reportedly meeting their Liverpool counterparts in London on Wednesday with a view to possibly buying the disgraced striker, who was in brilliant form last season and was voted the English Premier League’s best player.

FIFA came under fierce criticism, particularly in Uruguay, for the severity of the punishment handed down to Suarez.

The organisation cited the fact that Suarez had shown no remorse, and had been banned twice before for biting, when explaining its record penalty.

Uruguay President Jose Mujica lambasted FIFA bosses as “sons of bitches” who meted out “fascist” treatment to Suarez.

Suarez was injured when Uruguay crashed to defeat against Costa Rica in their opening World Cup game, but he returned to face England and scored both goals in a 2-1 win. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, July 4, 2014 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 16, 2014

13 Messi film depicts tough route to top

14 Rodriguez, Neymar take spotlight

Sport

15 Blatter says ‘fair play’ to Suarez

FACT BOX Probable teams France

1-Hugo Lloris, 2-Mathieu Debuchy, 4-Raphael Varane, 5-Mamadou Sakho, 3-Patrice Evra; 6-Yohan Cabaye, 8-Mathieu Valbuena, 14-Blaise Matuidi, 19-Paul Pogba; 10-Karim Benzema, 9-Olivier Giroud Germany

1-Manuel Neuer; 20-Jerome Boateng, 5-Mats Hummels, 17-Per Mertesacker, 4-Benedikt Hoewedes; 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger, 16-Philipp Lahm, 18-Toni Kroos, 8-Mesut Ozil, 19-Mario Goetze; 13-Thomas Mueller Key stats

France and Germany (and formerly West Germany) have met 25 times since 1931, with Les Bleus winning on 11 occasions compared with Germany’s nine wins.

But in the World Cup, Germany have had the upper hand, knocking France out in the semi-finals twice in the 1980s with France beating Germany only once, in 1958.

Germany have won the World Cup three times while France have triumphed once, at home in 1998.

Germany’s Manuel Neuer (L) listens to teammate Thomas Mueller in the town of Santa Cruz Cabralia, north of France’s Mamadou Sakho (L) Patrice Evra (C) and Karim Benzema react during a training session at the Botafogo Porto Seguro on Wednesday REUTERS club’s Santa Cruz stadium in Ribeirao Preto on Wednesday REUTERS

France have lost to Germany only once in seven meetings since 1987, beating their neighbours on five occasions until Germany finally won a friendly last year.

Last meeting

6 Feb, 2013, Paris, France, friendly France 1 Germany 2

French renaissance put to test against Germany France have surprised many by emerging as World Cup contenders but face their toughest test yet against nemesis Germany in a quarter-final clash of European heavyweights at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium on Friday.

For France coach Didier Deschamps the past, heart-rending World Cup semi-final defeats to the Germans in 1982 and 1986 do not matter at all.

But with French media splashing the word “Angstgegner”, the German word for bogey team, across their front pages and broadcasts, Deschamps must conquer the fears of an entire nation if he is to restore his country’s WC eminence.

France, who have scored 10 goals in four matches in Brazil, have already gone a long way to restoring some pride after their hapless first round exit in 2010.

Reaching the last eight with solid teamwork has already done much to rebuild their image but facing the Germans in a knockout game is motivation in itself.

They have only excruciating memories of their last two World Cup battles against them, losing a nerve-racking semi-final in 1982 in Spain.

After scoring twice to lead 3-1 in extra time they conceded two goals and crashed out on penalties in what has become known as ‘Seville ‘82’.

QUARTER-FINAL

V FRANCE

GERMANY

Estadio do Maracana, Rio De Janeiro 04 JUL 2014 - 13:00 Local (10:00PM BST) Germany keeper Toni Schumacher’s reckless challenge on France’s Patrick Battiston which left the player with broken ribs, an injured vertebrae and shattered teeth, further added to the bitterness of that loss.

Four years later it was again the Ger-

mans who killed off their world Cup dreams with a 2-0 victory in Mexico.

Deschamps has refused to talk to his players about those games, instead saying, “if my players were not born then, they were not born then. What’s the point talking about it.

“We must not let our confidence turn into arrogance,” he told reporters.

“Players have the right to dream. Everyone can dream. But I am generally a pragmatic and realistic man. We can dream but the reality is Germany on Friday.”

“The Germans’ results in the past few tournaments have been superior to ours,” added the 45-year-old, who has never lost a game at a World Cup both

as a player and as a coach, but is more than happy to pass the favourites tag to his opponents.

For Germany, it has been 24 years since their third and most recent World Cup crown. They have come close in the past two tournaments, reaching the last four but stumbled at the penultimate hurdle.

After a laboured extra time 2-1 win over Algeria in the round of 16, the Germans are facing mounting pressure from their fans, desperate to see an end of their title drought.

“You get games like that in a tournament and you just have to battle your way through,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew. “In a tournament you can-

not always play fantastic football.”

A question mark hangs over Loew’s shaky defence and how it will react to its biggest test so far in the tournament, with France’s Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann posing a far bigger threat than the Desert foxes attack.

“We have to do it better against France,” Loew warned, insisting captain Philipp Lahm would not slip back from midfield into his traditional full back position, where he rose to become one of the best in the world, despite his defence’s obvious weaknesses.

“I have taken my decisions, including the role of Lahm and I will stick to those until the very end,” said Loew. l

Santos FC – the ultimate epitome of football legacy

Standing out as a symbol of passion and pride, Santos Football Club, renowned for its beautiful style of play titled “Jogo Bonito” in Portuguese, continue to inspire the players and football fans not only in Brazil but around the world.

Santos, the club where Pele and Neymar began their journey, can be credited for expanding the Brazilian football territory across the world. The “Alvinegros” or black and whites of Brazilian football, boast an interminable legacy and resources that can stun a football fan.

It was really interesting to learn that Santos were officially formed on April 14, 1912, the day the giant Titanic sank into the north Atlantic Ocean. During the early days of the club the Santos fans relished saying the phrase “One giant sank into the ocean, and on the

same day another was born”.

The club were established by three enthusiastic Santos neighbours Raymundo Marques Francisco, Mário Ferraz de Campos and Argemiro de Souza Junior and have gone on to become Brazil’s fourth richest football side and one of the biggest teams in the world, generating an annual turnover of more than $114m. It has the largest number of members in Brazil, currently over 70,000 supporters.

The entrance of the club symbolises the colour black and white. And after entering the premises, a fan will be enthralled to see the memorabilias. The modern floodlight stadium now has a capacity of 20,000 spectators but the lush green pitch and the state-of-the-art facilities attract the eyes instantly. It is mentionable that the stadium is only used for the matches as the players train in Centro de Treinamento Rei Pelé, one of the most modern training grounds in Brazil.

It includes medical facilities and a hotel, “Recanto dos Alvinegros”. It was the base camp of the World Cup’s surprise package Costa Rica at the beginning.

Santos also possess another training ground nearby and its boundary wall is full of pictures comprising the Santos heroes of the past and the graffitis no doubt reflect the depth of Brazilian street art. It is quite regrettable that in Bangladesh, where everyone yearns to develop football, there is only one stadium for all the top-flight clubs while not a single side have any modern-day training facilities, let alone a ground of its own.

Santos have its own museum -

which is the most attractive feature of the club - a souvenir shop powered by their sponsors Nike and other local co-sponsors, a café shop, a good number of ticket counters across the stadium and an information center.

It is no wonder that Pele dominates the scene inside the museum as he is the all time leading goal scorer of the club. He played for his beloved hometown club from 1956 to 1974 scoring 1091 goals, followed by Pepe, a distant second, with 405 goals. Gigantic pictures of the club’s heroes inspire the starters.

A host of amazing records belong to the club. In 1927, Santos scored 100 goals in 16 matches at an average of 6.27 per match and the record is still intact.

It also holds the world record of scoring the highest number of goals in one season - 342 goals in 99 matches in the year 1969. The club supplied eight players, including Pele, to the Brazilian national team before and around the year 1963, another record. In the 1959 season, Santos toured Europe and created an unmatched record of winning 37 matches, drawing 5 and losing only six.

In a corner of the museum, pictures of all the successful coaches, players and the club’s presidents are stored. In the middle of the museum, there is a glowing spot where the Puskas Award of 2012, received by Neymar, is kept. The jersey and pair of boots worn by Neymar while playing the final game for his boyhood club before moving to Spanish giants Barcelona are also there. Robinho is also honoured at the museum with a giant cut-out of one of his Santos jerseys. l

The entrance

The Santos greats

Neymar Corner

PHOTOS: RAIHAN MAHMOOD

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FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Indian firm to be hired to develop 5 economic zones n Asif Showkat Kallol The government is going to appoint an Indian advisory service firm for expediting the development and construction facilities in the five proposed Economic Zones (EZ), and to attract foreign as well as private sector investment.

Site development activities still seem to be far off because of the slower progress in the works.

The EZs – Mongla in Bagerhat, Anwara and Mirersorai in Chittagong, Moulvibaza in Sylhet and Sirajganj – will be developed on 8,827.99 acres of land, according to the BEZA website.

Apart from expediting the construction facilities, the firm will also carry out investment promotion activities to attract foreign and private investors to the economic zones under the World Bank’s project titled “Support to Capacity Building Of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, said a senior official of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA).

The official also said the government agencies have failed to attract for foreign and local investors which is vital matter for the country like Bangladesh.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Abdus Sobhan Sikder yesterday sent a proposal to Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority for the appointment of a transaction advisory service firm. The proposal is supposed to be placed before the cabinet committee on economic affair on Sunday next.

The evaluation committee for selecting consultant firm for the five proposed economic zones has initially selected a firm led by Price Water House Coopers private limited India (PwC)

while the two other firms are Mahindra consulting engineers Ltd, India and Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Company Bangladesh with a cost of Tk19.99 crore. PWC obtained highest number in terms of technical and financial evaluation.

WB’s financial wing International Development Association has already endorsed the proposal sent by the PMO. WB-supported project titled “Support to Capacity Building Of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority” has already started and it will be completed by June 2016 with a cost of Tk76.20 crore.

As per the PMO proposal, consultant firm will be assisting the authority to identify the industry, which will suitable for the Economic Zones. It will also prepare contractual schemes for Private-Public Partnership projects.

Appointment firm will be responsible for selecting the private developers for the construction of the five zones.

According to the proposal, the firm will also develop one-stop service of the five EZs with the assisting in developing customer relationship management package.

Earlier, the governing body headed by the prime minister approved five sites in 2012 for constructing the first-ever economic zones in the country.

And, so far, the authorities concerned have issued only request for proposals (RFP) for Mongla site. The site with the land area of 205 acres belongs to BEZA. BEZA purchased the land from the Mongla Port Authority.

The developers, selected after expression of interest, will construct necessary infrastructures on the Mongla site and they will invite investors for setting up plants in the zone. l

NBR to honour top VAT payers July 10

REVENUE COLLECTED AS ON MAY FY14 (IN CRORE TAKA) Till May

Target

46850

44360

n Tribune Report

38996 30015

34041

32870

574

Custom duties

VAT

Income tax

920

Other taxes

Revenue faces setback for 2nd year n Syed Samiul Baser Anik

National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to face revenue shortfall for the second consecutive year in 201314 as the collection lagged behind by around Tk3,000crore from the revised target of Tk1,25,000 crore.

Till June, the collection stood at around Tk1,22,000 crore, showing shortfalls in all its three wings – Income Tax, Customs and VAT. Officials were, however, expecting to get a bit more money as some income tax and value added tax has not been adjusted yet.

“Finally, it will fall short, if not much,” a senior official told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, three days after the end of the fiscal year. “The deficit may come down below Tk1,000 crore, eventually.”

He said the board may come close to the target as all its offices made strong efforts to achieve the target in the last two months of the just concluded fiscal year.

Till April, the revenue fell Tk34,296 crore short of Tk1,25,000 crore. The

shortfall came down to Tk21,372 crore in May, according to latest NBR data.

In the last FY2012-13, the revenue fell short of the target by Tk3,644 crore though the NBR was able to achieve its targets in the previous three fiscal years from FY09-10 to FY11-12.

During the last 11 months up to May, the NBR collected Tk1,03,626 crore as revenue with its income tax wing mostly lagging behind the target.

The NBR lags behind Tk2,855 crore in customs duties up to May as it collected Tk30,015 crore against the target of total Tk32,870 crore. The Value Added Tax wing collected Tk38,996 crore against its target of Tk46,850 crore and the income tax wing collected Tk34,041 crore against its target of Tk44,360 crore.

In the other taxes, the NBR has collected Tk574 crore till May against the revised target of Tk920 crore.

The government had earlier revised down the revenue target from original estimate of Tk136,090 crore on apprehension that the target would not be achieved as the collec-

tion faced setback due to the political turmoil ahead of the national election held on January 5.

NBR officials feared that the board might face a shortfall around Tk1,000 crore or less in the current fiscal as the taxpayers has failed to pay taxes properly due to the political turmoil that made a severe financial blow to the business sector.

They also said the Large Taxpayers Unit, which collects major part of the revenue from big companies has failed to achieve its target which led to the worst case scenario.

“Private Banks, which contributes a major portion of the revenue failed to pay the expected revenue properly as they failed to meet profit targets in the last year due political turmoil,” said one of them.

The officials said the tax at source on exports, which was slashed in April, was also a reason for lower revenue collection.

NBR Chairman Md. Ghulam Hussain had expressed his confidence to achieve the revised target as he wanted to expedite the collection drive. l

For the fourth consecutive years, the National Board of Revenue is set to award the top value added tax (VAT) paying companies on July 10 for their outstanding contribution to the government’s exchequer.

The board is, however, yet to finalise the names of the potential companies and also the total number of award recipients as the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is still busy in scrutinising the primary list, said a high NBR official.

He also said the top VAT-paying companies will be awarded with a crest along with a certificate on July 10 at a ceremony to be held in the capital.

From the final list, nine top VAT payers will be awarded from the national level while the rest will be awarded from the district level under three categories production, services and business.

The top VAT-paying companies will be awarded with a crest along with a certificate on July 10 The revenue body has chalk out various programmes to observe the VAT day on 10 July.

The central programmes include a rally and the award-giving ceremony while the district VAT commissionerates will also observe the day through different programmes to encourage more people to pay more VATs. Meanwhile, the NBR board has also decided to celebrate a VAT-Week from July 10-16.

In the FY2013-14, the board has set the highest revenue target for the VAT wing at Tk46,850 crore while the board has collected Tk38,996 crore till May, this year. l

Remittance inflow drops first time in 12 years Rights offer jacks up n Tribune Report Remittance inflow into the country has dropped for the first time in the fiscal year 2013-14 after a steady upward trend during the last 12 years.

The country had received remittance worth US$14.22bn in the just concluded fiscal year, which was 1.6% lower compared to $14.46bn in the previous fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bank statement released yesterday.

The remittance dropped mainly due to the sharp decline in manpower export amid global financial recession, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

He also blamed the appreciation of taka against dollar, political unrest and sluggish investment climate for the poor remittance inflow to the country.

The country had received $1.19bn in the fiscal year 1994-1995, but after maintaining a continuous increasing trend in the next five years, it dropped to $1.8bn in the fiscal year 2000-2001 from $1.94bn in 1999-2000.

Since then, the country was witnessing an increasing trend in remittance inflow in the last 12 years, said the BB statement.

According to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, manpower export from Bangladesh may be dropped by 1.5-2 lakh this year due to the ongoing global financial recession.

Around 4 lakh to 4.5 lakh workers are expected to leave the country for different overseas jobs by the end of

REMITTANCE SCENARIO REMITTANCE INFLOW

BREAKDOWN OF REMITTANCE INFLOW IN FY 14

Wage earners

9% 91%

Others

1994-95

1999-00

2000-01

2012-13

Reasons behind drop in inflow Global financial recession Manpower export fell from the Middle Eastern countries the current year, although more than six lakh workers had gone abroad with employment in 2012.

Some 30,000 to 32,000 workers are leaving every month during the current year while around 40,000 to 45,000 workers had left the country per month last year, according to the ministry.

The Manpower export, which dropped in the Middle Eastern countries, has adversely affected the remittance inflow as the country received highest remittance from these coun-

2013-14

“Manpower export may drop by 1.5-2 lakh in 2013-2014 Remittance inflows from the Middle Eastern countries dropped by 12% in the last 10 months of the outgoing fiscal year” ~ Ministry of Expatriates Welfare & Overseas Employment

tries, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

In the foreign exchange market, taka was appreciated only marginally to Tk.77.67 per USD from Tk77.75 during the last fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent more remittances in 2012-13 FY as the dollar was stronger than Taka during that period.

According to the BB report, the value of one dollar was equivalent to Tk81.77 in July, 2012-13. The whole fiscal year

saw the rate of Dollar above Tk80.

The wage earners remitted $1.28bn in June, the last month of the fiscal year 2013-14 which was 21% higher from $1.05bn in the same month of the previous fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The inflow of remittance increased at the last several months of the outgoing fiscal year compared to the beginning of the fiscal, as the country started to return in the normalcy after a prolonged political unrest, said an executive of the central bank. l

India raises cotton export forecast n Reuters, Mumbai India, the world’s second-biggest cotton producer, on Wednesday raised its export forecast for the crop year ending September by 27% with demand strong for buyers beyond China.

The new estimate of 11.4 million bales is also higher than India’s shipments last year and could further pressure New York cotton futures that hit their lowest in about one and half years

on Tuesday. (1 Indian bale = 170 kg) China, which accounts for more than 60 percent of total raw cotton exports from India, is unwinding its stockpile scheme that kept demand high for years.

But India’s Textile Commissioner Kiran Soni Gupta said that apart from China, countries such as Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia are fast lapping up cotton from India to feed their export-focused garment

industries.

“There is a good global demand and we need to add on to our value addition like manufacturing and processing capacities,” she told reporters.

To encourage value addition, India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in the past urged farmers to adopt what he calls his ‘five F’ formula: farm to fibre to fabric to fashion to foreign.

Gupta also raised the estimate for cotton output this crop year to 39

million bales from 37.5 million bales as yields have risen by a tenth to 565 kg per hectare.

Yields have been rising due to the increasing use of hybrid and genetically modified seeds, which have boosted sales for companies such as Kaveri Seed Co. Despite rising production, exports are expected to trend lower in coming years as local mills raise consumption and China buys less. l

junk stock price to top gainers’ list n Tribune Report Midas Financing Ltd, a junk stock, yesterday saw a price surge of 9% at Dhaka Stock Exchange in a clear reflection of the company’s recent disclosure to issue rights share.

The stock closed at Tk19.4 each, after registering a trade value of over Tk1.8 lakh.

Brokers said the price surge of the junk stock might have been due to market jittery about the rights issue as the investors are already aware about the company’s losses in the last three consecutive quarters.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has approved the rights offer for 60,134,338 ordinary shares at Tk10 each, according to a disclosure on Wednesday.

The purpose of issuing one right share for existing ones (1:1) is to meet the capital adequacy for regulatory requirement of Bangladesh Bank, said the company.

The total amount expected to be raised from the initiative is Tk60.1 crore.

Record date for the entitlement of rights share will be on August 3, 2014 while subscription period for rights issue will be from Sept 1 to Sept 30, 2014.

The company, however, has an accumulated loss of Tk41.8 crore as on March 31 this year and its yearly profits

were Tk0.94crore during the FY13.

According to the company’s latest quarterly report ended on March 31, 2014, it incurred a loss of Tk13.2 crore against a loss of Tk9.1 crore during the same period in 2013.

The price surge of the junk stock might have been due to market jittery about the rights issue as the investors are already aware about the company’s losses in the last three consecutive quarters The company’s first nine months’ losses in the fiscal year 2014 summed up to Tk31.1 crore against Tk22.4 crore during the same period of FY13.

The profitability has been affected due to high provisioning the company had to made, according to its latest quarterly reports.

With having 30.88% public stake, the company’s net asset value is Tk5 per share as on March 31, 2014 while its current price is Tk19.4 each. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock

Stocks lose ground for 3rd day

DSE key features July 3, 2014

n Tribune Report

Number of Contract

jor sectors ended in red with food sector the biggest loser falling more than 2%.

Cement, power, pharmaceuticals, banks, telecommunications and non-banking financial institutions lost less than 1% each.

The total turnover at DSE stood at Tk260 crore, which was 5.6% higher over the previous session.

Engineering sector accounted for almost 20% of total turnover, led by Apolo Ispat GPH Ispat.

Lanka Bangla Securities said investors’ confidence about future market direction remains shaky.

“Market’s next direction will depend on second quarter (April to June) earnings figures posted by companies. From the end of next week, figures will start coming.”

IDLC Investments said the bourse engulfed another beat from portfolio re-balancing.

“Hence, the positive news on shooting up of foreign investment in DSE failed to bring so much participation. Rather, investors extended their cashing out appetite and sequentially altered their sector-wise preferences.”

Appollo Ispat Complex Ltd. was the most traded stock of the session with turnover of Tk35 crore, followed by Beximco Limited, Lafarge Surma Cement, Peninsula Hotel, Grameenphone, United Airways and Square Pharma. l

Stocks lost their ground for the third straight session yesterday with poor trading activities as investors remained worried over the future prospect of the market.

The market was in positive territory for a while but profit-booking selling pressure mainly on energy and cement pulled it down.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, fell 41 points to 8,463

The DSEX lost over 30 points or 0.7% to end at 4,436, which is one week low.

However, the Shariah index DSES was down 6 points or 0.7% to 1,003. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,621, shedding 15 points or 1%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, fell 41 points to 8,463.

Except textile and engineering that gained marginally, all the ma-

DSE GAINERS Company

Turnover (Million Taka)

2,618.52

Turnover (Volume)

75,701,458 74,920

Traded Issues

299

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

110

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

184

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,298.84

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.86

CSE key features July 3, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

237.09

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights

8,497,305

Number of Contract

12,177

DSE Broad Index :

4436.20998

(-) 0.68%

▼

Traded Issues

202

DSE Shariah Index :

1002.91687

(-) 0.61%

▼

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

72

DSE - 30 Index :

1621.86068

(-) 0.94%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

125

CSE All Share Index:

13678.44640

(-) 0.53%

▼

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

CSE - 30 Index :

11328.06570

(-) 0.75%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,203.46

8463.24050

(-) 0.49%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.71

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Progressive Life-A JMI Syringes MDL-A UNITED AIR-A Popular Life Insu. -A Peoples Insur -A Rahima Food -Z BATBCL -A Dulamia CottonZ

-4.57 -3.82 -3.70 -3.10 -2.99 -2.80 -2.78 -2.78

Average (% change) -4.49 -7.34 -0.08 -3.05 0.13 -2.81 -1.79 -7.36

Beximco Pharma -A N C C Bank -A

-2.78 -2.73

-1.94 -0.18

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

Samorita Hospital -A Prime Textile -A JMI Syringes MDL-A Premier Leasing-Z Anwar Galvanizing-B DESCO Ltd. -A AIMS First -A NLI 1st M F-A

-5.31 -4.76 -4.23 -3.90 -3.88 -3.39 -3.25 -3.16

Average (% change) -5.32 -4.64 -9.11 -5.13 -3.35 -1.77 -2.92 -3.89

Brac Bank -A Sandhani Life -A

-3.10 -3.07

-2.59 -2.55

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 230.69 65.60 35.38 510.79 113.76 252.70 0.87 242.17 273.02 0.28 44.29 14.63 10.70 142.24 11.38 28.92 40.58 159.26 188.52 252.46 0.27

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

119.20 164.55 13.20 178.00 23.25 45.26 2344.93 6.67

119.00 163.50 13.00 178.00 22.70 45.10 2344.30 7.00

120.00 170.00 13.80 178.00 24.00 46.80 2385.00 7.10

119.00 162.90 12.20 178.00 21.10 44.50 2290.80 7.00

0.449 12.012 73.881 0.267 1.795 1.471 1.409 0.008

2.30 2.08 0.77 17.00 2.28 -1.01 82.80 -4.13

51.8 79.1 17.1 10.5 10.2 -ve 28.3 -ve

42.37 10.93

42.00 10.70

44.20 11.30

38.90 9.90

35.841 5.696

3.60 0.68

11.8 16.1

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Appollo Ispat CL -N Midas Financing-Z BD Fixed Income MF-A The Peninsula CTG.-N Aziz PipesZ BD. Thai Alum -B Al-Haj Textile -A GBB Power Ltd-A Provati Insur.-A Sinobangla Indu.-A

85.60 22.00 163.00 7.40 24.80 57.00 38.70 9.20

85.80 22.00 163.30 7.40 24.80 57.00 39.20 9.20

85.10 22.00 160.70 7.40 24.80 56.00 38.00 9.00

0.171 0.022 0.486 0.007 0.025 0.057 0.505 0.069

2.20 1.13 2.08 0.12 0.27 0.95 5.00 1.36

38.9 19.5 77.9 61.7 91.9 59.5 7.8 6.7

25.19 82.10

25.00 82.10

25.50 82.10

25.00 82.10

0.088 0.049

2.91 2.66

8.7 30.9

Market’s next direction will depend on second quarter (April to June) earnings figures posted by companies. From the end of next week, figures will start coming

% change 8.81 2.51 1.35 19.51 4.34 9.65 0.03 9.25 10.43 1.69 0.56 0.41 5.43 0.43 1.10 1.55 6.08 7.20 9.64 0.01

Million Taka 20.80 6.96 3.18 47.42 6.18 19.79 22.03 14.58 3.45 1.86 4.90 1.65 11.49 1.63 0.57 2.28 11.41 34.16 33.02 0.07

% change 8.40 2.81 1.28 19.16 2.50 8.00 0.00 8.90 5.89 1.40 0.75 1.98 0.67 4.65 0.66 0.23 0.92 4.61 13.80 13.35 0.03

Million Taka 251.48 72.57 38.56 558.21 119.94 272.49 0.87 264.19 287.60 3.74 46.16 19.53 12.35 153.74 13.01 29.49 42.87 170.67 222.68 285.49 0.34

Total

9.03 8.99 6.49 5.67 4.58 4.03 4.02 4.00 2.97 2.85

CSE GAINERS Company BD. Thai Alum -B Appollo Ispat CL -N Imam Button -Z The Peninsula CTG.-N GBB Power Ltd-A Union Capital -A Rupali Life Insur.-A Meghna Life Ins. -A Ambee Pharma -A Sinobangla Indu.-A

Closing (% change) 8.57 8.27 8.22 5.06 4.91 4.55 4.30 4.08 3.53 3.27

Average (% change) 5.93 9.10 2.50 3.97 4.30 5.55 6.40 3.54 3.83 1.21 Average (% change) 6.38 5.50 8.22 3.73 3.50 4.22 4.30 5.07 2.40 4.44

Closing average 29.49 19.42 8.20 35.09 16.02 26.45 169.80 23.11 20.89 25.14

Closing average 26.33 29.53 7.90 35.05 23.09 22.95 67.90 102.97 286.88 25.62

Closing 30.20 19.40 8.20 35.40 16.00 25.80 170.60 23.40 20.80 25.30

Closing 26.60 30.10 7.90 35.30 23.50 23.00 67.90 102.00 290.00 25.30

Daily high 30.40 19.50 8.20 35.70 16.40 27.10 172.50 23.60 21.00 25.60

Daily high 26.90 30.30 7.90 35.50 23.70 23.00 67.90 104.90 290.00 26.00

Daily low 27.70 16.20 8.20 33.50 15.50 23.50 164.00 20.30 18.20 24.80

Daily low 25.00 27.80 7.90 33.40 22.20 22.80 67.90 102.00 255.70 24.90

Turnover in million 351.419 0.191 0.004 102.398 0.173 21.309 42.302 34.419 1.283 5.997

Turnover in million 1.124 35.415 0.008 21.857 5.611 0.069 0.068 0.015 0.029 3.728

Latest EPS 1.69 -6.91 0.56 1.32 0.68 0.84 2.00 1.44 2.24 1.04

Latest EPS 0.84 1.69 -1.85 1.32 1.44 2.08 5.33 6.45 3.20 1.04

Latest PE 17.4 -ve 14.6 26.6 23.6 31.5 84.9 16.0 9.3 24.2

Latest PE 31.3 17.5 -ve 26.6 16.0 11.0 12.7 16.0 89.7 24.6

News, analysis and recent disclosers PRAGATIINS: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the surveillance rating of the Company as "AA1" in the long term and ST-1 in the short term based on audited financial statements of the institution up to December 31, 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

TAKAFULINS: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has rated the Company as "A3" in the long term and ST-3 in the short term based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

PLFSL: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the surveillance rating of the Company as "A2" in the long term and ST-3 in the short term based on audited financial statements of the institution up to December 31, 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

UTTARAFIN: National Credit Ratings

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Appollo Ispat CL -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z The Peninsula CTG.-N Grameenphone-A UNITED AIR-A Square Pharma -A

CSE

Closing (% change)

Limited (NCR) has announced the rating of the Company as "AA-" in the long term and "ST-1" in the short term based on audited financial statements of the Company of December 31, 2013.

SUMITPOWER: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on July 02, 2014 (except fractional shares). The payment of sale proceeds of fractional share will be sent to registered address of the shareholders in the form of a payment advice within stipulated time.

SPPCL: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on July 02, 2014 (except fractional shares).

The payment of sale proceeds of fractional share will be sent to registered address of the shareholders in the form of a payment advice within stipulated time.

MIDASFIN: The Company has further informed that the subscription period for rights issue will be from 01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of

rights share: 03.08.2014.

IPO Subscription: 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 1317 July 2014, NRB upto 26 July 2014. @ taka 40, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Ltd. subscription date 24-28 August 2014, NRB upto 06 September 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Western Marine Shipyard Limited subscription date 10-14 August 2014, NRB upto 23 August 2014. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 100.

Dividend/AGM SANDHANINS: 25.50% stock, EGM and AGM: 06.09.2014, Record Date for EGM and AGM: 16.07.2014.

RECKITTBEN: Interim cash @ 275% , Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 07.07.2014.

BDSERVICE: 15% stock, AGM: 25.08.2014, Record Date: 14.07.2014.

NATLIFEINS: 20% cash and 38% stock, AGM: 21.07.2014, Record Date: 03.07.2014.

Latest PE

85.63 22.00 162.12 7.40 24.80 56.50 38.85 9.13

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Friday, July 4, 2014

% change 8.77 2.53 1.35 19.48 4.18 9.51 0.03 9.22 10.03 0.13 1.61 0.68 0.43 5.36 0.45 1.03 1.50 5.95 7.77 9.96 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

BD Submarine Cable-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Al-Haj Textile -A

Olympic Ind. -A Meghna Petroleum -A Eastern Housing -A Padma Oil Co. -A National Bank - A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Appollo Ispat CL -N

BEXIMCO Ltd. -A The Peninsula CTG.-N UNITED AIR-A G Next Fashions-A LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A GBB Power Ltd-A National Bank - A BD Submarine Cable-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A BSRM Steels-A Sinobangla Indu.-A AramitCementA Padma Oil Co. -A

Volume shares 11,916,200 5,977,734 1,307,000 2,918,000 343,072 5,596,596 215,215 314,979 639,351 249,135

189,564 147,521 658,748 116,392 3,151,737

Volume shares

1,199,400 770,308 623,600 902,548 371,700 81,500 20,400 243,012 465,580 29,400 185,500 52,650 145,500 80,500 11,100

Value in million 351.42 206.79 103.99 102.40 101.41 73.88 60.20 57.85 51.79 42.30

41.91 39.74 39.09 37.36 37.02

Value in million

35.42 26.62 21.86 11.91 6.61 6.50 6.01 5.61 5.47 5.40 4.40 4.34 3.73 3.62 3.54

% of total turnover 13.42 7.90 3.97 3.91 3.87 2.82 2.30 2.21 1.98 1.62

1.60 1.52 1.49 1.43 1.41

% of total turnover

15.05 11.31 9.29 5.06 2.81 2.76 2.55 2.38 2.32 2.29 1.87 1.85 1.58 1.54 1.51

Daily closing 30.20 34.20 78.90 35.40 294.90 13.00 279.80 182.70 80.80 170.60

220.90 269.50 59.20 319.20 11.70

Daily closing

30.10 34.20 35.30 13.10 17.90 79.70 293.70 23.50 11.70 183.10 23.80 82.10 25.30 44.70 318.40

Price change 9.03 -0.87 -2.71 5.67 -0.41 -3.70 -0.11 -1.03 -2.30 4.02

Daily opening 27.70 34.50 81.10 33.50 296.10 13.50 280.10 184.60 82.70 164.00

Price change

Daily opening

0.27 -1.17 -1.17 -1.66 1.74

8.27 -0.87 5.06 -2.96 2.29 -2.09 -1.04 4.91 1.74 -1.29 2.15 0.00 3.27 -1.32 -1.91

220.30 272.70 59.90 324.60 11.50

27.80 34.50 33.60 13.50 17.50 81.40 296.80 22.40 11.50 185.50 23.30 82.10 24.50 45.30 324.60

Daily high 30.40 35.50 81.50 35.70 298.50 13.80 285.00 185.90 83.00 172.50

222.00 273.60 60.50 326.70 12.50

Daily low 27.70 31.10 78.50 33.50 290.00 12.20 255.60 170.00 74.50 164.00

205.00 249.00 54.00 303.00 10.40

Daily average 29.49 34.59 79.57 35.09 295.58 13.20 279.74 183.67 81.00 169.80

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

30.30 35.50 35.50 13.70 18.00 81.20 300.00 23.70 11.90 186.50 24.00 83.60 26.00 45.80 324.90

27.80 33.60 33.40 13.00 17.50 79.00 293.00 22.20 11.50 182.80 23.30 82.00 24.90 42.20 315.20

221.07 269.41 59.34 320.95 11.74

29.53 34.56 35.05 13.20 17.79 79.72 294.67 23.09 11.74 183.66 23.71 82.49 25.62 44.93 319.18

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Friday, July 4, 2014

Yellen drives wedge between monetary policy, financial bubbles deviate from a primary focus on attaining price stability and maximum employment,” she said.

Hand-wringing

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen delivers remarks at the inaugural Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington REUTERS

n Reuters, Washington Monetary policy faces “significant limitations” as a tool to counter financial stability risks, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, adding that heading off the US housing bubble with higher interest rates would have caused major economic damage.Weighing in on a global debate, Yellen reiterated her view that regulation - not rate policy needs to play the lead role in combating excessive financial risk-taking.

“The potential cost ... is likely to be too great to give financial stability risks a central role in monetary policy discussions,” Yellen said at an event sponsored by the International Monetary Fund.

She didn’t close the door entirely, however, and she cited some areas that bore monitoring with an eye toward a possible tightening of regulation.

Analysts said Yellen was pushing back against some Fed officials who believe financial stability should be given a more prominent place in formulating

monetary policy.

Jeremy Stein, who stepped down as a Fed governor in May, had sparked the debate by arguing higher rates should at least be considered to help stamp out possible asset bubbles, and a number of regional Fed bank presidents have warned of the dangers of keeping rates near zero for too long.

But Yellen made clear she did not see a need for the U.S. central bank to alter its current course. “I do not presently see a need for monetary policy to

The US stock and bond markets have soared on the back of the Fed’s moneyprinting and near-zero rates, prompting warnings from some economists that new bubbles are forming. The IMF said last month a prolonged period of ultra-low US rates - they have been near zero since late-2008 - had prompted a weakening in lending standards and risky behavior by investors.

For her part, Yellen pointed to unusually narrow corporate bond spreads, a lack of financial volatility and weak lending standards in the leveragedloan market as areas of concern.

“It is critical for regulators to complete their efforts at implementing a macroprudential approach to enhance resilience within the financial system,” she said.

Yellen said building a stronger system was all the more important because economies around the globe could be in need of historically low rates for some time to come, whether due to scars from the financial crisis or deeper underlying economic shifts.

Because of that, central banks could run out of room to cut rates more frequently when financial shocks hit, she warned.

Yellen cited a number of steps the United States had taken to strengthen its financial sector, including setting higher capital requirements for banks.

In making her case that regulation should be in the forefront of fighting financial stability risks, she harkened back to the mid-2000s, when US housing prices were soaring.

Yellen argued a “very significant tightening” of monetary policy would have been needed to stop the housing bubble from building, and that the cost would have been a very large increase in unemployment. l

Dollar creeps up in Asia on US jobs report n AFP, Tokyo The dollar extended its gains against the yen and euro in Asia on hopes for a healthy US jobs report later yesterday, but was unable to break out of its more than five-year lows against the pound.

In afternoon Tokyo trading, the greenback bought 101.88 yen, up from 101.77 yen in New York Wednesday.

The euro bought $1.3647 and 139.05 yen against $1.3658 and 138.99 yen.

The pound bought $1.7152, highs not seen since October 2008. The British currency surged this week following an impressive set of manufacturing data out of London.

Credit Agricole said in a note that it expects investors to be cautious ahead of a string of key events later in the day, most notably US non-farm payrolls data. Also, the European Central Bank concludes a policy meeting, while a report on manufacturing activity in Europe will be released.

On Wednesday, US Treasury yields and the dollar rose after payrolls company ADP said the US private sector added a better-than-expected 281,000 jobs in June, up from May’s 179,000.

That boosted expectations the Labor Department’s report -- to be released Thursday -- will also show a healthy rise in new posts. A strong figure will likely increase expectations of an early rise in US interest rates.

However, in Washington, Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen said Wednesday she sees some rise in po-

tentially dangerous risk-taking in the US financial system, but none requiring a change in monetary policy.

“I do not presently see a need for monetary policy to deviate from a primary focus on attaining price stability and maximum employment, in order to address financial stability concerns,” she said in a speech.

In Europe, ECB officials are widely expected to hold fire on any new measures after unveiling an unprecedented set of measures last month.

But traders are keen to hear ECB chief Mario Draghi’s post-meeting news briefing for any clues about future policy.

“The market will focus on Draghi’s assessment of the eurozone’s macro outlook and it is also likely that Draghi provides more details about the recently announced policy measures,” Credit Agricole said.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It rose to Sg$1.2484 from Sg$1.2468 late Wednesday, to 43.64 Philippines pesos from 43.62 pesos and to 11,951.30 Indonesian rupiah from 11,940.00 rupiah.

The greenback also rose to 32.40 Thai baht from 32.39 baht but weakened to Tw$29.87 from Tw$29.88, to 59.66 Indian rupees from 60.04 rupees and to 1,009.21 South Korean won from 1,009.43 won.

The Australian dollar eased to 93.75 US cents from 94.57 cents, while the Chinese yuan traded at 16.39 yen against 16.32 yen. l

China in small step towards Obama: More reforms needed to wring yuan liberalisation risk from banks n AFP, Shanghai Chinese banks can now set their own exchange rates between the yuan and the US dollar for some customers, the government said, in a small step towards liberalisation of the tightly controlled currency.

Banks can decide the “spread” - the range between the buying and selling price -]- for customers based on market demand, according to a central bank statement posted on the website of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange late Wednesday.

The announcement comes before key talks next week at the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between China and the United States, which is expected to push Beijing for greater economic reforms.

China keeps a tight grip on the yuan - also known as the renminbi - allowing

it to move up or down two percent daily on either side of a mid-point set under the supervision of the central bank.

The latest announcement aims to “further improve the market-oriented yuan exchange rate formation mechanism”, the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, said in the statement.

Previously, the bank set specific limits on the bid-ask spread depending on the transaction type, state media said.

Analysts said the impact of the shift would be limited as it was aimed at retail customers, who make up a small proportion of foreign exchange trading, while corporate clients are already offered more market-based rates.

“This reform will not have any impact on renminbi exchange rates or the formation of mid-point prices,” Liu Dongliang, a senior analyst with China Merchants Bank, said in a research note. l

n Reuters, Washington President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he wants additional financial reforms to make sure banks are not tempted to make risky bets that can pay off handsomely for a few if they succeed but can cause widely felt disruptions if they flop.

Obama said in an interview with American Public Media’s “Marketplace” that he is looking for ways to reform the bank profit and compensation structures to rein in incentives for traders to take big risks.

Reforms put in place after the financial crisis that triggered the painful 2007-2009 recession were a good start, but more is needed, he said, according to a transcript.

“That is an unfinished piece of business,” he said in a radio interview

scheduled to air on Thursday.

Obama said he believes retooling banks will help address such concerns.

In big banks, trading desks generate big profits, but traders can avoid being held accountable for trades that lose

money by moving on, he said.

“You can generate a huge amount of bonuses by making some big bets; you will be rewarded on the upside,” he said. “If you make a really bad bet, a lot of times you’ve already banked all your

bonuses.” Financial reforms have provided some protection for taxpayers, but not enough he said.

“That’s going to require some further reforms,” he said. “That’s going to require us looking at additional steps that we can take.” He did not go into the details or timing of measures he may be considering.

A regulation published in December barred banks from making big trading bets with their own money, shutting down what was a hugely profitable business for Wall Street before the credit crisis.

The measure, known as the Volcker rule, was a late addition to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law and was aimed at ensuring that banks can’t make speculative trades that are so large and risky that they threaten individual firms or the wider financial system. l

Oil extends losses on return of Libyan supplies

PMO, BEPZA sign agreement on evaluating performance n Tribune Business Desk

Oil extended losses in Asia yesterday on prospects that Libya will begin exporting more crude into a global market flush with supplies, while easing concerns about the Iraqi crisis also weighed on prices.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery eased 35 cents to $104.13 while Brent crude for August was down 23 cents at $111.01 in afternoon trade.

Brent fell $1.05 in London Wednesday after Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thani declared that authorities have regained control of export terminals blockaded by rebels.

WTI fell 86 cents in New York.

“Crude prices dipped... due to the relatively quiet situation in Iraq and the Libyan port deal, both of which kept supplies up and sentiment subdued,” said Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Asia Pacific oil and gas practice at business consultancy EY. Libyan production has been severely limited for a year after rebels last summer blockaded terminals in pursuit of a campaign for restored autonomy to the country’s eastern region. l

Prime Minister’s Office and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority recently signed an agreement on managing performance to evaluate qualitative and quantitative activities of BEPZA during the next fiscal year.

Md Abul Kalam Azad, senior secretary at Prime Minister’s Office and Major General Mohd Habibur Rahman Khan, executive chair of BEPZA signed the agreement, said a press release. l

n AFP, Singapore

BRAC Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Six Seasons Hotel for availing free dinning offer for the bank’s premium banking customers, Platinum and Gold credit cardholders during the month of Ramadan. Firoz Ahmed Khan, the bank’s head of retail banking division and Ringo Nathan, the hotel’s general manager & CEO signed the agreement

NBR Bank has recently introduce its eBanking, which was inaugurated by the bank’s chair Iqbal Ahmed

BHBFC makes Tk195cr of profit in FY14

n Tribune Business Desk

Modhumoti Bank Limited yesterday launched an inward remittance service named Probash Cash in collaboration with Western Union. The bank’s managing director and CEO Mizanur Rahman inaugurated the programme at its Motijheel branch

US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan W Mozena recently visited Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd’s PV module manufacturing facility located in Ashulia. The modules are produced based on US technology, supplied to different local solar application requirements and are also exported to the Middle East and Asia

Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) has recently posted a net profit of about Tk195cr in the fiscal year 2013-2014.

The profit increased by Tk5.78cr from the last fiscal’s Tk188.99cr, said a press release.

The status of loan recovery has improved significantly, said the corporation in a satement. The present rate of classified loan is about 6.50% while it was 9.25% in the fiscal year 2012-2013. l

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WB: India should avoid fiscal slippage

Bombay Stock Exchange shut after network outage

n Reuters, New Delhi

n AFP, Mumbai

Inflation is still uncomfortably high in India and the new government should avoid fiscal slippage as it seeks to revive the economy, the World Bank’s India director told Reuters.

The comments came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley warned of tough measures in his first budget on July 10, saying “mindless populism” needs to be checked as India aims to boost growth.

“It’s really important to underline that it (inflation) is a long-term threat to the economy,” Onno Ruhl said in an interview late on Wednesday at the World Bank’s New Delhi office.

“I wouldn’t advise higher deficits ... it is very possible to stimulate growth without letting go of the deficit.”

New Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces the challenging task of reviving the economy at a time when wholesale price inflation is at a five-month high and retail inflation remains above 8%.

The previous government’s interim budget in February set a deficit target of 4.1% of GDP for the current financial year. The gap has already hit $40bn, or nearly half of the target for the full fiscal year that started in April.

Like Ruhl, private economists ex-

pect Jaitley’s maiden budget to shift the policy focus from consumption to investment and seek to broaden the government’s narrow tax base.

Ruhl said implementing a proposed goods and services tax (GST) could be a game changer that would simplify India’s complex array of taxes and levies and boost its growth trajectory.

“It’s a big-ticket item, it will unify India as a market. It will also underpin revenues,” he said, adding that a GST could even help India offset the impacts of rising oil import costs or weak monsoon rains.

After Modi stormed to power in May, hopes are high that the 63-yearold pro-business leader will launch reforms, including a revamp of India’s archaic labour laws, to boost manufacturing and create millions of jobs.

The World Bank said in a 2014 report that India has one of the world’s most rigid labour markets, where regulations often end up encouraging firms to stay small and dodge labour laws.

Given that the subject is politically sensitive, India does not necessarily need a comprehensive review of labour regulations, Ruhl suggested, adding that implementation could be unworkable. l

The Bombay Stock Exchange, India’s second-biggest financial market, shut down during morning trade yesterday owing to computer network problems, a spokesman said.

“Due to a network outage ... BSE decided to close all markets,” spokesman Yatin Padia said in a message to AFP, after trading stopped just before 10.00am (0430 GMT). The outage lasted roughly three hours, with trade resuming after technicians scrambled to resolve the problems, BSE chief executive Ashish Chauhan told AFP. The BSE’s Sensex index is India’s most-tracked stock market index, measuring the performance of 30 major companies across various industries and seen as a bellwether of Indian markets.

“They shut down only when there is no alternative and it goes without saying that volumes on BSE will go down as customers shift to other exchanges to continue trading,” said Alok Churiwala, head of Churiwala Securities in Mumbai.

The BSE suffered another technical glitch last month, which left real-time data feeds blank for nearly an hour and forced deals to be struck using prices from a rival bourse. l

An Indian stockbroker monitors share prices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) terminal at a brokerage firm in Mumbai yesterday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, (BSE), India's second-biggest financial market, shut down during morning trade July 3 owing to computer network problems, a spokesman said AFP

China, South Korea summit to deepen economic ties

UN: Global food prices fall as cereal supply outlook improves n AP, Seoul n Reuters, Rome The economic The outlook for world supplies of cereals and vegetable oils improved in June, contributing to the third straight monthly drop in global food prices, the United Nations’ food agency said yesterday.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 206 points in June, down 3.8 points or 1.8% from May. The figure was almost 2.8% below June 2013 and the lowest since January, as cereal prices fell on better crop prospects and reduced concern over disrupted shipments from Ukraine.

The FAO’s cereal price index averaged 196.2 points in June, down 10.9 points or 5.2% from a revised 207 points in May, mainly due to falls of almost 7% in wheat and maize.

The UN agency raised its forecast for global cereal production for 2014 by 21.5 million tonnes, compared with a previous forecast given in May, to 2.478 billion tonnes.

The forecast was boosted by a more favorable production outlook for maize, almost 1 percent higher than it reported in May but still 1.4% down from 2013.

The FAO revised its estimate for world cereal stocks at the close of the crop season ending in 2015 to 604 million tonnes, up 28 million tonnes from the previous estimate. This would represent a 5.3% jump from the 2013-2014 season and the highest level for more than a decade.

Vegetable oil prices fell 2.4% in June, year-on-year, as prices of palm oil, the most widely traded edible oil, dropped to a nine-month low and expectations for a record world soybean crop dragged soy oil prices to a fouryear trough. l

relationship between China and South Korea looks like it couldn’t be better as Xi Jinping arrives in Seoul yesterday for his first presidential visit to the Korean Peninsula.

Yet expectations are high that the summit between Xi and South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye will deepen those ties with a string of agreements including direct trading between the won and the yuan, which could boost the already substantial trade between the two countries.

The size of the delegation from the world’s second-largest economy underlines that anticipation. Xi is traveling with about 250 business executives including luminaries such as Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba e-commerce empire, and Robin Li, chairman of search engine Baidu. The Korea Chamber of Commerce says it will be the biggest ever foreign business delegation to South Korea.

China is South Korea’s largest trading partner. South Korea’s two-way trade with China was $229bn last year, exceeding the combined value of South Korea’s trade with the U.S. and Japan.

It is also a crucial market and a production base for South Korean exporters such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG who are key foreign investors for China.

But nearly all South Korean exporters and importers still use the US dollar to do business with their Chinese counterparties because there is no market to directly exchange the won and the yuan. That incurs additional currency exchange fees and makes traders vulnerable to fluctuations in the wondollar exchange rate. More than 90% of exports and imports with China were transacted in the US dollar in 2013, according to the Bank of Korea.

That may change as soon as this year.

The South Korean presidential office said the two leaders will discuss the opening of a market to directly exchange the won and the yuan.

South Korean policymakers have said they would like to make Asia’s fourth-largest economy a major center for trading the yuan, vowing to complete infrastructure for such a market by the end of this year. That strikes a chord with Beijing which is inching toward making the yuan an international currency and an alternative to the dollar.

The most noteworthy issue during the summit would be how South Korea can collaborate as the global hub for the yuan

“The economic relationship between South Korea and China is in a very good situation,” said Jee Mansoo, an economist at Korea Institute of Finance. “The most noteworthy issue during the summit would be how South Korea can collaborate as the global hub for the yuan.”

If the agreement on the currency trading is signed during the summit, the South Korean won will join major currencies such as the US dollar, Japanese yen and British Pound that are directly convertible with the Chinese unit.

Another issue likely to get a boost from Xi’s visit to Seoul is the ongoing free trade talks between the two countries. China and South Korea have held about a dozen rounds of negotiations over removing tariffs on goods and ser-

Friday, July 4, 2014

vices but they still have not narrowed their stance on some issues, such as opening South Korea’s agricultural industries.

The South Korean president’s office said the two leaders are expected to discuss how to accelerate the negotiations for the trade deal.

All these moves will push South Korea closer to China, while Seoul has made little headway in its relationship with Japan.

In 1996, South Korea briefly opened a market where traders could directly exchange the won and the yen but that shut down in a few months. Trade talks between South Korea and Japan halted in 2004 and are yet to be resumed. The mood between the two countries recently turned sour due to recent Japanese actions seen in Seoul as attempts to whitewash past wartime atrocities, including the sexual enslavement of Korean women for the Japanese military.

The focus of South Korean tourism has also shifted to Chinese visitors as the yen’s depreciation in the past two years dented Japanese appetite for foreign travel.

For Samsung Electronics Co, China last year overtook South Korea as a bigger revenue generator, accounting for about one fifth of its revenue, nearly twice as much as revenue from its home market. Samsung’s sales from China surged from 23.1tn won ($23bn) in 2011 to 40.1tn won in 2013. Sales in South Korea shrank from 26.5tn won to 22.8tn won over the same period.

Earlier this year, Samsung began operating a memory chip factory in Xi’an in western China, which reportedly cost $7bn. Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s vice chairman, is expected to hold a separate meeting with Xi according to media reports. Samsung declined to confirm. l

China services sector booms in June, suggest economy steadying n Reuters, Beijing Activity in China’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 15 months in June, a private survey showed yesterday, reinforcing signs that the broader economy is stabilising.

The services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) compiled by HSBC/Markit rebounded to 53.1 in June from 50.7 in May, well above the 50-point level that demarcates expansion in activity from contraction.

“The expansion in the service sector reinforces the recovery seen in the manufacturing sector, and signalled a broad-based improvement over the month,” said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC. “We think the economy is slowly turning around, and expect the recovery to remain supported by accommodative policies on both the fiscal and monetary fronts over the coming months,” he added.

In a sign that the domestic economy is regaining some internal strength, a sub-index measuring new business jumped to 53.8 in June, the strongest expansion since January 2013.

Government data on the services sector released earlier in the day also pointed to continued strong expansion, though the pace of growth dipped slightly to 55 for June from 55.5 in May. The findings follow upbeat readings from similar factory activity surveys earlier in the week which offered signs that the world’s second-largest economy is steadying as a flurry of government stimulus measures start to kick in.

Beijing has stepped up policy support in recent months to give a lift to economic growth, which dipped to a 18-month low in the first quarter.

Such measures include targeted reserve requirement cuts for some banks, quicker fiscal disbursements and hastening construction of railways and public housing projects.

“We should especially note the evident rebound in services businesses related to manufacturing activities,” Cai Jin, a vice president at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing - which compiles the official PMI - said in a statement on the agency’s official microblog Weibo account.

“New orders from commodity retailers showed a big rebound, indicating that the stabilising growth momentum in the factory sector is filtering into the services industry.”

Thursday’s HSBC/Markit survey showed firms in the services sector were generally optimistic about the 12-month business outlook. A sub-index gauging their sentiment picked up slightly in June from May’s 11-month low, though the reading remained weak in the context of historical data.

Stronger orders and the improving business outlook prompted services firms to hire more workers last month, as indicated by the employment sub-index, which rose to a three-month high.

Official data also showed companies remained confident, despite a slowdown in new order growth.

The services sector, which accounted for 45 percent of China’s gross domestic product in 2012 and roughly half of all jobs in the country, is expected to post steady growth in coming years as the economy matures.

However, some economists warn the economic recovery still appears patchy, with a cooling property market, sluggish exports and high local government debt levels remaining as key risks. l

German private sector expands at slowest pace in eight months in June n Reuters, Berlin Germany’s private sector expanded at the slowest rate in eight months in June, a survey showed yesterday, as manufacturing lost steam, although Europe’s largest economy looked set to post solid growth in the second quarter.

Markit’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which tracks growth in the manufacturing and ser-

DILBERT

People take a break for a coffee at the 'Juan Valdez Origin' boutique-store during the National Coffee Day, on July 27, 2014, in Bogota, Colombia AFP

vices sectors, fell to 54 in June from 55.6 in May. That was well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction but was the lowest level since October last year and also came in below a flash estimate of 54.2.

The services sector PMI fell to 54.6 in June from 56 a month earlier and also below the 54.8 flash estimate, but Markit said the sector had grown at the fastest

rate in three years in the second quarter.

“While the services sector is clearly making a strong contribution to growth in the German economy, the manufacturing sector lost some momentum in June,” said PMI economist Oliver Kolodseike. He said Germany looked on course for 0.7% economic growth in the second quarter, which would be just down from 0.8% growth in the first three months of the year. l