06 July 2014

Ashar 22, 1421 Ramadan 7, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 96

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Four injured in attack on CHTC team The motorcade came under attack near local DGFI office n Tribune Report Four officials of International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) and a police officer received injuries when their motorcade came under attack, allegedly by Bangalee settlers, in Rangamati yesterday.

The members of CHTC alleged that activists of Bangalee Somo Odhikar Andolon and its like-minded organisations might have been behind attack on their motorcade, which was under police protection, in Rangamati town.

‘I believe aggrieved Bangalees did this,’ a leader of Parbatya Chattagram Somo Odhikar Andolon said The attack was launched around 2pm in Omda Miah Hill area of the town. The injured were CHTC member Dr Iftekharuzzaman, also executive director of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Research Official Ilira Dewan, car driver Nur Hossain and Sadar Police Station OC Monu Sohel Imtiaz.

Three rounds of bullets were fired in the air while the attackers also hurled brick chips on the microbus carrying the CHTC members, Abul Kalam Azad, the additional police superintendent of Rangamati, said.

“We are yet to arrest anyone. We are not sure who were involved in the attack. We will follow legal procedures once we gather all the information,” he added.

Under police escort, a car carrying the commission members left Rangamati town around 4:30pm.

Sultana Kamal, co-chairman of the CHTC, later at a press conference in Chittagong said six organisations of the CHT, which had been defying the conditions of the 1997 Peace Accord from the very beginning, might have launched the attack.

Commission members including lawyer Sara Hossain, rights activist Khushi Kabir and Swapan Adnan were also travelling with the team.

Members of the commission were carrying out their seventh mission in the three CHT districts scheduled for July 2-8. As part of the mission, they visited different places including Babuchhara, Todekmara and Dui Tila of Rangamati and Khagrachhari. They also spoke to various groups and members of the local administration.

However, leaders of Bangalee Somo Odhikar Parishad and three other settler Bangalee-led groups earlier protested the CHT commission’s visit alleging that it would damage peace and tranquillity in the area. They labelled the commission as a controversial organisation and its members as brokers.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Argentinian forward and captain Lionel Messi (C) celebrates with teammates after winning the quarter-final football match against Belgium at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia during the 2014 FIFA World Cup yesterday AFP

Higuain ends Argentina’s 24-year drought RAIHAN MAHMOOD

from Brasilia, Brazil

Lionel Messi’s Argentina stormed into the semifinals of the World Cup following a hiatus of 24 years after they edged past an off-colour Belgium 1-0 in the third quarterfinal at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasilia yesterday.

The difference between the two-

Waterlogging adds perennial woes n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Waterlogging has turned into a perennial hazard to the city dwellers that go through a sticky patch during monsoon and at some other times.

All the government attempts for ridding the city residents of this longstanding problem have so far proved futile.

A series of irregularities and virtual inaction on the part of the local government bodies drag the waterlogging problem on for years.

The city residents as usual suffered as most low-lying areas went under kneedeep water for the moderate to heavy shower that started since early yesterday.

The inundation unfailingly helped obstruct plying of vehicles on the city roads, thus contributing to long tailbacks on most major streets.

Mahmudul Kabir, assistant meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told the Dhaka Tribune: “52mm rain has been recorded yesterday from 6am to 12pm and 17mm rain from 12pm to 3pm in the capital.”

During monsoon, even after light

The monsoon rain leads to waterlogging in the Hawkers’ Market adjacent to New Market in the capital yesterday, taking a heavy toll on the shopping MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU shower, roads and lanes in different areas of the capital go under knee-deep water, a very common murky situation that apparently have failed to draw the attention of the authorities concerned for sustainable steps to address the longstanding problem.

The capital’s Azimpur, Lalbagh, Jigatala, Hazaribagh, Mohammadpur, Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Taltola, Shewrapa-

ra, Kalabagan, Shukrabad, Indira Road, Rajabazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar, Badda, Baridhara, Natun Bazar, Sayedabad, Jatrabari and other areas were flooded.

The city residents blamed the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority of the two city corporations for their inaction.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

time world champions and the country who has only ever played in one previous semifinal and that too against Argentina in 1986 was evident in the

2nd Round

Details on page-15

tactics and experience. Belgium never really threatened Argentina like they had done in their round of 16 clash against USA. The European side re-

quired something special to overcome a team who were backed on by a boisterous crowd of around 68,000, most of whom were supporting Argentina.

Belgium were missing firepower upfront and were beaten accordingly.

Argentina’s intention was clear from the word go as Messi and Co’s wide angled run towards the Belgium goal provided Vincent Kompany’s men barely any time to settle down. The Albiceleste adopted a 4-4-2 formation and Belgium had to track back to thwart the runs of

Former Jatiya Party MP Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu has stepped down as the chairman of the loan scam-hit staterun Basic Bank.

Bachchu, who dropped his papers on Friday afternoon, has been at the

bank’s helm twice since 2009.

The second term of his tenure that was scheduled to end September 4, coincided with credit scams of Tk4,500 crore.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith confirmed the resignation, submitted citing health grounds, to Dhaka Tribune.

He said Basic Bank’s board of direc-

tors would be renewed today.

He also said it was not possible to appoint all directors within a short time; so only the new chairman would be appointed through a circular.

Asked about Bachcu’s successor, Muhith said the potential new chairman was a well-known banker and had

Shakib likely to face heavy sanction n Minhaz Uddin Khan

n AFP, Fortaleza

Controversy over national cricket all-rounder Shakib al Hasan has reached a new height with the star indulging in a verbal row with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and threatening to quit playing Tests and ODIs for the Tigers.

When it seemed Shakib had recovered from the repercussions of the infamous brawl with a spectator in the stand during an ODI against India recently, the biggest advertisement of Bangladesh cricket again finds himself in hot water for leaving without a No Objection Certificate from Bangladesh Cricket Board to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The BCB President Namzul Hasan yesterday told the media that all the Shakib issues would reach a conclusion in the board meeting scheduled for July 7.

According to sources within the BCB, the board is likely to sanction severe punishment against the leading Bangladesh cricketer.

Slim, spiky-haired and prodigiously talented, Neymar is the child prodigy who made good on his talent and looked poised to deliver the World Cup for an expectant host nation.

Aged just 22, such is his importance that a serious back injury which has ruled him out of the tournament could also dash the hopes of his 200 million compatriots.

Neymar is the main creative contributor and leading goal-scorer for an otherwise unimpressive team whose patchy World Cup has provided uneasy viewing for Brazilian fans. His goals led Brazil to victory in the highly charged tournament opener and sealed the 4-1 victory over Cameroon which took them into the knock-out stages.

Neymar’s tears during appearances against Croatia and Chile were testament to the severe pressure that he otherwise seemed to carry lightly.

And his pain and anguish while being stretchered off against Colombia were explained when hospital tests showed he had fractured a vertebra in his back, ending his tournament.

“I have been saying for three matches that Neymar has been hunted,” fumed Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari, as a shocked nation began to digest the news.

Brazilian World Cup-winning sides have always possessed a goal-scorer in top form -- from a 17-year-old Pele in 1958, to Garrincha in 1962, Jairzinho in 1970, Romario in 1994 and most recently Ronaldo in 2002.

Neymar followed in Pele’s footsteps at the Santos club, wears the same 10 jersey and plays in a similar carefree style -- the “jogo bonito” (beautiful game) that made Brazil so popular with football fans worldwide.

Born in the hard-scrabble city of Mogi das Cruzes, near Sao Paulo, as the son of a professional footballer  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

been a bank’s chairman and managing director.

Finance Ministry sources said Bangladesh Krish Bank Chairman Alauddin A Majid was the most likely candidate.

Muhith has already sent a proposal in this regard to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

However, ministry sources could not confirm how much time the PMO might take to settle the issue. Asked whether he was contacted for the new job, Majid told the Dhaka Tribune that he was ready to take up any responsibility if the government wanted him to.

2 | News

Power Development Board relaxed minimum qualification experience in its tender to build a 1,320MW coal based power plant apparently to favor certain companies.

More than 17,00 kilometres separate Argentina from Bangladesh. They are two countries located in different hemispheres of the planet, in literally opposite extremes of the world.

8 | World

Ukraine’s interior minister said most pro-Russian rebels and their top commanders fled their main eastern stronghold.

12 | Entertainment

When the most powerful tragedy in English literature brought to the stage the seating arrangements for the Natmondol were full of audience.

SEHRI & IFTAR TIME Day Ramadan 7/July 6 Ramadan 8/July 7

11 | Op-Ed

School teachers are subjecting students to corporal punishment despite a ban on inflicting any kind of physical punishment.

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INSIDE

3 | News

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Youthful Neymar carried hopes of a nation

Troubled Basic Bank chairman resigns n Asif Showkat Kallol

Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel di Maria and, of course, the indomitable Messi.

Argentina made two changes at the back with Jose Maria Basanta replacing the suspended Marcos Rojo at left-back while veteran Martin Demichelis came in for Federico Fernandez at the middle of defence.

The Red Devils’ fort was breached in the seventh minute of the game by a rejuvenated Gonzalo Higuain. Messi launched one of his typical mesmerising

14 | Sport

Scolari faces a potentially make or break decision as to who replaces injured star Neymar in his starting lineup for the semi-final with Germany.

Sehri – 3.44am

Iftar 6.54pm 6.54pm

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, July 6, 2014

EC backtracks from its decision to use ‘ticks’ marks

Basic Bank chairman  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

The commission plans to introduce EVMs to eradicate number of cancelled votes

n Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission has withdrawn from its earlier decision of using ‘tick’ marks on ballot paper instead of a seal for local body polls, such as municipal or union parishad.

“The commission has decided to use seals in marking ballot papers in the local body polls,” a deputy secretary of commission told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

'The decision was withdrawn as the use of marker pens may allow anyone to tamper with unmarked ballot papers' Last year, the commission decided in principle to use ‘tick’ mark in the ballot papers using marker pen for municipal or union parishad polls and also decided to amend the respective laws in this regard, the official added.

“However, the commission has withdrawn from its previous decision after scrutinising it,” he added.

According to the working papers of the commission’s recent in this regard,

Election Commissioner Abdul Mobarak told the meeting: “The commission should uphold the decision to use seals in the ballot papers instead of markings.”

The decision to use ‘tick’ marks instead of traditional seals was adopted to cut down the number of cancelled ballot papers, which were caused by wrong markings due to the slow-drying ink used put the seal marks.

“The decision was withdrawn as the use of marker pens may allow anyone to tamper with unmarked ballot papers,” the official added.

At the same time, the official added that the number of cancelled votes will disappear if the commission uses electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of ballot papers.

“The commission is initiating to introduce EVMs in union parishad polls and the commission is amending the laws as it decided in principle,” Deputy Secretary Abdul Odud said.

“The concerned section of the commission will present the working papers in this regard at the full commission meeting soon. Following the approval,, EVMs will be used in every union parishad election or by-polls,” he added. l

Furniture of the Malkamla High School in Godagari of Rajshahi are left in the open for more than two months since a devastating Kalboishakhi, a nor’wester, swept the area. The school authority does not have the means to rebuild the school building that houses 400 students. In this year’s SSC examination, the school registered an impressive 100% GPA 5 record AZAHAR UDDIN

College girl abductors yet to be held n Abid Azad Police could not yet arrest the real culprits who were involved with the abduction of a college girl at Uttara in the capital on Friday.

Some 4-5 unidentified miscreants set a 19-year-old college girl free at sector 4 in the area in early hours on the day, about one hour after her abduction from the area. The miscreants shot dead a security guard and stabbed one Mahfuzul, as they came to rescue the girl.

Higuain ends Argentina’s 24-year drought  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

runs in the right flank of midfield and tapped the ball forward to Di Maria with the outside part of his boot. Di Maria’s drive deflected off Jan Vertonghen’s feet and bounced in front of an unmarked Higuain who showed his craftsmanship to thump the ball into the far post.

Although Belgium had their share of possession in the following 20 minutes, they hardly tested goalkeeper Sergio Romero as Eden Hazard, Daniel Van Buyten and Divock Origi continuously lost possession at the edge of the Argentine D-box. Romero was not called into action until the 35th minute when he effortlessly parried away a 25-yarder from Kevin de Bruyne.

Despite being ahead, Argentina suddenly received a scare in the 37th minute when Di Maria pulled his hamstring after unleashing a fierce drive towards goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois which was blocked at the last moment

by Kompany. Midfielder Enzo Perez replaced him but was unable to replicate Di Maria’s brilliant runs towards the Belgium territory.

Belgium’s best chance came their way in the 42nd minute when Vertonghen whipped in a cross from the left flank and Kevin Mirallas powered a neat header just wide of Romero’s right-hand post.

Meanwhile, Argentina decided to go slow and concentrated on keeping pos-

session rather than trying something ambitious. Coach Alejandro Sabella was seen shouting at his charges as he directed them not to concede possession.

Higuain however had nobody apart from himself to blame in the 55th minute when he made his way through the Belgium defence and with only the helpless Courtois standing under the woodwork, the Napoli star fired a shot which, before going out, kissed the crosspiece.

Belgium coach Mark Wilmots inserted Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens in search of the equaliser but the muchtalked about Belgian offence continued to fall short of the required standard. In

Youthful Neymar carried hopes of a nation  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Neymar grew up playing in the streets and indoor futsal pitches, and was talent-spotted at an early age.

He joined Santos, Brazil’s most titled club, in 2003 and made his debut for them in 2009 having an instant impact as the country’s young player of the year.

Neymar finished the 2010 season with 42 goals in 60 games as Santos secured the Copa do Brasil and domestic Sao Paulo state championship.

In 2011, Neymar played the central role as Santos took the Copa Libertadores and the state championship again.

He won the FIFA Puskas goal of the year award for an astonishing solo effort for Santos which beat out Wayne Rooney’s famous overhead volley against Manchester City.

Barcelona beat Santos 4-0 in the Club World Cup final that year and it already seemed a formality that Neymar would head to Spain.

But it was not until 2013 that he followed so many of his Brazil teammates overseas -- a delay that helped further endear him to Brazilian fans.

Neymar already has an impressive tally of 35 goals in 54 international games and shone as the Selecao pre-

pared in perfect fashion by winning the Confederations Cup last June.

However, an unconvincing first season in Europe threw up questions about whether he is ready to lead Brazil to World Cup glory.

“This is Neymar’s first World Cup and nobody knows exactly what is going to happen. It is a big responsibility for him,” Pele said in an interview with AFP. Neymar attracted criticism for fathering a child out of wedlock in 2011, but his biggest controversy revolves around alleged tax evasion implicating ex-Barcelona president Sandro Rosell

Waterlogging adds perennial woes  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Arshadul Alam, a resident in Azimpur, said they were going through a bad patch due to yesterday’s rain.

He said the heavy shower flooded the Azimpur main road, cross sections and internal lanes adjoining the Azimpur graveyard and government staff quarters.

Akbar Hossain, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, was seen standing agape on the road in Shukrabad area with his auto-rickshaw.

He told this correspondent, “The vehicle’s engine refuses to start as water entered the device while I was driving through a road flooded with kneedeep water.”

Farida Akhtar, a resident of Purana

Paltan, said most roads in the area had gone under water and the authorities turned a blind eye to this problem.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on several occasions directed the Local Government Division and its associate bodies, Dhaka Wasa, Dhaka North and South City Corporations and other authorities concerned to immediately take effective steps to salvage the capital from waterlogging during rainy season.

But none of the agencies could properly comply with the premier’s directive.

The Wasa also undertook the Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation project in association with the World Bank in 2008 to reclaim 26 canals from grabbers, but with limited results.

According to Wasa sources, there were originally 65 canals, but with the passage of time, the number came down to 43. Of the remaining canals, 20 have already dried out while many have been filled up with garbage and the rest are gradually being encroached upon.

Moreover, last year the Dhaka Wasa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vitens Evides International, Netherlands with a view to removing waterlogging from the capital.

Besides, the Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation have been installing pipes as part of storm drain system in different areas of the city.

Contacted, Dhaka Wasa Managing

Shakib likely to face heavy sanction  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Namzul said he had received a message from the head coach Hathurusingha where he complained of Shakib threatening to quit playing for Bangladesh.

Shakib made the alleged threat after the national coach asked him to return to Bangladesh’s training camp on August 1, which would have ended Shakib’s CPL campaign earlier than he wanted.

The CPL runs from July 11 to August 16.

“At the moment we are dealing with various issues related to Shakib,” said Nazmul. “First issue is he left the country to play in the CPL without an NOC from the board and that is why he didn’t join national camp which began on July 1 despite being in Dhaka at that time.”

Nazmul also added that such a

threat to quit playing Tests and ODIs from a leading cricketer of the country was alarming as it has brought the board’s effort of nurturing the cricketers into disrepute.

“The board has been doing everything to nurture the cricketers but what we found is that domestic Twenty20 competitions of other countries are more important to them. This is very unfortunate,” moaned the BCB boss.

“After this we will have to rethink whether the board should spend money behind these kinds of cricketers anymore,” Nazmul continued.

Shakib’s threat to boycott national team is, shockingly, his fourth serious offense in last seven months. His shameful lewd gesture towards the

camera during the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka ODI series marks the beginning of controversies which saw the 26 yearold receive a three-match ban. The second one is his brawl, which is under the investigation of a BCB disciplinary committee, with a spectator during a Bangladesh-India game last month and the third being his departure for the CPL without an NOC from the board.

Fingers are being raised at BCB too because of its leniency towards the cricketers, especially Shakib, which can be detrimental to a player’s growth in maintaining discipline. The BCB president however thinks otherwise.

“The board always had zero tolerance against indiscipline. We had punished him (Shakib) for indiscipline in

The mother of the victim alleged that some students including two teachers of Cambrian School and College used to disturb her daughter.

When contacted, Investigation Officer Md Mohiuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that they had detained four persons in this connection for primary interrogation.

“We hope we will be able to arrest the culprits soon” said OC Shahadat Hossain.

At present, the girl is in Dhaka Med-

the 75th minute, Eden Hazard, considered by many as one of the best players in the Belgian squad, made way for Nacer Chadli after a disappointing game by his standards.

In the 85th minute, De Bruyne’s 20-yard shot deflected inches wide of the side post while five minutes later Chadli placed the ball into the hands of Romero. In the final minutes of the game Messi came agonisingly close to his fifth goal of the tournament only to be denied by an onrushing Courtois.

Axel Witsel’s volley in the very next minute was the Belgians’ final effort as they once again failed against the Argentines in the business stage of the tournament. l

over his transfer to Spain.

Despite this, such is his popularity that his publicity machine is known as “Neymarketing”, his female fans are called “Neymarzetes” and many young men have had his image shaved into the back of their heads.

“First comes God, then family and then Neymar,” Rayellen Andrade, 17, told AFP during the World Cup. Neymar has 12.2 million Twitter followers. His latest tweet, sent before the 2-1 win against Colombia, is not without poignancy.

“May the Lord God bless us and protect us!! #insearchofadream,” he wrote. l

Director Taqseem A Khan termed the waterlogging a temporary problem.

To drain out extra water, we installed pumps at different places, he said, adding that all pumps operated after a heavy rain.

Earlier, Dhaka Wasa Deputy Managing Director (Administration) Md Ataur Rahman attributed fund crunch to the poor condition of the drainage and sewerage system in the city.

“We have already contacted different donor agencies for their support to develop this sector in Dhaka,” he added.

Ataur also blamed the city people for dumping waste in the canals and drains, thereby preventing the free flow of water. l

the past. We had suspended him for three games earlier,” said Nazmul.

“It is not that we don’t like Shakib.

He is our best player in the team and we all want him to do better. But it becomes really repulsive when your best player keeps on violating regulations again and again. This makes a very bad impact on the team and on other players,” Nazmul added.

Meanwhile, Shakib twitted twice yesterday night saying, “I’m on my way back to Bangladesh now. Will make myself clear once I get there In sha Allah.”

“I have been listening, watching and waiting. I would request you all not to make any comments before listening to both parties.”

ical College Hospital (DMCH) for her medical examination whether she was physically assaulted or not.

The coordinator Bilkis Begum of One stop Crisis Center (OCC) at DMCH said: “We have already taken the necessary samples to know the girl’s age, DNA and forensic examination.”

Asked whether the girl was physically assaulted, she replied: “We cannot say anything until we get the report.”

“We would get the details within seven or fifteen days” she added. l

Earlier, Aslam Alam, a secretary of the Finance Ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune that Bachchu would be removed.

Sources said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had asked Bachchu to step down.

Established in 1989, Basic was one of the best state-run banks until 2009 when the government appointed Bachchu.

Bangladesh Bank investigators found that during Bachchu’s tenure, the bank gave out loans without verifying applicants’ creditworthiness, sometimes even to defaulters.

They have also found that despite objections from the branches concerned, Bachchu had arbitrarily approve many loans. Bachchu entered deep sea fishing business in 2011 after he was made chairman of the Bank.

He reportedly spent around Tk150 crore on 11 deep-sea fishing trawlers in less than two years.

Ministry sources also said the members of the board of directors had admitted that there had been huge corruption. The government officials in the board were held responsible by the central bank for not informing authorities about the scams.

Most irregularities were reported in 2009-2013 in three branches – Gulshan, Dilkusha and Shantinagar. The loan activities of these three branches have been recently suspended.

The Gulshan branch alone lent more than Tk3,111 crore last year against its deposit of only Tk695 crore, registering a staggering loan-deposit ratio of 427%.

The bank doubled the number of branches to 68 in the last five years, but 70% of its business is controlled by the four graft-ridden branches – the other being the main branch.

Two months ago, the central bank fired Basic Bank’s managing director Kazi Faqurul Islam. l

Four injured in attack on CHTC  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

They also urged the government to ban it in the CHT. Two of the four organisations on July 3 even announced a four-day blockade in Bandarban from yesterday claiming that the commission was trying to create divisions among the Bangalees and the indigenous people of the hills. The blockade was withdrawn yesterday as the team cancelled its tour to Bandarban.

Ripon, a Bangalee youth who witnesses the incident, said: “The attackers set fire to a tire just beside the house of additional SP of Rangamati Sadar Circle. The place is around 60 yards away from a BGB camp. Once the motorcade reached the area, they started hurling bricks.

“Around 150-200 people were in the group. All of them were Bangalee but they are not inhabitants of the area.

They were chanting slogans mostly against Sultana Kamal and in favour of Somo Odhikar organisations.”

Sultana Kamal said the seven-member team went to Bandarban on July 2 to see progress of the execution of the Peace Accord. The visit was aimed at finding out whether the CHT people had been getting benefits of the accord and the barriers behind its full implementation, she said.

“We sat with different organisations of the CHT areas including Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samity (PCJSS) and United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) in Bandarban. We had a scheduled meeting with Bangalee Somo Odhikar Parishad in Rangamati today [yesterday]. When we were staying in Parjatan Motel this morning [yesterday], we were trying to communicate with its leaders. However, they refused to sit with us.

“A number of local people, inspired by its local leader Nurjahan, started gathering people around our hotel and hurled abuse at us,” Sultana said adding that they sought help from the law enforcement agencies as the crowd, at one stage, became threat for them.

She said they finally decided to leave Rangamati as the attempts for

discussion had gone into vain.

“We faced the attack when our motorcade, under police protection, reached in front of the local DGFI office. The attackers from behind the DGFI office started hurling stones at our vehicles. They also shot two rounds of bullets,” said Sultana, also a former caretaker government adviser.

“The injured were taken to Combined Military Hospital in Chittagong Cantonment where we had a scheduled meeting with the GOC of the cantonment. The meeting was postponed due to the incident,” she added.

When contacted, Central Coordinator of Parbatya Chattagram Somo Odhikar Andolon Moniruzzaman Monir declined to comment whether his party members were involved in the attack or not.

“I believe aggrieved Bangalee people did this,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Bangalee Somo Odhikar Parishad is a faction operating under the Parbatya Chattagram Somo Odhikar Andolon.

The other organisations supporting the Andolon are Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad (PBCP), Parbatya Nagorik Parishad (PNP), Parbatya Dalopati Parishad (PDP) and Parbatya Chhatra Oikya Parishad (PCAP).

The CHT commission officials said they had contacted the leaders of Bangalee Somo Odhikar Parishad to have an appointment so that the commission could take their opinion on the CHT issues.

Asked about it, Monir said: “The Rangamati district administration contacted us over phone and asked us to prepare a group of representatives to sit with the commission officials. We rejected their invitation since we did not get any formal invitation from the commission in this regard.”

At one point, he said: “Why should we meet them? They brought with them Ilira Dewan who was a member of the Hill Women’s Federation for a long time. We told them [the commission] not to come to the CHT.” Ilira was injured critically in the attack. l

Unidentified miscreants launch an attack on a convoy carrying members of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission in Rangamati yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, July 6, 2014

PDB eases experience bar for mega power project Professionals fear sub-standard companies with little experience may take advantage of the lowered bar

n

Aminur Rahman Rasel

The Power Development Board (PDB) has relaxed the minimum qualification experience in its tender to build a 1,320MW coal based power plant using latest ultra super critical technology at Moheshkhali Island of Cox’s Bazar, apparently to favor certain companies.

The proposed 1,320MW coal based power plant is expected to a double unit establishment, each unit with a production capacity of 660MW. The common practices for PDB is to require companies with at least one overseas experience which means that any company willing to participate in a tender to construct 100MW power plant must have experience in similar operations abroad.

However, this time the PDB has set the minimum experience as equivalent to constructing a 600 MW plant, 60MW lower than the expected qualifications.

At the same time, the state-owned

body has also allowed the companies, experienced in using sub-critical technologies, to take part in the bid.

At present, three technologies are available for constructing coal-based power plants such as sub-critical, super critical and ultra super critical.

Sub-critical is considered the oldest.

“PDB is planning to adopt the latest ultra super critical technology in setting up coal-based thermal power plants in the country. Thus, companies with at least one overseas super critical experience could be considered for the tender. However, it will also allow companies experienced only in building sub-critical plants to take part in the bid. The decision is not right.” said a PDB official seeking anonymity.

“The ultra super technology plants will reduce carbon emissions, generation costs will be minimised and at the same time increase efficiency,” he said.

At present, the 250MW Barapukuria thermal power plant in Dinajpur is us-

ing sub-critical technology.

According to the tender document, a bidder must have experience in at least one project applying sub-critical, super critical or ultra super critical coal-fired plant having a minimum 600 MW capacity outside the tenderer’s country.

Although the board mentioned its decision not to hold a pre-bid meeting when it called the tender in April, PDB made an amendment to the tender advertisement on May 15 and held the meeting on May 26 at Biddut Bhavan.

On April 1, PDB advertised a tender inviting bidders for “Construction of Moheshkhali 2x600-700 MW coal fired ultra super critical thermal power plant project on turnkey basis.”

According to the advertisement, submission date was July 8 and open date July 9. After the second amendment, now submission date has been fixed on July 22 and open date on July 23.

When asked, PDB Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhulullah told the Dhaka Tri-

bune: “To increase the number of the participation, we have relaxed the experience requirements.”

About the frequent changes in dates, he said the amendments were made “for the good” of the project.

“Having two units with equal production capacity, the proposed plant will use imported coal and the construction of the plant is likely to complete by 2020,” he added.

According to sources, coal-fired power plants were normally prone to high environmental risks and any company without sufficient experience may cause unabated environmental pollution.

They added that for such mega projects, the PDB cannot take any kind of risks by allowing inexperienced companies and therefore has no scope to downgrade the standards which may allow inexperienced companies to qualify.

Presently, environmental issues have been high priority across the globe.

However, the government has already signed three deals to build three similar 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plants through super critical or ultra-supercritical technology.

The first one was signed between Indian state-owned National Thermal Power Company (NTPC) and PDB for Rampal and the second one between the state-owned Northwest Power Generation Company and China National Machinery Import Export Corporation for Patuakhali.

The last deal was inked with another Chinese state-owned company, China Huadian Hong Kong Company Limited, for Moheshkhali.

The government has prepared a road map to generate electricity of around 20,000MW from the coal-based power plants in the country by 2030.

Of the total power generation target, 11,250MW would be produced by using local coal reserves while the rest would depend on imported coal. l

3 Political forum begins in New York n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman A two-day high-level political forum ministerial dialogue will begin tomorrow at the UN headquarters in New York aiming to shape up the post-2015 development agenda.

“The Bangladesh delegation will take part in different sessions of the forum meeting and intervene where it feels necessary to shape the new development agenda,” Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday before he left Dhaka for New York.

The foreign secretary will lead the delegation in the forum meeting.

The post-2015 development agenda is very important for Bangladesh as the Sustainable Development Goals will dictate the future policies of the country in several social sectors, including health, maternal health and education.

SDGs will replace Millennium Development Goals that will expire next year. Bangladesh in the last 14 years had achieved most of the eight major MDGs. l

ICT official: No bar to Nizami verdict n Udisa Islam

BGB personnel, along with local people, inspect the land recovered from India’s adverse possession in Chuadanga

Jessore trader injured in police firing, loses leg n Mohammad Jamil Khan A businessman, who was allegedly shot in the left leg by the police for not to pay extortion, has finally lost his leg.

Doctors at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) on June 29 amputated the left leg of Salman Shikder Viky, a businessman from Jessore.

The condition of another businessman named Masudur Rahman Nannu, who was also injured in the police firing, was deteriorating. Doctors think that he also might have to undergo operation.

The two businessmen fell victim to the police on June 15 and May 31.

Sub-Inspectors Shoeb Uddin and Jamal Uddin of Kotwali police station shot them in the legs in Chachara area of the district allegedly for their refusal to pay Tk10 lakh demanded by them. The Dhaka Tribune ran a report on the incident on June 28.

Babu Shikder, father of Salman, yesterday claimed that SI Shoeb not only shot his son, but also threatened to kill him. He alleged that Shoeb also transferred his son from Nitor to Jessore Central Hospital.

The police officer, however, denied all the allegations brought against him.

He told the Dhaka Tribune that both the businesspeople were known terrorists in Monihar Cinema Hall area. “We will take further action against them.

We shifted Viky after his operation had been conducted,” he added.

Masudur Rahman Nannu, fruit trader, is now undergoing treatment at paying ward 50.

Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam, duty doctor of the ward, said his (Nannu) leg

might be amputated for bad circulation. “If it does not improve, we would have no option to cut off his leg,” he added.

According to Viky, SI Shoeb on June 15 came to their house in Bezpara area, blindfolded him and shoved him into a microbus. Later, they demanded Tk10 lakh from him. When he refused to pay the money, Shoeb shot him in the leg and staged a drama of mugging, Viky said.

Police filed a case against him later.

Nannu told the Dhaka Tribune that SI Shoeb came to his fruit shop on May 31, blindfolded him and whisked him away in a microbus. Later, SI Shoeb demanded Tk10 lakh from him.

“As I was unable to pay too much money, he shot me in the leg. He also threatened to cripple me,” Nannu said.

He claimed that Shoeb also asked his two other associates, who were in the microbus, to file case against him and his relatives.

When asked why police attacked him, Nannu said he had helped the Rapid Action Battalion trace some arms traders in a student mess of BCMC College just a couple of days before the incident. “The criminals might have managed the police officer to give me a good lesson,” he added.

Reshma Sharmin, senior assistant superintendent of police (Sadar circle) of Jessore, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We had information that Salman was preparing for the hijack. We conducted a joint drive along with BGB members.

Sensing our presence, he attacked us first and that is why police shot him.”

He was a listed terrorist in this area and locals were in a state of panic for his terrorist acts, she said, adding that three cases were filed against him earlier. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BGB recovers land in India’s adverse possession n Our Correspondent, Chuadanga BGB yesterday recovered 12.04 hectare land at the Chuadanga border which was in India’s adverse possession for 66 years.

At 11am yesterday, personnel from 6 BGB Battalion erected border flags on the land to mark Bangladesh’s control.

Lt Col SM Moniruzzman, director of the BGB battalion, said there had been a 12.04 hectare stretch of land inside Bangladesh’s territory from border pillar number 61/3-S to 61/9-S. He said: “Some Hindu and Shantal families lived on that land. However, they went to India after the 1947 partition. Since then, India had been enjoying the adverse possession of the land.

“It is not a land in adverse possession. We can still see the pillars erected by the India-Pakistan joint surveyor team at that time [1947],” he said.

Scrutinising documents in the local land office, BGB found that the land was registered with Chuadanga district administrator’s office in 1962. Of the land, 10.43 hectare belonged to the district administration and the rest to a private owner.

“Since the land had been under India’s possession, neither the government nor any individual has ever taken any initiative for recovery,” he added.

The 6 BGB Battalion took an initiative in this regard in April last year after it took charge of the Chuadanga border.

They held a number of discussions with the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), the local administration and people.

Lt Col SM Moniruzzaman said India had failed to produce any legal document in favour of their long possession.

Recently, under the supervision of the BGB battalion, the land was ploughed and a number of vegetable seeds were sowed.

According to existing rules, the recovered land would now be distributed among the local landless people.

In May 2010, a five-member government team inspected the area and submitted a report to the then director general of the Directorate of Land Record and Survey.

In February 2011, Chuadanga district administration sent a letter to the district magistrate of India’s Nadia to discuss the adverse possession issue.

However, the Indian side has never replied that letter. l

As the Dhaka Central Jail authorities has submitted the final health report of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami mentioning that he is “fit,” prosecutors said now there is no barrier to pronounce verdict in the war crimes case against him.

Last Thursday, the jail authorities wrote to the registrar’s office of the International Crimes Tribunal saying that Nizami, 69, was in good health, Arunav Chakraborty, the tribunal’s deputy registrar told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Since Nizami has regained stability, there is no bar to pronounce the verdict in his presence,” said Tureen Afroz, one of the conducting prosecutors of the case.

On June 24, the tribunal 1 deferred the long-awaited verdict due to the sudden illness of the accused. The jail authorities wrote to the tribunal about the illness only hours before the pronouncement of verdict mentioning

that physicians had advised not to move Nizami anywhere.

However, the accused was fit the previous day when he had been taken to Dhaka from Kashimpur jail, officials said.

Two days later, the jail authorities told the tribunal that Nizami’s health had improved slightly but not stable.

The tribunal may set the new date after observing the recent report sent by the jail authorities Farman Ali, senior jail super of Dhaka, said physicians after a check up at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University declared him stable and fit.

He said Nizami has been sent back to his designated cell instead of the jail hospital, where he has been kept since June 24.

Arunav told to Dhaka Tribune: “Le-

gally there is no barrier to set a new date to pronounce the verdict. The tribunal may set the new date after observing the recent report sent by the jail authorities.”

Prosecutor Zead Al Malum echoed his view.

The verdict against Nizami prolonged for various reasons since December last year. No other case faced such unusual situation at the tribunal 1. The trial took around four years due to the defence’s delay strategy, prosecution’s mismanagement and time consuming reform of the tribunal. The prosecution has changed its conducting prosecutor for this particular case four times.

Nizami is the last “high-profile” war crimes accused who faces 16 charges of crimes against humanity including genocide.

The two tribunals have so far sentenced eight people to death; one got life term imprisonment while another 90 years in prison. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, July 6, 2014

A goods-laden rickshaw van topples after one of its wheels fell into a deep pothole on the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Pagla highway, which had been depleting day by day due to negligence of authorities concerned. The condition of the road worsens further when many areas on the prime highway goes under water during monsoon, causing frequent accidents and sufferings to commuters MEHEDI HASAN

Teachers pay no heed to ban on corporal punishment n Mushfique Wadud School teachers are subjecting students to corporal punishment despite a ban on inflicting any kind of physical punishment.

As some students and guardians told the Dhaka Tribune, such practice is imposed even in some city schools, particularly for not doing homework and for quarreling with fellow students.

Earlier on January 13, 2011, the High Court banned all sorts of corporal punishment such as caning, beating, chaining, forced-haircut and confinement in all primary and secondary schools and madrasahs.

The court also sought actions against those teachers who are engaged in inflicting corporal punishment on the students, terming such it as an act of extra-judicial punishment.

After the High Court’s ruling, the government banned such corporal punishment in all educational institutions across the country.

But some incidents of corporal punishment were reported in the last few weeks. Show-cause notices were issued in some cases and in some others,

parents demonstrated in front of the schools.

Seeking anonymity, a parent from Dhaka city’s Mirpur area said her son had been subjected to corporal punishment in class because he had failed to do his homework.

“My son was so scared that he had not gone to school for the next two days.”

The condition is even worse in rural areas where a number of such acts of corporal punishment were reported in the last few weeks.

On June 11, a math teacher from a Sunamganj school gave 48 used razor blades to her students and ordered them to cut their hands and legs as the students didn’t do their homework.

No student had completed their 30 sums. The incident drew criticism across the country and the teacher was later transferred from the school.

A madrasa teacher was arrested in Shahjahanpur Railway Colony in the capital on May 20 on charge of cruelly torturing his 11-year-old student.

Nur Mohammad, a teacher of Allama MA Jalil Hifza Academy, tied the student with ropes and beat him up.

BNP prepares for movement, polls n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The BNP yesterday said the party had been making preparation to participate in the next national poll apart from waging the anti-government movement.

The government kept a forcible grip on the state power at his bidding, not with a clear mandate from people, BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.

“We would strengthen popular movement after Eid, plus prepare for next election and revamp the party. All these activities are underway.”

The spokesperson for the party made the statement while talking to journal-

ists after visiting the party chief’s media wing official Shamsuddin Didar at a city hospital yesterday morning.

He said the present government usurped the state power through an illegal poll.

“People are with us and we will wage a massive anti-government movement together,” said the leader.

Fakhrul mentioned that all ministers were illegal as they were not elected by people’s franchise.

So, the nation immediately demanded their resignations, he said.

People would reject the Awami League in the next poll as the party deprived them of their suffrage, added the leader. l

His father has claimed that the teacher even hung his son from the ceiling fan.

In Nilphamari, a show cause notice was issued to a primary schoolteacher on May 12 for caning a student in Nilphamari Sadar upazila.

Golam Mostofa, 11, a class V student of Manushmara Government Primary School was beaten up by his mathematics teacher Mohaimen Islam.

The student was admitted to Nilphamari 100-bed Hospital with injuries in several parts of his body.

In the same district, a teacher of Purbo Chhatnai Colony High School, Shamima Akhter beat Ashraful Islam, 12,a Class VII student. Ashraful was admitted to Dimla Upazila Health Complex with injuries.

Parents demonstrated in front of the school on June 22 demanding punishment of the teacher. Dr Anup Kumar of Dimla Health Complex said they had found signs of beating all over the body’s body.

Education officials said teachers had been strictly instructed not to inflict any sort of corporal penalty on the students but they were not seemingly paying heed to the instruction as such

incidents still continued.

“We have issued letters several times to teachers not to punish students physically,”Director general of the Directorate of Primary Educatrion, Shyamal Kanti Ghosh, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said whenever they were informed of any allegation, they looked into the matter and took action.

Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Director General Fahima Khatun also echoed Shyamal and said they had also given instructions.

Abu Sayeed Bhuiyan, headmaster of city’s Government Laboratory High School, told the Dhaka Tribune government and NGOs often arrange some workshops guiding teachers not to torture students.

He said teachers had long been practicing corporal punishment in schools and it might take time to fully put an end to such practices.

“But the situation is changing. Many teachers are avoiding corporal punishment,” he said, adding that teachers of this school strictly follow the government guidelines on corporal punishment. l

Mirpur RMG worker allegedly raped, case filed against four n Tazlina Zamila Khan A case was filed against two men yesterday who allegedly raped a ready made garment worker living in the capital’s Mirpur. The girl’s aunt Parul Akhter filed the case with the Mirpur police station.

The victim, who was raped on Tuesday, is still undergoing treatment at the One-Stop Crisis Centre of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Dr Bilkis Begum, coordinator of the One-Stop Crisis Centre, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have done radiology and forensic tests on the girl on Thursday. We have waited for case documents for the DNA tests but the girl’s family has submitted copies of the case this morning and we have prepared our documents accordingly.”

She added: “The condition of the victim is better now. She might be released tomorrow. Her aunt Parul is regularly visiting her.”

Sub-inspector of the Mirpur police station Matiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “The case was filed against four people, including two named and the other two unnamed. The names of

the accused are Farid and Sumon.”

Inspector Moinul Islam is investigating the case, he said.

Moinul told the Dhaka Tribune: “We could not trace the culprits as the victim failed to provide any details about them.

She said there were four men in the microbus and she was raped by two of them.

Sumon and Farid were sitting in the back.

The third man sat beside the driver.”

“Sumon has been harassing her for 6-7 months. She said she would assist us in arresting Farid once she is released from the hospital,” he added.

Aunt Parul told the Dhaka Tribune: “Farid raped my niece. He is a rogue person. He harassed her for a long time.

My niece told me, Farid proposed to marry her but she refused.”

The victim works at Creative Garment in Darus Salam of Mirpur. On her way back home in Paik Para after 10pm on Tuesday, Farid forced her inside the microbus which travelled to an unknown place where she was raped by two.

The vehicle drove back and the girl was dropped back to the place where she was kidnapped from. She is an orphan and lives with her aunt. l

DC conference begins Tuesday n Mohosinul Karim

While a total of 38 out of 474 decisions taken in last year’s deputy commissioner’s conference remain unimplemented, new 307 issues and recommendations will be discussed in the upcoming DC conference, set to begin Tuesday.

The points have been selected according to the proposals of the DCs sent earlier. New decisions will be taken after discussing the issues in the threeday conference.

At the meeting, president, prime minister, ministers and policymakers of the government meet with the DCs across the country to brief them about the government’s policy and priorities. The policy makers will hear the problems and recommendations of the DCs and make decisions to solve those issues.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hos-

Another Jessore Central Jail prisoner dies

WHO to draft action plan on antimicrobial resistance

n Our Correspondent, Jessore

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Another prisoner of Jessore Central Jail died at Jessore Medical College Hospital yesterday.

Sources said Yunus Ali, 57, a lifeterm prisoner and also resident at Anandabash village in Mujibnagar upazila of Meherpur district died around 10:40am.

Jailer Mohiuddin Haider confirmed the incident.

He had been imprisoned at the Jail since 2012, said Mohiuddin Haider, jailer, Jessore Central Jail.

Family members alleged that he was tortured by police as the police were not given demanded money. The jail authority did not provide proper treatment to the victim.

Samiuzzaman Uzzal, 32, former joint secretary, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jessore district unit and an activist of Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal and also son of Moniruzzaman of Ghope in Jessore town died in the jail on Friday. l

World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an online consultation on a draft global action plan to seek the views and contributions of relevant organisations, civil society bodies, national authorities to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The current consultation will remain open till September 1, 2014, says a press release issued by WHO on July 4. It also said the 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution calling on WHO to lead the development of a global action plan to address AMR, and submit a draft plan to the next WHA that is set to be held in 2015.

In the first phase, WHO will seek contributions to help prepare the global action plan. Later, comments will be sought on the finalised version of the plan. The questionnaire is divided into four segments in which the questions are broadly framed and intended to present and explain the organisations’

viewpoint.

It was also learnt that WHO made the draft outline of the global action plan on AMR in June where it set six steps to achieve success against AMR. In the draft, emphasis was put on proper monitoring and evaluation to cover the area of hygiene and infection prevention and control programmes, awareness, education and training programmes and campaigns, evidence based guidance for clinical use (including use of diagnostics), stewardship programme to control misuse and overuse.

It also stressed on the need for a functioning surveillance system, integrated across sectors with the ability to detect resistance and to provide data to support primary indicators, regulations to ensure effective licensing and quality control of medicinal technology development and innovation in areas of medicines, vaccines and diagnostics and monitoring, evaluation and assessment of plan implementation. l

sain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the government had taken initiatives to implement all the decisions. “Some of the decisions can be solved by the ministries concerned.

“Sometimes the government needs to coordinate with several ministries to implement some decisions. We need time to implement such decisions. We have no negligence to implement the decisions of the DC conferences,” he added.

He also said: “Sometimes it is needed to amend policies or laws to implement the decisions. It is time consuming. But we try our level best to implement the decisions faster.”

The cabinet division officials said the DCs had sent more than 450 problems and recommendations to discuss at the conference. Most of these proposals were discussed previously and

therefore, those would be excluded from the list this time.

According to the cabinet division, as many as 436 out of 474 decisions taken in the previous DC conference held on July 23-25 last year were implemented in the last one year. Of those, 159 were short-term and 150 mid-term decisions. A total of 153 short-term and 138 mid-term decisions have been implemented partially.

Of the 165 long-term decisions, 145 were implemented in the last one year.

Of the 38 decisions remained unimplemented, 20 are long-term, 12 midterm and six are short-term issues. Initiatives to implement the decisions are yet to be taken.

Though the cabinet division claimed that the rate of implementation of the decisions was 92%, most of the decisions were implemented partially

while many only in black and white.

According to the officials, the shortterm decisions taken last year involved non-coordination between civil, police and judicial administrations. As a result, most of the criminals get bail and relieved immediately which hampers controlling law and order.

As per the progress papers of implementation of the decisions, it was decided to provide new transport for Tangail district administration to operate eviction drive of illegal infrastructures and look after Bangabandhu Bridge area.

Though the authorities claimed that the decision was implemented, the Bridges Division is yet to provide any transport for them. They have only included a proposal to purchase a vehicle for the district administration. It will be procured only after the authorities get budgetary allocation from the government. l

Sonargaon hotel hosts iftar party for children n Tribune Report Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel has organised a Iftar and dinner party for children at its Grand Ballroom recently.

More than five hundred children from different children welfare institutions were invited to the party.

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon was present at the programme as chief guest and ministry Secretary Khurshed Alam Chowdhury was also present among others, said a media release. l

Seminar on higher education at IUB n Tribune Report Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and the Cambrian Education Group jointly has recently organised an International seminar on “Quality in Higher Education” at the IUB campus.

Prof Dr Quamrul H Mazumder, director of department of Mechanical Engineering of University of Michigan-Flint, USA, was the keynote speaker, said a media release.

A speaker named Prof Mazumder said: “In order to get quality in higher education, we need to provide quality

academic programmes and support services to the students. We have to provide adequate research facilities and increase faculty scholarly activities at the educational institutions.”

Prof M Omar Rahman, vice-chancellor of IUB, delivered the welcome speech and inaugurated the seminar. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Gopibagh six murders still a mystery n Mohammad Jamil Khan It has been over six month since the murder of six people in the capital’s Gopibagh. Yet the police are yet to solve the mystery behind the incident or arrest anyone in this connection.

Investigators suspect the killings involved an Islamic militant group but they are unable to make any further progress.

Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch (East) of police, said police were trying to make progress in the case but are impeded by the lack of leads in the case.

He said nothing could be said about the probe at this stage, adding: “Efforts are on to arrest some suspected criminals based on primary information gathered from the crime scene.”

Speaking about the motive for the murders, Jahangir said Lutfar Rahman Faruk, one of the six, would spread the message of fanaticism after renting the house in Gopibagh.

This might have angered some people who then killed him, he added.

On December 21 last year, unidentified miscreants entered the house no 64/6 at Ramkrishna Mission road in Gopibagh and killed Faruk, his son Monir

Our Correspondent,

LIGHT RAIN

n DU Correspondent

SUNDAY, JULY 6 DHAKA

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:16AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

34

28

Chittagong

31

26

Rajshahi

34

27

Rangpur

33

26

Khulna

33

26

Barisal

33

26

Sylhet

33

25

Cox’s Bazar

31

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

33.4ºC Sylhet

25.3ºC Chittagong

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zahr Asr Magrib Esha

Activists of CPB and BSD hold a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding the clearance of wages of workers before Eid

MEHEDI HASAN

Dhaka University turns Downpour paralyses Barisal city n festive in Ramadan

WEATHER

TODAY SUN SETS 6:50PM

and four others. The four others were Faruk’s followers, namely Saidur Rahman, Mojibur, Rasel and Manzur Alam.

The following day, Abdullah AlFaruk, younger son of Faruk, filed a case with Wari police station, accusing 10-12 unidentified men of the murders.

Abdullah Al-Faruk told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have contacted police several times after filing the case and gave them a list of suspected killers but they are yet to take any action. They only said they were looking into the case and the criminals would be arrested but nothing has happened yet.”

If the police took action and arrested the suspects then they would have been able to nab the real culprits, he said.

“The case is not moving forward as police do not want to do that,” he added.

Abul Khayer, sub-inspector of the detective branch of police and investigating officer in the case, told the Dhaka Tribune they had identified four to five suspects and were trying to arrest them.

“These people are continuously changing their hideouts which is why it is hard to arrest them,” he said.

Police are trying their best to end the investigation, added the investigating officer. l

3:49am 5:15am 12:03am 4:44pm 6:50pm 8:17pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

A festive mood prevails at Dhaka University in the evenings of Ramadan as numerous students, both present and former, arrange iftar parties on the campus to break the daylong fasting together.

The TSC (Teacher-Student Centre), Arts Faculty, Business Faculty, Madhur Canteen, Hakim Chattar, Curzon Hall, Law Faculty and several other places see large gatherings, with people sitting in circles, every evening since Ramadan began.

Students of other institutions such as Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka College, Eden College and different private universities also arrange iftar parties on the campus.

“It has been a tradition to organise iftar party every year during Ramadan,” said Sajib, a third-year student of Philosophy Department at the university.

“It is also a sort of reunion for us as both former and present students attend the party,” he added.

Many iftar parties are arranged every day on the campus, with some being organised by different socio-cultural organisations.

“Although we miss having iftar with our family members, we enjoy it here with friends, seniors and juniors,” said a student of women and gender studies.

TSC Director Alamgir Hossain said several organisations arrange iftar parties in Ramadan every year in the TSC cafeteria and auditorium which creates extra pressure on us to accommodate them all.

Roadside iftar sellers do a good business as people buy different popular items, including chhola, puffed rice, piyaju, beguni, samosa, jalebi and juices of different flavours, for iftar.

Babul, an iftar vendor, said: “I make extra money in Ramadan as I make nearly Tk2,500 every day by selling iftar items.”

Also in the halls and dorms, students arrange iftar in their rooms.

“We really enjoy having iftar with friends and roommates,” said Rasel, a student of economics.

Like the males, female students also arrange iftar parties in the dorms and sometimes prepare different items themselves.

“We are enjoying Ramadan in the dorm. It gives us additional pleasure when we take iftar together with our friends and also help each other in preparing iftar items,” said Suma, a student of sociology, who stays at Rokeya Hall.

Amzad Ali, proctor of the university, said: “Teachers of the blue panel (pro-Awami League) and white panel (pro-BNP) arrange iftar parties in Ramadan every year. Parties are also arranged at teachers' club and teachers' lounge.” l

BARISAL

More than 10-hour of incessant monsoon rain has caused water logging in vast areas of the Barisal city yesterday, severely hampering the daily activities of locals.

Local met office said they recorded 33 milimeter rainfall until 3pm from 6am.

In some cases, river communication was halted due to the unusual rain.

Barisal River Port authorities suspended all sorts of water transports on the river routes from 8am, said Shahidullah, deputy director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

The action followed after signal no. 2 hoisted in the port in the morning by the local met office, the official continued.

Barisal citizens had been experiencing low to mid level rainfall from morning without any break, which continued before sunset.

Most people forced to stay in their residences as there was scarcity of transports. On the other hand, the drivers demanded comparatively high fare from the passengers, which added extra suffering to the people.

Make shift shops, hawker markets were closed in most parts of the city and local kitchen markets witnessed a few customers as people did not venture out with an emergency need.

Water logging on different city roads and low lying areas were caused due to filling and grabbing canals, lack of proper drainage and sewerage system and absence of city protection embankment, Barisal City Corporation mayor-elect Ahsan Habib Kamal alleged.

The rainfall would continue and there will have also 15-20 km per hour gusty wind for the next one or two days, according to met office forecast.

Low pressure in the Bay of Bengal, monsoon air has been causing the downpour in the region, said Prodip Kumar, officer of Kalapara met office.

Earlier, all fishing boats and trawlers asked to take shelter till the improvement of the weather, the official stated. l

Rain to continue for the next two days

Dhaka experiences highest rainfall this monsoon A heavy traffic jam on the city roads 12pm yesterday. n Tazlina Zamila Khan Besides, Chandpur, Comilla, Tan- followed the torrential rain inundating The capital yesterday experienced 69mm rainfall from 6am to 3:30pm yesterday, highest of its kind this monsoon.

The heavy downpour, however, continued till midday, with the meteorologists predicting that the city would not experience any heavy rainfall this week except light shower for the next two days.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded the highest 150mm rainfall in Patuakhali district while the lowest 4mm was recorded in Feni till

gail, Faridpur, Madaripur, Barisal, Bhola, Khulna, Mongla, Satkhira, Bogra, Rangpur, Saidpur and Dinajpur recorded 43mm, 9mm, 17mm, 11mm, 17mm, 28mm, 25mm, 53mm, 48mm, 17mm, 3mm, 3mm, 4mm and 45mm rainfall respectively till 12pm, said assistant Meteorologist Mahmudul Kabir.

Duty Forecasting Officer Atiqur Rahman said: “The southern part of the country like Khulna and Barisal experienced light to heavy rain yesterday.

However, no rainfall was sighted in Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar districts.”

the ground floor of many houses in the low-lying areas across the city.

The rain as usual took a heavy toll on the commuters' movement as traffic movement came to a standstill in the wake of congestion.

Meteorologist Arif Hossain said: “The capital experienced the highest rainfall this monsoon starting from March.”

He suggested improving the city's drainage system to rid people of the havoc caused by moderate to heavy rainfall. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Jamalpur municipality now a town of garbage

Four-day roadwaterway blockade continues in Bandarban n Our Correspondent, Bandarban

n Our Correspondent, Jamalpur The people of Jamalpur municipality have been suffering for long due to serious environment pollution as the authorities do not clean the town regularly.

According to sources,the dustbins along the roadsides of the town are full of garbage. The townspeople dump their waste near the dustbins as it can no longer contain trash. As a result, most of the streets are littered with garbage which is polluting the town seriously.

'Due to want of modern equipment, the plant cannot be operated' The people cannot move along the roads as the decomposed organic materials emit awfully bad odour making it difficult to breathe in the air.

The municipality was established in 1869. The area of the town is 53.28 sq km. The town has a population of 1,68,554.

Local traders Montu Mian, Sad Hossain Shish, Abul Hossain alleged there are 103 cleaners to keep the town hygienic for its citizens. But they do not come regular to take away the rubbish from the dustbins.

Sources said a wastage treatment

The photo shows the Stadium area of Jamalpur town that has virtually turned intio a dumping ground of decomposed organic materias

DHAKA TRIBUNE

ing allocation of fund for purchasing necessary equipments. But we have not yet received any positive response from them,” said an officer.

The officer also said that they had

only three vehicles which are inadequate to work in the town.

Sometimes the vehicles go out of order but it is not repaired as its parts are not available in the district. l

plant was set up two years ago but it lies idle. A section of townspeople dumped the trash in the Brahmaputra River and Stadium area polluting the environment.

When contacted, Mayor Wares Ali Mamun said: “Due to want of modern equipments, the plant cannot be operated.”

“The municipal mayor sent a proposal to the ministry concerned seek-

Mothbaria-Pirojpur road in sorry state n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur

The Mothbaria-Pirjpur road is in a pitiable state as it gets dusty during the dry season and muddy during the wet season, making it a nightmare for people all the year around.

Locals say they suffer more in the wet season, when this road, full of pot holes, goes under knee-deep water even after a little of rain.

Schools and other government and non-government institutions are situated along this road. Everyday, a few thousands of people move along this road either on foot, in a rickshaw or by a motorised vehicle.

Businessman Abdul Salam Azadi says this road goes through the Mothbaria upazila town. The Mathbaria Bus Stand-to-Bazar Bridge

part of the road is in an awful state.

The correspondent visited the road and found it in a terribly bad state yesterday.

He also found Government Model Primary School, KM Latif Institution. Hatem Ali Girls' Secondary School, Upazila Parishad, Judicial Magistrate's Court and Palli Bidyut Fire Service office.

A school student guardian, Shah Alam, whose child reads at a school, says: “My child gets dirty when going to and fro school during the rainy season.

A rickshaw puller, Jasim Uddin, says: “My rickshaw tyres are damaged extremely when they fall into the pot holes of this road. However, I am helpless because there is no alternative road.”

Pirojpur Area Manager Imam

Fratricide over land dispute in Narsingdi n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi A man was allegedly murdered by his younger brother centring a piece of disputed land at Kucherchar village in Manohardi upazila here yesterday.

The victim, Bazlu Rahman, 45, a resident of the village, and his younger brother Sohel Miah have long been loggerheads over distribution of their ancestral land, local sources said.

As sequel to the incident, a brawl erupted between them in the afternoon and Sohel stabbed his elder brother at one stage, leaving him dead on the spot.

However, villagers caught Sohel and handed over him to local police station, said Manohardi police station OC Alamgir Hossain who continued that they sent the body to Narsingdi sadar hospital morgue for an autopsy. l

Hossain Masud of Komudiny Pharma Ltd says: “I went to Mothbaria in my motorcyle on Thursday.

“But my bike fell into a pot hole near the municipality. Though I had a narrow escape from the accident, my dress and essential papers went wet and muddy.”

Businessman Mizanur Rahman says: “There are shops on both sides of this road in the municipality. Around one kilometre stretch of this road goes under water even in a little rain.

“Water remains stuck on the road for so long causing huge sufferings to people as there is no pipe to drain out this water.”

A passers-by, Jalal Ahmed, says: “We often becomes muddy as muddy water gets thrown at us when a car pass past us while walking along

this road.”

Mothabari Municipality Mayor Rafiuddin Ahmed says: “This road is under the jurisdiction of the Roads and Highways Department.

This road has been in a pitiable condition for so long.

“We have to hear harsh words from people because of the department's reluctance of repairing this road. Considering people's sufferings, I repaired it three years ago with the money from the municipality's own fund.”

Chief Engineer of Pirojpur Roads and Highways Department Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal says: “There is no fund allocation for repairing this road from Mathbaria Bus Stand to Bazar Bridge. Rapairs will begin after we get the allocation.” l

Pumpkin cultivation makes char women self-reliant n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

Pumpkin cultivation in char areas of Gaibandha has been translated into success for local women as more and more women are taking an interest in growing this plant.

Lucky Begum, 45, is a homemaker in Baguria village of the sadar upazila. She lost everything in river erosion four years back and began working as a housemaid.

Her husband Janu Mia is a day-labourer.

She grew pumpkin in an acre of land in the char area this year which cost her Tk2,000 but she has already earned Tk5,000 by selling pumpkins.

She has another 300 pumpkins, each weighing 7-10 kilograms, stored in her house and she is expecting Tk15,000 from the sale of those.

“Pumpkin cultivation has made me self-dependent. We did not know earlier that pumpkin could be grown in the lands in char areas. I plan to grow this plant in more pieces of land in the near future,” she said.

Like Lucky, forty-nine year old Alema Begum became homeless in river erosion.

Her husband Dalimuddin also works as a day-labourer but the money he makes is barely enough to bear the expenses of the family.

Alema cultivated pumpkin in a twobigha land. She spent Tk1,500 but earned Tk16,000 by selling the harvest.

Nearly 440 poor women in four riverside upazilas in Gaibandha have succeeded in making a handsome income by growing and selling pumpkins.

District Agricultural Extension Department sources say pumpkin was grown in 415 hectares of char land in Sundarganj, Fulchari, Saghata and Gaibandha Sadar this year.

A total of 8,300 tonnes of pumpkin will be grown in this tract of land.

Gono Unnayan Kendra, a local private organisation, carries out development work in char areas. Its chief executive M Abdus Salam said river erosion every year turns arable lands into char lands where rice cannot be grown.

We provide assistance for pumpkin cultivation from the organisation, he said.

Abdur Razzak, deputy director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, said farmers are being encouraged to grow pumpkin in char lands and are also being given assistance.

At present, this is helping to meet the deficit in pumpkin production, he added. l

Cox's Bazar flooded with adulterated spices n Our Correspondent, Cox's Bazar

The Cox's Bazar kitchen markets have been flooded with adulterated spices. Most of the powdered spices are not BSTI approved and many are being packaged with fake BSTI seals.

After visiting different markets of Boro Bazar, Bahar Chhora and different kitchen markets of the sadar upazila, the Dhaka Tribune has found that the packets of the adulterated spices do not have manufacturing dates, expiry dates or price tags.

Locals alleged that some unscrupulous businessmen had been operating this illegal business using fake BSTI seals on the packets. They had been collecting spices

from local factories and supplying them in the fake packets.

Sources said among the large number of spice factories in the city, only two had legal approval from BSTI. The dishonest businessmen had also been allegedly using wheat flour and colours in preparing the adulterated spices.

Local businessmen said they did not know who was preparing these adulterated spices.

They, however, opined that legal drives could identify these dishonest producers.

Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Ruhul Amin said drives against food adulteration were on, adding that market security and monitoring would be tightened on the occasion of Ramadan. l

The four-day road-waterway blockade, enforced by Bangalee Chhatra Parishad and Parbatya Nagorik Parishad protesting the three-day tour of a team of International Commission on Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs to the hill region, was going on peacefully in the district yesterday.

The blockaders put up barricade on some main points of the district including Haludia, Sualak and Bus Station area on the Bandarban-Keranihat road and some points of the Sangu River in the morning.

According to sources, no long route buses departed from the district, causing immense sufferings to the travelers.

In a press briefing at Bandarban Press Club on Thursday, Bangalee Chhatra Parishad and Parbatya Nagorik Parishad announced to enforce a fourday road and waterway blockade from July 5 to 8.

On the day, a delegation of the commission, led by its co-chair Sultana Kamal, is on the visit to the hill region to learn about the latest situation and progress in the CHT peace accord and recent Babuchhara incident sources also said.

The delegation will also visit Ram Jadi and its adjacent area. l

Youth found dead after 3-day missing in Cox’s Bazar n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar Police recovered the body of a young man, who went into missing three days ago, from the Vorakhal River at Maulvirkul village in Chakaria upazila here yesterday.

The deceased, Mohammad Miraz, 22, son of Nurul Islam, of Binamara area of Chakaria Municipality, was a carpenter.

The victim’s elder brother Mizanur Rahman said Miraz went out of his house on

Wednesday and since then he remained missing.

Later, villagers spotted his body bore many stab injuries in the river afloat and informed local police who sent the body to the sadar hospital morgue for autopsy, said Chakaria police station OC Provas Chandra Dhar.

Mizanur claimed that his brother might have been killed in a planned way by someone.

The OC continued that they were trying best to unearth the mystery behind the murder. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Customer service can no longer be overlooked n Naiian Yazdani and Nakibul Hoq Customers today hold service and the behaviour of corporations to a higher standard than ever before. The integration of social media into everyday living provides customers a medium by which to express their opinions—positive or negative. In this modern context business has had to become more customer-centric as any negative experience can be spread with ferocious speed having a detrimental effect on profit margins.

Recently, the news regarding a Bangladesh Biman employee beating up a customer set social media alight and will be feeding news outlets for some time. The deplorable act will be firmly condemned time and again by the online citizens.

Each article, comment, tweet or status update reduces Biman’s brand equity.

In the airline business, a service industry, it is imperative that the consumers remain loyal to the brand and therefore customer management has a crucial role to play. In the aforementioned incident the Biman employee not only failed as a representative of Bangladesh’s largest airline company but also embodied poor training and behavioural development for employees.

Customer service is a headache for the larger corporations. It is not possible for management to monitor to see everything that goes on in this department. The problem stems from the disproportionate amount of work required to sustain a good brand image when compared to the small disastrous moments and decisions which can see a good brand eroded in a short space of time. Customer service does not generally drive revenue, yet it remains high

risk and high cost.

Global corporations have treated it like any other specialisation within a business and a primary strategy has been to outsource customer service.

This way organisations can dedicate more time and resources to focus on their core competencies ensuring customer service is handled by an experienced, professional organisation.

To keep costs to an absolute minimum, corporations engage services in nations which have low labour costs.

India has quickly dominated this market with their strong English language skills,

ilar resources will push these existing companies with low levels of customer insights out of the market.

Increased competition is already arriving at our doorstep. Combined with the ability of consumers to ascertain market information more efficiently than ever, management will need to put customer service high on their agenda. It is imperative to decide who the best people are to function as faces of the company.

They have to be well-trained in the art of communication, be articulate and humble while simultaneously dealing with the issues raised by the customers. As product and price differentiation diminishes, the focus will gravitate towards non-traditional aspects of products and services and corporations need to stay ahead.

Increasingly, customer management has to be a focal point of a business operation. Employees have to undergo proper training sessions and behavioural competency development before they can deal with customers. They have to have top-notch communication abilities and must be matured individuals who can see the problem rationally from the customer’s point of view.

Simply put, a modern corporation cannot afford not to provide top level customer service; it is not an option any more, it is a necessity. l

Employees should undergo proper training sessions and behavioural competency development before they can deal with customers emphasis on education and relatively cheap labour. It is why when you call the service line of Master Card in the UK or USA, you will be answered by an efficient, well-paid employee with an Anglo-Saxon name and an Indian accent.

Contrastingly, Bangladesh has poor customer service. The culture has not developed, stemming from the mentality of top management who have no need to value it. Fundamentally, this has been driven by the lack of competition, meaning, corporations are profitable based on customer needs rather than customer choices. Perhaps the arrival of better competitors with sim-

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Nakibul Hoq is a research analyst at GradConnect, an international career information and advisory firm. You can email him at nakib@grad-connect.com and find more career information at www.gradinsights.com and www.grad-connect.com.

Naiian Yazdani is the director of strategy at GradConnect. You can email him at naiian@ grad-connect.com.

Basic business card sharing etiquettes n Career Desk Today more than ever before, personal networking has become an integral part of professional development. Though we are living through very busy times, and we have more tools than our predecessors to keep in touch, unfortunately, networking only through social media is not enough.

To effectively communicate with someone that you met at a conference, for example, or any official gathering, the need to interact on a personal level and being able to maintain and build on the original connection are crucial to define that interaction as efficient networking.

Exchanging business cards is one of the first things professionals do when networking. But, how “professionally” are you performing this simple task?

The manner in which a business card is handed out often says a lot about the person; it leaves a lasting impression about the distributor in the receiver’s mind. Being unaware about the etiquettes dealing with the exchange of business cards can make you seem unprofessional and discourteous.

To upgrade your networking skills to professional-level, the following are three simple suggestions about sharing business cards.

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How to avoid taking home work this month n Ahsan Sajid

In the longterm, the ability to separate work and home and a clean psychological bill of health may be the key to success.

Unfortunately, we hardly have that luxury

Modern technology and increasingly efficient modes of communication is blurring the line between a well compartmentalised professional and personal life. As we are able to stay in touch at any given hour, the traditional work day is no longer over when you leave the office – in fact, it is never over.

In particular, the lines are blurred further this month because of Ramadan and the new work hours that we have not yet gotten used to. No matter how small an issue, one can expect to hear from work during personal time asking for “just five minutes of your time.”

This gives rise to a number of problems, most notably the constant interference with our personal and family life.

Even answering frequent work-related calls and having to check work email should count as overtime. But it has simply become an expected and unspecified part of our job description these days.

Ideally we should not have to choose between work or personal life; it becomes a Cornelian dilemma (having to choose between two courses of action, either of which will have a detrimental effect on us and our surroundings).

If we do not do the task, we will fall behind at work and have to see our colleagues move ahead of us. If we do it, and keep doing it, we will not only lose touch with family and friends but we are

going to eventually become grumpy, depressed, and lack energy and enthusiasm for work.

Our psychological recovery time from work stress is now being taken up by a worse kind of work stress–having to bring work home. The more stress we are dealing with, the harder we have to try to psychologically detach ourselves from work. In the long-term, the ability to separate work and home and a clean psychological bill of health may be the key to success. Unfortunately, we hardly have that luxury.

While the best way to go about it is simply to not bring work home, most of us live in the real world. We have to finish our reports over the weekend, and attend meetings in the evening. If you must bring work home, follow some of these basic suggestions to keep your life compartmentalised even at home and not muddle up all the different roles that are yours.

Maintain boundaries

You have given in and decided to be the perfect team player and bring extra work home, but set clear boundaries. For example, after 10pm, you simply will not check your work email. Ask colleagues that if they need you after this time and it is an emergency, to text and describe the nature of the emergency because you are simply not going to answer calls during personal or family time.

Make time for family

Always set yourself family time. It may sound a little silly to set strict routines with family, since it is just family. But if you reserve a certain time of the day for your family and remain steadfast about it, it will be easier for you during this time to completely separate work stress and fully focus on your family.

For example, this month it may be best to spend time with your family after coming home, and only attending to your work after an early dinner. Similarly, if it is the weekend, it might be best to work in the morning while the rest of the family is still sleeping in.

Include necessary information

The purpose of sharing business cards is primarily to give recipients the chance to contact you later. However, it is also the polite way of letting one another know each other's job titles, positions in the organisation etc.

Include your full name, job title, work phone number, mobile phone number and email address. You should basically add all pertinent information to contacting you.

A clever trick is to leave out your personal mobile phone number from the card, and instead writing it down at the back by hand before handing it out, with an explanation of how you usually do not share your personal number

Keep a home office

You don't need to be Gordon Gekko to have a home office. Having a home office may not be possible for everyone due to space constraints, but it can be something as simple as a work desk, as long as it is something you do not share with the family for other tasks. There is nothing like creating a home office to make it easier for you to switch between your roles as a professional and a loving family person.

This desk, or space, is just for work.

When you are home and you need to work, you only work here and not from your bed or dining table. That way, simple acts of getting on or off a chair shifts roles between diligent worker and loving family member in your head. l

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with people but that the recipient is welcome to contact you at any time.

This adds a personal touch and makes the person feel important.

Know the time and place

Distributing business cards randomly without asking for the recipient’s permission, without providing any proper introduction of yourself verbally and congenially is not only unprofessional, but a serious breach of professional etiquette.

Exchanging business cards is one of the first things professionals do when networking. But, how 'professionally' are you performing this simple task?

Share cards before and after meetings.

Share cards at conferences and professional workshops. Be extra careful before giving your cards to executives or big shots. Either pass it on only when asked for, or engineer a situation to exchange cards. Always remember, it is more important to collect other people's cards than to give out your own.

Add a flourish

This is not a mandatory rule, and it does not apply for all occasions, but if the time is right, remember to write personal notes, not more than a line, about the highlight of your interaction at the back of your card. It not only adds value to the personal interaction but also makes the exchange memorable to the receiver. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Ukraine rebels flushed from Slavyansk Iraq’s Maliki rejects

pressure to step down

n AFP, Kiev Ukraine’s interior minister said yesterday that most pro-Russian rebels and their top commander had fled their main eastern stronghold in what would be Kiev’s biggest success of the nearly three-month campaign.

“This morning, intelligence reported that Girkin (Igor Strelkov) and a substantial part of the rebels had fled Slavyansk,” Ukraine’s interior minister Arsen Avakov said in reference to the industrial city of nearly 120,000 the insurgents captured on April 6.

Ukraine alleges that Strelkov is a colonel in Russia’s military intelligence unit know as the Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

Both Strelkov and Moscow deny any GRU link despite Western claims that the Kremlin is covertly funding and arming the uprising to destabilise Kiev’s new pro-European leaders and retain control over over Russia-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine.

Avakov said in a Facebook post that the militias were fleeing to Gorlivka – a city of 260,000 about 50 kilometre (30 miles) southeast of Slavyansk that also remains largely under the militias’ control.

He wrote in a later post that civilians were taking over roadblocks previously controlled by the insurgents “and carrying weapons and bulletproof vests abandoned by the rebels.”

A Human Rights Watch observer who said she was in the area confirmed Avakov’s claim in a tweet.

“Between 8 and 9 this morning saw insurgents leaving #Slavyansk via #Kramatorsk,” Tatyana Lokshina said in a post.

“They were saying, ‘the city’s fallen, everyone’s getting out’,” she wrote.

‘Massive’ offensive

n Reuters, Baghdad

A Ukrainian forces serviceman guards their position at the check-point near Slavyansk, Donetsk Strelkov himself told the pro-Kremlin LifeNews channel on Friday that his units “will be destroyed... within a week, two weeks at the latest” unless Russia helped secure an immediate truce or moved in its troops.

Slavyansk is the symbolic heart of an uprising sparked by the February ouster of a pro-Kremlin administration in Kiev and fuelled by Russia’s subsequent seizure of Crimea.

Relentless shelling and sniper fire have since killed more than 470 people and left Western leaders frustrated by repeated mediation failures.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday agreed to immediate crisis talks with rebel commanders and Russia aimed at stemming bloodshed that has threatened his ex-Soviet country’s survival and ruptured East-West ties.

Clashes in the economically-vital border regions of Lugansk and Donetsk have picked up with renewed vigour since Poroshenko tore up a 10-day ceasefire agreement earlier this week.

His decision was immediately followed by the launch of a “massive” offensive by Kiev that led President Vladimir Putin to warn that Russia had the right to

AFP

protect its compatriots in Ukraine.

But Poroshenko’s call for talks on Saturday have yet to be confirmed by either Moscow or mediators from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – a Vienna-based body first formed to preserve peace on the continent during the Cold War. Kiev has balked at the idea of holding round-table talks in Donetsk – a location in which Moscow carries widespread influence and prefers. But the insurgents refuse to travel to Kiev or EU member countries for fear of their immediate arrest. l

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has refused to give up his quest for a third term in power, defying a chorus of critics demanding his replacement as the country faces an existential threat from Islamist insurgents.

Maliki has come under mounting pressure since militants of the group now calling itself the Islamic State rampaged through swathes of the country last month and declared a mediaeval-style caliphate on land they have captured in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

“I will never give up my candidacy for the post of prime minister,” Maliki said in a statement read out on state television by an announcer. “I will remain a soldier, defending the interests of Iraq and its people,” he added, in the face of what he called terrorists and their allies.

He was referring to the Islamic State and some of the most prominent armed Sunni groups who have taken control of large parts of majority-Sunni regions of Iraq.

Maliki’s statement will complicate the struggle to form a new government to unite the ethnically and religiously divided country, something parliament failed to achieve this week. It extends a political deadlock made all the more dangerous by the pressing threat to Iraq’s territorial integrity.

Accused by his critics of exacerbating the country’s sectarian split, Maliki has come under immense pressure to step down from his Sunni and Kurdish political foes, and even from some in his own Shi’ite camp.

In pointed comments in a Friday

sermon read by an aide, the country’s leading Shi’ite cleric said parliament’s inability to form a new government at its first session was a “regrettable failure.”

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reiterated his call for the government to have “broad national acceptance,” a formulation that many officials interpret as a call for Maliki - accused by Sunnis of marginalising them and worsening ethnic tensions - to go.

Iraq’s implosion has been watched with intense concern by the United States, which invaded in 2003 to topple dictator Saddam Hussein and withdraw in 2011 after a war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives.

Washington has deployed advisers to Iraq. US military officials believe the Iraqi army will be able to defend Baghdad but struggle to recapture lost territory, mainly because of logistical weaknesses.

Village captured

There was some encouragement for the Iraqi army on the battlefield: late on Thursday it scored a symbolic victory by recapturing Awja - the home village of Saddam Hussein - from Sunni insurgents.

Backed by helicopter gunships and helped by Shi’ite Muslim volunteers, the army took the village in an hourlong battle, according to state media, police and local inhabitants.

Awja lies 8 km (5 miles) south of Tikrit, a city that was captured by the Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of its lightning assault last month. l

Palestinian fury at Israel boils in funeral for slain youth n Reuters, Jerusalem Chanting “Intifada, Intifada,” thousands of furious Palestinians called for a new uprising against Israel during the funeral on Friday of a teen they believe was kidnapped and killed by far-right Jews.

Stones thrown at Israeli police were met by teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets in one of the most highly charged displays of enmity in Jerusalem in years as the body of Mohammed Abu Khudair, 16, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was carried through his neighbourhood under a sweltering sun.

Medics said 15 demonstrators were treated for injuries. There was no immediate word of arrests by the Israelis.

At another flashpoint, the Gaza Strip border, Palestinian rocket and mortar launches, followed by Israeli artillery shelling, persisted on Friday but no one was hurt. Palestinian officials trying to calm tensions in recent weeks have said they would prevent any intifada, or uprising, and seek a solution to a crisis that began when three Israeli teens were kidnapped in the occupied West Bank on June 12.

The discovery of their dead bodies on Monday prompted an outpouring of national grief in Israel. Tensions spiked after Abu Khudair was kidnapped on Wednesday in his Arab neighbourhood in Jerusalem and his charred body was found hours later in a forest on the edge of the city.

Rising tensions

Many Palestinians, including President Mahmoud Abbas, assert he was the victim of far-right Jews incensed at the discovery this week of the remains of the three Israeli teenagers. With Israel having mobilised ground forces outside Gaza on Thursday in a threat to invade, Egypt tried to mediate a truce. Israel and the Islamist Palestinian Hamas movement each said the other had to back down first.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Abu Khudair’s killing, a day after the three Jewish seminary students were buried, “loathsome” and ordered a swift police investigation. Israeli authorities said they did not yet know whether the Palestinian was indeed the victim of a hate crime.

The slayings of the young Palestinian and Israelis ramped up mutual aggravation that has festered since Netanyahu quit US-sponsored peace talks in April over Abbas’s surprise power-share with rival Hamas Islamists.

Netanyahu accused Hamas militants of seizing the three Israelis and the military mounted a 2-1/2-week-long search in the West Bank and a sweep against the movement’s activists and institutions.

Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them Hamas members, were detained.Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the West Bank kidnappings. That did not stop some mourners calling for more seizures to pressure Israel into releasing Palestinians in its jails. l

Palestinians carry the body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem. Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem on Friday as thousands of people converged on a cemetery for the burial of the Arab teenager, who was allegedly killed by Israeli extremists in a suspected revenge attack AP

Six people killed during attacks on Saudi-Yemeni border post n Reuters, Dubai At least six people, including a suicide bomber and two security personnel, were killed at a Saudi-Yemeni border crossing on Friday, in attacks that highlighted the threat posed by militants to the security of both nations.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has long viewed its 1,800 km (1,100 mile) border with impoverished, conflict-ridden Yemen as a major security challenge and has been building a fence to deter militants and criminals.

On Friday, gunmen killed the commander of a border patrol on the Saudi side of the Wadia border post and security forces then killed three of the attackers in an ensuing firefight, the Saudi state news agency SPA said.

Separately, Yemen’s state agency

Saba reported that a suicide bomber had driven a car laden with explosives into the Yemeni side of the Wadia border crossing, killing himself and one soldier and wounding another.

After the attack, Yemeni security forces chased militants who fled from the scene in two cars into the desert, Saba said, citing a military source.

Earlier, in comments suggesting it was the same group of militants involved in the attacks on both sides of the border, a Yemeni official told Reuters the gunmen had escaped into Saudi Arabia after attacking the Yemeni border post.

The official said the attackers were al Qaeda militants.

The SPA agency did not say who was thought to be behind the attack on the Saudi side of the border post. It said security forces had arrested one of the gun-

men and were searching for one or two others believed to be hiding in the area.

The Wadia crossing is in the southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramout, which stretches from the port of Mukalla in the south to the Saudi border, through arid valleys and empty desert, landscape that al Qaeda militants use to their advantage across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has been building the security fence along its border with Yemen since 2003, though work has often been interrupted by protesting tribesmen who say it prevents them accessing pastures for their livestock.

The kingdom, a key regional ally of the United States, overcame its own al Qaeda insurgency almost a decade ago but it has watched with alarm the recent military advances by radical Sunni Islamists in neighbouring Iraq. l

Egypt court sentences Brotherhood leader to life n Reuters, Cairo An Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to life in prison yesterday, the court’s judge said, for inciting violence that erupted after the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year.

Badie, convicted along with about 36 other Brotherhood leaders and supporters for the same crime, is facing the death sentence in two separate cases.

All 37 defendants were also charged with blocking a major road north of Cairo during protests that followed Mursi’s ouster on July 3, 2013.

The court also upheld death sentences for 10 other Brotherhood leaders and supporters, of whom 8 were charged in absentia, on the same crimes.

Among the Brotherhood leaders sentenced to death in absentia is Abdul Rahman al-Barr, a Muslim scholar and

member of the Brotherhood’s Guidance Council.

Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, a Salafi preacher and a Brotherhood supporter, was also sentenced to death in absentia.

He fled to Qatar after Mursi was toppled.

Senior Brotherhood member Mohamed El-Beltagy and some former ministers from Mursi’s administration were among those sentenced to life in prison.

The Egyptian authorities have launched a crackdown on Mursi’s Brotherhood, jailing thousands and killing hundreds of street protesters.

The state accuses the Brotherhood of turning to violence, an accusation the group denies.

Badie and around 200 Brotherhood supporters were sentenced to death in a mass trial last month over violence that killed one police officer. The sentences caused outrage among western governments and rights groups. l

Pope calls exploitation of nature a sin of our time

n Reuters, Campobasso, Italy

Pope Francis called for more respect for nature yesterday, branding the destruction of South America’s rain forests and other forms of environmental exploitation a sin of modern times. In an address at the university of Molise, an agricultural and industrial region in southern Italy, Francis said the Earth should be allowed to give her fruits without being exploited.

“This is one of the greatest challenges of our time: to convert ourselves to a type of development that knows how to respect creation,” he told students, struggling farmers, and laid-off workers in a university hall. “When I look at America, also my own homeland (South America), so many forests, all cut, that have become land ... that can longer give life. This is our sin, exploiting the Earth and not allowing her to her give us what she has within her,” the Argentine pope said in unprepared remarks. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Sunday, July 6, 2014

C O LO U R O F C E L E B R AT I O N AC R O S S B O R D E R S

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(1) Japanese cooks in Tokyo make enough paella for 2,000 people in a pan two metres in diameter. Cooks at a Spanish restaurant used large amount of food including 80 kg of rice, 80 kg chicken, 30 kg kidney beans, 10 kg green peas, 10 litres of olive oil to make the large paella to promote Spanish dishes. (2) A butterfly sits on a tourist’s face in the ‘butterfly valley’ in Shenyang, northeast China’s Liaoning province. (3) Ethnic Miao minority residents play basketball in a court filled with water as they celebrate a local festival called ‘Xinhe’, in Rongshui county, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (4) A participant (C) reacts as he is sprayed with coloured powder during a 5-kilometre Colour Run in Shenyang, Liaoning province REUTERS/AP

Taliban set 200 fuel trucks on fire in Kabul

Indian nurses greeted with smiles, flowers after release from Iraq

n AFP, Kabul

n Reuters, Kochi

A Taliban bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul set fire to some 200 fuel trucks that the militants claimed were supplying foreign troops in Afghanistan, officials said yesterday.

The tankers were set ablaze as they sat in a parking lot waiting to enter the Afghan capital, which is currently gripped by a fraud dispute over presidential elections last month.

Taliban insurgents fighting a 13-year-war against US-led forces in Afghanistan often attack western supply convoys and claimed responsibility for the late Friday night attack.

“At around 10:30 pm dozens of fuel tankers belonging to private companies caught fire,” Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP. “No one can get close to them since the fire is still raging at the scene,” he added, saying that there had been no casualties.

Kabul police director Gul Aghan Hashimi said a magnetic bomb had been used in the attack while a Nato-led International Security Assistance Forces spokesman said they were investigating whether the fuel was intended for foreign troops.

The Afghan interior ministry said initial investigations found that 200 trucks had been damaged.

The incident took place in Chawk-e Arghandi and comes as the Taliban steps up attacks with Nato forces due to complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of the year.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that fighters belonging to the group had carried out the destruction.

Also Friday, ISAF said a rocket attack at the United States’ main military base at Bagram Airfield had resulted in “minor damages to equipment and one building.”

It came just a day after Taliban insurgents fired rockets into Kabul airport, destroying the Afghan president’s parked helicopter and damaging three other choppers.

On Wednesday, a Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul killed eight military officers travelling on a military bus.

The attacks underlined security fears in the capital which has been relatively peaceful since the June 14 presidential runoff between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.

Kabul has witnessed tense street demonstrations as the two candidates remain locked in a dispute over voter fraud which is threatening to derail Afghanistan’s first democratic transfer of power.

US-led allies are eager to avoid a prolonged power struggle as they prepare to leave by December. l

A group of 46 nurses caught up in fighting in Iraq arrived home in India yesterday after briefly being held captive by suspected militants, an outcome celebrated by the newly elected government in New Delhi as an early diplomatic success.

The nurses, mainly from the southern state of Kerala, were met by family members clutching bouquets of flowers and overjoyed that they were home barely two days after being taken against their will from a hospital in the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

“I thought I will never come back.

I thought, (in the) last two days I am finished. These are my last days,” one nurse called Marina told Reuters TV at Kochi airport in Kerala.

Tikrit, the birthplace of former President Saddam Hussein, was the site of fierce fighting this week as Iraqi troops battled to regain control of the city from the al Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The nurses had been holed up in a hospital in the city since the Islamic State insurgents and other Sunni Muslim militant groups seized towns and cities across Syria and Iraq in a lightning advance last month.

Many were initially unwilling to leave because of debts back at home, and then

One of the nurses (C) who were stranded in the territory held by Islamic extremists in Iraq, upon arrival at the airport in Kochi, India REUTERS were trapped as the fighting grew more fierce. On Thursday, they were ordered to board buses and driven to the militant controlled city of Mosul, where they were held in a building overnight.

Speaking at the airport, the nurses said they had been well treated by their

as yet unidentified captors.

“They were good people because they did not misbehave with us. They provided for food, accommodation and whatever we wanted they provided for,” one nurse, who did not give her name, told a local television network. l

China’s top graftbuster says no off limits in probes n Reuters, Beijing No part of China’s ruling Communist Party is off limits for its crackdown on corruption, the country’s top graft buster was quoted as saying, sounding a warning a few days after the one of the country’s most senior former soldiers was purged.

The party this week announced that Xu Caihou, who retired as vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission last year, had been expelled from the party and will be court-martialled after being accused of corruption.

President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission, which controls the 2.3 million-strong armed forces, has launched a drive against pervasive graft since assuming office.

Speaking during a visit to the northern region of Inner Mongolia, Wang Qishan, who heads the party’s efforts to combat corruption, warned that every part of the party would be liable for inspection.

“Inspection work is a ‘health check’ for the party. There are no off limits for oversight within in the party, and there are no exceptions,” the party’s graft watchdog cited Wang as saying.

President Xi has vowed to take down powerful “tigers” as well as lowly “flies.” Xu is the most senior person to date to have been felled. l

Sri Lanka accused of turning blind eye to violence Nato signals no new n AP, Aluthgama

The attackers stormed in close to midnight, tearing through town with gasoline bombs and clubs before carting away piles of cash and jewelry they stole from Muslim families in this tiny corner of Sri Lanka.

The onslaught incited by the Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Power Force, a hard-line group that has gained thousands of followers in recent years, killed at least two Muslims and injured dozens more last month in the worst religious

violence Sri Lanka has seen in decades.

Now, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is under fire, accused of failing to protect Sri Lanka’s tiny Muslim minority and allowing radical Buddhists spewing illegal hate speech to operate with impunity for years.

Critics of Rajapaksa’s government say it has turned a blind eye to the violence as a way to shore up its core constituency — the Sinhalese Buddhist population — which makes up about 75% of Sri Lanka’s 20 million people.

“At the root of the failure of the gov-

ernment to check the violence is electoral politics,” said Jehan Perera, head of the National Peace Council, a local peace activist group in Sri Lanka. “If the Sinhalese voters feel insecure for any reason they will tend to vote for the present government, which is seen as strong and pro-Sinhalese.”

But the most recent violence has drawn rare — and harsh — criticism from inside Sri Lanka, with the media, moderate Buddhists and even the justice minister slamming Rajapaksa’s seeming unwillingness to safeguard Muslims.

In this June 16 photo, Sri Lankan police officers walk through a Muslim neighborhood in Darga Town, in Aluthgama about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka AP

Foreign embassies and the UN also demanded action. The United States canceled a five-year, multiple-entry visa held by the BBS’s general secretary, according to the group’s chief executive, Dilanta Vithanage.

Facing a growing backlash, the government in recent days has tried to deflate the crisis, although critics say the moves are too little, too late.

The defense ministry called an unusual press conference on July 2 — nearly three weeks after the bloodshed — to distance itself from the Bodu Bala Sena and to address allegations that Sri Lanka’s powerful defense secretary and the president’s brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was quietly supporting the group’s cause.

But the military spokesman, Brig.

Ruwan Wanigasooriya, was careful not to criticize the group, either. “I am not condemning the BBS,” he said. “What I am saying is it is wrong to say that the secretary of defense is supporting the BBS.” The same day, police interrogated the group’s general secretary, the Rev. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara, for five hours before releasing him without charge.

It was the first time Gnanasara had ever been questioned by police for his hate speech even though it has been widely acknowledged and circulated in videos online for years. He was once questioned for disrupting a press conference convened by a moderate monk at odds with the BBS, but he wasn’t prosecuted.

Just hours before the latest violence, video clips showed him inciting crowds in Buddhist rallies that passed through Muslim areas like Aluthgama and Beruwala. l

members for the present n AP, Brussels Faced with a newly aggressive Russia, Nato has been mulling how to react, but it is ruling out one option: rapid expansion.

Four would-be members, including the former Soviet republic of Georgia, have been informed that admission to Nato isn’t in the cards anytime soon. For some, that means dashed hopes. Macedonia’s foreign minister told The Associated Press in a statement it was a “step backward.”

The bottom line: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, celebrating important anniversaries this year of a dozen nations joining its ranks, will welcome no new members when President Barack Obama and other leaders convene for a summit in Wales in early September.

Analysts say that Nato members are worried about granting, or being perceived as granting, security guarantees that could quickly be tested by Russia.

That’s particularly true of Georgia, which has been waiting since 2008 for the USled military alliance to make good on its promise of admission.

Before taking over Crimea from Ukraine, Russia invaded and occupied two regions of Georgia nearly six years ago — and Nato is reluctant to take any action that might provoke a riposte from Moscow.

“The conflict over Ukraine has made it clear to them at Nato they have to be careful, both about security commitments and credibility,” said Liana Fix, an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “If you give Georgia their membership action plan but don’t defend them

if something happens, what does it say about your credibility?”

Nato won’t publicly hang up the “No Vacancy” sign.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance’s secretary general, proclaimed recently that “Nato’s door remains open. And no third country has a veto over Nato enlargement.”

But even before Crimea’s annexation, some Nato countries were experiencing “enlargement exhaustion” and had become reluctant to increase the alliance’s membership rolls, said Jorge Benitez, senior fellow for trans-Atlantic security at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.based think tank.

Post-Crimea, “the issues are much bigger,” Benitez said. “The question is, how much insecurity would you add to the alliance versus how much security would you bring to the alliance?”

To try to tilt the balance in its favor, Georgia has been an enthusiastic Nato partner, and until recently, had been fielding the largest non-Nato contingent of soldiers in alliance-led operations in Afghanistan.

In Wales, Georgia had been hoping to receive a formal action plan for membership, but instead will be given a “substantive package” to help move it closer to Nato, Rasmussen said. He declined to give details. But Fix said the package was likely to include stepped-up training programs, increased military cooperation and advice, and a detailed checklist of what Nato wants Georgia to do to qualify for membership. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, July 6, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Rupali Bank should profit or perish

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t is inexcusable that Rupali Bank, in spite of not making any eligible profits last year, has been allowed by the central bank to declare dividends. This goes against existing banking rules – a bank cannot pay dividends if it is running with a capital shortfall.

Normally, a dividend is paid as a share of profits. A loss-making company simply cannot pay dividends as per the basic principles of business. State-owned Rupali Bank is being allowed to do this only to artificially create a good impression of their value in the stock market. With this, the institution convinces people to buy their shares at a higher price than the shares are really worth.

This strategy is one of deliberately misleading the public, and is nothing short of fraud. Private companies are hardly ever allowed to get away with this kind of behaviour.

Indeed, when private firms artificially raise the value of their shares in the case of lossmaking companies, there is, rightfully, backlash in the form of public anger.

Dishonest conduct from private companies in the form of stock market manipulation or cheating investors is not seen sympathetically by anyone, so there is no reason for us to be lenient when a state-owned bank, in this case Rupali Bank, engages in the same behaviour.

Rupali Bank and other state-owned banks and industries need to follow the rules, and start making legitimate profits. If they are unable to do so, they should be shut down.

A loss-making company simply cannot pay dividends as per the basic principles of business

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

Is it a sin to hate my own city?

May 29

Sammy Good points, all. However, I do note that the author herself was able to utilise extraordinary opportunities of education and, later, employment in a major US thinktank very much due to the influence and connections of her own father who used his cabinet position to do so during the last martial law regime. The author is a fine individual and writes reasonably well (I have one of her books in my personal library) but she is perhaps not the best spokesman for self-reliance.

Ronnie I’m a strident advocate of self-reliance, personal agency and responsibility, and authentic individualism. At least I have, for long, lived my own life that way. Our conventionally and predominantly collectivist society has always appeared to get

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t is a sad commentary that with the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan, seasonal extortionists and muggers are back on the prowl.

What is even more worrying is the pitiable performance of our law enforcement in combating this alarming situation.

With no less than 18 incidents of mugging in the capital reported since June 5, it is concerning that the police have been unable to salvage any of the money, or make a single arrest. The actual number of such incidents is sure to be much higher as many people do not even bother to report such episodes, since looted valuables are rarely recovered in this country.

Besides a drastic rise in incidents of people being mugged and shot, businessmen are increasingly facing threatening phone calls and being harassed for money since the approaching of Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to boost monetary transactions.

Sufficient security measures must be taken to ensure the safety and security of citizens. The Home Ministry must guarantee honest and dependable security personnel, and deploy more police patrols and check posts on the roads, even during daytime hours.

A prime function of the government is to keep its citizens safe. We urge the authorities to act quickly to put an end to the cycle of Ramadan crime sprees.

Security measures must be taken to ensure the safety and security of citizens

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

in the way of engendering and enabling greater self-reliance among us all. As long as people in our country continue to rely on the goodwill and charity of “superiors” (and the “government”) or plain old luck – or indeed have a false and unhealthy sense of entitlement to rewards not earned for efforts not made – we will be an underachieving, disgruntled lot, mired in a corrosive culture of dependency as we presently are. nds Having asked us not to trust anybody, why are you advocating for trusting the new or next generation?

You should have minimum consistency before presenting yourself as an extraordinary intellectual holding the authority to advise all and sundry whom to trust or not trust. However, following your advice, we are not going to trust you at all.

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.

Jamaat trial: ICSF disagrees with law minister

End muggings and extortion

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 2 represents L so fill L every time the figure 2 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.

May 31 Projonmo13 Nice work. Thank you ICSF!

Pompeii: Nature’s 3D photograph and Hollywood’s old wine May 31 Mosabber Rahman This paragraph dealing with historical background did not appear in the printed version of my review: “If you go to the Bay of Naples today and visit the ruins of Pompeii, the only ancient city to be preserved in its entirety by nature like a 3D picture, it will cost you 11 euros as the ticket price (free, if you are an European aged below 25 years or above 65 years; in case you are a school teacher in Europe, you get to pay half price). First discovered in 1594 – that’s over 1,500 years since its destruction in the year 79 – a city perfectly preserved under 30 feet of soft ash, the actual archaeological excavation started in 1748 and went through various phases, ranging from royal organised robbery to outright destruction of “futile” artifacts. But everything changed from 1860, when Giuseppe Fiorelli stepped in. So far, it has been a 250-yearold excavation and still counting, one-third of the city is still untouched. Mount Vesuvius, that destroyed Pompeii (however, two-thirds of the population were able to escape), is the only active volcano in the continent and, strangely enough, geologists believe the Bay of Naples itself is one gigantic crater of a very old volcano.”

CALVIN AND HOBBES

RAB under scrutiny May 30

SD Yes, I totally agree with the author. RAB has given the most invaluable service in rescuing us to great extent, if not entirely, from the constant fear of “chanda baaz” and mastans of a peculiar variety, that took the common people’s life and property for granted. Without RAB, our life by this time would have been miserable.

This society, being ruled by the mastans of various hues, can never be made safe by the so-called civil procedures of enforcing law and order. Bare necessity for survival demands a force even more brutal than RAB, in spite of what the so-called “vagabond shushils” say in their TV talk shows, seminars, and symposiums. If the common people are left to the foolishness of these armchair intellectuals, God knows what hell will be let loose.

If, for the crime or unlawful activities of a few RAB members, the entire force is asked to get banned, then I think the civil bureaucrats will need to be abolished lock stock and barrel, because more than 90% are involved in corruption no less injurious to society than the seven murder case. Instead of dismantling RAB, it needs to be strengthened further. BNP did one good thing in creating RAB and is doing the most disservice by demanding their abolition.

Mohammad Zaman If not disbanded, let RAB be an elite force without the authority of policing.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Legumes (5) 4 Mild explosion (3) 6 Fuel (4) 8 Adult insect (5) 9 Submissive (4) 11 Foundation (4) 12 View (5) 15 Heehaws (5) 18 Explosive device (4) 20 Gem (4) 21 Once more (5) 22 Keen relish (4) 23 Stain (3) 24 Locations (5)

DOWN 1 Supreme happiness (5) 2 Astound (5) 3 Tally (5) 4 Excuse (4) 5 Fish (4) 7 Traffic light (5) 10 Catch sight of (4) 13 Fowls’ enclosure (4) 14 Illustrious (5) 15 Annoying children (5) 16 Make suitable (5) 17 Curving recess (5) 18 Forward (4) 19 Labyrinth (4)

Evil people politics An unpopular, yet fairly rational opinion. But expecting people to sing praises of law enforcers for doing their jobs? Preposterous.

Cornelius Slate Evil people politics: How dare you?! These are the men and women who are risking their lives to make sure you’re sleeping soundly at night! You’re nothing but a Tin Man.

Class four student raped in Shariatpur, police reluctant to register case May 30 Vikram Khan Disgusting! The officer-in-charge should not only be sacked but also be severely punished, and the rapist should be publicly castrated!

‘Childbirth services poor in upazilas’

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

May 30 VK All this bad news albeit the “success Bangladesh is making in mother and child care,” according to Unicef?! Seems to me the ICDDRB and UN organisation are not speaking the same language. Proves again the tricky smog screen of international development and government participation.

Hopeful Mushfiq invites pressure onto himself May 31 A Bangla Fan With less than stellar recent track records, Indians did not want to repeat a one-sided game with the Tigers. So, the Tigers should take this with good grace and let their action do the talking.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Together behind a dream The holy month

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n Julio Mancuso

ore than 17,000 kilometres separate Argentina from Bangladesh. They are two countries located in different hemispheres of the planet, in literally opposite extremes of the world. Their climates and geographies have no point of comparison, and their historical ties are basically nonexistent. These two societies also do not share any cultural similarities.

However, quite unexpectedly, now more than ever before, they are united and share the same passion, the passion for football and the Argentinian national team that brings them together as one nation.

No difference in this world seems to be able to stop Argentina and Bangladesh from coming together I knew about this love of Bangladeshis for Argentina (well at least of half of the Bangladeshi population) because I was lucky enough to make great friends from Bangladesh while living overseas. However, most people in Argentina do not know about this affection.

It is clear to me that we are together, in joy and suffering, behind the same football dream, but most Argentinians do not know of this, which I believe is a shame. There is not much information in Argentina about this connection between the people of these two great countries, but this has

n Mehrin Chowdhury

started to change very recently before the beginning of this edition of the World Cup in Brazil.

Some Argentinians first noticed the Bangladeshi fanaticism for Argentina when the Argentinian national team came to play in Dhaka with Nigeria in September 2011. But still, a match of Argentina with a full stadium overseas is not something that surprises many, so it was very difficult to understand the dimension of the connection between Bangladesh and the national team based only on that match.

The main surprise for Argentinians came up right before the World Cup started when “La Nación,” one of the most popular newspapers in Argentina, published an article informing that Messi fans in Bangladesh were more than 10% above the average of the world, including Argentina itself!

Information about the connection between Bangladesh and Argentina is starting to flow among Argentinians and a feeling of friendship is now developing stronger than ever before.

Argentinian fans are starting to show some gratitude towards Bangladeshi support, and that could be seen in some of the matches of Argentina in Brazil. In one case, a group of Argentinian supporters improvised in creating a Bangladeshi flag and took some pictures holding it before one of the games in Belo Horizonte.

It is a small gesture, but it is full of symbolism. Differences between our two countries are significant, but no difference in this world seems to be able to stop Argentina and Bangladesh from coming together as one people behind a common dream, to see Argentina as the World Champion in Brazil this year. l Julio Mancuso is an Argentinian who is a doctoral candidate at Monash University in Australia. He is currently visiting Bangladesh to witness first-hand the love for his national team here.

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Many see Maradona as our own

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very year, the Muslim community welcomes Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This month, considered holy by the Muslim community, teaches followers the practice of patience, spirituality, awareness, solidarity, justice, dignity, and unity.

It is a month solely dedicated to humanity, a month that encourages Muslims to carry out the teachings of Islam all through the year.

But sometimes, it seems that Ramadan is more about the coming Eid. It is more about the anticipation of fun, amusement, and long holidays.

This eagerness for celebration in unity is also a blessing. It is also a part of the wisdom of Ramadan, but as mentioned earlier, it is only a part – an element. The major experiences should be in terms of spirituality that help us recover from the losses that we experience throughout the year.

Another major aspect of Ramadan is it helps us feel the pain of the deprived and the unfortunate.

Fasting from dawn to dusk gives us a small idea of how the poor feel.

Ramadan helps Muslims all over the world sense in unity the pangs of the underprivileged.

Therefore, Ramadan is not just about starving oneself an entire day only to be overwhelmed with more than enough food while breaking fast. The poor and the destitute are not fortunate enough to be able to experience such good luck.

Consequently, Muslims all over the world are encouraged to work together in unison to eradicate poverty by giving zakat – a portion of their accumulated wealth to the poor and the destitute.

Purification of the soul by regular praying and accentuating the habit is another quintessential aspect of the

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holy month.

The habit of praying is often ignored by many due the extremely busy nature of life. Ramadan helps rejuvenate oneself and regain the lost sense of purification. Namaz, a major pillar of Islam, helps Muslims all over the world to connect directly with God, and refresh their inner souls through a deep form of meditation. It cleanses the soul and helps people to stay away from evil.

Ramadan is not just about starving oneself an entire day only to be overwhelmed with food while breaking fast

In many countries, Ramadan is marked as the time when the prices of essentials are increased by a few businessmen based on the rise in demand. Contradicting regular economics, this month asks us to think with our souls, it encourages us to spread goodness.

It persuades us to feel the desires of the needy, and to give them what they wished for, to lowering the prices to make things more affordable.

Ramadan, as such, is a month in the Islamic calendar that helps move forward the Ummah in terms of Imaan, good deeds, sincere advice, and piety.

It reminds us all to be cautious against all the sins Allah has forbidden, wherever one may be. Indeed, it is a holy month, when the reward for good actions is multiplied. l Mehrin Chowdhury is a freelance contributor.

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Militancy strikes back

Narrow tunnels, shifting lights

n Aaqib Md Shatil

n Iffat Nawaz

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zimullah Khan, an Indian atheist, went to Britain in the 1850s on behalf of Nana Sahib, a king, from Kanpur. Nana Sahib was insulted time and again by the local agents of British East-India Company and sent the young man, who was a teacher by profession, to inform the Court of Directors of the company about the condition of the so-called “king” under the rule of the company in India. Azimullah, who struggled all his life, soon realised that the directors of the company would never pay heed to his plea, and the condition of India was not going to see any change in the near future.

Before boarding on the ship bound for India, he came to know that the mighty British-French coalition conceded a shocking defeat to the Russian troops in Malta during the Crimean campaign. Panic gripped his mind. Instead of returning to India, he boarded on a Turkish ship to see what made the British lose the battle.

He went to Crimea and observed how the Russians use their guns, the way they fight against the allied force, with great interest. The seed of revolution was planted in his brain. He later became an influential figure in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857. It is believed that the massacre at Satichaura Ghat was led by him. However, the failure of Britain in Crimea inspired him to revolt.

A so-called rebellion is currently taking place in Iraq. The rebels of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant have taken control of a significant part of Iraq. The president of United States has declared he would send some American military advisers to Iraq to overcome the situation. Most of the Americans believe that such steps can never bring any positive result. They argue that this mission will end up in vain, just like the military advisers of Kennedy failed in Vietnam.

ISIL, the terrorist outfit formed with a view to establishing an Islamic state in Iraq and Eastern Mediterranean territory, is believed to have the control of a great stretch of territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria. The turbulent situation of Syria and Iraq has made them even more influential in those regions.

It started its operation initially in Syria against the Assad regime and gained considerable military success by seizing the Syrian city of Raqqa,

in March 2013. The terrorist outfit, inspired by Wahhabism, has snatched the second-largest city of Iraq and is advancing towards Baghdad.

Though the group has gained a reputation of brutal rule in the areas that it controls, like every other militant group, most of the Sunnis in Syria and Iraq have sympathy for them. The question now arises: Are the Sunnis so fanatical to support a terrorist outfit?

It is difficult to find the exact answer to this question. The Muslims of Iraq are mainly divided into three clans – Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds.

Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq later executed by United States, used to facilitate the Sunnis by providing them with government jobs and other facilities, while he excluded the Shiites and had been very cruel to the Kurds.

citizens. There are reasons to believe that the Iraqis, specially the Sunnis are supporting the militants to get rid of the turmoil.

The rise of ISIL, aka ISIS, is actually caused by the Western powers and their Arab allies. To usurp Assad from the throne, the Western countries and their allies in the Middle East have backed the rebels of Syria indiscriminately that ultimately empowered such terrorist outfits in that troubled region.

Moreover, the anti-colonial spirit has deepened its root among the young Turks after the invasion in Afghanistan and Iraq. Observers noticed that most of the fighters of ISIL are very young and a good number of volunteers who joined in ISIL are from Europe.

Tony Blair opined that the jihadist

The rise of ISIL, aka ISIS, is actually caused by the Western powers and their Arab allies

No doubt Saddam Hussein established a reign of terror in Iraq during his regime. In 2003, the US along with Britain toppled Saddam Hussein, seized the whole country, uprooted the Baath party, cornered the followers of Saddam, and eliminated the elite Republican Guard. Iraq turned into a valley of death, while hundreds of thousands died due to the violence that erupted after the invasion.

Sunnis, the majority of the Iraqi population who were known as the supporters of Saddam, were oppressed by the US army of occupation as well as by the government, dominated by Shiites since 2003.

Iraq reminds us of the verse; a kingdom was lost for want of a nail. The invaders did everything to demolish the apparatus of Saddam Hussein by which he used to rule, but never tried to establish an effective government that can provide the Iraqis with security and other basic needs.

The Iraqi government reported that 7,154 people were killed in 2013, including security forces personnel and militants. The widespread violence in Iraq has agitated many of its

group advancing across Iraq rebuilt itself and organised the Iraq operation from the chaos in Syria. In other words the world leaders, suffering from indecision, have caused the prolonged chaos that is producing such militant outfits.

Prior to the fall of Mosul by ISIL, the terrorist group Boko Haram of Nigeria terrorised the country by kidnapping hundreds of girls. It seems that the United Nations and the world leaders have become too numb to feel what is happening around.

The world leaders have to sort out the problems of Iraq and Syria soon.

Suffrage of the citizens of the every country has to be restored. Democracy must flourish to avoid further chaos.

Every possible step to combat the militancy should be taken to keep them at the bay. No stone should be left unturned. Otherwise, the continuous failure of the Western policy may give birth to thousands of insurgents like Azimullah Khan. l Aaqib Md Shatil is a blogger, and member of Dhaka University Model United Nations Association.

Once upon a time (actually not that long ago), someone was looking for a place to rent in Dhaka city. That someone happens to be a female, but that is not relevant to this story because the search for a home for a single anyone, as I hear, is tough regardless of gender in Dhaka city.

But then again, she knew looking for a place as an independent female in Dhaka restricted her to certain areas which are most accustomed to single females living alone. Side note, she had a decent job and paid her own bills.

The search started in the radius of Gulshan and Banani. On a rickshaw she prowled the streets in mid mornings. The first house she found was a decent one and the landlady seemed nice over the phone. However after meeting our girl, the landlady refused. Questions followed: “You are not married?” “What about your parents?” “They let you rent alone just like that?” “You are too young and a risk,” the landlady announced, the door was shut and more homes were to be looked at.

The second possible landlord demanded: “The only males that can come to your place are your father and your brother.” The woman responded: “Neither of them will be visiting me as they are both far away.” The landlord announced: “All guests must come and check-in with us before visiting you.”

That also ended there.

After the 15th home viewing, including a few who only rent to foreigners, and by that they mean white and dark-skinned foreigners (it doesn’t matter if you are a British-Bangladeshi

or American-Bangladeshi, your skin colour and the word “Bangladeshi” dismisses you from even viewing certain apartments) she found a nice new apartment tucked away in Banani.

The contact on the to-let sign met the girl and asked her a hundred questions. By now, the girl had a whole script memorised, a true script with key points. “I was not raised here, I am here for work, here are my last few pay stubs, and my references.” “You want to a copy of my passport?” “Yes, sure, I can provide that too.”

The search for a home for a single anyone is tough regardless of gender

The last landlord, after calling all references and getting copies of the girl’s driver’s license and passport, agreed to give the girl the place only if she made a six month deposit. The girl tried negotiating and decided to meet her to-be landlord at her office.

The landlord showed up half an hour after the appointment time with his nephew who worked at a reputable organisation.

The girl didn’t think much of it and put up with questions such as: “Do you get paid in dollars, or taka?” “Can we have your mother’s phone number?” The girl obliged with the promise of signing the contract soon.

The landlord called her mother but instead of offering the apartment, he sent a proposal for the nephew he had brought for bride-viewing.

After 15 more apartments and landlords, some insults, a thousand questions, blown away by overpriced apartments, then judged as a prostitute, criminal, recluse, and anomaly, she found a home. The landlady, who had lived abroad for some part of her life, never met the girl in person. The whole transaction happened over telephone, and email and transfers and deposits were made, and a new home was set up for a year or two.

There is no point to this story. I know most readers will not be surprised and merely entertained. This is how things work in Dhaka, in Bangladesh. And the question is, our girl, if she was a landlady herself, would she rent out to a single woman or man?

Maybe not.

Is the question about being exposed to more trusting cultures where independence is valued, or is it about holding on to our tradition where living alone is still not a fluent idea. It doesn’t matter. It’s just a story, to be repeated over and over again for many years to come.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is narrow and the light shifts too often. For now, the girl can think she is blazing new trails, and the landlords who refused to rent to her can believe they are protecting their property and culture. Who is to blame and who is to change? For now?

No one. l Iffat Nawaz is Acting Editor, Arts & Letters, Dhaka Tribune.

BIGSTOCK

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Moushumi and Niloy in their love saga n Shadma Malik A young boy and girl falling in love and having a happy ending is usual for a mainstream Dhallywood movie. However, director Belal Ahmed has created waves by making an unorthodox movie, an anomaly in the realm of cinema.

The film “Bhalobashbey To” is about a younger man getting attracted to an older woman, starring Moushumi and Niloy in the leading roles.

Moushumi plays a corporate officer, while Niloy plays a fine arts student.

After certain events, their love blossoms in the truest manner.

During a conversation with Dhaka tribune, director Belal expressed the essence of the film, saying: “Niloy falls in love with a much older woman, Moushumi.

While on the other hand, Moushumi is unable to restrain her feelings and falls for him as well. Their relationship is innocent, but it turns around in a different manner when they face the controversial nature of their bonding.”

“Their relationship is proof of the enduring power of true love, even when the other half is old enough.”

The film’s screenwriter and director remains influential in the contemporary world, “These kinds of unconventional relationships have been around

since the primitive era. The stigma associated with it is only in our time. The film ends with the consequence of having such a disagreeable relationship.”

On casting Moushumi and Niloy, the director said: “Moushumi is an actor par excellence, and Niloy is in the right track of his career graph.

Their chemistry captured the curiosity of their onscreen love.”

“At this point of my directorial career, I want to make a movie which is apart from my previous production,” the director added.

Produced by Impress Telefilm, the movie is expected to be released by the end of this year. 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 Noah 3D Tarkaata

Godzilla 3D Ami Shudhu Cheyechi Tomay Mr Peabody & Sherman 3D Jamuna Future Park, Blockbuster Cinemas Ka- 244, Pragati Avenue Kuril

Exhibition

Second Sight Time: 12pm – 8pm

The Daily Star Centre 64-65, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue

Theatre

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

Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University staged ‘Hamlet’

Portrayal of Hamlet’s plight in adapted glimpse n Hasan Mansoor Chatak When the most powerful and influential tragedy in English literature has been brought to the stage in a new way it was no surprise seeing how the seating arrangements for the Natmondol were full of audience. The Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University staged a production of “Hamlet” at the Natmondol in Dhaka University premises on July 4 at 7:30pm.

With a story capable of seemingly endless numbers of retelling and adaptations, the play seems to have been one of Shakespeare’s most popular works during his lifetime, and still ranks among his most performed. The play is adapted from a translated copy by Shamsur Rahman; a poet, and a key figure in Bengali literature, while Ashik Rahman Liyon did the directing.

The play started with a mimic presentation in the backdrop of revulsion music, the inclusion of the adaptation part seems

slightly irrelevant to the story which is going to be staged afterwards, but apparently produces milieu for the most influential tragedy by Shakespeare.

The arena stage created space for the spectacle of the classic drama through various standpoints; though the comparatively congested stage left few opportunities to leverage it accordingly.

Five dominant characters of the play: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Horatio, are played by different actors in different acts, which establishes the potential of the actors as they never let down the audience from the standards of characters’ indications, seeing how their vigorous performances had the audience glued to their seats.

The story follows Hamlet returning to Denmark when his father, the King, dies.

His mother Gertrude has already married Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, the new King.

They urge Hamlet to marry his beloved Ophelia, but soon, the ghost of Hamlet’s

The Shadhu Shongo institutions Guru -Shishwa interactions and Sheba fering and not “eaten” as we understand it, but shared.

Sharing, serving, and consuming food are acts of God, and more profoundly because bauls believe that God dwells within human souls, we feed the “God within us,” not necessarily ourselves. Thus, when and with whom food is shared is in itself a meditative process, and one that has survived centuries, as the rite is so meticulously observed by bauls.

Cooking is done in a communal kitchen with firewood since no fossil fuels are permitted. There are three specific sheba: Guru sheba – dinner, which usually takes place after midnight, at the end of a shongo; balya sheba – breakfast where children are fed first and whatever else is left is shared by adults; and punyo sheba – which is lunch. Shongos usually end after this particular sheba and everybody leaves the venue in a state of “punyota,”

The second most important institution for bauls is the Shadhu Shongo (Shongo henceforth) or regular “conclaves of the wise” ie, congregation of masters in music and spirituality with seekers. Scriptural discourses set the tone of each Shongo and can last anywhere from three to five days.

It is estimated that at least 1000 small to medium to large Shongo are held every year (meaning up to three every day) somewhere or the other in rural Bangladesh – with the one centring Fakir Lalon Shah in Seuria, Kushtia in the Bangla month of Choitro and Kartick, being by far the largest. Discourses and singing go on non-stop, and bauls, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, or gender, live and eat communally during the period of the Shongo. Unlike other cultures that are tokenistic and revolve around peripheral “cultural activism,” Baul music, and the culture associated, is organic, one that has to be lived and practiced as a lifestyle statement.

Other than the assembly of various “shadhu Gurus” (the eldest shadhu denoting practitioner, derived from the word “shadhona”), these events witness different schools of baul thoughts, passionately discussing the tunes and tones of baul music as well as the inherent and esoteric meanings of verses which are reverently referred to as “powd” or “kalaam.” A Guru holds special importance among the bauls, for they are literally considered “God heads,” or the fountains of knowledge from which spirituality and music flow. Each Guru holds A Baul Shadhu Shongho at the Akhra of Fakir Sattar Shah in Sauntha, Kushtia a shongo every year, and in many ERSHADUL HAQUE TINKU cases a second one, commemorating the death of his own Guru. It is very rare that a Guru or complete blessing from the Guru. leaves his “ashon” (assigned seat) during the course of a From the pot to the serving bowl, everything comes shongo, so that no shishwa or disciple misses the chance fresh and untouched by human hands, and none are perto hear him speak and share their unique interpretation mitted to taste any of it ahead (even to check the amount of verses, scriptures, and the music in question. This in of salt) before it is blessed by the Guru and then served. essence reinforces Guru-shishwa parampara, or interac- Each and every seeker has to squat on the floor while the tion, which is a continuously evolving non-traditional food is served equally – yet not eaten right away. It is after educational process. a signal from the shadhu Guru that the rite commences.

Other than music, spirituality, and the quest for Likewise, at the end of a sheba, hands are washed comknowledge, the Shadhu Shongo institute consciously munally and again, only on signal from the presiding emphasises on “Sheba” – the rites of food, which is a piv- Guru, does it end and everyone can leave. l otal demonstration of baul lifestyle. Bauls are vegetarians and the only “meat” they consume is fish. Food for Maqsoodul Haque is a jazz-rock fusion musician and cultural bauls is sacred as it is ultimately a gift from Doyal or the researcher who is writing a series on the transformation of Baul munificent creator. Sheba, as the word denotes, is an of- music.

father appears and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet must choose between passive acquiescence and the need for vengeance, leading him to tragedy.

While Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play, adapting the entire play in less than 90 minutes is challenging, providing the audience with only the spectacle the substantial acts.

Naved Rahaman, Masud Rana, Jahid Hossain, Tanvir Nahid Khan, Sanjib Kumar Dey, Camelia Mousumi Khan, Sumaiya Binte Raihan, and Nowrin Sajjad, all final semester student of the department, portrayed the dominant characters of the play.

Earlier, AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice chancelor of Dhaka University, Mamunur Rashid, actor and theatre activist, and Kalvin L Heige, cultural officer of the US Embassy in Dhaka, graced the event and gave speeches on the occasion.

The staging will continue till July 7 at the same venue, while another two-day stagings will be held at the Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA on July 10 and 11. l

Mahesh Bhatt to write a script for Alia Bhatt

FROM AKHRA TO FUSION: TRANSFORMATION OF BAUL MUSIC (PART-5)

n Maqsoodul Haque

SADIA MARIUM

n Entertainment Desk

Is this Johnny Depp? n Entertainment Desk Johnny Depp, complete with receding hairline and blue eyes, looked totally unrecognisable while filming scenes last week with Benedict Cumberbatch for the crime drama “Black Mass” in Boston.

Johnny looked serious in a charcoal grey double-breasted coat, matching tie and crisp white dress shirt.

The make-up and hair department have transformed Johnny into the notorious crime figure by giving him a paunchy figure, a drastically receding hairline, wrinkled eyes and bad teeth.

He also sported coloured contact lenses to complete his look of Bulger, who was sentenced last November to two consecutive life terms and an additional five years after being on the run for 16 years.

The crime drama is based on the 2001 book “Black Mass: The True Story” of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob written by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.

The film also stars Dakota Johnson, 24, who plays Whitey Bulger's love interest Lindsey Cyr. The movie has received a release date on September 18, 2015.

The film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, also features Sienna Miller, Kevin Bacon, Adam Scott and Rory Cochrane.

The story is about Bulger, 84, who was found guilty last August on 31 counts that included racketeering charges and involvement in 11 murders and is currently incarcerated at the US Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.

Corrupt Boston FBI agents protected Bulger for years while he worked simultaneously as a crime boss and an FBI informant who ratted out the rival New England Mafia and other crime groups.

Bulger was tipped off by his former FBI handler in 1994 about a pending indictment and went into hiding until his arrest in 2011 outside of a quiet apartment complex in Santa Monica, California. l

Riding high on the success of her previous release, in which she was seen playing a Tamilian, actor Alia Bhatt says her father and ace filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt will write a script for her in the near future.

“He is not going to direct, but will definitely write a script for me, which will be an award-winning performance.

He has promised me and it will happen,” says the 21-year-old actor. Alia, who has earlier sung in Imtiaz Ali’s “Highway” has done playback singing for this upcoming rom-com as well. She has sung the unplugged version of the song, “Main Tennu Samjhawaan.”

Meanwhile, Mahesh Bhatt is reported to have said that he had tears in his eyes when he first heard the song.“Usually, I don’t attend her (Alia’s) events.

But I came here, because she had sent me the song two days back and asked for my opinion. I had tears in my eyes

when I heard it. She has sung it from heart,” he said during the unveiling of the song at a recent event.

Although Alia does not have any formal training in singing, it’s her khasiyat (quality), added Bhatt. l

Shahid Kapoor becomes business savvy n Entertainment Desk From going bald to becoming a part of marketing strategies, actor Shahid Kapoor is putting all his efforts into making his upcoming film “Haider” successful.

The promo of “Haider” is soon going to be launched and he is taking a keen interest in the Vishal Bharadwaj film’s communication strategy. The actor is making himself available to the team of the film. He is working closely with the marketing team and is always present whenever they require him.

“Shahid has become part of the team and has been actively attending meetings to understand and give suggestions on the plan,” Shahid’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“Haider,” an adaptation of “Hamlet,” is part of director Bharadwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy after “Maqbool” (Macbeth) and “Omkara” (Othello). Shahid will also be seen in Vikas Bahl’s “Shaandar.” l

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, July 6, 2014

13

Finch shines among stars in Lord’s bicentenary Australia’s Aaron Finch seized his chance to shine among some of cricket’s greatest players with a commanding innings of 181 not out as MCC beat the Rest of the World in the Lord’s bicentenary match on Saturday.

Set 294 to win a one-day match marking the 200th anniversary of the ‘home of cricket’, MCC finished on 296 for three with 25 balls to spare against an equally star-studded Rest of the World team.

Finch, already in England playing for Yorkshire, was involved in partnerships with three of the best batsmen cricket has known to cap a memorable Lord’s debut for the 27-year-old Victoria right-hander.

He put on 107 for the first wicket with Indian hero Sachin Tendulkar, cricket’s leading run-scorer in both Tests and one-day internationals.

Finch then added 67 and 122 with two contrasting West Indies left-handers in Brian Lara (23) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (37 not out) respectively.

However, one sadness for a capacity crowd was that Rest of the World captain Shane Warne was unable to bowl after his first ball batting saw the leg-spin legend suffer a broken right

hand when he was struck by an accidental beamer from fast bowler Brett Lee, his former Australia team-mate.

Earlier, Yuvraj Singh’s blistering 132 off 134 balls took the Rest of the World to 293 for seven after they had collapsed to 68 for five following four wickets for Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

BRIEF SCORE RoW XI 293/7 in 50 overs Yuvraj 132, Collingwood 40, Siddle 33*, Gilchrist 29, Sehwag 22, Pietersen 10, Warne 3*, Tamim 1, Afridi 0 Ajmal 4/45, Lee 2/25, Tendulkar 1/33, MCC XI 296/3 in 50 overs Finch 181*, Tendulkar 44, Chanderpaul 37*, Lara 23, Dravid 0 Collingwood 2/25, Muralitharan 1/55 MCC won by 6 wickets Tendulkar, who only retired in November, gave his adoring fans in a capacity Lord’s crowd plenty to remember him by with the pick of his seven fours a straight drive down the ground off current Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle.

However, the ‘Little Master’ fell to a familiar foe when, trying to cut

Muttiah Muralitharan, he got a bottom edge and was bowled by the Sri Lanka off-spinner, Test cricket’s most successful bowler.

Left-hander Lara also showed his enduring class with a cracking drive behind point off West Indies paceman Tino Best and a booming drive off Paul Collingwood, both shots typical of the Trinidad star at his best.

Collingwood’s medium-pacers saw Lara caught behind by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, leading the Rest of the World in Warne’s absence, before he nipped one back to bowl Indian star Rahul Dravid off the inside edge for a golden duck.

A single off Collingwood saw the 27-year-old Finch, yet to play Test cricket but who made a Twenty20 world-record 156 against England at Southampton last year, to a 96-ball century.

Earlier, after Warne won the toss, the Rest of the World collapsed from 54 for one to 68 for five in the face of Ajmal’s off-spin.

Ajmal had Adam Gilchrist (29) smartly stumped by Nottinghamshire and ex-England wicketkeeper Chris Read. Ajmal then had Tamim Iqbal lbw, and Kevin Pietersen stumped before clean bowling fellow Pakistani Afridi for a duck. l

Kvitova hands Bouchard royal thumping to win Wimbledon

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic holds the winner’s trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, after defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in their women’s singles final match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London yesterday REUTERS

Siam, Fahad joint top in Junior Chess Reigning junior champion Ikramul Haque Siam and sub-junior Fide Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman are jointly at the top of the Union Insurance 34th National Junior (Under-20) Chess Championship points table after winning their respective matches in the fifth round yesterday. Both have earned maximum five points after the end of the round.

Former junior champion Abdullah Al Saif, Akib Jawad and Minhazul Alam are jointly sharing second position with 4.5 points each. Siam defeated Avik Sarker, Fahad beat Abu Bakar Jibon, Minhaz received a walkover against Tanima while Saif drew with Akib. l

Zia wins in Spain Bangladesh GM Ziaur Rahman defeated Spanish Fide Master Quintin Navarro Alberto in the opening round of the 34th Open International Villa De Benasque which is being held in Spain.

The event began on Friday at Benasque in Spain. A total of 413 players including 32 GMs from 38 countries are taking part in the event. l

Petra Kvitova produced a majestic performance to end Eugenie Bouchard’s hopes of becoming the first Canadian to win a grand slam title with a 6-3 6-0 win in the Wimbledon final on Saturday.

The Czech captured her second title at the All England Club having also lifted the Rosewater Dish in 2011.

Much had been made of Bouchard’s raw power and determination to triumph in what she calls the “Temple of Tennis” but the 20-year-old was unable to cope with sixth seed Kvitova’s more varied attacking style.

Bouchard was watched from the Royal Box by the British princess she had been named after but the occasion of playing in her first major final appeared to overwhelm the 13th seed.

Kvitova hit rip-roaring winners left, right and centre to win the most one-sided final since Steffi Graf also dropped only three games against Monica Seles in 1992.

Bouchard dropped serve in the fourth game after Kvitova hit a scor-

Nigeria threatened with Fifa suspension Fifa has warned Nigeria about possible suspension after a regional court ordered the sacking of the country’s football association and the appointment of a new administrator to run the game in the populous west African nation.

Nigeria’s government has been set a deadline of Tuesday to restore the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation to their position or the country could be suspended from playing in international competitions.

“Fifa has learnt from various sources that the Nigerian Football Federation has been served with court processes and that consequently an order restraining the President of the NFF, his Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football has been granted by a High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” said a Fifa statement. It said it had also taken note of the detention of NFF president Aminu Maigari, although he has since been released.

“Fifa has reminded the NFF that all Fifa member associations have to man-

age their affairs independently and without influence of any third parties.

“The above mentioned actions are preventing the NFF from managing its affairs independently and are considered by Fifa as undue interference in the NFF affairs,” the statement added.

The Plateau State High Court in Jos earlier this week ordered the dismissal of the federation leadership, granting an injunction restraining them running the affairs of football in the country.

It was not made clear who brought the injunction and why. Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo then appointed Lawrence Longyir Katken as acting Secretary General of the NFF. He has since called an extraordinary meeting of the general assembly of the NFF in Abuja on Saturday where all the chairman and secretaries of the Football Associations of Nigeria’s 36 states are expected to attempt to vote in a new leadership.

But Fifa warned this would not be tolerated. Suspension for Nigeria would affect participation by its national team, junior and club sides in international competition. l

ing crosscourt winner to end an entertaining rally that had sent both players scampering around the court.

Kvitova’s only blip during a 55-minute demolition job was when she first attempted to serve out the set at 5-2.

She dropped her serve but then broke her rival in the next game with a thumping return.

The crowd tried to lift Bouchard’s sagging spirits with cries of “Come on Genie” but left-hander Kvitova simply went into overdrive in the second, winning it in 22 blistering minutes, and ended her victim’s ordeal with a sizzling backhand crosscourt winner.

“It was just amazing. You always dream as a player to play your best tennis on the biggest stage and that was a thing of beauty,” summed up former Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport.

“You can’t even blame Bouchard because she didn’t play badly but she just didn’t get the chance to play because Kvitova didn’t allow her to. I don’t think anyone would have been able to play her today.

“Bouchard tried everything but Kvitova didn’t miss anything.” l

Mohammedan, Sheikh Jamal share spoils Table-toppers Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club were held to a 1-1 draw

by Mohammedan Sporting Club in the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Mohammedan midfielder Towhidul Alam Sabuj put his side ahead in the 23rd minute before Nasir Uddin Chowdhury equalised at the stroke of the opening half.

The draw was enough for Jamal to extend their lead at the top of the points table to 12 and a victory from their four remaining games will confirm their title. They now have 52 points from 23 matches while Mohammedan slid down to third place with 38 points from the same number of matches, a point ahead of fourth-placed Muktijoddha Sangsad and two behind second-placed Abahani Limited.

The only change in the Jamal lineup was Mazharul Islam who started at the back of the goal while the traditional Black and Whites played without the services of their in-form national striker Zahid Hossain Emily due to an injury which he sustained in

the previous match.

Sabuj replaced Emily and the midfielder gave Mohammedan the breakthrough in the 23rd minute. Following a low cross from Zahid Hossain from the right flank, the midfielder, who was totally unmarked, tapped home into an empty net from the six-yard box.

Mohammedan could have doubled their lead in the 44th minute. Wahed Ahmed snatched the ball from Kesto Kumar inside the penalty area but the national striker failed to utilise the opportunity as his tame shot went straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.

Nasir though restored parity a minute into the injury time of the first half.

The Jamal defender beat his marker and headed home nicely past Mohammedan keeper Mamun Khan after a neat cross from Linkon from the right flank.

Six minutes into the second half, Wahed could have given Mohammedan the lead once again if he had properly connected a Tapu Barman cross inside the box.

Linkon’s shot from the box was saved by Mamun in the 77th minute.

Five minutes later, Zahid’s looping effort from a free-kick from 30 yards was fisted away by Jamal keeper Mazharul Islam for a corner. l

Mohammedan’s Towhidul Alam Sabuz (R) vies for the ball with a Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi’s defender during their Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League match at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

14

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, July 6, 2014

Neymar injury rocks Brazil Brazil striker Neymar was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup on Friday, dealing the hosts a crushing blow just hours after they battled through to a semi-final showdown with Germany.

A pulsating opening day of quarter-final action saw Brazil advance to the last four with a 2-1 victory over Colombia after Germany defeated old rivals France 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium.

But Brazil’s bruising win over Colombia was immediately overshadowed by news that Neymar would miss the rest of the tournament after suffering a fractured vertebra.

The 22-year-old was carried off grimacing in agony after an aerial collision with Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga towards the end of the contest.

Neymar got a knee in the back.

“The exam showed he suffered a fracture of the third vertebra” in his back, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said.

The Barcelona superstar has been integral to Brazil’s World Cup campaign so far, scoring four goals

during the World Cup hosts journey to the last four.

His injury is bound to focus attention on the performance of Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo, who allowed several rugged challenges from both sides go unpunished throughout Friday’s game.

MATCH STATS Goals scored Total shots Shots on target Corners Offsides Fouls committed Yellow cards Red cards Ball possession

Brazil 2 12 6 4 0 31 2 0 52%

Colombia 1 11 5 6 3 23 2 0 48%

Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari fumed that Neymar had been targeted by opponents during the tournament.

“I have been saying for three matches that Neymar has been hunted, but all the other countries say it is not true and

it is only their players that are hunted,” Scolari said.

Zuniga later expressed sympathy for Neymar, and insisted the injury was accidental.

“I’ve never tried to harm another player,” Zuniga said.

“When I’m on the pitch I’m there to defend my country and my shirt -- but there’s no intention to hurt anyone.”

As well as Neymar, Brazil will also miss captain Thiago Silva in Tuesday’s semi-final in Belo Horizonte, after the defender picked up a yellow card against Colombia to earn a suspension.

Silva had earlier fired Brazil into an early 1-0 lead before David Luiz made it 2-0 with a thunderous longrange free-kick midway through the second half.

Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez – kicked repeatedly by Brazil’s players throughout – pulled a goal back from the penalty spot to set up a tense finale, but the hosts held on for the win.

Rodriguez, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, left the field in tears after the defeat. l

Tearful James blames ref’s influence for exit

Brazil’s David Luiz (R) consoles Colombia’s James Rodriguez after their 2014 World Cup quarter-finals at the Castelao arena in Fortaleza on Friday REUTERS

Colombian star James Rodriguez claimed Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo had been a decisive influence as his country’s World Cup dreams ended with a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Brazil on Friday.

James extended his lead as the competition’s top scorer with a penalty 10 minutes from time to register his sixth goal in five games.

However, by then the damage had already been done for Colombia as goals either side of half-time from Thiago Silva and David Luiz booked Brazil a semi-final meeting with Germany.

“Unfortunately, the referee didn’t help a lot,” said the Monaco playmaker, who had been singled out for some rough treatment by the Brazilian players. I think the referee influenced the game a lot, but that is how it is and we need to look forward.”

James was comforted by Luiz and a number of other Brazilian players as he left the field in tears with the Paris Saint-Germain defender gesturing to the home crowd to applaud the Colombian. l

Scolari in quandary over replacement

Neymar cries, the whole of Brazil does the same

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari faces a potentially make or break decision as to who replaces injured star Neymar in his starting line-up for the World Cup semi-final with Germany on Tuesday.

The moment 2 minutes from the end of normal time in the quarter-final that Colombian Juan Camilo Zuniga kneed Neymar in the back fracturing a vertebrae could come to be seen as the action that cost the hosts their 6th World Cup. However, Scolari – who guided Brazil to the 2002 trophy – cannot dwell on the loss but move on and decide who he can replace the 22-year-old with and that is no easy task.

For Neymar had all but singlehandedly got the team this far with four goals, two well weighted corners that resulted in goals and a nerveless fifth penalty in the last 16 shootout with Chile which turned the pressure onto Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara who missed his and allowed Brazil to progress. While Oscar and David Luiz can take care of the dead ball kicks, the two names that are mentioned as favourites to replace Neymar in the starting XI are Bernard and Willian. l

Neymar cried, the whole of Brazil cried with him too. The Fifa Fan Fests across the 12 cities of the World Cup venues burst into anger and were cursing the Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo for not flashing the red card to Colombia’s Juan Zuniga in the second quarterfinal on Friday in Fortaleza.

After receiving the knock on the knee in the fag end of the game, Neymar fell down and was carried out by a stretcher. First, he was examined at the clinic of Estadio Castelao before being sent to Dr Jose Luiz Runco at a private clinic. According to a message sent out by Brazil Football Confederation Neymar was crying a lot. While being examined at Clinica Sao Carlos in north Fortaleza the 22-year old Brazilian superstar was also found weeping as he was unable to walk properly. He suffered a broken vertebra and is expected to be out for a duration of four to six weeks.

The receptionist at the front desk of Hotel Byblos, Oliver, always greets the visitors and tourists with a smiling face. He though appeared gloomy and did not present his trademark grin. “I can’t believe Neymar is not playing in the World Cup. Its a big blow for the Brazil team and also the nation’s hope.

I am very upset,” he said.

Usually the Brazilian fans celebrate their success through various ways and among them speeding with the car amids loud chants is a common phenomenon. However, following the quarterfinal win, the streets were relatively deserted while the number of speeding cars and level of chants were very low.

Around 30,000 fans gathered in the Fan Festival of Brasilia, the biggest fest among all the 12 cities with 10 big screens installed alongside the official one. Thiago Silva and David Luiz’s goals were celebrated vociferously but when Neymar was fouled by Zuniga which was followed by the scream, a few fans were unable to control their emotions. l

Brazilian superstar Neymar’s injury against Colombia and the subsequent exodus from the World Cup have jolted the hearts of millions across the world.

Renowned names, including Neymar’s Barcelona teammate and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, from across the world have been pouring in their sympathies and wishes for Neymar through social networks. Some of the other famous sports icons to sympathize with Neymar’s injury are basketball stars LeBron James of Miami Heat, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and the king of track and field Usain Bolt.

“Hated to read the news about Neymar! The player. Have a speedy recovery. Stay as well as possible, man! # HesABeast (He’s A Beast) # MyKidsFavPlayer,” tweeted LeBron.

“Sad to hear the news about Neymar . Have a quick recovery,” wrote Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world.

“The beatings in Neymar is a bad example. The World Cup shows its now classless,” wrote Kobe Bryant in Por-

tuguese. The LA Lakers star also criticized the act of Zuniga, the Colombian player responsible for Neymar’s injury.

“Strength, Neymar! Idol! We are with you always,” wrote Maya Gabeira, the Brazilian world class surfer who nearly died last year while surfing in Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal.

Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva recalled his disposal at the London Olympics in 2012, deferring the dream of Olympic gold for four years. He commented, “All Brazilians are feeling this pain, loss of the brilliant player we have in our team - Neymar, our dear. Every athlete has his dream, his goal and when an unforeseen appears like this, we know well the pain of that athlete. I speak with certainty, because two years ago I went through the same thing in the Olympics and know that your next chance to go after your dream. Pray for you warrior. Soon you will be back to cheer this whole nation.”

Former Brazilian World Cup winner Romario sounded emotional too as he said, “My buddy, I’ll be cheering a lot for your prompt recovery. Father in Heaven as always by your side. You will

surely remain in all the hearts, to continue making people happy. I can tell you that all Brazil is cheering for our victory and your teammates dedicated to you. You have my respect.”

“Happy for the win and reaching the semis, but sad about the situation of our Neymar, the playmaker. Force kid, the whole Brazil is with you,” said Marta, the Brazilian female football star while World Cup winner Bebeto said, “Friend Neymar, will be praying for your recovery. Know that you are already a hero.”

“Boy Neymar, great faith and great force friend. Your joy, enthusiasm and boldness remain among us. Brazil’re with you! Stay with God,” wrote the former Brazilian tennis player Gustavo Kuerten who won three Grand Slam titles.

Fernanda Souza, the renowned Brazilian actress wrote, “We can only trust in God. Your choices are greater than we know, unfortunately it is very sad to see the dream of a hero to be interrupted so but all the other heroes are going to play for him, and you still have a lot to do by BRAZIL, @neymarjr! It’s only the beginning of history...God bless you.” l

#GetwellsoonNeymar

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, July 6, 2014

15

Klose runs himself into ground for German cause

Loew’s delight as Germany reach semis again Joachim Loew says consistency was the key to Germany’s 1-0 quarter-final win over France as they reached their fourth consecutive World Cup semi-final.

Loew has now reached the semis of all of the last four major tournaments during his eight-year reign as head coach thanks to Mats Hummels’ 13th-minute header.

Germany maintain their impressive record of reaching the semi-finals at 13 of the 20 World Cup finals.

Their quarter-final exit at France ‘98 was the last time they failed to reach the last four.

Loew has five survivors in his squad from the 2006 World Cup in Germany and ten of the side who finished third at South Africa 2010.

But the 54-year-old says maintaining consistent standards within the squad has been the key to Germany’s success in Brazil, even after injury deprived him of winger Marco Reus before leaving Germany.

“The team has changed over last few years and there are not many survivors from 2006 and 2010, but it’s good to have a few changes, not just the same players who have been at the top level for the last eight to ten years,” said Loew.

“We were without Reus, but players like Hummels have come in and done very well.

“We have been working on consistency, invested a lot and we have excellent players.” l

Miroslav Klose may not have secured himself the mantle of the World Cup’s all-time record goalscorer but his selfless running played its part in Germany’s 1-0 World Cup quarter-final victory against France on Friday.

The 36-year-old, appearing in his 22nd World Cup finals match, did not threaten to score but his presence gave Germany a focal point in attack, and provided France’s centre-backs with something else to think about besides the dangerous runs into the box from Thomas Mueller.

If anyone is ready to take on Klose’s mantle it is the 24-year-old Bayern Munich star, who arguably best represents the future of this German team and already has nine World Cup goals to his name.

His threat on the counter-attack, allied to the fresh legs of substitutes Andre Schuerrle and Mario Goetze, meant Germany remained the more likely side to score in the closing minutes as they inflicted more World Cup pain on the French, who they beat in the 1982 and 1986 semi-finals.

Klose, who scored a crucial goal just after coming on as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Ghana in the group stage. His involvement amounted to just eight passes and

he failed to muster a single shot on goal, leaving him level with retired Brazil great Ronaldo on 15 goals in the World Cup finals.

Klose could yet get another

chance to notch that record-breaking goal, with Germany assured of another two matches at this tournament, regardless of the result in the semi-final. l

Les Bleus put WC blues behind them Outstanding Neuer pins France may have been knocked out of yet another World Cup by nemesis Germany on Friday but restoring their image and rebuilding expectations ahead of Euro 2016 were even more important after their debacle in South Africa four years ago.

The French failed once again to beat Germany at a major tournament and just as in 1982 and 1986 their neighbours advanced at their expense, this time following a 1-0 quarter-final defeat in Rio de Janeiro.

Yet it was far from an unsuccessful trip to Brazil for coach Didier Deschamps’ team, especially given the setbacks before arriving in South America.

After their headline-grabbing mutiny in South Africa against then coach Raymond Domenech and verbal outbursts against a reporter at Euro 2012, France’s top priority was to field a united team that their fans could embrace once again.

Give 10 pct of profit to poor, Venezuela legislator urges Fifa Football’s governing body FIFA should set an example to the world by giving 10 percent of World Cup profits to the poor, a Venezuelan legislator has said.

“It would be stupendous news for the whole planet, which is in such need of good news,” William Ojeda said in comments widely published by Venezuelan media on Saturday.

“FIFA, which earns so much money from the organisation of the world event, should demonstrate with actions that its vision is not only monetary, and should channel at least 10 percent of its profits from the World Cup to help poor countries.” The independent parliamentarian, an early supporter of late socialist president Hugo Chavez said the money should go to schools,homes, clinics and sports facilities. l

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2, HD2 5:30PM British Grand Prix Main Race Star Sports 1, 4 6:30PM Wimbledon Championship

They almost did not make it to Brazil following a 2-0 playoff defeat by Ukraine in the first leg.

But a string of changes from coach Didier Deschamps and two goals from Mamadou Sakho beat the East Europeans 3-0 in the second leg to book a trip to Brazil.

Their biggest blow came before the tournament when 2013 European player of the year Franck Ribery was ruled out due to injury.

But their campaign in Brazil got off to the best possible start with a 3-0 win over Honduras to put them in control of their group.

That was followed by a scintillating 5-2 demolition of Switzerland which instantly put the French among a select group of title contenders.

More importantly, however, it made fans at home like their team again, restoring confidence in their ability and teamwork.

Deschamps, who won the 1998

World Cup as a player and Euro 2000, had an iron grip on his players, even when there were questions about forward Karim Benzema’s alleged sulking about his position on the left.

Deschamps, who suffered his first World Cup defeat as player or coach on Friday, shrugged them off.

“You are not teaching me anything new here by saying that,” he said.

A goalless draw against Ecuador completed a positive group stage and set up a round of 16 clash against Nigeria.

Forward Benzema again started on the wing but as France struggled against the physical Nigerians, Deschamps did what most France fans wanted to see do from the start.

He brought on winger Antoine Griezmann, allowing Benzema to slip back into his favoured role in the centre of attack and the move paid off as two late goals sent France into the quarter-finals to face arch-rivals Germany.

Semi-final defeats at the 1982 and 1986 tournaments counted for nothing, Deschamps said before the game, but his team, lacking a natural leader in the mould of Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane, did not have the firepower to trouble the Germans.

Left back Patrice Evra, at 33, could do little to contain the speedy Germans and did even less in inspiring his team forward for an equaliser.

“We had our chances but they had more experience than we did,” Deschamps told reporters. “The difference wasn’t that big today between us and Germany. But they advanced.”

With hugely-gifted 21-year-old Paul Pogba, Griezmann, Sakho and other young players getting experience on the world stage, France should be returning home with their heads held high.

They have every right to be confident about the next major tournament, the 2016 European Championship on home soil. l

Brazilian Thiago Silva breaks taboo before suspension lombian net with a delicate poke which came off his knee. The goal scored by the Brazilian skipper, wearing the number 3 shirt, broke a taboo that had lasted for 20 years. The last Selecao captain to score a goal in the World Cup was midfielder Rai in the 1994 World Cup hosted by the United States. Since then no Brazilian captain has scored in any of the last four World Cups.

Brazil captain Thiago Silva broke a 20year taboo with his goal against Colombia in his team’s 2-1 victory in the quarterfinal over their South American counterparts but will be ruing his foolish mistake as he will be in the dugout when Brazil meet Germany in the semifinal on Tuesday.

Thiago, who went through a difficult time controlling his emotions following the shootout victory over Chile in the round of 16, was ecstatic when he poked a Neymar corner into the Co-

Thiago’s suspension in the semifinal though was criticised by the Brazilian media. They said there was no need for him to stand in the way of Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina while he was attempting a goal-kick. There were enough Brazilian players in midfield and defence. Probably emotions got the better of the Paris Saint Germain centreback. l

win on compact defence Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said Germany’s improved defence was the key to Friday’s 1-0 win over France as they booked a record fourth successive World Cup semi-finals berth.

Centre-back Mats Hummels’ 13th-minute bullet-header settled the quarter-final clash at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium. But Neuer played a huge part in the victory with an outstanding display, on what was his 50th appearance for his country, to repeatedly thwart the French attack, spear-headed

by Real Madrid striker Benzema.

The Bayern Munich goalkeeper said his back four had raised their game significantly since Monday’s below-par display.

“Unlike against Algeria, today we had a game where we couldn’t lose, the defence did well and was really com-

pact,” said Neuer, who denied Benzema with a key save in the dying stages.

“It was very impressive to play in this stadium against France and this performance was already worthy of a semi-final.

“We played some good football and there is huge joy now in reaching the semi-finals. We fought for each other from the first to the last minute.

“I need to say a big ‘thank you’ to the team, now we need to recover well.”

German coach Joachim Loew said Neuer is key to Germany’s success in Brazil as they look to end their 24-year wait for a World Cup title.

“Confidence in Neuer doesn’t just come from me, it comes from the whole team,” said the 54-year-old.

“It’s a really great feeling for defenders to know that he is good both in and outside the box, knowing he has the skills of a good outfield player. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, July 6, 2014 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 16, 2014

13 Kvitova wins Wimbledon

14 Tearful James blames referee

Sport

15 Thiago Silva breaks taboo

No Neymar, no party for Brazil The hangover from a World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia was a little more potent than Brazil expected as it awoke on Saturday still dealing with the news star striker Neymar will play no further part in the tournament.

The 22-year-old suffered a broken vertebrae in the 2-1 win over Los Cafeteros in Fortaleza in Friday, meaning there will be no Hollywood ending for Brazil’s poster boy come the Maracana final next Sunday.

Whether Brazil even make it to their ball is a greater worry for most of a 200 million strong nation that expected to crown their party with a sixth World Cup victory.

Next up lies the daunting task of a Germany side in the semi-finals on Tuesday that showed its class with a comfortable 1-0 win over France in Friday’s other quarter-final.

Moreover, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men will have to face the Germans not only without their chief goalscorer, but also their captain as Thiago Silva received his second yellow card of the tournament against Colombia ruling him out

through suspension.

Ultimately, Brazil have been served a severe dose of their own medicine.

In a match which contained the most fouls of any so far in the tournament with 54, the hosts were the principal aggressors committing 31.

James Rodriguez was the main target for Scolari’s scything tactics. Three times Manchester City’s Fernandinho left his mark on the Monaco man in the first-half with the only punishment a free-kick awarded by Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.

“Unfortunately, the referee didn’t help a lot,” bemoaned James, whose sixth goal in five games from the penalty spot proved no more than a consolation to Silva and David Luiz’s earlier strikes.

However, the moment for which the match will be remembered came two minutes from time when Juan Zuniga clattered Neymar in the back in his overexuberant rush to win the ball back deep inside the Brazil half.

As Oscar led a Brazilian counter-attack, Neymar remained prone on the ground and could only be removed via a stretcher. l

Brazil’s fans cheer during the World Cup quarter-final match against Colombia at the Castelao Stadium in Fortaleza on Friday

I never meant to hurt Neymar, says Colombia’s Zuniga

Vamos Albiceleste Glory to the team of one 4.

Apparently Brazilian fans did not quite appreciate my ten reasons as to why their team should not lose. They thought I was mocking the Selecao. I consider it my moral duty to annoy everyone equally.

Therefore, today I will give my ten reasons why Argentina should win tonight.

1. Beef. While Brazil produces the most beef, Argentine beef is the most famous. An early exit will demoraliae Argentinian cows. When the best go down, the rest follow. We will be chomping on tough sirloin for at least two years, and I have really bad molars.

2. The “Hand of God”. One cannot get enough of watching the Supreme fingers at play. It is a wonderful spiritual experience. The longer Gonzalo Higuain plays the more likely he will realise the futility of his head and feet, and the greater the chance of Diego Maradona’s “magic” returning.

3. Maradona himself. It is wonderful to see a legend having enough sense of humor to start becoming a caricature of himself. Diego’s presence is the closest you can get to guaranteed entertain-

5.

6.

7.

ment. No one wants to see him go.

Maradona again. Maybe once Argentina finally wins the cup again, the left footed legend will finally be able to rest.

Rumor has it that Maradona is trying to revive his playing career by joining an Argentinian fifth division team. No one wants to see this incarnation of the past champ run, or wear shorts.

Ann Coulter. If Argentina loses then millions of poor people and Muslims will be sad, which will make Ann Coulter happy, which is never a good thing. I know I said this about Brazil too, but the process of ensuring Ann Coulter’s misery should be foolproof.

Bangladeshi Argentinian fans. Being a proud member of the Bangladeshi chapter of the Liverpool Fan Club, I am no stranger to unreasonable adulation for a sports team. But Argentinian supporters take things to a different level altogether. They remind of the white walkers in A Game of Thrones, appearing once every few years and destroying everything in their wake. No one wants to make these people angry.

Bangladeshi Brazilian fans. I always thought that Selecao fans were the more sober and educated of the two. As this tournament progresses, however, they are starting to look and sound

5

AFP

more and more like Argentinian supporters. The only thing that can prevent complete degeneration into aggressive insanity is continued Argentine success, which strangely has a palpable calming effect on Selecao supporters.

8. Natural selection. If Brazil and Argentina both make it to the finals, idiots will fight and some may not survive, leaving us with a smarter fitter society.

A little bit of expedited evolution is never a bad thing.

9. Messi. The little gem from Rosario is praying for Neymar’s speedy recovery.

Any Argentine who prays for a Brazilian during the World Cup is either saintly or an incredibly good actor. Either way such talent should not go unrewarded.

10. Teamwork. Of all things in sports, teamwork is quite possibly the most overrated. Argentina’s success thus far has been the strongest argument against teamwork that I have witnessed in a long time. They have eminently demonstrated that you don’t need eleven players functioning cohesively to win. You need one great player and 10 tourists. If Argentina continues to be successful then maybe we will finally stop hearing annoying things like “there’s no I in team”. They will have conclusively shown us that there is no WE either. l

Colombia defender Juan Zuniga said he did not deliberately try to hurt Brazil forward Neymar when he kneed him in the back on Friday, fracturing his vertebra and ruling the marquee player out of the rest of the World Cup. Brazil held on for a 2-1 quarter-final win over their fellow South Americans but will be without Neymar against Germany in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday and the final should they progress.

“We wanted to score, and it was a tough game. Brazil was marking strongly. I hope it’s nothing serious, let’s pray to God,” Zuniga told reporters.

“On the pitch I’m defending my shirt, my country, but I didn’t expect him to fracture a vertebrae. He is a great talent for Brazil and for the world.”

Zuniga jumped into the back of Neymar and his knee struck the Brazilian’s third vertebra two minutes from the final whistle, dealing a major blow to the hosts who are seeking a sixth world title.

“It’s a normal action, I tried to shadow him,” Zuniga said. “I was not thinking of hurting him. I was defending my country’s colours.”

Neymar had to be taken off on a stretcher and was transported to hospital where the extent of the injury was diagnosed.

Colombia were desperate for an equaliser after falling 2-0 behind before cutting the deficit with a late penalty.

“Sadly it happened this way. I hope he gets well, God willing,” the Colom-

bia defender said.

Neymar, who had netted four times in the tournament, will not require surgery but will be out for several weeks, team doctors said. l

POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR NEYMAR

WILLIAN

BERNARD

LUIS GUSTAVO

RAMIRES

AN EXTRA CENTRE-BACK

The Chelsea winger is one of relatively few new faces in the squad from the side that won the Confederations Cup last year after an impressive first season in England.

His versatility to play on either wing or through the middle offers coach Luiz Felipe Scolari flexibility, but his ability to cope with the pressure that Neymar was under is questionable given he failed to even hit the target with his penalty in the agonising shootout win over Chile in the last 16.

The tiny Shakhtar Donetsk man -- he replaced Willian after he left for Chelsea -- stands at just over 5ft 4inches tall and is just 21, but does have the pace and ability to go past defenders that Brazil will need in the absence of Neymar.

However, his participation in the tournament so far has been restricted to just two substitute appearances and he may be more adequately used as an impact player from the bench as legs tire later in the game.

Neymar’s loss could mean a complete tactical reshuffle for Scolari with Wolfsburg’s Gustavo almost certain to return to the side following his suspension against Colombia.

Scolari was quick to praise the work done by Fernandinho and Paulinho in Fortaleza and could line up all three in central midfield in an attempt to spoil Germany’s rhythm in midfield.

Another option with the intention of destroying rather than creating would be to use the energy of Chelsea’s Ramires on the wing to keep German captain Philipp Lahm’s forays forward in check.

It is a role the 27-year-old has carried out to decent effect in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years, most notably when sparking a remarkable Chelsea comeback with a goal against Barcelona on their way to winning the trophy in 2012.

Brazil will not only be without Neymar, but also captain Thiago Silva through suspension against Germany.

Scolari had already flirted with the idea of switching to a 3-5-2 and doing so now may help stabilise the defence in Silva’s absence, whilst also giving left-back Marcelo even more licence to exploit his attacking instincts down the left side. Both Scolari and match-winner against Colombia David Luiz were quick to talk up the capabilities of Dante and Henrique after the game with both in contention to make their first start of the competition.

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

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B3 World stocks hold at all-time high after bumper week

B4 China plots its own Asia “pivot”

SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Banks rush to issue corporate bonds n Kayes Sohel Banks are in a rush to issue corporate bonds to fortify their balance sheets and improve their leverage ratios in line with the regulatory requirements.

Corporate bond is a debt security issued by a corporation and sold to investors, which usually increases the payment ability of a company from its future operations.

More than half of the 30 listed banks so far planned to issue at least Tk4,000 crore worth of bonds to implement Basel II, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Bangladesh entered the Basel II capital regime, a version of risk-based capital standards set for banks worldwide, on the first day of 2010, which ultimately will be fully effective from January 2015.

Only three banks have planned to issue rights offer, which has traditionally been the bread and butter for the banks’ source of funding.

The rest 10 out of total 30 listed banks is yet to decide any option to implement capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and minimum capital requirement (MCR) in three phases under Base-II. “The scenario has changed with the financial market coming up with diversified options,” said Ali Reza Iftekhar, EBL managing director and chief executive officer.

His bank plans to issue “EBL Subordinated Bond” up to Tk250 crore for raising Tier-II capital subject to approval of the regulator.

Iftekhar said issuance of corporate bond that is now available in the market has relatively better advantage than offering rights or bonus shares.

“Raising fund by issuing rights or

bonus shares directly goes to Tier-I capital, which swells paid up capital.

But more paid up capital means less capacity to offer dividend,” he said.

On the other hand, fund raised by issuing bond indirectly ads to the paid up capital and also comply regulatory requirements, he said.

Tier-I capital is composed of equity capital and retained earnings, while tier II is supplementary capital, and tier III is short-term subordinated debt covering market risks.

Universal Financial Solutions (UFS) managing director and chief executive officer Sayed Aminul Kabir said conditions in financial markets had been improving steadily since mid-2012.

“The market has come up with diversified products with cost effective way, which is a lift in bond issuance,” Kabir said.

He said there are alternative ways like issuing rights shares. However the process takes time as compared to bonds that can be issued within much shorter span of time.

UFS is currently working as sole arranger for Trust Bank and Jamuna Bank to issue bonds worth Tk400 crore.

Under the Basel-II, the scheduled banks will have to increase CAR at least to 10% and MCR to 10% of a bank’s risk weighted asset by 2015.

The Basel II accord has been prepared on the basis of three pillars – minimum capital requirement, supervisory review process and market discipline. And three types of risks – credit risk, market risk and operational risk – have to be considered under the minimum capital requirement.

Basel III, the upgraded version of recommendations on global banking laws and regulations, is preparing to phase in Bangladesh from 2015. l

IMF skeptical about NBR capacity n Asif showkat kallol

ERL employees are using one of the nine labs in the company’s quality control department

Government to expedite construction of new ERL unit n Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government has decided to set up the second unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) with a capacity of refining around 3.5m tonnes of crude oil annually.

The unit will be completed by June 2016 under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (special provision) Act. “We have received permission from the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina [also the minister in-charge of the Power Ministry] to install the second unit of Eastern Refinery under the special act,” Md Mozammel Haque Khan, secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We have already formed a Project Processing Committee (PPC) consisting of seven members including Finance Ministry and Law Ministry officials to negotiate with different foreign companies to implement the unit,” said

Innovative PPP proposal likely to get bonus n Asif Showkat Kallol The proposal from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project along with some other recommendations made by the finance division will be placed today at the cabinet committee on public purchase.

Meanwhile, the finance division has recommended the government to fix a bonus system to evaluate an original innovative entrepreneur for its unsolicited proposal under Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project.

Former finance secretary Fazle Kabir came up with the suggestion soon after PMO had sought opinion about the PPP unsolicited proposals.

“Private innovators or creative entrepreneurs will get the benefits of tariff and duration of project implementation,” said Kabir.

As per the unsolicited proposal policy of the PPP projects, bonus and a Swiss Challenge of benefits will be given to the private innovators and creative entrepreneurs for the development of the country’s infrastructures.

According to the PMO’s proposal, a 5-10% bonus will be given to new or original entrepreneurs although it also noted that other tender bidders would be discouraged from participating in the tender if more bonus point is given to the new entrepreneurs.

Under the policy on unsolicited proposals, there are a total of 19 determining factors in three schedules, including two types of bonus and a Swiss Challenge process for dealing with the unsolicited proposals.

The Swiss approach is used in the Philippines, Taiwan, and various state governments in India. The main advantage of the Swiss challenge is that it is relatively easy to define, both in general and for each project. The original proponent’s “advantage” is based solely on the project bidding criteria and the bar is set by the competitive process. Since no further definition or negotiation is needed—of bonuses, bidding costs or returns—it does not create additional work for the government project team, nor provide room for subjective decision-making.

The government has allocated Tk257 crore for the project to be implemented under PPP in the fiscal year 2015. The PPP budget is 3.4% of the total allocations in physical infrastructures, which is set to get Tk7,550 crore.

The country’s first-ever PPP project was awarded to an Italian-Thai joint venture in 2010 for the construction work of the 21km long Expressway in 42 months with a cost of Tk8,703 crore.

Although the PPP Project was scheduled to be kicked off in July, 2011, the fate of the project is still hanging in the balance as the joint venture project has

Mozammel, also the head of the PPC. He added that the PPC would invite foreign companies to implement the project, while the committee would also consider if any foreign company submitted proposal showing interest to work in the project.

“We want to build the unit quickly.

It is necessary to establish the unit to ensure energy security of the country,” Mozammel said.

Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has already shown their interest to install the unit. The ERL, under Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), will implement the project.

Earlier, the BPC negotiated with Chinese state-owned firm Wuhun Engineering Company Ltd to implement the project, but were unable to reach a conclusion in this regard.

Eastern Refinery – the country’s lone refiner in Chittagong – currently refines

Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC) has issued a tender to sell 170,000 barrels of naphtha for Aug 3-5 loading from Chittagong, a company official said recently.

The tender will close on July 16, with validity up to July 24.

The tender comes at a time when naphtha sentiment is strong as a string of refinery outages and main-

tenance in India has dented the country’s gasoline supplies.

State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corp sold a same-size cargo to MRI Trading in May at a premium of $1.15 a barrel to Singapore quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, the highest price since March 2013.

It resumed exports of naphtha in November after a four-month hiatus for maintenance and repairs at its

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

so far failed to secure the initial investment. The project is also now facing a problem over partial land acquisition.

In his budget speech the finance minister AMA Muhith said, “In order to attract private investment for infrastructure development, we will encourage implementation of projects through PPP.” He said a total of 34 projects under six sectors had already been approved in principle and advisers or consultants had already been engaged in the 33 projects.

“This is the first step toward the implementation of the projects and it is expected that the PPP legislation would be placed at the parliament shortly,” said the minister in his budget speech.

The costs of the approved PPP projects are estimated to be Tk1,114 crore, mainly in transport, health, education and tourism sectors.

The construction of the Dhaka elevated expressway, jetties in Mongla Port, Hemodialysis Centre, a flyover from Shantinagar to Mawa Road via Buriganga river bridge and Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway are among the major PPP projects, which got approval.

The latest developments in the PPP are issuance of gazette notification of PPP policy and guidelines 2010, guidelines and scheme for using viability gap fund and establishment of PPP office under the Prime Minister’s Office. l

sole refinery.

Apart from exporting, BPC sells naphtha domestically to privately-owned Super Petrochemical.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corp has finalised second-half term contracts for refined oil products at mostly unchanged premiums.

Suppliers for Bangladesh’s middle distillates contracts are Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC), Malaysia’s Petronas, Emirates National Oil Com-

1.3m tonnes of crude oil per year while the capacity is 1.5m tonnes, meeting only 10% of the country’s demand.

“The BPC saves Tk6-7 per litre by refining crude oil instead of importing refined oil,” BPC chairman Md Eunusur Rahaman told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the capacity of the proposed unit would be three times more than the existing one, adding that a 30-acre land near the Eastern Refinery has already been acquired for expansion of the refinery. The construction cost has been estimated at Tk76.2bn.

The BPC annually imports about 5m tonnes of crude and refined oil at an average price of Tk500bn, according to official data.

Under the special act, the government has so far signed agreements on setting up the country’s first floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU), to drill 10 wells of six gas fields and to build several power plants. l

National Board of Revenue could not yet appoint a vendor for the automation system At the meeting with Muhith, the delegation wanted to know about the new VAT law implementation capacity of NBR. The law becomes effective on July 1 next year.

Officials said they inquired about selection of vendor for VAT automation system. “IMF also wanted to know about the delay in reconstitution of the Basic Bank board as the finance minister,” said one of them.

National Board of Revenue could not yet appoint a vendor for the automation system.

NBR officials said an Integrated VAT Administration System will be introduced under the VAT and Supplementary Duty project worth Tk551.59 crore.

World Bank will finance Tk449.78 crore and the remaining cost will be collected from local sources. l

ADN Telecom plans to go public ADN Telecom Limited, one of the country’s leading local telecom service providers, plans to sell its 40% stake in the stock market but subject to approval of the securities regulator.

The company is expected to raise Tk48 crore by selling its stake to expand its business and network to the rural areas.

“We plan to sell our 40% stake through IPO (initial public offering),” Asif Mahmood, Chairman of ADN Telecom Limited told the Dhaka Tribune.

The raised fund will be used to expand network to rural areas and to establish commercial data centre for the first time in the country, he said, add-

ing that providing video and voice data with all connectivity solution are also in our plan.

We plan to sell our 40% stake through IPO (initial public offering) The IPO prospectus will be submitted to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission by August, said a source in the company.

ADN is one of the prominent nationwide internet service providers (ISPs)

in the country. It launched first fixed Wi-max service ‘go broadband’ collaborating with leading mobile phone operator Grameenphone.

Recently, ADN got an permission from the government through Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to increase their share numbers from 1,73,60,000 to 2,09,29,583 .

Currently, six companies – Agni Systems Limited, BDCOM Online, Aamra Technologies, Daffodil Computers, Intech Online and ISN Ltd – under IT sector are listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The sector accounts for only 0.19% or more than Tk437 crore of the total DSE market capitalisation. l

BSTI to give mobile calibration services for mills, factories n Tribune Business Desk

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the state-run watchdog to monitor goods and manufactured items, from now on will give mobile calibration services to mills and factories in the country.

“The mobile calibration services will also help check cheating in weighing of goods in the country,” Iqramul Haque, Director General of BSTI, re-

BPC tenders to sell 170,000 bbls naphtha n Reuters, Dhaka

WEBSITE

A delegation from the international monetary fund (IMF) has expressed concern over the capacity limitation of the country’s revenue authorities in achieving the huge revenue target set for current fiscal year.

They also raised question about the slow progress in scam-hit banking sector reform, particularly in the Basic Bank, at a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in Dhaka last week, senior officials who attended the meeting said.

Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara, who led the delegation, appreciated Bangladesh’s macroeconomic indicators as well as pointed out the challenges at a press conference after the conclusion of his two-day visit.

But the concerns about the revenue authorities’ capacity and the banking sector reform were not raised.

pany (ENOC), Philippines National Oil Company, Vietnam’s Petrolimex, Indonesia’s Bumi Siak Pusako, PetroChina and Unipec.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corp is also buying 700,000 tonnes Murban crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and another 600,000 tonnes of Arab Light crude from Saudi Aramco in 2014 for the Eastern Refinery, up more than 8% from a year earlier. l

ports BSS. Haque said the country has a large number of small and large size mills and factories and different kinds of machinery being produced from these industrial units needs to be calibrated.

Usually representatives from mills and factories along with machinery visit the BSTI but that service is full of hassle and time-consuming.

From now on, said BSTI DG, large mills factories don’t have to visit the

BSTI rather BSTI officials will visit those industrial units.

“We’ll not only calibrate weighing machine but also large machinery (imported) at any parameter,” he said.

He said BSTI will use four vehicles for the mobile calibration cervices.

The vehicles were purchased with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), said Haque. l

B2

Stocks see 1st week of new FY sluggish n Tribune Report

DSE LOSERS

Meghna Life Ins. -A Sandhani Life -A GeminiSeaFood-Z AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Central Insur -A National Life I -A Active Fine Chem.-A Monno Stafllers -A Beximco Pharma -A Delta Life Insu. -A

Closing (% change) -13.67 -10.09 -7.85 -6.94 -6.69 -6.43 -6.37 -5.88 -5.83 -5.61

CSE LOSERS Company AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Meghna Life Ins. -A Samorita Hospital -A Samata LeatheR -Z H.R. Textile -A Sandhani Life -A Wata Chemicals -A Grameen M F One-A JMI Syringes MDL-A Active Fine Chem.-A

Closing (% change) -10.96 -10.68 -9.89 -9.58 -8.50 -8.17 -6.67 -6.31 -5.94 -5.49

4436.20998

(+) 0.61%

1621.86068

(+) 0.33%

13678.4464

(+) 0.55%

11328.0657

(+) 1.14%

8463.2405

(+) 0.74%

Average (% change) -13.57 -7.44 -11.18 -6.12 -7.00 -4.40 -4.94 -6.07 -2.98 -5.74 Average (% change) -5.89 -9.83 -9.86 -9.58 -8.50 -8.10 -6.67 -6.21 -5.29 -4.11

ANALYST

Closing average 100.03 82.07 124.35 6.75 23.66 326.48 62.09 313.79 42.37 142.09

Closing average 6.87 102.97 85.63 23.60 28.00 82.10 252.00 40.16 162.12 62.24

Weekly closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 1146.72 444.96 164.21 1248.46 1601.90 1204.24 5.22 1001.40 1537.94 2.10 236.29 89.36 65.79 855.13 68.67 107.71 228.92 940.52 678.25 1241.46 1.19

Weekly high 118.00 93.60 130.20 7.40 25.40 346.00 69.90 335.00 46.50 152.90

Weekly high

6.50 102.00 85.60 23.60 28.00 82.10 252.00 40.10 163.00 62.00

Turnover (Million Taka)

Fine Foods A Midas Financing-Z Stylecraft -A National Bank - A Premier Bank -A Aziz PipesZ Appollo Ispat CL -N Legacy Footwear -A BATBCL -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

7.80 116.80 92.50 23.60 30.60 90.50 252.00 42.80 188.00 66.70

Company

12,870.43 320,682,644 314,308

Traded Issues

305

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

162

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

140 3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,298.84

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.86

CSE key features June 29-July 3, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

1,012.18

Turnover (Volume)

35,396,942

Number of Contract

48,098

Traded Issues

243

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

136

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

103

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,203.46

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.71

Turnover in million

90.00 81.00 124.00 6.50 23.50 311.50 57.00 312.00 37.50 140.00

Weekly low

19.388 25.923 0.201 2.142 0.383 28.065 120.647 3.122 165.212 97.467

Turnover in million

6.40 98.00 85.10 23.60 28.00 82.10 252.00 40.00 160.70 60.00

Closing (% change) 21.99 21.25 13.33 12.50 11.96 11.11 10.62 10.08 9.90 9.62

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Latest EPS 6.45 2.66 -11.90 1.49 3.64 12.46 3.72 1.12 3.60 2.92

Latest EPS

1.941 0.195 0.397 0.024 0.058 0.160 0.050 0.495 9.759 6.920

1.49 6.45 2.20 0.09 1.62 2.66 6.24 3.40 2.08 3.72

Latest PE 15.5 30.9 -ve 4.5 6.5 26.2 16.7 280.2 11.8 48.7

Latest PE 4.6 16.0 38.9 262.2 17.3 30.9 40.4 11.8 77.9 16.7

Company Fine Foods A Aziz PipesZ Premier Bank -A Sonargaon Tex -Z National Bank - A Union Capital -A Appollo Ispat CL -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Bangladesh Welding -Z Beach Hatchery -A

Closing (% change) 22.70 20.31 13.19 11.63 11.43 10.05 9.85 9.62 9.48 9.28

Average (% change) 22.32 21.38 13.33 11.92 13.08 9.80 8.14 10.52 9.91 14.54 Average (% change) 23.37 20.12 13.85 9.84 12.56 11.46 8.77 14.40 9.41 9.75

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

17.37 19.42 1,207.00 11.74 10.46 16.02 29.49 26.48 2,344.93 34.59

17.20 19.40 1,207.00 11.70 10.30 16.00 30.20 26.20 2,344.30 34.20

17.90 19.50 1,288.00 12.50 11.10 16.40 30.40 27.90 2,419.00 35.50

12.70 14.50 1,125.00 9.40 8.30 14.80 27.40 22.80 2,050.00 28.10

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

17.37 15.40 10.44 9.60 11.74 22.95 29.53 34.56 12.67 25.78

17.30 15.40 10.30 9.60 11.70 23.00 30.10 34.20 12.70 25.90

17.90 15.40 11.40 10.00 11.90 23.00 30.30 35.50 12.80 26.10

13.00 14.00 9.20 8.80 9.90 21.30 27.50 31.10 12.00 23.90

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

22.987 0.559 3.835 142.085 125.340 0.477 496.371 14.758 1094.125 999.643

Turnover in million

-1.01 -6.91 47.83 0.92 1.48 0.68 1.69 0.20 82.80 1.12

Latest EPS

4.031 0.003 13.592 0.115 22.905 0.805 55.661 114.223 0.462 6.074

-1.01 0.68 1.48 -0.92 0.92 2.08 1.69 1.12 0.48 2.04

Latest PE -ve -ve 25.2 12.8 7.1 23.6 17.4 132.4 28.3 30.9

Latest PE -ve 22.6 7.1 -ve 12.8 11.0 17.5 30.9 26.4 12.6

Weekly news from trade server AGM/Dividend SANDHANINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 25.50% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. The Board has also decided to increase the Authorized Capital of the Company from Tk. 50.00 crore to Tk. 200.00 crore subject to approval of the Shareholders and the regulatory authorities. Date of EGM and AGM: 06.09.2014, Time of EGM and AGM: 11:00 AM and 11:30 AM respectively, Venue: MH Samorita Hospital & Medical College Auditorium, 117 Tejgaon, Love Road, Dhaka-1208. Record Date for EGM and AGM: 16.07.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 2.66, NAV per share of Tk. 30.97 and NOCFPS of Tk. (0.60) for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: DELTALIFE: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 793.85 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 28,846.04 million as against Tk. 823.80 million and Tk. 27,155.38 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

PROGRESLIF: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 15.43 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 3,935.53 million as against Tk. 109.78 million and Tk. 3,756.70 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

NATLIFEINS: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 121.59 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 27,805.58 million as against Tk. 315.19 million and Tk. 24,502.07 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

SANDHANINS: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 62.91 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 8,893.98 million as against Tk. 42.18 million and Tk. 8,207.29 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: GRAMEEN1: Grameen Fund, the Trustee of Grameen Mutual Fund One, has informed that at the meeting of the Unit holders of the Fund held at 11 AM on June 26, 2014 the Unit holders elected to extend the tenure of the scheme for another 10 years term from July 01, 2015 to end on June 30, 2025 under the relevant provisions of the SEC (Mutual Fund) Rules 2001. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other document of the scheme or the fund, as the said Rules provides for the time being, the scheme may not be eligible for any further extension. In other separate motions, the Unitholders also re-confirmed continuation of the appointment of Grameen Fund as the Trustee and AIMS of Bangladesh Limited as the Asset Manager of the scheme for the extended period.

IFIC: BSEC is not in a position to consider the application of IFIC Bank Ltd. for extension of time as applied for as the Company has failed to comply with the rule 7(1) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Rights Issue) Rules, 2006 regarding submission of application for issuing rights share along with the offer document which was required to furnish to the Commission for approval within 15 working days of approval of such issue by the shareholders of the Company in a general meeting.

KEYACOSMET: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the extension of the date of validity of the scheme of amalgamation among Keya Cosmetics Limited, Keya Cotton Mills Limited, Keya Spinning Mills Limited and Keya Knit Composite Limited up to 30th June 2015 instead of 30th June 2014.

JMISMDL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the following: to reduce the loan liability and meet the working capital requirements the board has decided to increase Company's paid up capital by issuing rights share @ 2R:1 i.e. two rights shares for every one existing share held on the record date at an issue price of Tk. 35.00 each (including a premium of Tk. 25.00 per share) on paid up capital subject to the approval of shareholders in the 15th AGM to be held on July 24, 2014 and the Regulatory Authority.

Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC.

Finance Bill 2014 and National Budget 2014-15 were duly passed last week, leaving a bundle of opportunities for capital market and specially for investors

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

100.40 82.00 124.50 6.70 23.70 320.20 61.70 313.50 42.00 141.20

Weekly closing

DSE GAINERS

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

DSE key features June 29-July 3, 2014

Turnover (Volume)

Withdrawal of the proposed capital gain tax and continuation of 10% tax exemption by companies giving 30% or more dividend influenced investors much favourably, it said.

It said the week started with steep gain, but the later part of the week continuously faced hit from profit booking and portfolio re-balancing due to cashing out mania, it said.

“Investors’ sector-wise preference stated changing and more specifically, they are focusing on newer segment of selective issues.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said, “Investors are still apathetic about the market. Those who had bought shares for tax purposes probably are selling now.”

It said the market’s next direction will be dependent on second quarter (April to June) earnings figures posted by companies. From the end of next week, figures will start coming, it said.

Losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 305 issues traded in the past week, 140 advanced, 137 declined and 28 issues remained unchanged at the DSE. All the major sectors ended in green except telecommunication, which lost almost 1%.

Food and allied sector posted the highest gain of nearly 8% in the past week, driven by heavy-weight BATBC which rallied 10%.

It was followed by the financial sectors – non-banking financial institutions and banks – which advanced 3% and 1% respectively. Fuel and power, and pharmaceuticals also posted modest higher. l

Stock markets started the first week of the new financial year sluggish, as indices were up marginally and turnover was slightly higher compared to the previous week.

Analysts say investors traded cautiously ahead of second quarter corporate results to be poured in the market in weeks to come.

During the past week ended Thursday, the DSEX rose almost 27 points or 0.7% to 4,436, extending modest winning streak over the two previous weeks.

The blue chips comprising DS30 moved up marginally 5 points or 0.4% to close at 1,622. The DSE Shariah Index DSES inched 3 points or 0.4% higher to 1,003.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, rallied 62 points or 0.8% to 8,463.

The week’s average daily turnover stood at Tk322 crore, which was 12% higher over the previous week.

The week witnessed four trading sessions instead of usual five as trading remained closed Tuesday on the occasion of bank holiday.

Of the trading sessions, the market saw steep gain in the first trading session, spurred by dropping capital gain tax from the new budget while last three suffered marginal losses.

“Finance Bill 2014 and National Budget 2014-15 were duly passed last week, leaving a bundle of opportunities for capital market and specially for investors,” said IDLC Investments in its weekly market analysis.

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 8.91 3.46 1.28 9.70 12.45 9.36 0.04 7.78 11.95 0.02 1.84 0.69 0.51 6.64 0.53 0.84 1.78 7.31 5.27 9.65 0.01

Million Taka 102.28 39.14 11.57 119.04 34.04 79.99 0.00 87.62 83.28 17.82 15.06 25.32 7.74 76.33 7.25 3.55 12.93 69.71 133.70 138.59 0.23

CSE

% change 9.60 3.67 1.09 11.18 3.20 7.51 0.00 8.23 7.82 1.67 1.41 2.38 0.73 7.17 0.68 0.33 1.21 6.54 12.55 13.01 0.02

Million Taka 1249.00 484.10 175.79 1367.50 1635.93 1284.23 5.22 1089.02 1621.22 19.92 251.35 114.67 73.53 931.47 75.92 111.26 241.85 1010.23 811.95 1380.04 1.42

Total

% change 8.96 3.47 1.26 9.81 11.74 9.22 0.04 7.81 11.63 0.14 1.80 0.82 0.53 6.68 0.54 0.80 1.74 7.25 5.83 9.90 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

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BATBCL -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z Appollo Ispat CL -N UNITED AIR-A Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A BSRM Steels-A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A UNITED AIR-A Appollo Ispat CL -N The Peninsula CTG.-N LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A BD Submarine Cable-A G Next Fashions-A Square Pharma -A National Bank - A

Volume shares 475,961 29,761,384 2,057,675 6,669,520 17,066,400 31,686,599 1,487,761 1,749,247 951,321 2,451,095

Volume shares 3,406,481 6,344,034 1,919,800 1,366,800 524,500 120,400 180,234 1,357,404 85,947 2,023,377

Value in million 1094.13 999.64 611.99 550.52 496.37 421.94 416.35 328.53 258.05 207.20

Value in million 114.22 84.39 55.66 47.22 43.36 35.81 33.90 24.19 24.07 22.90

% of total turnover 8.50 7.77 4.76 4.28 3.86 3.28 3.23 2.55 2.01 1.61

% of total turnover 11.38 8.41 5.55 4.71 4.32 3.57 3.38 2.41 2.40 2.28

Weekly closing 2344.30 34.20 294.90 78.90 30.20 13.00 279.80 182.70 269.50 82.10

Weekly closing 34.20 13.10 30.10 35.30 79.70 293.70 183.10 17.90 279.60 11.70

Price change 9.90 9.62 -0.74 -4.48 10.62 0.00 1.19 -3.74 2.74 0.00

Weekly opening 2133.10 31.20 297.10 82.60 27.30 13.00 276.50 189.80 262.30 82.10

Weekly high 2419.00 35.50 303.70 84.30 30.40 14.00 285.00 193.50 277.90 87.50

Weekly low 2050.00 28.10 290.00 78.50 27.40 11.70 253.00 170.00 240.00 79.40

Weekly average 2344.93 34.59 295.58 79.57 29.49 13.20 279.74 183.67 269.41 82.68

Price change 9.62 0.77 9.85 3.82 -3.51 -1.24 -3.58 -1.65 0.61 11.43

Weekly opening 31.20 13.00 27.40 34.00 82.60 297.40 189.90 18.20 277.90 10.50

Weekly high 35.50 13.90 30.30 35.50 84.70 303.80 192.50 18.30 288.00 11.90

Weekly low 31.10 12.50 27.50 33.40 79.00 293.00 182.80 15.90 277.00 9.90

Weekly average 34.56 13.20 29.53 35.05 79.72 294.67 183.66 17.79 279.70 11.74

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Sunday, July 6, 2014

World stocks hold at all-time high

B3

n Reuters, London

Dollar steady in Asia after upbeat US jobs report n AFP, Tokyo

World stocks were enjoying the view at an all-time high on Friday, lifted by a week of strong US economic data and promises from the European Central Bank that cheap money will be sloshing around for years.

European shares were marginally in the red as the dust settled from Thursday’s forecast-busting US jobs data and ECB meeting, with investors taking the opportunity to lock in profits after the biggest week of gains since March.

A new three-year peak for Asian stocks overnight meant MSCI’s All World share index, which tracks 45 countries, set its fourth consecutive record high, while the dollar, US bond yields and growth-sensitive copper were also up for the week.

“Markets keep going up,” said Daniel McCormack an equities strategist at Macquarie Capital in London.

“The world is still awash with money and a lot of it is still coming into equities.”

With Wall Street closed for Independence Day celebrations markets were quieter than usual but there were still pockets of movement.

Yields on lower-rated euro zone bonds continued to fall as analysts combed the details of new long-term loans the ECB has lined up for banks, and after it said on Thursday it stood ready to print money if needed.

The ECB will give banks the opportunity to borrow up to 1tn euros for four years at a rate of only 0.25% from September in the hope they will lend some of that money to businesses and consumers.

“More liquidity in the system is a boost for bonds,” said Peter Chatwell, fixed income strategist at Credit Agricole.

Portuguese bonds though, which have underperformed this week due to concerns about an investigation into holding companies of the country’s largest bank, were still off the pace.

Stocks in Lisbon also took another tumble, down 1.1% on the day and one of only a handful of indexes in the world staring at a fourth straight week in the red.

The biggest loser of the day was Austria though.

Vienna’s ATX index dropped over 3% as Erste bank, the third-biggest lender in eastern Europe, plunged 15% after warning problems in Romania and

The dollar was steady against the yen and euro in Asia Friday after it rallied on an encouraging US jobs report that pointed to a stronger economy and a possible early interest rate hike.

In Tokyo afternoon trading, the greenback fetched 102.08 yen, down from 102.20 yen in New York but still well up from 101.88 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

The euro bought $1.3610 and 138.89 yen, against $1.3609 and 139.09 yen in US trade, after the European Central Bank (ECB) held interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting Thursday.

On Thursday the US Labor Department said the world’s number one economy added 288,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent in May. The closely watched figures were well above expectations of 215,000 and boosted hopes a recovery is well on track.

Analysts also said the strong data could see the Federal Reserve increase interest rates sooner rather than later.

The US central bank has said it wants to make sure economic growth is sound and the jobs market is strong enough before it puts borrowing rates up, previously pointing to mid-2015 at the earliest. Higher rates tend to attract dollar buying from investors looking for richer returns.

“Overall, the labour market is meeting the Fed’s targets early and continues to show a sustained, and now robust, improvement,” National Australia Bank said.

In Europe, ECB policymakers held interest rates unchanged, as expected, a month after taking unprecedented measures to ward off deflation in the eurozone.

But bank chief Mario Draghi insisted it was still on high alert and would take further action again if necessary.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It weakened to Sg$1.2467 from Sg$1.2484 on Thursday, to 11,886.50 Indonesian rupiah from 11,951.30 rupiah and to 43.55 Philippines pesos from 43.64 pesos.

The greenback also fell to 32.38 Thai baht from 32.40 baht and to 1,008.75 South Korean won from 1,009.21 won, but it rose to 59.70 Indian rupees from 59.66 rupees while it was unchanged at Tw$29.87. The Australian dollar eased to 93.63 US cents from 93.75 cents, while the Chinese yuan traded at 16.44 yen against 16.39 yen. l

A screen displays the Dow at 17,041.23 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the morning of July 3 in New York City. The Dow Jones passed 17,000 for the first time today, as economy continues to recover AFP Hungary would drive it to a record loss.

Weak oil

Oil and safe-haven favourite gold were also under pressure as the unrest in Iraq and between Ukraine in Russia supportive factors for both in recent weeks - remained in a lull.

The Iraqi army retook Saddam Hussein’s home village overnight, while former Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said he would not run for another term, a move that should make it easier for the Shi’ite parties to replace Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki with someone more widely accepted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for better relations with the

United States on Friday in a congratulatory message to President Barack Obama marking US Independence Day. Brent crude dipped back below $111 a barrel and was set to post its biggest weekly loss since early January. US oil futures were down for a seventh straight day and heading for their longest such run since 2009.

“Supply fears are easing somewhat, but Iraq is setting a high floor on prices,” said Victor Shum, vice-president of energy consultancy IHS Energy Insight.

Landmark week

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ended up 0.2%, touching its highest levels since May

2011 after a weekly gain of 1.7%.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.6% to hit a 5-1/2-month high, and gained 2.3% for the week.

It came after US employment growth smashed forecasts and unemployment fell to near a six-year low of 6.1%, effectively dispelling fears about the economy’s health after a weatherhit start to the year.

The report helped the Dow Jones industrial average pass the 17,000 milestone and the benchmark S&P 500 rise to within 1 percent of the 2,000 level.

US Treasury yields hit a two-month high, which in turn burnished the dollar’s appeal. The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 2.64 percent after going

Oil prices mixed in Asian trade n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices were mixed in Asia Friday as profit-taking set in after rallying in response to a strong US jobs report, while dealers consider the prospect of an influx of Libyan crude into global markets, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery eased 11 cents to $103.95 while Brent crude rose five cents to $111.05.

On Thursday the Labor Department said the US economy added 288,000 jobs in June, well above expectations of 215,000, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.1% from 6.3% in May.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said the latest data was “encourag-

Dhaka Bank Limited yesterday celebrated its 19th anniversary at the bank’s head office in Motijheel, Dhaka. The bank’s founder and director Mirza Abbas Uddin Ahmed attended the ceremony among others

Jamuna Bank Foundation recently organised a discussion meeting on significance of Ramadan and a Qirat competition for the children of the Jamuna Bank Limited’s officers.

The bank’s chair Shaheen Mahmud was present at the programme as chief guest

ing” as it was the fifth straight month in which more than 200,000 jobs had

been created.

However, while the figures gave a boost to prices initially, UOB said they remained under pressure “as supply fears begin to ease after Libya declared an end to an oil crisis that has slashed exports”.

Crude prices began easing Wednesday after Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thani declared that authorities had regained control of export terminals blockaded by rebels.

Production in Libya, a member of the OPEC oil cartel, has been severely limited for a year after rebels last summer blockaded terminals as part of a campaign to restore autonomy in the country’s eastern region. l

UCash, mobile financial service of United Commercial bank Limited recently signed an agreement with Progressive Life Insurance Company Limited at the bank’s corporate head office on collecting insurance premium of the insurance company through UCash. The bank’s additional managing director Mirza Mahmud Rafiqur Rahman and the insurance company’s managing director Dr Syed Tanvir Alam were present at the ceremony among others

Chairperson of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s executive committee, Engr Md. Eskander Ali Khan recently spoke as chief guest at a business development conference held for the bank’s Chittagong North Zone and Chittagong South Zone at Chittagong Club. The bank’s managing director Mohammad Abdul Mannan presided over the conference

as high at 2.69%. Treasuries weren’t trading on Friday.

The dollar was though and it was at a one-week peak against a basket of rivals despite being a touch softer against the yen at 102.05 yen.

The ECB’s loose talk nudged the euro lower to $1.3589 leaving traders wondering whether long-held bets on a rise in the dollar could finally start to pay out.

“It is very fair to say that nobody got the first half of the year right, but I think the second half of the year will be much more in line with what people expected,” said Kerry Craig, a global markets strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. l

BMW’s $1bn plant surfs Mexican investment wave n Reuters, Mexico City Luxury car maker BMW revealed a $1bn Mexican plant investment on Thursday, becoming the latest major automaker to take advantage of the country’s growing industrial base and tariff-free access to the US market.

BMW outlined plans to build a factory in the central Mexican city of San Luis Potosi, reducing the German company’s dependence on higher-cost plants at home.

The plant will begin assembling

models in 2019 with an initial workforce of 1,500 and annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, the company said.

“Mexico is an ideal location for the BMW Group,” production chief Harald Krueger said in a statement. “We are continuing our strategy of ‘production follows the market.’”

Germany’s luxury car makers BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz - are expanding overseas as their domestic plants struggle to meet strong demand for new vehicle offerings in the United States and Asia. l

Okapia, a handset brand has recently stepped into the cell phone market of Bangladesh by synchronising a simultaneous launch event at 3,500 shops around 47 locations within the country. The company’s chair Subrata Das and its managing director Tofazzul Hossain were present at an Okapia Service Center at Bashundhara City Shopping Complex in Dhaka during the inauguration

Nazeem A Choudhury, head of consumer banking at Eastern Bank Ltd and managing director of Fair Distribution Ltd (FDL), Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub have recently signed an agreement which will allow the bank’s card holders to pay for Samsung handsets if purchased from FDL designated outlets

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

China plots its own Asia 'pivot'

Diplomats see Asian infrastructure bank as a possible rival to World Bank and Asian Development Bank n Reuters, Beijing The Silk Road, an obscure Kazakhinspired security forum and a $50bn Asian infrastructure bank are just some of the disparate elements in an evolving Chinese strategy to try to counter Washington’s “pivot” to the region.

While Chinese leaders have not given the government’s growing list of initiatives a label or said they had an overall purpose, Chinese experts and diplomats said Beijing appeared set on shaping Asia’s security and financial architecture more to its liking.

“China is trying to work out its own counterbalance strategy,” said Sun Zhe, director of the Centre for US-China Relations at Beijing’s Tsinghua University and who has advised China’s government on its foreign policy.

Added one Beijing-based Western diplomat who follows China’s international relations: “This is all clearly aimed at the United States.”

President Barack Obama’s pivot as the White House initially dubbed it - represented a strategy to refocus on Asia’s dynamic economies as the United States disentangled itself from costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

China sees the pivot as an attempt to contain its growing influence, especially given the United States is strengthening its ties with Asian security allies such as Japan and the Philippines, which have bitter territorial disputes with Beijing in the region’s waters.

Washington denies this.

One key part of China’s diplomatic outreach has been to breath life into the little-known Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, or CICA, which has languished since Kazakhstan proposed it in 1992 to promote peace and security.

CICA comprises two dozen mostly Asian nations, as well as Russia and some Middle Eastern countries. The United States, Japan and the Philippines are not members.

China took over chairmanship of CICA at a summit in Shanghai in May for three years. There, President Xi Jinping spoke about a new “Asian security

about the optics of these issues rather than the realities of a Chinese-led order,” said Matthew Goodman, senior adviser for Asian Economics at the Center for Security and International Studies in Washington.

Washington watching

US President Barack Obama (R) meets with China's Vice President Xi Jinping in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, February 14, 2012 concept”, saying China would explore the formulation of a code of conduct for regional security and an Asian security partnership programme.

While Xi gave few details and made no direct mention of disputes such as in the South China Sea, he warned Asian nations about strengthening military alliances to counter China, an oblique reference to the US pivot.

“Asian problems must be resolved by Asian people, and Asian security must be protected by Asian people,” Xi said.

A rival bank?

Another Chinese initiative is the $50bn Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Xi first proposed in October during a visit to Southeast Asia.

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said this week Beijing would likely have a 50% stake in the bank, which diplomats see as a possible rival to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, though China says its role is a complementary one, not competitive.

Washington and Tokyo have the big-

gest voting rights in both the decadesold institutions.

China sees the infrastructure bank as a way to spread the message of its benign intentions in Asia, where developing countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam accuse Beijing of being the aggressor over territorial claims.

“China upholds a basic guiding principle in regional diplomacy - being friends and partners with our neighbours,” Lou said.

On top of that, China has dangled fi-

nancial and trade incentives to Central Asia, backing efforts to resurrect the old Silk Road that once carried treasures between China and the Mediterranean.

China is also pushing ahead with various trade pacts in the region, but is not part of negotiations for the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation bloc whose two biggest economies are the United States and Japan. Not everyone is convinced China’s initiatives will amount to much.

“Some of those things are more

Bitcoin pioneer calls for regulatory guidance from EU

German industrial orders fall in May

n Reuters, Brussels

n AFP, Frankfurt

Europe should update its laws to reflect the rise of digital currencies, the head of a bitcoin start-up said, after a successful US auction of bitcoins was seen as a sign of their broadening appeal.

The virtual currency has come under the scrutiny of regulators in both the United States and Europe following a series of high-profile scandals such as the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. But authorities such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have not yet taken a uniform approach to regulating the nascent digital currency, and have limited themselves to issuing warnings about its risks for investors.

“One of the challenges is that without clear guidance from the EU, from the UK, it will limit industry development,” said Jeremy Allaire, head of Circle, a bitcoin consumer finance company that allows people to use and store bitcoins online.

“Unless they have a clear view of where does this (bitcoin) fit, how do we know what the rules are?” he said in an interview with Reuters.

Launched in 2009, bitcoin offers a way for people to conduct transactions over the Internet. Its backers say its anonymity - users do not need to reveal any card or financial details when making payments - protects people from fraud. Critics say this also makes it easier to commit crimes like buying illegal drugs online.

Last October U.S. authorities seized 144,000 bitcoins online in a raid on Silk Road, an Internet black-market bazaar that authorities said had been used for illegal drug transactions. Some of those bitcoins were auctioned off last week.

Allaire said bitcoins could be regulated in the same way as other payment services such as PayPal, with strict consumer protection safeguards so people would feel safer using them.

The EU’s law regulating payment services should be updated to reflect the use of bitcoins, he added.

Bitcoin supporters maintain that digital currencies are set to expand further and that as they become more mainstream the price volatility and scams that have so far bedevilled them will decrease. In June online travel agency Expedia began accepting bitcoins as a form of payment.

“As bigger exchanges get built and you see it move from retail and speculative investors to more traditional institutional investors ... you’ll see greater price stability,” said Allaire.

Last week’s auction of almost 30,000 bitcoins by the US law enforcement authorities attracted bids from several high-profile investors, such as US investment firm Pantera Capital.

The auction was won by one bidder, Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper, who called it a vote of confidence by the US government in the nascent cryptocurrency.

Allaire said authorities on both sides of the Atlantic were starting to come to terms with the rise of digital currency after initially shunning it. l

German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods both at home and abroad, were weighed down down in May by declining domestic orders, official data showed on Friday.

Industrial orders were down 1.7% in May compared with the previous month, the statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

In April, German factory orders had jumped by 3.4%.

The figures indicated that domestic orders declined by 2.5% and export orders were down by 1.2% compared with the previous month.

Orders from the eurozone rose by 5.7% however, while orders from outside the eurozone tumbled 5.2%.

By sector, orders for semi-finished goods fell by 3.4%, orders for capital goods were down by 0.7% and orders for consumer goods fell by 1.2%.

Natixis economist Johannes Gareis said that despite this setback, “we expect the upward trend in the German

REUTERS

economy to continue in the course of this year.”

The recovery in the global economy and especially in the eurozone was likely to firm gradually, the expert said.

In addition, Germany’s domestic economy was doing well, due to solid fundamentals such as a strong labour market which was good news for private consumption.

“Nevertheless, as indicated by the recent setback in firms’ optimism as regards the German economic outlook, some clouds may be ahead. The biggest risk should stem from geopolitical tensions, which could hamper firms’ investment plans as uncertainty rises,” he said.

BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar said that “following the very good data for the previous months, a setback had been expected.”

Nevertheless, the only very slight fall in capital goods and that second quarter data so far are above the very strong first quarter “suggest that the positive economic momentum in Germany is continuing,” Kipar said. l

China’s foreign policy since the country began economic reforms three decades ago has traditionally followed the maxim of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping of “hiding ones’ strength and biding ones’ time”, or keeping a low profile.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier this year flagged China’s more assertive regional foreign policy at his annual press conference and in a newspaper article.

“We must accept the role of a responsible major country in international affairs,” Wang wrote.

Asked this week whether China was carrying out its own pivot, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was pursing a policy of good neighbourliness. A senior Obama administration official said Washington was paying close attention to Xi’s approach to Asia.

“We noted his statement at the CICA conference about Asia for Asians, the growing criticism of US alliances and the Asian infrastructure bank,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“It’s raising serious questions about whether the US vision and the Chinese vision are fully compatible.”

A second senior US official said Washington had not been assured that the infrastructure bank would adopt the high governance and other standards of institutions such as the World Bank and the ADB. He said the administration did not see how such an entity would “add value” for the region and that Washington would be making this point to Asian allies.

While they were not members, the United States and Japan were welcome to join the bank, Lou said.

Top Chinese and US officials will get the chance to discuss the bank and many other issues during annual talks in Beijing on July 9-10, a meeting known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. l

OECD: Top economies contract in first quarter of 2014 n AFP, Paris Leading global economies contracted in the first three months of 2014 as companies traded less and ordered fewer goods, and despite a slight rise in private consumption, the OECD said Thursday.

Data showed that economic activity contracted by 0.2% overall in the first quarter of 2014 among the group’s 34 members, compared with the last quarter of 2013.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development had recorded growth of 0.5% in the previous quarter.

For the third quarter running, private consumption was the biggest contributor to business activity, posting an increase of 0.3% in the first three months of this year, a statement said.

International trade trimmed the overall result by 0.1 percentage point meanwhile, while the drawing down of stocks led to the cut of another 0.2 percentage points. l

PM: ‘40%’ of French firm to expand Madagascar budget India port with Adani lost to corruption 50 joint venture, Adani Ports said in a n AFP, Antananarivo n Reuters, New Delhi statement on Friday.

A piece of graffiti depicting German chancellor Angela Merkel with a lettering reading 'Money kills Morals' is seen in front of the new tower of the European Central Bank, ECB in Frankfurt/Main, central Germany, on July 3. The bank is to move into the new building end of 2014 AFP

Madagascar’s Prime Minister Roger Kolo has vowed to stamp out corruption after revealing that 40% of his country’s budget is lost to graft.

“Forty percent of the state’s budget is diverted. That’s unacceptable,” Kolo told reporters on Thursday.

“The independent anti-corruption bureau, created in 2004, will be restructured and the second national stage of the fight against corruption will be adopted soon,” said Kolo, who was named prime minister in April.

According to Madagascar’s 2014 Finance Act, its national budget should be 940m euros ($1.3bn).

The island nation is one of the poorest in the world and also suffers from one of the highest corruption rates, coming 127th out of 177 nations on Transparency International’s annual graft ranking. l

CMA CGM Group, the world’s thirdbiggest container shipping group, will partner with India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd to build a new container terminal in western India, the French firm’s first port investment in the country.

The terminal, the fourth at Adani’s Mundra complex in the state of Gujarat, will be built over two years in a 50-

DILBERT

The terminal will add 30% to Mundra’s capacity, making it the biggest port in India, Adani Ports said.

Adani Ports, part of billionaire Gautum Adani’s conglomerate, has expanded its ports business in recent years to become the country’s largest port developer. In May, it said it had bought the port of Dhamra on the eastern coast of India. l