14 july, 2014

Ashar 30, 1421 Ramadan 15, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 104

MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com

| SECOND EDITION

20 pages | Price: Tk12

8 | NO REAL MEDIATION FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE

12 | SWAGATA IN TEN EID DRAMAS

14 | SCOLARI REPUTATION TAINTED

B1 | WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS DECLINING

Germany lift World Cup in epic final Goetze’s 113-minute strike crushes Argentina’s 28-year-long dream n AFP, Rio de Janeiro Mario Goetze scored a superb extra-time winner as Germany beat Argentina 1-0 to become the first European team to win a World Cup held in South America on Sunday.

Bayern Munich star Goetze struck in the 113th minute to finally break Argentina’s resistance as Lionel Messi’s dream of emulating Diego Maradona ended in defeat. The decisive moment of a World Cup brimming with wonderful goals came with penalties looming in front of 74,738 fans at Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana Stadium.

Andre Schuerrle burst clear down the left flank and crossed for Goetze.

The 22-year-old took the ball on his chest and then volleyed past Sergio Romero to spark delirium amongst the largely pro-German crowd.

Argentina and Messi were left squandering a handful of gilt-edged chances, including one that fell to Messi in the second half.

Messi was largely anonymous for most of the evening and his miserable evening was summed up when a late free-kick to equalise sailed over the bar.

The victory was celebrated raucous-

PM disappointed over progress in launching satellite n Muhammad Zahidul Islam Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed her disappointment over the sluggish progress in launching the country’s first satellite, Bangabandhu-1, and slammed Telecom Ministry officials for their lack of initiative regarding the project.

“You people have wasted lots of time already for launching the satellite and by this time the work needed to be completed,” Sheikh Hasina said at a meeting with senior officials of Post, Telecommunication and Information and Technology Ministry.

Visiting the ministry for the first time since taking office in her current tenure, Hasina also asked officials concerned to take more prompt actions to send the Bangabandhu-1 satellite in orbit by March 2017.

“This type of work may face some  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

ly by Brazilians in the crowd, who had dreaded the prospect of sworn South American rivals Argentina lifting the title in their backyard.

An absorbing first half saw Germany forced into a reshuffle moments before kick-off with inexperienced Christoph Kramer replacing Sami Khedira after the Real Madrid star injured a calf in the warm up.

With Bastian Schweinsteiger running midfield the Germans laid siege to Argentinian territory, passing smoothly and denying Messi a route into the game. Yet for all Germany’s early dominance they created little in the way of clear chances.

And it was Argentina who were presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring.

Toni Kroos misdirected a header back to Manuel Neuer to send Gonzalo Higuain racing through on goal.

But with only Neuer to beat the Napoli striker dragged his shot wide to disbelief from fans and team-mates.

Germany continued to probe for openings, and a Philipp Lahm pass almost put Thomas Mueller clear.

The pace of Argentina on the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Germany’s players celebrate with the trophy after winning their 4th World Cup against Argentina at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro July 13, 2014

HOLIDAY ROADS PAVED WITH PAIN

Constant ‘repairs’ a major headache for Eid commuters Islam and n Rabiul Abu Hayat Mahmud It is the same old story. Road repairs always occur right before Eid, and commuters, especially those on their way home to celebrate with their families, end up as victims.

Like all previous years, repairs to the dilapidated roads and highways across the country have started to compound the misery of city dwellers, as during the month of Ramadan tailbacks take a toll on fasting commuters.

Communications Minister Obaidul Quader too is his bizarre self, roaring and threatening the officials concerned with dire consequence if the roads are not repaired by July 20.

Despite the minister’s frequent visits to the sites where repair work is on, commuters expressed their frustra-

tions to media over the shabby conditions of the roads across the country.

A Dhaka-Chittagong highway commuter said: “I really can’t express how bad the roads are.”

“Why are the roads repaired just before the Eid?” he asked, with no ready answer in sight.

People travel round the year, but the authorities concerned become serious about the repair works just ahead of Eid. And that too is merely cosmetic; repairs put on the surface of the roads by using some brick and stone chips come off after a few days.

Such kind of shoddy work opens up an opportunity for those linked to the upper echelon of the government to pocket a large amount of money in the name road repairs, a commuter alleged.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Thousands of Gaza civilians flee after Israeli warning n Agencies Thousands fled their homes in a Gaza town yesterday after Israel warned them to leave ahead of threatened attacks on rocket-launching sites, on the sixth day of an offensive that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 160 people, reports Reuters.

“Those who fail to comply with the instructions will endanger their lives and the lives of their families. Beware,” read a leaflet dropped by the Israeli military in the town of Beit Lahiya, near the border with Israel.

The warning came as Israeli naval commandos reportedly launched an early morning raid on a beach in the north of Gaza City, on the bloodiest day yet of the six-day Israeli assault, with 54 Palestinians reported killed, reports British newspaper The Guardian.

In the worst single incident of the conflict so far, 22 people were killed

REUTERS

SEHRI & IFTAR TIME Day Ramadan 15/July 14 Ramadan 16/July 15

Sehri – 3.49am

Iftar 6.53pm 6.53pm

and 45 injured when two large Israeli bombs slammed into a house in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City where the city’s chief of police, Tayseer Batsh, was sheltering.

Most of the injured were returning home from a mosque when they were caught by shrapnel from the blast.

Militants in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip kept up rockets salvoes deep into the Jewish state and the worst bout of Israel-Palestinian bloodshed in two years showed no signs of abating despite mounting international pressure to cease fire.

A Palestinian woman and a girl, aged 3, were killed in Israeli air strikes early yesterday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. Hours earlier, the ministry said 18 people were killed when the house of Gaza’s police chief was bombed from the air in the single deadliest attack of Israel’s offensive.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE BASIC Bank’s three branches didn’t follow any due process in giving out loans to big borrowers who later turned defaulters, said an audit report.

3 | News

The hazardous gases spewing from traditional brick kilns are unlikely to come down soon as only around 35% of the country’s brick making units have so far been transformed into environment-friendly zigzag ones.

5 | News

Circulation of counterfeit notes of different denominations has gone up in Chittagong as miscreants are deceiving people who are in a shopping frenzy ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

6 | Nation

Thousands of people at 50 villages in Barguna have been marooned following collapse of an embankment on Saturday night.

7 | Career

Food has been a focal point in Bangladeshi culture and plays a role in all contexts, from celebrating to commiserating.

9 | World

Afghanistan’s two rival candidates have reached a breakthrough agreement to a complete audit of their contested presidential election and, whoever the victor, a national unity government.

11 | Op-Ed

If the main talk of the town was the World Cup final, then the 3.5km long German flag in rural Bangladesh was not far behind.

13 | Sport

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has to be sacked the Brazilian media said on Sunday after the national team’s disastrous World Cup campaign ended in a “knock-out” and “new humiliation.”

15 | Sport

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal said his team’s run to third place at the World Cup was proof that there was more than one “Dutch” way of playing the game. Van Gaal’s side played a more defensive, containing style than that preferred by many Dutch coaches.

B1 | Business

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, July 14, 2014

Trader dies in police custody in city Alleged policeman suspended, 3-member probe committee formed mother around 12 noon yesterday and n Kailash Sarkar asked her to receive the body at Dhaka A jhut (garment waste) trader was allegedly tortured to death by police who had him in custody at Mirpur police station in the capital early yesterday, hours after he had been detained along with his wife and son.

Mahbubur Rahman Sujon’s family members said a team of police led by Sub-Inspector Zahidur Rahman subjected the trader to torture for his refusal to pay Tk1 lakh every month.

The torture led to Sujon’s death, they claimed.

Meanwhile, Zahidur was suspended to Rajarbagh Police Lines as part of the primary punitive measures against him for the death of the 36-year-old trader and a three-member committee was formed to probe the incident.

SI Afzal in his inquest report mentions the deceased had injury marks on his hands, legs, head and different parts of his body Sujon of Daida village of Munshiganj had been living in a house in Shankar at Dhanmondi with his wife Mamata Sultana Luchi, nine-year-old-daughter Lamiya, a fifth grader, and five-yearold son Mosharraf.

His mother and a younger brother live in Dhaka’s Shah Ali area where Sujon used to live earlier.

Luchi said SI Zahidur and his team members arrived at their house around 12am and began mercilessly beating the family members.

“At one stage, the policemen took us to Mirpur police station and tortured us further. They kept my husband and me in separate rooms,” she said.

Describing the torture, Luchi said she heard her husband screaming in pain but after 3:30am, the sounds were suddenly gone.

“I was beaten with shoes in my son's presence. Around 11am, they dropped me at my mother-in-law’s house in Mirpur by a police van,” she said.

Habibur Rahman Chaklader Opu, Sujon’s cousin, said a team of policemen went to the house of Sujon’s

Bangladeshi murdered in KSA n Tribune Report A Bangladeshi hotel receptionist in Makkah was murdered by a pilgrim from Egypt for asking him not to use drinking water from a water dispenser for ablutions, the Arab News reports.

Sources said Mohammed Imran from Lakshmipur asked the pilgrim to use the toilet instead of using the dispenser. The Egyptian pilgrim stabbed Imran in the chest with a sharp knife, causing his death. Police are looking for the killer, according to an official source. l

Medical College Hospital morgue.

He said Zahidur had been demanding Tk1 lakh as monthly extortion from Sujon and had threatened the trader for his refusal to pay the money.

“Police also filed several false cases against Sujon to harass him,” said Opu. “When Sujon was threatened by Zahidur, he left his mother’s house in Mirpur and began living in a rented house in Shankar,” he added.

Salauddin Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Mirpur police station, denied the allegation of torturing Sujon to death, saying Sujon was a criminal and police had arrested him with two firearms and 10 rounds of bullets in his possession.

Salauddin said Sujon was arrested from his Dhanmondi residence after they received information from two other criminals Zakir and Mithun, who were arrested with 145 yaba pills.

“During the primary interrogation, Sujon gave us information on some illegal firearms kept in a different place.

When police were on their way to recover the arms, Sujon fell sick,” he said.

Salauddin said Sujon was admitted to a private clinic when he fell ill.

“When doctors advised to move him to a government hospital, he was being taken to Suhrawardy Hospital but he died on the way around 3:30am. His body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for an autopsy,” he added.

DMCH sources said Sub-inspector Afzal Hossain of Mirpur Police Station prepared an inquest report in the presence of Magistrate Priyanka Datta around 4:00pm yesterday.

In his report, Afzal mentioned the deceased had injury marks on his hands, legs, head and different parts of his body.

Imtiyaz Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Mirpur Division, said he received allegations from Sujon’s wife and closed Zahidur to Rajarbagh Police Lines as primary disciplinary action.

Imtiyaz said he also formed a three-member committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur Division Jasim Uddin to carry out a probe into the incident.

“The committee has been asked to submit a report within seven working days and the next measures will be taken after we get the report,” he added. l

Communications Minister Obaidul Quader directs officials to renovate pot-holes on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway by two days during a visit yesterday

DMP’s 'strange' awareness campaign n Tazlina Zamila Khan

In a city where people have to be forced, often with punishment, to make them use foot over-bridges, the escalator bridge in Banani is one of the rarest, if not the only one that people use voluntarily.

The reason behind its popularity is of course the escalator that takes out the effort of climbing the stairs.

That makes it the least likely of places in the city for police to conduct a campaign for raising awareness about the benefits of using and the risks of not using the bridges.

Yesterday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) began a two-day awareness raising campaign at the foot of the bridge located in front of the Shainik Club.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu yesterday condemned the recent remarks of BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and urged the party’s chairperson Khaleda Zia to apologise to the nation.

In a statement, Bablu noted that Ershad came to power following an invitation from an elected president through martial law, whereas Ziaur Rahman grabbed state power after the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family on August 15, 1975.

The statement alleged that during Zia's regime, many patriotic army officers

n Tribune Report The Catholic Church, which is seeking to formulate a new economic policy under the leadership of Pope Francis, has shown interest in Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’ concept of social business and his views on the role of selflessness in economy.

Yunus was invited by the Pope to attend a meeting styled “The Global Common Good: Towards A More Inclusive Economy” at the Vatican City on July 11-12.

At the meeting, Yunus highlighted

and freedom fighters were executed and 17 military coup attempts took place.

Mirza Fakhrul had asked JaPa Chairman HM Ershad to apologise for making false claims regarding Zia. “In an open letter published in a newspaper, Ershad said Ziaur Rahman assumed office using a bloody path.

Ziaur Rahman did not occupy power; rather he was given the charge to govern the country through a military-civil revolution,” said Fakhrul.

Fakhrul said: “Ershad should apologise before the nation...Ershad is the main culprit of the present polluted image of politics.” l

Thousands of Gaza civilians flee after Israeli warning  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Despite intensified Israeli military action – which included a commando raid overnight in what was Israel’s first reported ground action in Gaza during the current fighting – militants continued to launch rocket after rocket across the border.

A long-range salvo yesterday morning triggered air raid sirens at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion international airport, which has not been hit in the hostilities and where flights have been operating normally, and some city suburbs.

No one has been killed by the more

than 800 rockets the Israeli military said has been fired since the offensive began, and during Saturday night’s barrage, customers in Tel Aviv beachfront cafes shouted their approval as they watched the projectiles being shot out of the sky.

Israeli leaflets dropped on Beit Lahiya, where 70,000 Palestinians live, said civilians in three of its 10 neighbourhoods were “requested to evacuate their residences” and move south, deeper into the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Interior Ministry, in a statement on Hamas radio, dismissed

Interestingly, there was hardly any activity from DMP that could qualify as public relations. Neither did the police officials talk to any pedestrian, nor was there any poster or any other distributable item such as leaflets.

Requesting anonymity, one of the pedestrians, who was using the over-bridge, termed the campaign as “strange.” He said he did not see any point of conducting such a campaign in front of an over-bridge which people use voluntarily.

“There are many such over-bridges in the city that people do not use at all.

I do not know why they selected this one,” he said.

A number of reporters from different newspapers, television channels and online news portals were invited to the programme.

the Israeli warnings as “psychological warfare” and instructed those who left their homes to return and others to stay put.

At least 4,000 people fled Beit Lahiya and crowded into eight UNrun schools in Gaza City yesterday, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said.

International pressure on both sides for a return to calm has increased, with the UN Security Council calling for a cessation of hostilities and Western foreign ministers were due to meet to weigh strategy.l

his views on poverty, unemployment and state charity, explaining how a world free from these three aspects could be created through social business.

He emphasised that the present conceptual framework of capitalist economy was morally wrong and was based on very narrow interpretation of human beings.

Yunus stressed that the present global economic system was based on survival of the fittest although it should be on survival of all with dignity and friendship among all. l

Roads Division Secretary MAN Siddique however said over phone: “We take extra care during Eid to alleviate sufferings of the people. Maintenance is a routine work.”

But he acknowledged the fact that repairs to roads during the rainy season aggravate the situation.

A senior official of the communications ministry who accompanied the minister in his visit to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway yesterday said many roads still have potholes and are uneven making it difficult for heavy vehicles to ply.

The official, however, claimed they

would be fine within a few days.

The sorry state of the highways causes untold sufferings for the homebound journey of people to their village homes to celebrate Eid. Around 41% of the highways across the country are in a sorry state. Of them 12% are severely battered, says a recent survey of the HRD. Roads in Satkania, Patiya, Hathhazari upazila in Chittagong and also the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway’s Sitakunda-Mirorai stretch have turned risky for vehicular movement as numerous potholes have recently appeared after rains.

While visiting Sitakunda in Chit-

any plan... This is just an experimental campaign. We have plans to take some more of these in future.”

Civil society member Abul Maksud was present at the programme. When asked why he was there, he said he went there as a conscious citizen.

Asked why this particular bridge was chosen, Maksud said: “I do not have any idea why this bridge was chosen. They could have chosen one of the over bridges in Karwan Bazaar.”

At the briefing, DMP boss Benazir said strict actions would be taken from now on against those who do not use the foot over-bridges.

Actor Ilias Kanchan said: “Around 49% pedestrians are killed in road accidents every year. More awareness is needed in order to reduce the rate of accidents.” l

tagong Obaidul Quader yesterday warned the officials that they must complete the repair work within the deadline.

“No excuse will be entertained unless the roads are fixed. Action will be taken for negligence,” he warned.

Earlier, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Saturday directed the concerned officials of the ministry, HRD and also the contractors to repair all tumble-down roads and the highways by the 20th of this month. The minister has also visited different parts of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

His ministry’s secretary MAN Siddique and other additional and joint

Pope Francis discusses social business with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus at the Vatican city state on July 12 during a break in the seminar COURTESY

PM disappointed over progress in launching satellite  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

challenges and you have to face it and also need to push for it,” she added.

The premier said the Planning Ministry has already been directed to resolve all the complications without wasting any time.

In 2008, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) first took the initiative to launch the satellite, while US-based consultants Space Partnership International (SPI) was later hired to assist in the project.

In January 2012, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the Tk3,242 crore project, which was scheduled to start from July 1 this year and end by June 30, 2016. However, the development project proposal was recently amended to fix the cost to Tk2,900 crore.

Sources said different countries raised objections after the BTRC applied to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for its own orbital slot at 102 East. Bangladesh finally signed a non-binding agreement to buy an orbital slot from a Russian company Intersputnik at 119 East, which cost Tk270 crore. The Finance Ministry, however, is yet to release the money.

On a separate note, Hasina also said: “Steps have been taken to set up ICT

Constant ‘repairs’ a major headache for Eid commuters  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

DMP did not even write a press release; the reporters were all called via mobile phone text messages.

This Dhaka Tribune reporter later found that the so-called campaign comprised just a press briefing that looked like any other routine briefing, in which DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed, some other police high-ups and film star and road safety campaigner Ilias Kanchan said a few words.

Asked where was the campaign, DMP Assistant Commissioner (media) Saidur Rahman said: “The campaign is to let media know about the campaign. The media will publish the news and people will read about it and get aware.”

Asked why the Banani bridge was chosen, Saidur said: “It was randomly selected. The selection did not involve

Catholic Church takes interest in social business

JaPa asks BNP to apologise n Tribune Report

DHAKA TRIBUNE

secretaries along with other concerned officials have also visited Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Tangail and other highways.

A total of 16 teams are working to oversee the road repair works.

After the visits the officials told the ministry that they had marked around 20 spots on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, about 14 spots on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and about 12 spots on the Dhaka-Tangail highway that are in bad shape.

On Thursday, transport leaders in Chittagong threatened not to run their vehicles ahead of Eid if the roads are not fixed by the second week of this

Villages at Mohakhali in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Barisal. Besides, we have made a plan to set up one IT Village Software Technology Park in every district of the country.”

The prime minister said Bangladesh has secured third position in outsourcing through the use of IT, adding that Bangladesh was fetching $125m annually by exporting software and IT services.

There are 7,000 information service centres across the country and 104 radio and television broadcasting centres, said the premier.

She said Bangladesh has recently signed an agreement for linking another cable with the existing submarine cable to make international communication uninterrupted and speedy, while work has already begun on setting up a landing station at Patuakhali’s Kuakata which would increase bandwidth capacity to 1,300Gbps.

Telecom Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui and State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak spoke at the meeting, which was also attended by Post and Telecommunication Division Secretary Abu Bakar Siddique, ICT Division Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan, PM’s Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury, and BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose. l

month.

The leaders issued a 72-hour ultimatum at a meeting with Chittagong Superintendent of Police AKM Hafiz Akhter.

HRD officials further said the makeshift shops along the highways would be evicted and necessary steps be taken to stop the movement of Nasimon, Karimon, Bhotbhoti on the highways to ensure smooth vehicular movement.

The construction works of the overpasses in Comilla, Feni and Chittagong will remain suspended for three days during the holidays to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. l

Germany lift  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

counter-attack continued to unsettle Germany however.

Schweinsteiger picked up a yellow card for bringing down Ezequiel Lavezzi just after the half hour mark.

Moments later, Argentina had the ball in the net only to see the goal disallowed for offside.

Messi released Lavezzi down the right who swept in a low cross for Higuain who drilled his finish past Neuer before wheeling away in delight.

Higuain’s roar of celebration was cut short however after Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli whistled, correctly, for offside.

Germany’s personnel problems deepened when Khedira’s replacement Kramer himself limped off, prompting the introduction of Andre Schuerrle.

The Germans remained unfazed by the setback however, and quickly set about reimposing their control of the game.

Schuerrle drew a fine near-post save from Romero on 37 minutes with a rasping shot after Mueller’s cutback.

But the latent threat of Messi meant Germany could never entirely relax.

Messi burst away down the right and raced into the box, toe-poked past Neuer only for Jerome Boateng to clear.

On the stroke of half-time Benedikt Hoewedes came within inches of scoring, crashing a header from a Kroos corner against the post.

The second half followed a similar pattern, Germany controlling possession but Argentina often threatening on the break. Messi squandered another golden Argentinian chance two minutes after the restart, latching onto a pass from Lucas Biglia but scuffing his shot wide of Neuer.

The hard-fought nature of the contest led to a flurry of cards from referee Rizzoli, who cautioned Javier Mascherano and Sergio Aguero in quick succession for fouls on Miroslav Klose and Schweinsteiger.

The remainder of the half saw neither stride able to get on top.

Germany controlled possession without really testing Romero, while Argentina were unable to pass a German defence superbly marshalled by Mats Hummels and Boateng. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Monday, July 14, 2014

JS body: Covert conventional brick kilns quickly Government aims at transforming 70% units by October, says Hasan Mahmud n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The hazardous gases spewing from traditional brick kilns are unlikely to come down soon as only around 35% of the country’s brick making units have so far been transformed into environment-friendly zigzag ones.

The government deadline, which was earlier extended thrice, expired on June 30.

The Department of Environment says at least 2,141 out of the 6,356 registered brick kilns have been converted into zigzag ones.

While reviewing the implementation of Brick Making Regulation Act 2013, officials concerned told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Forest Ministry yesterday that they had been enforcing the law to prevent emission of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants from the conventional brick fields.

The 10-member watchdog in its rec-

ommendations asked the DoE to speed up the implementation of the law so that the remaining brick kilns could be turned into energy- and environment-friendly methods.

“We are really fed up with the emission of black smoke and ash from the brick fields. Every year, the whole area is covered by ash and black smoke coming out of chimneys. Who will stop them?” Krishna, a resident of Botiaghata of Khulna, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mentioning that a Khulna MP owned at least three brick kilns in their locality, he said: “Please, do something for us, if you can.”

While visiting the area, this correspondent saw the brick fields using both coal and wood.

According to the amended law, the brick kiln owners must introduce Zigzag, Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) and Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK).

The owners, however, claim that converting a manual chimney plant into a zigzag one costs at least Tk35

lakh, which they do not want invest.

The government has recently identified the brick making industry and the transportation system as key reasons behind the deteriorated quality of air in the country, especially in urban areas. The latest air pollution monitoring report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) ranked Bangladesh fourth among 91 countries having the worst urban air quality.

Dhaka is surrounded is by conventional brick fields around it – most of which are operating illegally for years.

“We have recommended that at least 70% of the brick kilns should be made eco-friendly by October next,” Hasan Mahmud, the committee chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building. He said the DoE should close down the units declining to comply with the rules.

“We have stretched the deadlines three times in the past. Now the owners will have to do it,” said Hasan, a former environment minister.

The Journal of Ecology and Natural Environment in its research (December 2013) said the brick-making industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Bangladesh, estimated to produce around 866 crore bricks per year.

The industry is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions for Bangladesh. About 90% of existing brick kilns in Bangladesh are based on the 150-year-old technology which is extremely energy intensive and emits huge amounts of carbon. Some estimates indicate that about 33% of the fuel used in brick kilns is wood.

The government suggested that technologies like the Hybrid Hoffman Kiln are more energy efficient and clean as they can produce seven times the amount of bricks from a single kiln and utilise 40% less fuel than the conventional method.

The US Environment Protection Agency says exposure to carbon monoxide can reduce the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood, also causing heart

diseases. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide cause respiratory problems such as asthma and other congestion.

While replying to a question from an MP in parliament in July, Environment Minister Anwar Hossain, who did not attend yesterday’s meeting for reported illness, said transforming the manual brick kilns into zigzag was a complicated issue.

He said the brick kilns in south-western Khulna regions were hard to be converted into environment-friendly ones since the government was yet to provide gas to the areas.

On June 10, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid at a meeting said: “The production and use of conventional brick in the real estate sector is destroying our top soil and the environment as well.”

Finance Minister AMA Muhith at the same event said a time-limit could be fixed to shut down the brickfields in the country and that the conventional brick kilns be banned. “Public awareness is needed in this regard.” l

Garment workers MIRPUR BIHARI CAMP FIRE demand salary, festival allowance

by Ramadan 20 n Tazlina Zamila Khan one of the survivors of Mirpur n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj Farzana, Bihari camp fire, is still unaware of the

Farzana still unaware of family members’ death

At a crisis management committee meeting yesterday, leaders of the garment workers called on the factory owners to pay their salaries, festival allowances and overtime bills by Ramadan 20 (July 9), ahead of Eid-ulFitr.

They also sought the security for the garment workers when returning home with their payments, citing a few instances of mugging in the past.

The Industries Affairs Regional Crisis Management Committee on Paying the Garment Workers Salary, Festival Allowance and Overtime Bills held a meeting at the conference room of the deputy commissioner.

Bangladesh Garment Workers Alliance General Secretary SM Masud Rana said Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) will hold a meeting regarding the payment, today.

BKMEA Vice President Mohamamd Hatem called on all the workers’ leaders to come forward to stop any workers’ unrest in their respective regions.

He assured that steps would be taken soon for the workers’ salaries, festival allowances and others to be paid.

BKMEA President Salim Osman said he would talk with the leaders of the BGMEA. He said factories vary in terms of paying a full-month salary before Eid because the workers are likely to change their workplace after the festival. So, whether the workers will be paid in full or not will be decided after meeting with BGMEA and BGKMEA leaders. l

death of her family members and relatives even after a month.

As she has got most of her body parts burnt completely, she is now even unable to eat using her own hand.

Her father Md Yasin, a salon worker who also survived the accident, said his wife Baby, 40, son Ashik, 27, Ashik’s wife Shikha, three daughters – Shahana, 26, Afsana, 19, and Roksana, 16, twins Lalu and Bhulu, 14, and Shahana’s two-year-old son Maruf, died in the arson attack.

Farzana’s aunt Khairun and Yasin have been looking after her for the past one month at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The 15-year-old asks her aunt: “Where is my mother and brothers?

How are they? Bring them to me. I want to see my mother.”

Khairun consoled her by saying that her mother and brothers were undergoing treatment in other hospitals and would soon come to meet her.

Recalling the horror of the incident, Farzana told the Dhaka Tribune: “I was in the house when it happened. All of us, except my father, were inside the room. When the fire broke out, I managed to get out by breaking the window of the room. Later on, I was taken to the hospital.”

“My mother and brothers also sustained burn injuries. They are fine now and are being treated at other hospitals.

Soon they will come and meet me,” she added.

Farzana had very intimate relationship with her mother and brothers and Yasin is afraid that she would not be

Farzana, who suffered burn injuries during the Mirpur Bihari Camp fire, receives treatment at DMCH yesterday able to bear the shock of learning that her family members had passed away.

“I cannot move my right hand and my aunt feeds me. I feel excruciating pain in my hand. I got half of my left hand burnt. Moreover, my back and right leg were completely burnt in the fire,” said Farzana.

The girl is a fifth grader at a Brac-run School in Mirpur.

Khairun told the Dhaka Tribune: “She does not know anything about the family devastation yet. She is unable to use the fingers of her right hand as it was completely burnt. Only bones exist in the hand. Doctors said they would perform a small surgery on Thursday.”

Israel’s attack on Palestinians protested n CU Correspondent Students and teachers in a protest rally yesterday demanded an immediate stop to the heinous Israeli attacks on children and women living in Palestine.

Over 100 students of different educational institutions and Facebook activists formed a human chain at the Press Club premises in city’s Jamal Khan area around 3pm, protesting the

ongoing genocide by Israel in Palestine.

Holding placards and banners, the demonstrators chanted slogans, urging international organisations to stop the genocide in Gaza city by Israeli troops.

Speakers at the protest rally said the Israeli Air forces had attacked the unarmed innocent children, women and people, and revealed the regime’s brutal characteristics, while the human rights groups of developing countries

are keeping silent on this issue.

They also urged the United Nations and Islamic organisations to take immediate steps against the Israeli army.

Niaz Uddin, teacher of Political Science at Chittagong University (CU), Sayid Ahsan Khalid, Jakir Hossen, teachers of Law faculty of CU, Mashud Forhan Ovi, vice-president of CU Journalists Association (CUJA), among others, addressed the rally. l

Youths, under the banner of Bangladeshi Janagan, form a human chain in front the National Press Club, protesting the Israeli attack on Gaza SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

RAJIB DHAR

Khaleda: Movement only option left n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said there was no option left except for waging a movement if the government did not take initiative to hold talks over the non-partisan interim government at an iftar party in a city hotel yesterday.

“There is no representative government in the country, and a country cannot run like this. Even the government has no interest in holding talks to resolve the crisis. We want to say clearly: if the government does not take the initiative to resolve the crisis, we do not have any other option except launching a movement,” she said.

Khaleda said the government was not paying any heed to their demand, adding: “People’s fundamental rights have been violated in every step. They have no security, and killing and abduction has become regular phenomena.”

Criticising the incumbent parliament, Khaleda said: “No public issue is discussed in the parliament; rather, singing and reciting poems take place there. It has turned into the members’ gossip place.” l

BCL activist arrested for abduction n DU Correspondent Police arrested a Bangladesh Chhatra League activist for allegedly abducting a higher secondary student and holding him hostage at a Dhaka University dormitory for ransom yesterday.

The arrested, Imran, is a first-year student of the history department at Dhaka College, said sources at the college. Police also rescued Mostafizur Rahman, a student of a Badda college, around 5am from Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall of Dhaka University.

Shahbagh police said Imran, along with fellow Chhatra League activist Sujan, had abducted Mostafiz on Saturday evening and held him hostage at the hall. They lured Mostafiz into the hall by telling him that they would watch the World Cup 2014 match between Brazil and the Netherlands on big screen, said Professor Amjad Ali, acting proctor of DU. When Mostafiz went along, the duo confined him and demanded a ransom of Tk70,000 from his father over phone.

His father informed the police about the incident. Imran and Sujan were living at the dorm under the shelter of hall resident AB Siddique Rahat, a deputy secretary of the Chhatra League central committee, according to sources.

A case was filed with Shahbagh police station, accusing six persons, three of whom were still unidentified, said Sub-Inspector Azim of the police station.

It was the latest in the recent series of abduction and holding of the victims hostage in the university for ransom by Chhatra League activists.

On May 9, police rescued a trader from the university’s Jagannath Hall where the victim was held hostage by four Chhatra League activists for about 15 hours. l

“No one came to see us and we are also not getting any aid from anybody.

My daughter’s treatment is costing me around Tk400 every day. Doctors said she could be released after two or three weeks,” said Yasin.

The father said: “The biggest loss has happened in my life. I have no one left in my family. My daughter is badly injured and the burn marks will be there for the rest of her life. She cannot use her right hand. Amid such a situation, who will marry her?”

“I beg the government for helping me so that I can save my daughter. If I get some aid, I can use it to marry her off,” he added.

On June 14, a series of clashes among Bihari people of Old Kurmitola camp in Kalshi, police and outsiders centring explosion of firecrackers left at least 10 people, including nine of a family, dead in Mirpur.

The three-hour clash erupted after Fajr prayers in front of a mosque as some Bihari youths had exploded firecrackers on the occasion of Shab-eBarat defying requests made by people and police.

During the clash, law enforcers fired rubber bullets and teargas while the Biharis responded with brick chips and the “miscreants” showed up with lethal weapons. l

Last chance to place defence witness for Azhar n Udisa Islam

Woman gang-raped in Dhaka

The war crimes tribunal yesterday warned the lawyers of alleged al-Badr leader ATM Azharul Islam for seeking time to place the first defence witness.

Setting August 3 as the new date after a hearing the plea, Chairman Justice M Enayetur Rahim of the International Crimes Tribunal 1 said: “If you fail to produce your witness on that day, the prosecution will start placing their closing arguments in the case.”

When the proceedings began yesterday, defence counsel Shishir Monir submitted an application seeking two weeks time to produce their first witness. He said they would place only one witness, not four, through which the defence would exhibit all the documents to prove the accused innocent.

Prosecutor Tapos Kanti Baul opposed the plea. After hearing both the sides, the tribunal set the new date and warned the defence.

The defence yesterday also submitted that they would place the only witness from outside the final list. Justice Enayet expressed annoyance but did not give any order.

At the tribunal 2 adjourned the trial against Syed Mohammad Qaisar until July 20 as the investigation officer of the case was sick. Yesterday was fixed for cross-examination of Monowara Begum who concluded her deposition on July 7. l

n Tribune Report A 23-year-old woman was allegedly drugged and gang raped early yesterday at the capital’s Kadamtoli.

The victim, who had just arrived in the city a few hours before the incident, was admitted to the One-stop Crisis Center of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the evening for forensic tests.

The victim told the Dhaka Tribune that she lived with her five-year-old daughter at her sister’s house in Chandpur after having separated from her husband. “I started a love affair with a man named Abdur Rahim over the phone, six months ago. He asked me to move to Shyambazar in Dhaka with my daughter to start a new life with him,” she said.

The victim arrived in the capital from Chandpur on Saturday afternoon and two of Rahim’s friends, Liton and Shahidul, received her at Sadarghat.

“Rahim said we would rent a house and then get married. After I arrived,

his two friends rented a house and they took me there. Rahim joined us later. That night they drugged my food,” she said.

The three men waited till she was almost unconscious and then tied her hands and feet with rope before raping her. They left the scene of the crime in the morning with Tk22,000 in cash, gold ornaments, and a cell phone. In the morning, neighbours rescued her and called the police.

Sub-Inspector Farid of Kadamtoli police station took the victim to the station, but the police refused to take the case. The victim’s sister, Fatema, later came to the city and took the victim to the office of the DMP deputy commissioner of Wari. The DC asked the police officer concerned to take action.

“A case will be filed after we get the report in hand,” Officer-in-Charge of Kadamtoli police station Mostafizur Rahman said. No one had been arrested as of filing this report at 7:30pm. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Supplement

Monday, July 14, 2014

National Day of

FRANCE Message from the Ambassador

France’s latest economic policy: For a renewed attractiveness on international markets

T

Greetings from the Embassy of France in Bangladesh!

It is an honour and a real pleasure to celebrate the French national day in Bangladesh, and to address the Bangladeshi People and my fellow citizens in this country on that occasion.

For French people, the 14th of July, or “Bastille Day”, is a commemoration of the 14 July 1789 storming of the “Bastille” fortress-prison, which led to the end of privileges and absolute monarchy in France, and of the 14 July 1790 “Fête de la Fédération” consecration of the unity of the French nation, which was later to adopt “liberty, equality, fraternity”, as the motto of the French Republic.

Every year since 1880, a military parade is being held in Paris on the morning of the 14th of July. Today’s parade will have a particular significance, as 2014 marks the Centenary of the outbreak of World War One, the first global conflict of the 20th century.

For that reason, officials and youth from throughout the world will take part in the celebrations, at the invitation of the French government. Together, they will honour the memories of France’s friends and allies, and celebrate the values of reconciliation, peace, and friendship, as a means to a peaceful global future.

France was one of the first countries to recognize the State of Bangladesh, following the September 1971 call for the country’s independence of General de Gaulle’s Minister for Culture André Malraux, to whose memory a Garden was inaugurated at the University of Dhaka in April this year. Since then, our two countries have been building relations in the economic, scientific, academic, and cultural fields.

The Alliances françaises in Bangladesh, local associations receiving support from the French government, are a symbol of these linkages. So is the French archaeological mission in Mahasthangarh, who has been working for over 20 years with their Bangladeshi counterparts to revive and preserve Bangladesh’s heritage.

Relations between our two countries are also made of individual interests and experiences. Every year, hundreds of Bangladeshi students consider pursuing an education in France, and it is always a true pleasure receiving the testimonials of the numerous bright and motivated young Bangladeshis who eventually did. Each of them contributes, at their level, to developing the relations between France and Bangladesh.

In addition, since the beginning of the year, two renowned French scholars have paid visit to Bangladesh: intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy, who returned to the country for the launch of the Bengali version of his book on the Liberation War of Bangladesh; and member of the French Academy Erik Orsenna, who met with Bangladeshi scholars to discuss climate change and disaster management issues.

Bangladesh has set for itself ambitious poverty reduction and inclusive and sustainable development goals, and France is committed to helping it achieve them through a wide range of development cooperation channels.

Climate change is a topic of crucial importance to Bangladesh, and France is an active contributor in that field: while its carbon emissions are among the lowest in Europe, it has set the goal of dividing them by 4 at the horizon 2050. Furthermore, France will be hosting the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in 2015, when an ambitious universal agreement should be adopted to take over from the Kyoto Protocol in 2020.

In Bangladesh, beside its contribution through European Union funds, France is active in the field of green and inclusive growth through the French Development Agency – AFD, whose activities additionally have a strong focus on climate change adaptation, and the Embassy has been supporting capacitybuilding programmes in the fields of climatology and disaster management.

Health and gender are two other areas of particular importance to France and Bangladesh. France, who was at the origin of the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is its second largest contributor; for 2014-2016, its contribution represents 1.08 billion euros, of which 12% will be allocated to projects being implemented in Bangladesh.

France, who has just hosted the 24th edition of the Global Summit of Women, is also actively involved in gender issues.

In Bangladesh, the Embassy proudly supports the study at the renowned school of political science “Sciences Po Paris” of talented young Bangladeshi ladies from Chittagong-based Asian University for Women.

Last but not least, close to three months after the one-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, and two weeks after the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct which was held in Paris, I would like to renew France’s commitment towards continued and enhanced efforts of all stakeholders to improve factory safety and workers’ rights. Consumers, owners and buyers, policy- and decision-makers – we all have a responsibility in ensuring that workers’ lives are no longer put at risk to supply western consumer markets. This is why France has contributed to the “Better Work Bangladesh” programme, set up by the International Labour Organization together with the International Finance Corporation.

In that field and many others, the Embassy of France in Bangladesh will continue working towards enhanced cooperation and strengthened relations between France and Bangladesh.

Let me conclude by wishing every success and happiness to the People of Bangladesh, and to the French community in this country, who, together, participate in this endeavour, be they civil servants, private sector or non-profit organisation employees.

Michel Trinquier Ambassador of France to Bangladesh

he French economy has significant key strengths that contribute to its investment attractiveness: worldclass industrial centres, powerful international companies, innovative SMEs, globally renowned scientific research and top-quality higher education and technical training. Yet it now faces the dual challenge of stimulating growth and employment in a depressed international economic environment.

In 2012, the French government embarked on economic policy reforms, which set a comprehensive goal: to boost the competitiveness of the French economy, while making France a land of innovation, and reposition French businesses on a sustainable and offensive footing in international markets.

Lower taxes, business costs, and access to better funding to support companies operating in France

In order to alleviate the burden on enterprises based in France and to support companies at every stage of their development, massive reforms have been drafted as part of the French “Pact for Growth, Competitiveness and Employment”. Launched at the end of 2012, it aims at fostering a pro-growth economic environment, caring particularly for SMEs and mid-size companies. For instance, this Pact comprises a €20 billion annual reduction in labour costs to encourage investments and create jobs.

Similarly, the creation of a Public Investment Bank (BPI) in 2013 offers companies a tailored funding service thanks to a wider palette of financial instruments and advice. Through the BPI, which has funding resources of €42 billion, SMEs enjoy improved access to financial resources, in order to alleviate the pressure on their cash-flow. Around 60,000 companies benefited from such measures during the first 9 months of 2013.

Moreover, with new calls for projects, the “National Investment Program” is speeding up the development of sectoressential digital technologies. A plan to roll out very-high-speed internet throughout the country is currently being implemented as part of a public-private effort of €20 billion over a period of 10 years, to boost French industries’ competitiveness.

A simpler and more stable regulatory, administrative, and tax environment to attract foreign businesses

France’s Pact for Growth, Competitiveness and Employment underlines the objective of exemplary government action, particu-

Paris Air Show 2011: Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, ordered by eight countries

larly by consolidating the public finances, in order to provide a stable financial environment for businesses.

New procedures have been drafted to facilitate incoming of foreign talent and business visitors who contribute to the standing and vibrancy of the French economy. They include a “Talent Passport” to attract foreign talent, the alignment of the process of issuing visas to business travellers with the best practices in Europe, and the facilitation and streamlining of visa-issuing procedures for business visitors, with more partnerships with businesses and chambers of commerce been sought after by French diplomats and consulates.

Numerous measures are been put in place to simplify corporate procedures and administrative environment, including: incentives for individuals to invest in SMEs to reduce their income tax and/or wealth tax bill, measures to promote ownership and transfer of businesses (lower inheritance taxes and wealth tax, “shareholder agreements”), and greater resources allocated to

business formalities centres to enable them to deal with businesspeople face to face, with a single online website for support (www.guichet-entreprises.fr).

Boosting innovation in France

Baking the Pact for Growth, the “New deal for innovation”, presented at the end of 2013 by the Ministry of Production Recovery and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, focuses on specific areas responding to the concerns and expectations of foreign investors, including improving the transfer of knowledge and technology between research and businesses, and providing an environment that will allow companies to grow and become the leaders of tomorrow. Keeping the special focus on SMEs, the government has thus called upon the newly created Public Investment Bank to operate a brand new innovation support program, aimed at encompassing innovation spending by SMEs, via the French research tax credit.

This political strategy for innovation will

continue to create a fertile environment for French businesses; in 2011 already, their dynamism led France to rank 2nd in Europe and 6th worldwide for the number of patents filed.

The recent government national plans and measures for boosting the competitiveness of French businesses and fostering innovation explain the renewed attractiveness of France. Paris now ranks 4th in terms of its economic power; it is the leading metropolis and remains the most dynamic city in the Eurozone. In 2014, the country regained its position in the Top 10 most popular countries for FDI, and it came in third position at European level.

The United States is leading FDI in France, but the proportion of projects initiated by emerging countries has continued to grow, with 44 countries investing in France in 2013. Japan and China respectively rank 7th and 8th in terms of investments.

France’s return to the Top 10 is a sign of international investors’ renewed confidence in the economic reforms begun by the government. l

AFD – French Development Agency: Supporting Green and Inclusive Economic Growth in Bangladesh

T

he Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a French public development finance institution and a bilateral Agency established in more than 70 countries, working to fight poverty and support green and inclusive economic growth in developing and emerging countries. AFD was created in December 1941, and has been implementing the French government’s aid policies for seventy years.

In 2013, AFD celebrated its 20th anniversary of working in Asia. The Agency now tallies operations in 18 Asian countries, 9 offices and – in the near future – EUR 1 billion in commitments.

AFD started its operations in Bangladesh in 2012. In January 2013, it signed with the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh a first loan of USD 45 million. It is a long-term Credit Facility Agreement to support the implementation of the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project – Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit System - in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In May 2013, an AFD office in Bangladesh was established within the premises of the Economic Department of the Embassy of France, enabling AFD to improve projects identification and implementation and to work in close cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh and other development partners in the country.

Sectors of intervention

Asia will determine the Earth’s future; its population and economic growth will affect natural resource balances planet-wide and have huge effects on the global climate.

Therefore, AFD mainly operates in the following sub-sectors: energy efficiency in cities, transportation, housing, public lighting and waste management; renewable energy, especially micro-hydroelectricity,

AFD will reinforce its financing towards urban development, including providing drinking water, focusing in particular on low income communities © AFD

wind power, geothermal power and biogas; adaptation measures, e.g. irrigation and drainage infrastructure and crop protection, to protect populations and fortify sites against natural catastrophes and climate change impacts, particularly flooding and sea level rise; natural resources conservation, emphasizing sustainable forest products, since forests are crucial worldwide for carbon dioxide sequestration and terrestrial biodiversity.

AFD also promotes sound water management to ensure food security and preserve aquatic biodiversity.

In the future, AFD will reinforce its financing towards urban development, including providing drinking water, supplying clean and sustainable energy, and improving drainage and waste management, with a strong focus on climate change adaptation.

Financing the private sector

AFD holds a subsidiary dedicated to the financing of the private sector, PROPARCO. PROPARCO’s mission is to boost private investment in emerging and developing countries in favour of growth, sustainable

development and reaching the Millennium Development Goals. It invests in a geographical area ranging from major emerging countries to the poorest countries, and has high-level requirements in terms of Social and Environmental Responsibility.

PROPARCO finances operations which are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. To match investors’ specific needs, it offers a wide range of financial instruments (loans, equity and guarantees).

Tenors range from 5 to 20 years.

PROPARCO has systematic impact measurement tools which are used to pre-select project financing and then throughout the project life.

PROPARCO has been operating in South Asia since 2008, from a regional hub in Delhi. So far, it has committed USD 552 million to 24 investment projects.

In Bangladesh, PROPARCO will focus on the financing of the following sectors: climate change mitigation - renewable energies and energy efficiency projects; food security, agriculture and food processing; financial inclusion - micro finance & micro leasing, SMEs financing; healthcare and education; urban development - water, sanitation, waste management, public transportation, etc.; sustainable tourism.

PROPARCO is already present in the telecom sector, with an energy efficiency project with Grameen Phone in the amount of USD 30 million, and it is actively looking at projects in the agro-sector, SMEs financing, social business and on the environmental and social (E&S) upscaling in the textile and garment industry.

For more information on activities of AFD or PROPARCO in Bangladesh, please visit the AFD website - www.afd.fr, or contact Marion Sybillin - sybillinm@afd.fr or Steven Gardon - gardons@proparco.fr.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Fake note circulation escalates in Chittagong Eid shoppers prime target of counterfeit note dealers n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Circulation of counterfeit notes of different denominations has gone up in Chittagong as miscreants are deceiving people who are in a shopping frenzy ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Law enforcers have recovered several hauls of fake notes but a large number of phoney note dealers are operating in the port city, said police sources.

On Saturday night, police nabbed two people, Masud, 22, and Morshed, 25, from a house in Anondipur area with 332 fake notes, in Tk500 denominations, said Syed Abu Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir, officer-in-charge of Halishahar police station.

He said the two were attempting to make transactions with the counterfeit money and were members of a syndicate involved in this practice.

A case was lodged with Halishahar police station and police are trying to nab the other members of the ring, Kabir said.

On July 10, police detained Abu Taher alias Alamgir, 38, with 38 counterfeit notes, in Tk500 denominations, from East Madarbari road and the arrested confessed that he had attempted to use the notes, hoping the busy shoppers would not notice.

According to the arrested, they mainly trade notes of Tk100, Tk500 and Tk1,000 with people who are on an Eid shopping spree, and the fake

notes are circulated in three steps.

The first group produces the counterfeit notes and hand those over to the second group. The second group distributes the notes to members of the third group who are engaged in transactions with people.

Police are usually able to capture miscreants belonging to the third group but the phoney note producers and the distributors remain at large, said police sources.

“The third-level dealers have no direct connection with those operating in the first level, which is why they cannot give any concrete information about who is actually producing the notes,” said Kushum Dewan, deputy commissioner of Detective Branch of

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).

He, however, said police had received some important information about the counterfeit note producers and would immediately begin operations to detain them.

Those who produce fake notes use cutting-edge technology, making it difficult for even Bangladesh Bank’s money checking devices to detect those, said Additional Commissioner (crime and operation) of CMP Banaz Kumar Majumder.

Such notes are even found in ATM booths of different banks, he said, adding that people should be cautious while making transactions.

According to administrative sources, there is a fake note prevention

MOSTLY SUNNY

MONDAY, JULY 14 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:49PM SUN RISES 5:20AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.4ºC Srimangal

24.5ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

n Tribune Report Failure to provide adequate HIV services for key groups – men who have sex with men, people in prison, people who inject drugs, sex workers and transgender people – threatens global progress on the HIV response, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.

Women sex workers are 14 times more likely to have HIV than other women, men who have sex with men are 19 times more likely to have HIV than the general population

A garbage-laden truck, stuck in traffic congestion in the capital's Banglamotor area yesterday, spreads stench to nearby vehicles along with spilling excess waste on the road as the top of the truck is not covered SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

119 gold bars seized at Shahjalal Airport, seven held

WEATHER

3:55am 5:19am 12:05am 4:45pm 6:49pm 8:15pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

committee in every district led by respective deputy commissioners and the committee is supposed to hold a meeting every month.

The committee in Chittagong district is not working effectively, said sources.

Requesting anonymity, a top official of Bangladesh Bank told the Dhaka Tribune that miscreants were circulating phoney notes at an alarming rate during Ramadan because of the lax measures of the surveillance bodies.

“The Central Bank has been trying to raise awareness among people by publishing posters displaying the differences between counterfeit and genuine notes,” he added. l

3,000 porn CDs and 400 erotic books seized n FM Mizanur Rahaman Police seized at least 3000 pornographic CDs and 400 adult books from New Market area of Chittagong yesterday.

Shah Md Abdur Rauf, assistant commissioner of Kotwali circle of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said police had conducted the drive in the area ranging from the New Market to the Kadamtali railway station.

Some vendors had occupied footpaths in that area and were selling the banned goods there.

Schools and college going students, particularly females are embarrassed when they pass by because of the illegal business being run there, said the AC. l

WHO: Health service still inaccessible to HIV-vulnerable groups

Fobana Convention in NYC on August 29 n Abid Azad The 28th instalment of the Fobana Convention, the biggest annual gathering of Bangladeshis living in North America, will begin in New York City on August 29.

Hasanuzzaman Hassan, convener of the host committee of Fobana Convention 2014, disclosed the information yesterday at a press conference in the capital’s National Press Club.

Fobana, or Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America, is one of the oldest Bangladeshi organisations in North America.

At the press conference, Hassan said: “We have already made preparations to host the 28th Fobana Convention, to be held from August 29 to August 31, at Laguardia Airport Marriott Hotel in New York City.”

This year, the convention’s slogan is “Enlightened North America, enlightened young generation, enlightened Bangladesh,” Hassan said.

“We have been organising this convention since 1987 to make our country, people, culture, language and our nation’s victory known to the world,” he said. Hassan said this year’s convention will be the biggest congregation, as more than 24,000 Bangladeshis from the US, Canada and other North American countries are taking part in it, as well as delegations from Bangladesh.

Prominent senators, congress members, state governors, mayors and other dignitaries from the US are expected to attend the event as well.

Atiqur RK Eusufzai, president of Fobana Convention 2014, said: “This year we will demand that the Bangladesh government include the non-resident Bangladeshis in the voters’ list. We will also ask for the Dhaka-New York flight to be resumed.

The event will include seminars, cultural programmes, photo presentation, recitation and a fashion show. l

5

Monday, July 14, 2014

n Kailash Sarkar The customs officials at the Dhaka airport seized 119 gold bars weighing around 14kg yesterday.

They arrested seven members of a gang for smuggling the gold, which was worth around Tk7 crore.

The detained are Md Jasim Uddin, Amir Hossain, Rashed Chowdhury, Md Nazim Uddin, Salauddin Ahmed, Lokman Bhuiyan and Anwar Hossain, all from Chittagong.

Hossain Ahmed, commissioner of Customs Department of Hazarat Shahjalal International Airport, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The gold bars were smuggled into the country from Dubai via a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight by some members of a gang of smugglers.

Some gang members got out of the flight at the Sylhet Airport and handed over the smuggled gold to the seven members who had taken the flight to Dhaka, he added.

The Dubai flight had stopped over at Sylhet and later landed in Dhaka around 1pm.

The customs commissioner said the seven persons had boarded the flight as domestic passengers and arrived at Dhaka around 1:30pm, attempting to

carry in the smuggled gold by dodging the eyes of intelligence officers.

“Although there are restrictions to searching domestic passengers, we searched them and recovered 119 gold bars from their bodies and luggages,” said Hossain Ahmed.

He said the detained had planned to send the gold bars to India through other members of the gang. The detained were handed over to the airport police and a case had been filed in this connection.

According to the custom officials and intelligence sources, since neighbouring country India has imposed restrictions over gold import, the Bangladeshi airports have now become the main routes for smugglers.

As a result, incidents of smuggling gold and seizures of those are on the rise.

Over 2000kg of gold has been seized in last one year while a large number of people, including the officials and employees of different government and non-government agencies at the airports, have been arrested for their direct involvement in the smuggling.

It is alleged that some customs are involved with gold smugling and for that reason the gold smuggling could not be stopped. l

Although these people are most at risk of HIV infection, they are the least likely to have access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services.

In many countries they are left out of national HIV plans, and discriminatory laws and policies are major barriers to access.

The observations were made as the WHO on Friday released the “Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations,” in the lead-up to the International AIDS Conference in Australia’s Melbourne beginning on July 20.

The guidelines outline steps for countries to reduce new HIV infections and increase access to HIV testing, treatment and care for these five “key populations.” They include a comprehensive range of clinical recommendations; but, for these to be effective, the WHO also recommended countries to remove the legal and social barriers

that prevent many people from accessing services.

For the first time, the WHO strongly recommended men who have sex with men consider taking antiretroviral medicines as an additional method of preventing HIV infection (pre-exposure prophylaxis) alongside the use of condoms.

Modelling estimates that pre-exposure prophylaxis could reduce global HIV incidence by around 20-25% among men who have sex with men, up to 1 million new infections among this group could be averted over 10 years.

Studies also indicate that women sex workers are 14 times more likely to have HIV than other women, men who have sex with men are 19 times more likely to have HIV than the general population, and transgender women are almost 50 times more likely to have HIV than other adults.

For people who inject drugs, studies show the risks of HIV infection can be also 50 times higher than the general population.

“None of these people live in isolation,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, director of the HIV Department at WHO. “Sex workers and their clients have husbands, wives and partners.

Some inject drugs. Many have children. Failure to provide services to the people who are at greatest risk of HIV jeopardises further progress against the global epidemic and threatens the health and well-being of individuals, their families and the broader community.”

At the International AIDS Conference 2014 in Melbourne, the WHO will call on governments to re-energise and strengthen HIV programmes so that all key populations benefit from the ongoing advances in HIV treatment and programme scale-up. l

Pakistani held with fake Indian currency at Shahjalal Airport n Kailash Sarkar A Pakistani national was arrested yesterday morning from Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka city, with allegedly fake Indian currency worth Rs50 lakh in his possession.

The customs officials detained Abdur Rahim, 35, at the canopy area of the airport and found the currency in his luggage, said Hossain Ahmed, commissioner of the Customs Department at the airport. He said they suspected the notes to be fake.

“We cannot confirm whether they

are real or fake without verification,” he said. Sources at the airport said Rahim arrived in Dhaka on July 7 on a Qatar Airways flight but left the airport without his luggage. He was arrested when he went to collect his luggage at the airport yesterday.

The customs officials said they had been trying to identify Rahim’s associates in Bangladesh.

Earlier on June 30, two Pakistani nationals were arrested with fake Indian currency worth Rs1.71 crore right after they arrived at Dhaka airport.

In the past few years, Customs have

arrested around 60 Pakistanis with around Rs200 crore worth of fake Indian currency in their possession, according to sources in the Customs Department, CID, Detective Branch, Rab and intelligence agencies.

Most of the arrested belong to different militant organisations active in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, such as Jama’atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, the sources said.Indian currency is usually forged in Pakistan mainly for the purpose of financing militants. l

Chittagong tax official caught while taking bribe

Four thatched houses gutted

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

At least four thatched houses were gutted in a fire in Chittagong city’s Bahaddarhat area yesterday (Sunday) morning.

Sources at the Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters in Agrabad said the fire originated from a kitchen at around 6:20am and soon spread to the adjacent houses. Two fire fighting units from Kalurghat and Chandanpura fire service station rushed to the spot and doused the flame after a two-hour long effort. The extent of losses caused by the fire would about TK ten lakh, they added. l

Th Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) detained a Chittagong Tax Circle-4 official from his office at the Chittagong Tax Commissioner’s Office-4 yesterday, along with Tk20,000. He was detained while in the act of receiving a bribe.

Director Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan of the ACC in Chittagong told the Dhaka Tribune that anti-graft agents disguised as stakeholders took Chief Assistant Zahid Iqbal of Chittagong Tax Circle-4 into

custody at his office around 12:30pm.

The tax official was handed over to Double Mooring Police Station and legal measures were being taken, the director said.

He said Zahid had been demanding bribes for some time from BTCL Deputy Assistant Engineer Kashem Bhuiyan to reduce his housing tax.

“Because the engineer would not give the bribe, the tax official did not give him a demand note. The BTCL official reported the incident to the ACC,” the ACC director said. l

n CU Correspondent

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Monday, July 14, 2014

50 villages inundated as embankment collapses in Barguna n Our Correspondent, Barguna Thousands of people at 50 villages in Barguna have been marooned following collapse of an embankment on Saturday night.

Local sources said the embankment had collapsed because of rise in the water level in Bishkhali, Buriswar, Boleswar and Khakdan rivers.

As a result, many low-lying areas of Barguna sadar, Betagi and Patharghata upazilas of the district have been submerged, causing immense suffering for the people.

Moreover, Baliatoli, Boro Baliatoli and Chhoto Baliatoli villages under Baliatoli union parishad, Jhopkhali and Bholanathpur villages under Betagi Sadar union parishad have been inundated because of collapse of the embankment.

According to Barguna Water Devolopment Board, several rivers surrounding the district was flowing 52cm above danger level on Saturday night.

Rahim Uddin, a resident of Betagi, said the newly constructed embankment had caved in on Saturday night because of high tides in the Boleshwar river.

He said marooned people had been suffering from scarcity of water as most of tube wells have been inundated.

“Several hours passed since the embankment collapsed, but nobody from the WDB visit the affected areas,” he said.

The calamity-struck people are always deprived of government assistance because of negligence of the local union parishad chairman.

Rosul Mia, a resident of Chhoto Baliatoli village, said if the collapsed part of the embankment at Baliatoli point is not repaired soon, the situation might go out of control.

He said, “Every year we suffer because of embankment collapse, but the authority concerned do not take permanent measures to solve the problem,” he said.

He said many people have already taken shelter at schools as well as cyclone centres, he added.

Executive Engineer of Water Development Board told the Dhaka Tribune that they were aware of the collapse in the embankment.

He said they would not be able to repair the dam as they did not have sufficient funds. l

Local people gather at Kumarkhali Bazar in Barguna which has been inundated as an embankment collapsed on Saturday night. The photo was taken yesterday

Sex workers forced to leave brothel Road accident claims six n Our correspondent, Tangail

Nearly 1000 sex workers of Kandapara brothel in Tangail were forced to leave the houses they rented for their business yesterday as Asamajik Karjakalap Pratirodh Committee (AKPC), a religious organization, gave the house owners an ultimatum to have the brothel vacated soon.

Roji Begum, one of the tenants, said leaders of the AKPC had threatened 56 house owners that they would demolish their houses if they did not have their tenants vacate the houses.

Other tenants, Mina, Aleya, Chan Miah, Abdul Halim, Morjina, Moyna, Rubi, Rahim and Nargis, also echoed Roji.

Shila, 20, a sex worker of Helena Sardarni Resident said she had left the brothel because the AKPC men had threatened them. She said some musclemen had ordered them to leave the brothel immediately, otherwise they would set fire to them.

Like Shila, other sex workers had left their houses with bag and baggage, looking for shelter in different areas of the town.

Sources said ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the influential men were seen distributing leaflets among the local people, seeking their support for the eviction of the sex workers.

Shila, 20, a sex worker of Helena Sardarni Resident said she had left the brothel because the AKPC men had threatened them When contacted, Akhi Begum, president of Nari Mukti Sanga, said a vested quarter was trying to evict the brothel for their own interest.

They were trying to grab the brothel’s land in the name of a movement, said Akhi.

Mayor Shahidur Rahman Mukti said no complaint was brought to his office regarding the incident.

SP Saleh Mohammed Tanvir said: “If anybody does not complain about the incident, what can we do?”

“We have also deployed additional forces in the area to avoid any unwant-

ed situation,” he said.

When contacted, DC Tangail Mahbub Hossen said if anybody complained about the incident, we would take steps.

A team of administrators headed by Additional Deputy Magistrate Lal Hossen was sent to the spot, he added.

Civil society leaders said the process of eviction would scatter the sex workers across the district, a move which would have a negative impact on society and family values.

Leaders of the AKPC said that they did not threaten the sex workers. They left the brothel on their own.

Earlier, a procession was brought out in the town, demanding the demolition of the brothel. The imam of the district central mosque led the procession under the banner of the AKPC. After the procession, the agitators submitted a memorandum to the municipality mayor.

In the memorandum, they demanded the eviction of the brothel immediately, threatening tougher movements.

The mayor assured them that he would take initiatives in cooperation with the district administration. l

lives in Madaripur n Our Correspondent, Madaripur

At least six people were killed and 35 others injured in a road accident yesterday afternoon in Ghatakchar Bazar area of Madaripur Sadar upazila.

The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Madaripur Police Super Khandakar Faridul Islam said the accident had taken place around 12:30pm when a Dhaka-bound Sugandha Paribahan bus from Barguna crashed into a tree when the driver lost control over the steering, leaving six of the people spot dead and 35 others injured.

Upon receiving information, firefighters rushed to the spot and rescued the injured people and also recovered the bodies.

The injured were rushed to Madaripur Sadar Hospital and the bodies to taken to the morgue for postmortem examinations, he said.

Later, people, who were critically injured, were shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

Salma Begum, who was injured in

the accident and was undergoing treatment at Madaripur Sadar Hospital, said the accident had taken place because the driver was talking on his mobile phone.

A tailback stretching two kilometres has created as a result of the road accident.

Later, police and RAB personnel rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Madaripur district administration announced that it would provide Tk10,000 to each of the families of the deceased and each injured person would get Tk5,000.

Our Tangail correspondent adds: one passenger was killed in a road accident yesterday in sadar upazila of the district.

The deceased was Ratan Mia, 35, the son of Gendu Mia of Chamta village in Karimganj upazila.

Police said a speeding truck hit an auto rickshaw from the back, leaving four of them injured. Ratan was rushed to Kishoreganj Adhunik Sadar hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Lalmonirhat Hindu family comes under attack, four hurt n Tribune Desk Four members of a Hindu family, including two women, were injured when a group of people attacked them over a land dispute at Shafirhat village in Patgram upazila yesterday.

The injured were identified as Pushpa Rani, 62, her two sons --Shyamol Chandra Sen, 42, Kamal Chandra Sen, 35, and Dipali Rani, 32, wife of Shyamol of the village.

Police said Pushpa Rani and her fellow-villager Abul Hossain had been at loggerheads over two bighas of land in the area, reports UNB. As a sequel to the enmity, Abul Hossain’s supporters reportedly swooped on Pushpa’s house around 9:30 am and beat all the four members of the family, leaving them injured, said officer-in-charge of Patgram Police Station Aminul Islam.

The attackers also set a house on fire after vandalising it during the incident.

The injured were rushed to Patgram Upazila Health Complex and then shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. l

Fish havens benefit 0.5 lakh fishermen of greater Faridpur n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

An elderly man walk through a road the construction works of which is delayed because of alleged negligence of a contractor

Fortune has favoured the fishermen of the greater Faridpur region as fish production from natural sources there has increased vastly due to the establishment of 201 fish reserve spots by the government.

Sources said the state established the spots under a project at a cost of Tk10 crore.

There are 51 spots in Gopalganj, 64 in Madaripur, 44 in Faridpur, 26 in Shariatpur and 16 in Rajbari, and domestic fish species have been flourishing in all these spots.

Gopalganj Sadar fishery official Babul Krisna Oja said fish haven is made by placing bamboo and bush in a lake and fishing is restricted to 1,000 square feet centring the spot, so that mother fishes can breed and the fry stay there without any

DHAKA TRIBUNE

People suffer as road development delayed in Pirojpur n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur People are suffering because of delays in the development of a road at Najirpur upazila in Pirojpur.

They blame the contractor for the delays behind the two-and-a-quarterkilometre Chandkathi-Madarbari road construction work.

A local called Kolingo Torua says: “After digging, the road development has been kept on hold for so long since it was dug a few years ago.”

“This is causing huge sufferings to

people, particularly in the rainy season, when the road gets muddy and slippy with little rain.”

Another local named Firoj Mia says: “There are more than one education institutes alongside this road and so pupils are having to suffer during this rainy season.”

Local Dirgha Union Parishad member Khairul Kabir says: “This road is used by people from seven villages, including Madarbari, Dirgha, Patikel Bari.

“As the contractor has kept the

work on hold, all the villagers are now suffering a lot.”

Representative of the contracting firm Mehedi Hasan however says they have been late to start the work due to lack of fund for the construction work.

However, the road development will be now completed fast.

Najirpur Upazila Engineer Md Abdul Mannan says they have reminded the contracting firm of completing the road development work very soon.

The road was supposed to be constructed by October, 2012. l

One held with firearm

n CU Correspondent

Police arrested a youth with a homemade firearm yesterday from his residence at Hathazari upazila, Chittagong.

The arrested was Alauddin, 30, the son of late Md Hafiz Abdullah, a resident of Muzaffarpur area of the upazila, said police sources.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Abdul Hakim of Hathazari police station said, following a tip-off, a police team had raided Allauddin’s residence around 5:30am and arrested him with the firearm. l

hindrance.

With the advent of the rainy season, the species finally spread out to the haors, canals and rivers as well as other water bodies.

Fish production has been increasing gradually in the region and the local fishermen have been benefiting vastly from it, Babul continued.

A fisherman named Sanjoy Biswas from Baladanga village of Tungipara said several fish species had almost become extinct before the spots were established.

Affluent fish stock in the districts has brought smiles to the fishermen’s faces, Sanjoy added.

Borhan Sheikh, president of Tungipara fish haven managing committee, said the safe fish spots have contributed to fish production and have allowed for the demands of about 21 districts to be met easily.

Dr Abdul Quadir, director of fisheries development project for greater Faridpur, said since 2009, the government has developed a total of 201 fish havens in five districts at a cost of Tk10 crore, and has thereby benefited 50,000 local fishermen.

About Tk500 crore worth of fish has been produced in the safe spots, the director continued.

The project’s assistant director Narayan Chandra Das said there were no natural safe havens for fish in the region before and that was why those were established, so that mother fish could easily breed there.

Narayan also stated that because of the project, fish production from natural resources in the region has improved remarkably and the fish species that were on the verge of extinction have been also preserved. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, July 14, 2014

Food, glorious food!

How the modern Bangladeshi restaurant industry became a beacon of innovative entrepreneurship

n Naiian Yazdani and Nakibul Haq Food has been a focal point in Bangladeshi culture and plays a role in all contexts, from celebrating to commiserating. While this is common knowledge, quantitative evidence has been supplied by the digital marketing firm Webable that found that at any point in time 26% of Bangladeshis on the social media platform, Facebook, are making food and restaurants posts.

This equates to around 2 million Bangladeshis actively discussing culinary delights!

One customer questioning hygiene can easily drive a restaurant out of business in this age of social media. The ubiquity of social media means that like the positive reviews, the negative reviews also spread with tremendous speed It is rare to sit back and think about how and why a particular dish has found its way to the table. Thus, it is easy to forget it is a result of the preceding hundreds of years of history. Our taste for fish reflects our agrarian history and the rivers that weave their way through the nation, while Rezala and Korma symbolise the Mughals who once ruled the land.

Examine the current food choices in Dhaka and what is actually on display is the narrative of modern Bangladesh – an aspirational growing nation looking to learn about the rest of the world and to be a part of the global conversation.

The restaurant industry and the street food culture are sprawling businesses, with chefs serving all sorts of eclectic cuisines from Mexican to Turk-

ish to Indonesian. The supply of these varieties is driven by the demand of the 30 million Bangladeshis who currently make up the middle-income bracket.

It is worth noting this is a population greater than that of Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden combined!

The restaurant industry has moved at a rapid pace; only ten years ago the situation was drastically different.

Bangladeshis traditionally are accustomed to eating meals at home, so to venture out to an eatery outside for a proper meal was left only for special occasions. The industry was dominated only by a few big names, but that has changed.

The shift in attitude towards restaurants runs parallel to the uptake of social media. While the increased disposable income of the middle class and the introduction of a wider variety of options meant that the tide was turning, Facebook and Instagram provided the medium for the attitudes to move with fierce velocity.

As the platforms developed, people began to fall in love with the check-in options to indicate which restaurant they had visited and the photos that could be posted showing the new exotic dishes being consumed. Eventually, the collection of data allowed Facebook to introduce business analytics and insights tools that paved the way for restaurant marketers.

The demand appears to be insatiable and has created the opportunities for entrepreneurs to seize their day. Melange was one of the first restaurants in Dhaka to take an active interest in using social media as a mass marketing tool. Nayeem Reza, partner at Melange, Wow Burger and Mirage immediately identified the opportunity for his restaurant.

He said: “In a mega city like Dhaka there is a huge shortage of things people can do for recreation. So most of the people now go out to eat at exotic restaurants for entertainment.”

He also noted that the scene is more than just food; rather it also plays a role as a social setting.

“They hangout with their friends

bigstock

and family over exciting flavours and talk to their loved ones over some amazing food.”

There is a need for restaurant entrepreneurs to differentiate their ventures in a marketplace that is continually looking for the next “in” item.

Nayeem focuses on food and building customer loyalty through efficiency and top-notch service. It is not uncommon to see restaurant managers or the owners themselves coming up to the customers to inquire about the food. Owners recognise the fact that all the people that they interact with are brand ambassadors. It is therefore crucial to maintain strong relationships with all, whether business partners, friends or extended family members.

A little forethought of humility and politeness can go a long way in order to establish brand loyalty in this industry.

One of the best examples of the fusion between the modern restaurant

Is it time for a raise?

A quite troubled friend once told me phones should come with breathalyser locks; if you have more than a few, you will not be able to make dumb posts on Facebook that you will regret the next morning.

Using the Internet is an efficient tool to find the right job, but this blade is double edged and recruiters now use the Internet to do their own digging.

Maybe you were only blowing steam at the end of a hard day or only having a laugh with a few friends till a status update costs you your dream job or callback.

Information on the Internet is viewable by anyone. Be protective of your social profiles, especially if you are the kind of person with a talent for over-sharing.

Think hard before you complain about work, personal feuds or make derogatory statements. Recruiters will look at anything that comes up on a Google search. The following are a few steps to clean up your digital dirt.

Know what you want

It is common to focus on your consolidated salary instead of heeding the breakdown, which allows for HR sleight of hand tricks to fly under your radar.

There are a number of questions to ask both yourself and your employer.

What is your base pay? Are the bonuses discretionary or guaranteed?

Who exactly decides whether you deserve performance bonuses? Is your festival bonus’ percentage based on your base or your consolidated salary?

dustry must always be ready to innovate. The market contains engaged entrepreneurs such as Nayeem who have utilised their experiences of travelling across the globe. However, a dynamic consumer group, aged between 15 and 40, constantly yearn for fresh experiences. The result is that new entrants have to be bigger, bolder and tastier to satisfy customers whose palettes are continually becoming more sophisticated. It is an exciting industry and one in which great ideas can bring great rewards. l Nakibul Haq 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.

n Ahsan Sajid

Negotiating your salary is one of the first “tasks” that you will be doing at the job you are about to start, and as far as tasks go this is an extremely tricky one – whether you are a seasoned whale or a fourth year student.

There are a number of different issues one needs to be aware of, such as maintaining the right attitude, not making promises that cannot be kept, not getting emotional, etc.

While negotiating a salary is not an easy task for any individual, and particularly less for more introverted, shy and “polite” individuals, following are a few tips to do it in a sophisticated and professional manner.

Go through the contract

industry and social media is Wow Burger. Wow Burger has been a tremendous success since it started out as a burger cart in Banani only last December. Soon, on the saddles of popular demand, it expanded throughout the city and now has extensive plans for franchises domestically and internationally in places such as Myanmar and Singapore.

The popularity of Wow Burger spread like wildfire over the social me-

dia platforms through popular Facebook groups such as Foodbank and through word of mouth marketing by college and university students.

The venture consciously targeted the young middle class population of Dhaka who can easily afford the cost-effective burgers served while maintaining the basic standards of hygiene.

Hygiene remains an essential headache for Bangladeshi consumers. The subcontinent has a culture of restaurants maintaining poor standards of hygiene due to a lack of both awareness and monitoring by the authorities.

Modern restaurant owners need to be highly cautious on this issue because one customer questioning hygiene can easily drive a restaurant out of business in this age of social media. The ubiquity of social media means that like the positive reviews, the negative reviews also spread with tremendous speed.

Entrepreneurs interested in this in-

Do not just sweep it all under the rug

n Ahsan Sajid

The best thing about an employer-employee relationship, unlike other relationships, is that there is a contract that one signs at the onset and both parties arrive at a mutually agreed upon expectation from one another.

There is no reason to be shy as so many of us are likely to be when it comes to talking about money. You don't want a particularly crafty employer to use your shyness to lowball you.

Thinking it is too rude, demanding or belittling to talk about money will be the most expensive mistake you make.

While most of us do not enjoy engaging in the “money-talk,” it is best to be firm and courteous and negotiate the number.

There is a need for restaurant entrepreneurs to differentiate their ventures in a marketplace that is continually looking for the next 'in' item

bigstock

Additionally, you could also make sure your profile picture on Facebook and LinkedIn is your own and up-to-date for your potential recruiter to recognise you from your CV photo or from a personal interview.

Become vigilant

Just because you have your privacy set to maximum doesn’t mean you’re safe.

You never know who knows who, and who is seeing what. Protect yourself by not posting thoughtless dross. l

Words of wisdom

bigstock

Don't be the first to blink

An experienced negotiator will try to get you to name a number first. “What do you expect to earn?” is a simple but extremely high-pressure question to answer, and it is easy to give in to the pressure and fumble. If you really want the job, you will probably end up naming a figure lower than you are seeking, or that you know you deserve.

Nevertheless, when you really have to answer the question, it is best to answer it with another question: “What is the budget allocated for this position?”

Talk down

A number can always be negotiated down, but never up. Do not be afraid to name a figure that is too high (while remaining realistic, as goes without saying). The numbers talk happens at the end of a drawn out interview period, so you need not be afraid that you will name a figure so high the interview will

immediately be terminated.

When you must name a number, if you stay within realistic bounds and still ask for a higher than expected number, you will enter a negotiation.

By negotiating down bit by bit to the number both parties can work with, your employer will also feel like they are winning the negotiation.

Do not be difficult to deal with

Sometimes the best way to negotiate is to be flexible and let certain things that do not really mean that much to you go. A lot of people enter a negotiation with their mind completely made up, trying to slice off every morsel they can get.

If you are rude, uncompromising and difficult, you may feel like you won the negotiation but you will be entering a new relationship on the wrong foot.

A negotiation should leave all parties pleased with the outcome. l

Google yourself

This is the first and simplest step, and chances are you have already done it. This time, look at the search result from the recruiter’s perspective. Google your name to see what the recruiters will see, and clean up any negative digital footprint that you left behind.

Change your settings

Make your personal social media settings as strict as possible. Only your accepted friends should be able to see your posts, not friends of friends and certainly not any larger networks!

Are you the only you on the internet?

Find out if there’s some loudmouth somewhere on the Internet with the same name as you posting things you do not want to be associated with.

If there is, one way to overcome the problem could be by using your middle name, or initial or any slight variation in the name to set your profile apart.

'It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome.

That’s what defines your career.'

Carlton Fisk Retired Major League Baseball catcher

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Monday, July 14, 2014

‘No real mediation’ for Gaza ceasefire Iraq government

talks delayed again as fighting rages

n Al Jazeera, Tel Aviv, Israel As the Israeli army launched its first ground incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight on Sunday, and Israeli air strikes on the territory continue, talk of a mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains mired in uncertainty.

The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported on Saturday that Egypt was talking with another Arab state, “most probably Qatar,” about the terms of a ceasefire. Tony Blair, the Quartet envoy, arrived in Cairo on Saturday and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who warned against “further escalation” in Gaza.

But Egyptian and Palestinian sources have said that previous attempts at mediation have ended in failure.

“There were some initial attempts to calm things down, but the message from Hamas is that there’s no real mediation,” said Issandr El Amrani, the North Africa director at the International Crisis Group. “The players are not ready to do it.”

US President Barack Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and offered to help broker a truce, though the State Department clarified that it would not talk directly with Hamas, which Washington considers a terrorist organisation.

His message was undermined on Friday, though, when Dan Shapiro, the US ambassador in Tel Aviv, told Israeli Army Radio that Israel would enjoy American support “even if it decides” to launch a ground invasion.

Israeli officials maintain that any ceasefire is “up to Hamas,” and that they would be satisfied with a return to the ceasefire which ended Israel’s 2012 military offensive. But any concessions to Hamas will be a tough sell within Israel, after weeks of dire talk from officials about the need to destroy the group.

n Reuters, Baghdad

Palestinian families travel to a UN school in Gaza City to seek shelter after evacuating their homes north of the strip. Israeli marines mounted a first ground assault on Gaza, further escalating a deadly six-day offensive hours after the UN Security Council unanimously called for a ceasefire AFP Netanyahu, notably, toned down his rhetoric in a press conference on Friday evening, speaking only of the need to stop the rocket fire. “The military strikes will continue until we can be certain that the quiet has returned to Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu said. “I would like to make it clear that no terrorist target in the Gaza Strip is immune.”

In Gaza, Palestinians have demanded an end to Israel’s aerial bombings, as more than 165 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 1,000 more injured in six days of attacks.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the group

is demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners that were freed in a prisoner swap in 2011, but were subsequently rearrested.

But Naftali Bennett, the Israeli economy minister and a key member of Netanyahu’s coalition government, said last month that his party would oppose any more prisoner deals. “After 30 years, it’s clear that Israel should not release any more terrorists, in any situation, period,” he said.

Other Hamas prerequisites to reaching a truce are for Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and for Israel to abide by the 2012

ceasefire agreement, Abu Zuhri said.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday that the ceasefire terms are “more-or-less set,” and include a oneyear period of calm on both sides, and possibly, the presence of Palestinian Authority security forces in the Gaza Strip, manning the Rafah crossing with Egypt in coordination with European Union inspectors.

“The [talk] about efforts to broker a ceasefire come from Israeli sources only,” Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera, adding that media reports of a ceasefire are meant to distract international attention from the violence currently engulfing Gaza. l

Iraq’s parliament failed yesterday to break a damaging political deadlock which is holding up the formation of new government to tackle an Islamist-led insurgency raging less than 50 miles (80 km) from Baghdad.

After a brief session, parliamentary officials delayed until Tuesday their efforts to reach agreement between the country’s Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians on the posts of prime minister, president and parliamentary speaker.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose State of Law coalition is the largest individual list in parliament, is seeking a third term but faces opposition from Sunnis and Kurds who say he has ruled for the Shi’ite majority at the expense of minority communities. Even rival Shi’ite parties wish to unseat Maliki.

The political impasse has been given added urgency by the Islamist-led insurgency which swept through Sunni provinces of northern Iraq last month and was only stemmed within a hundred miles from the capital. The fall of northern Sunni cities has encouraged Maliki’s opponents to try to force his departure.

The disagreement over Maliki’s future appeared to be blocking progress on the other political posts.

Sunni politicians said the main Sunni bloc put forward Salim al-Jabouri, a moderate Islamist, as their candidate for parliamentary speaker, but accused Maliki of effectively torpedoing their proposal.

“We have presented our candidate for speaker and done what we should do,” said outgoing speaker Osama Nujaifi. “We hold the other blocs responsible for the delay.”

“Once we manage to complete the democratic process to form the government this would help to stop the great destruction happening in Iraq which is jeopardising the country’s unity.”

Iraq’s political elite are under pressure from the United States, the United Nations and Iraq’s own Shi’ite clerics to reach agreement so politicians can deal with the insurgency and prevent the country fragmenting on sectarian and ethnic lines.

The UN special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said the country could plunge into chaos if parliament fails to move forward on a government in Sunday’s session. Violent deaths last month reached more than 2,400 – a level comparable to the worst of the bloodshed seen during Iraq’s 20052008 sectarian war.

With politics in Baghdad paralysed, and Maliki continuing in a caretaker role, the fighting has raged on.

Sunni Islamist insurgents who control large parts of northern Iraq attacked a town north of Baghdad early on Sunday, seizing local government buildings, police and witnesses said.

They said militants in 50 to 60 vehicles stormed the town of Dhuluiya, about 70 km (45 miles) north of Baghdad at 3.30 am (0030 GMT), taking the mayor’s office and municipal council building and fighting to take control of the police station.

Insurgents led by the al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State seized swathes of Iraq’s northern provinces in a two-day offensive last month and have also consolidated their grip in western Iraq where they have been fighting since the start of the year. l

Russia threatens Ukraine after shell crosses border n Reuters, Moscow/Kiev Moscow threatened Kiev yesterday with “irreversible consequences” after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine, describing the incident in warlike terms as aggression that must be met with a response.

Although both sides have reported cross-border shootings in the past, the incident appears to be the first time Moscow has reported fatalities on its side of the border from the threemonth conflict which has killed hundreds of people in Ukraine.

Ukraine denied its forces had fired across the border and suggested such an attack could have been the work of rebels trying to provoke Moscow into intervening on their behalf. The rebels denied they were responsible.

The bellicose rhetorical response from Moscow raises the renewed prospect of overt Russian intervention, after weeks in which President Vladimir Putin had appeared intent on disengaging, pulling back tens of thousands of

troops he had massed at the frontier.

Russia sent Ukraine a note of protest describing the incident as “an aggressive act by the Ukrainian side against sovereign Russian territory and the citizens of the Russian Federation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement warning of “irreversible consequences.”

“This represents a qualitative escalation of the danger to our citizens, now even on our own territory. Of course this naturally cannot pass without a response,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Rossiya-24 state TV. “What has taken place once again reinforces the need for an urgent end to the bloodshed,” he added, calling for talks between “the sides in the conflict,” language Moscow uses to demand Kiev recognize the rebel leaders as legitimate interlocutors.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal case for murder after a shell landed in the yard of a house in a small town on the Russian side of the frontier. l

A house destroyed after bombardments carried out by Ukrainian armed forces in the village of Maryinka, 20 km southwest of Donetsk. Escalating clashes between pro-Kremlin separatists and Ukrainian forces yesterday killed 12 civilians and forced the new Western-backed leader to cancel a pivotal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin AFP

Pope promises ‘solutions’ to priestly celibacy

Sarkozy’s war with judges risks hurting French establishment

n AFP, Vatican City

n Reuters, Paris

Pope Francis promised “solutions” to the issue of priestly celibacy in an interview yesterday that raised the possibility the Catholic Church could eventually lift the interdiction on married priests.

Speaking to Italy’s La Repubblica daily, Francis also condemned child sex abuse as a “leprosy” in the Church and cited his aides as saying that “the level of paedophilia in the Church is at two percent.”

“That two percent includes priests and even bishops and cardinals,” he said.

Asked whether priests might one day be allowed to marry, Francis pointed out that celibacy was instituted “900 years after Our Lord’s death” and that clerics can marry in some Eastern Churches under Vatican tutelage.

“There definitely is a problem but it is not a major one. This needs time but there are solutions and I will find them,” Francis said, without giving further details.

The interview was the third in a series with the 90-year-old founder of the La Repubblica daily, Eugenio Scalfari, a famous journalist and known atheist. l

In accusing magistrates of persecuting him, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is taking on an old enemy in a fight that could hurt both politicians and judges, fuelling a sense of public disenchantment with France’s ruling elite.

Sarkozy’s hopes of winning back power suffered a heavy blow when, after 15 hours in police custody, he was placed under formal investigation on July 2, suspected of using his influence to gain details of a probe into his 2007 election campaign.

Now targeted directly or indirectly in six investigations, he has fought back with accusations that the magistrates leading the current case are pursuing a political vendetta against him.

It is a risky strategy, given that most French appear to be satisfied with the legal system and polls show two-thirds believe the conservative ex-president has been treated like any other accused.

Already the far-right National Front, which topped the polls in France at May’s elections to the European Parliament, is seeking to capitalise on the Sarkozy affair as further evidence of some-

thing rotten at the heart of the political establishment. Its leader Marine Le Pen has described Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party and President Francois Hollande’s ruling Socialists as “all corrupt.”

Eighty percent of Sarkozy supporters suspect political machinations in his latest case. But in a sign of shared concern about the risk of poisoning public trust, senior figures from both the UMP and the Socialists have cautioned against raising concerns about the integrity of the judiciary.

Familiar tactic

In portraying the legal system as broken, Sarkozy is borrowing a tactic used in the past by his rivals on the left. It harks back to a belief dating from the time of ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV that judges are subordinate to “the noble power,” in other words the executive, said Didier Rebut, a law professor at University of Pantheon-Assas in Paris.

Christophe Regnard, head of the USM judges’ union, said the justice system is an easy scapegoat for politicians from all camps “for pure political interest.”

“Now it’s the right attacking the jus-

tice system but a few years back it was the left,” he said.

The very fact that judges can join trade unions is a peculiarity of the system that makes them vulnerable to political attack.

Saying his arrest was driven by a “willingness to humiliate” him, Sarkozy questioned how it was fair that one of two judges in his case belonged to the left-leaning Syndicat de la Magistrature (SM), whose “political obsession is to destroy me.” He has shown no evidence of bias by the judge, and the SM union called his attack a classic diversionary tactic.

But colouring the affair is the fact that the SM, which represents 25% of judges, spoke out against Sarkozy during the campaign for the 2012 election, which he lost to Hollande. More compromising still was the discovery in its office last year of a “Wall of Idiots” photo collage of mostly right-leaning politicians, including Sarkozy.

“He could very well believe that he wasn’t judged purely on what he did, but also on who he is,” said law professor Rebut. “The fact that he could think that poses a problem.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

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Monday, July 14, 2014

P R O T E S T S A C R O S S A S I A A G A I N S T I S R A E L’ S M I L I TA R Y C A M PA I G N I N G A Z A 1

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(1) Members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party gather during a protest in Beirut along with Palestinians to demostrate against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. (2) Indonesian Muslims attend a rally to support Palestinians in Jakarta. (3) People protest in Hong Kong against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. (4) An Indian protestor holds a placard as he takes part in a rally against Israeli attacks on Gaza in New Delhi AFP

11 Afghan security force members killed in attacks n AP, Kabul Insurgent attacks across Afghanistan have killed 11 Afghan security force members, authorities said yesterday, as a suicide car bomb attack wounded three Nato troops.

The deadliest attacks happened overnight in Afghanistan’s eastern Laghman province, when insurgents raided Afghan police and army checkpoints in Aliangar district, said Sarhadi Zwak spokesman for the provincial governor. Zwak said the dead from the assault included six police officers and one soldier, while security forces killed 15 insurgents.

In the western province of Herat, insurgents attacked a police checkpoint early Sunday morning, killing one police officer, said Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. He said officers killed four insurgents in the assault in Shindand district.

An attack late Friday on another checkpoint in the district killed three police officers, he said.

Meanwhile in eastern Nangarhar province, authorities say a suicide car bomber wounded three Nato troops in an attack Saturday night in the province’s Behsud district. Nato said the attacker was killed and there were no other fatalities.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The violence comes during the Taliban’s annual spring offensive. They are trying to undermine the Western-backed government as foreign combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of the year. l

Indian sentenced for raping 12-yearold girl in UK n Agencies Two people, including a 29-year-old Indian-origin man, have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail for raping a 12-year-old girl in London.

Vinayak Rama and Reynold Carvalho have been jailed for raping the girl in a forest area in Leicester on October 1 last year.

Rama has been sentenced to 10 years and six months after admitting to two counts of rape and Carvalho has been jailed for eight years and three months after pleading guilty to one offence of rape, the Leicester Mercury reported.

Rama, who was a passenger in a car driven by Carvalho, persuaded the victim to get in the vehicle and raped her in a secluded wooded area.

Detective constable Helen Small, who investigated the case, said: “Rama and Carvalho enticed a young girl and took advantage of her vulnerability.”

During the court proceedings, the defendants said they did not know the girl was below the age of consent as the victim told them she was 17, the report said.

The prosecution contended that the girl did not consent but was compliant to what happened. l

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Afghan rivals clinch deal, easing political crisis The deal offers a path out of what threatened to be a debilitating political crisis for Afghanistan

n AP, Kabul Afghanistan’s two rival candidates have reached a breakthrough agreement to a complete audit of their contested presidential election and, whoever the victor, a national unity government.

The deal, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, offers a path out of what threatened to be a debilitating political crisis for Afghanistan, with both candidates claiming victory and talking of setting up competing governments.

Such a scenario could have dangerously split the fragile country’s government and security forces at a time the US is pulling out most of its troops and the Taliban continues to wage a fierce insurgency.

Instead, former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah agreed to abide by a 100%, internationally supervised audit of all 8 million ballots in the presidential election. They vowed to form a national unity government once the results are announced, presumably one that includes members of each side.

Kerry, who conducted shuttle diplomacy between the two candidates late into the night Friday and Saturday, warned that much work still remained.

“This will be still a difficult road because there are important obligations required and difficult decisions to be made,” Kerry told reporters after briefing Afghanistan’s current president, Hamid Karzai, shortly after midnight.

The audit, which comes after widespread fraud allegations, is expected to take several weeks, beginning with the

Afghan presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani (L) and Abdullah Abdullah hold hands during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry (Unseen) in Kabul AFP

In Malaysia, Islam’s legal advance divides families and nation n Reuters, Kuala Lumpur Deepa Subramaniam would not let go of her son, clinging to five-year-old Mithran’s leg even as the car into which he had been bundled began to accelerate.

The 30-year-old, a Hindu in Muslim-majority Malaysia, says she was dragged along the stone-strewn road outside her house until she dropped to the ground, scratched and sobbing, as her ex-husband drove off.

The alleged abduction on April 9, detailed by Subramaniam in a police report and witnessed by a neighbour, was a painful loss for the mother-oftwo, who has not seen Mithran since and fears her ex-spouse’s conversion to Islam will win him custody.

The case has become a focal point of tensions over the widening role of Islam, which critics say is threatening Malaysia’s secular core and exacerbating fraught relations between ethnic Malays, who are Muslims, and minority Chinese and Indians.

Subramaniam’s estranged spouse converted from Hinduism to Islam in 2012, after their nine-year marriage broke down, taking the name Izwan Abdullah. He then converted Mithran and their now eight-year-old daughter to Islam, giving him a strong case under Islamic law, or shariah, to take over

their custody - which a shariah court granted him five months later.

“In five minutes, the children read some verses and were converted,” said Subramaniam. “In 10 years, he never gave us money, he enjoyed his life and abandoned me countless times. Under what characteristic are they giving my children to him?”

Politicians and activists pushing for Islam to play a bigger role in society have been on the advance since a May 2013 election Subramaniam fought back, last year obtaining a court protection order based on her accounts of domestic violence and in April winning a high court ruling that dissolved their marriage and gave her custody of the children.

Secular or islamic?

In Subramaniam’s custody battle, and another similar case, Malaysia’s national police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, has declined to act on judges’ orders for children to be returned to their moth-

ers, citing competing orders from the civil courts and state shariah courts.

His stance has been backed by the home minister.

Legal experts say that is an unprecedented challenge to the secular courts’ authority. Politicians and activists pushing for Islam to play a bigger role in society have been on the advance since a May 2013 election that further polarised the nation and left the government more reliant on Malay and Islamic conservatives.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who casts himself globally as a leader of Islamic moderation, is accused by critics of failing to take a stand against emboldened Islamic officials and courts as he seeks to shore up his party’s core Malay vote.

Shariah courts operate at the state level and have been limited to Muslim family matters. Law experts say they had been recognised as subordinate to civil courts, but the legal lines have become blurred as shariah courts have expanded their powers in recent years to areas such as homosexuality and gambling.

“The civil courts have totally abdicated whenever there is a whiff of an Islamic issue,” said Shad Faruqi, a law professor at Malaysian university UiTM. “We are witnessing a situation where a silent re-writing of the constitution is taking place.” l

ballot boxes in the capital of Kabul.

Boxes from the provinces will be flown to the capital by helicopter by US and international forces and examined on a rolling basis. Representatives from each campaign as well as international observers will oversee the review, and the candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner and become president.

Both candidates agreed to respect the result, and the winner would immediately form a national unity government. The inauguration, which had been scheduled for Aug. 2, would be postponed, with Karzai staying on a little longer as president.

Abdullah said the election created “serious challenges.” But he praised Ahmadzai for working toward the accord on the the audit and the unity government.

Ahmadzai returned the compliments, lauding his competitor’s patriotism and commitment to a dialogue that promotes national unity.

“Stability is the desire of everyone,” Ahmadzai said. “Our aim is simple: We’ve committed to the most thorough audit” in history. Such a process would remove any ambiguity about the result, he added.

Abdullah and Ahmadzai spoke first in English, then in Dari. Ahmadzai also spoke in Pashto. When they were done, they shook hands and hugged. Kerry later joined them as they raised their arms in triumph hand-in-hand.

The announcement came as a relief to a country on edge and worried about how the election dispute would resolve itself. Both the full audit and the agree-

ment to form a unity government drew praise from television commentators immediately after the speeches.

The prolonged uncertainty about the outcome of the election had jeopardized a central plank of President Barack Obama’s strategy to leave behind a stable state after the withdrawal of most US troops at year’s end.

Preliminary runoff results, released earlier this week against US wishes, suggested a massive turnaround in favor ofAhmadzai, the onetime World Bank economist. He had lagged significantly behind Abdullah in first-round voting.

Abdullah, a top leader of the Northern Alliance that battled the Taliban before the US-led invasion in 2001, claimed massive ballot-stuffing. He was runner-up to Karzai in a fraud-riddled 2009 presidential vote before he pulled out of that runoff, and many of his supporters see him being cheated for a second time. Some, powerful warlords included, have spoken of establishing a “parallel government.”

Kerry and Karzai discussed the deal past midnight Saturday. When they emerged early Sunday, the Afghan leader endorsed the outcome.

Speaking alongside Karzai at the Presidential Palace, Kerry said the democracy springing up in Afghanistan “deserved its full bloom.” He offered robust US support to ensure the deal holds.

The UN chief in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, who will direct much of the technical aspects of the audit, delivered his strongest praise for Kerry. He said Kerry’s work wasn’t typical diplomacy but almost a “miracle.” l

In contested election, Indonesia’s democracy on the line n Reuters, Jakarta Indonesia’s young democracy faces its biggest challenge since emerging from decades of autocratic rule 16 years ago after both candidates claimed victory in last week’s presidential election.

It will be up to two key institutions, both with bruised reputations, to decide which of the two men who contested the July 9 poll has the right to move into the white-pillared presidential palace in central Jakarta and lead the world’s third biggest democracy for the next five years.

The first will be the Elections Commission, hit by graft charges in the past, and which is now in the process of checking the vote count before it announces the final result by July 22.

The camps of the rival candidates - Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and former general Prabowo Subianto - have made none-too-subtle suggestions that the other might cheat in the time it takes to declare the official result.

Despite the tensions, there has been no violence, although that is a worry.

Hundreds of people were killed in violence that swept the vast archipelago

when ironman ruler Suharto was ousted in 1998 after over three decades in office and a shaky but functioning democracy put in his place.

No presidential election, and this is only the third through direct voting, has been so close, or so bitter, since Indonesia declared independence in 1945. But officials and poll observers say it is not easy to cheat, given the institutional safeguards that have been built in.

“At the (village) level, that is the place where you can exercise the most effective fraud. It’s not easy because you have prominent pollsters saying what the result is,” one international election observer said, noting that there are five levels of vote tabulation from the village to national level. He declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Quick vote counts by private groups, which have proven very accurate in the past, put Jokowi ahead by around five points against Prabowo, although the former special forces general has rejected the tallies. “What’s clear is that seven credible pollsters have released their quick count results. That can be (used)...Even though it’s not official,” Jokowi told Reuters. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Monday, July 14, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

We need to pick up our money

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he delay in forming the National Designated Authorities (NDA), which would entitle Bangladesh to at least $1bn a year as compensation from developed countries under the Green Climate Fund, is particularly irresponsible, considering Bangladesh is among the countries that are most susceptible to the effects of climate change.

Developed countries are expected to donate $200bn to the fund by 2020. Any portion of that amount would be considerable support in preparing for the inevitable catastrophic consequences of global warming, so long as we are able to meet the required conditions including setting up the NDA. The Finance and Environment ministries are reportedly in a conflict over the matter, slowing things down further. Our bureaucrats must put their differences aside for the sake of the nation and work jointly towards a shared goal so that things can progress faster.

Rising sea levels, coupled with the growing population, can have undesirable effects on our food security and leave millions of citizens starved and homeless. In order to protect ourselves from impending hazards, Bangladesh needs to make solid investments in long-term adaptation.

This cannot be achieved depending on domestic resources alone. Our government has allowed lucrative opportunities to pass by in the past, but we cannot afford to lose this chance. We urge the authorities to get it together and waste no more time in forming the NDA.

To protect us from impending hazards, we need to make solid investments in long-term adaptation

Agitation not the answer

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e condemn the violence that took place between police and RMG workers recently at a number of spots in and around the capital when the latter protested their poor treatment at the hands of their employers. Despite repeated demands, the garment workers had not been paid their salaries the last three months.

Demanding their wages, and taking to the streets to protest is within the workers’ rights. Blocking the roads and halting traffic is not, and resorting to violence can never be condoned.

However, having said that, it was inappropriate and excessive for the police to retaliate with batons and tear gas canisters.

The show of hostility by both sides only served to exacerbate the traffic congestion in the area, and, worse, terrify the commuters and compromise their safety.

The apparel industry is wholly dependent on the labour of its largely young female workforce. These workers should be paid their dues, and are in the right to protest when they are not being paid.

Yet, despite any grievances RMG workers may have, resorting to destructive behaviour achieves nothing to further their legitimate concerns. Finally, there is no excuse for law enforcement authorities to use excessive force to manage such conflagrations. Violence is not the answer, on either side.

Resorting to destructive behaviour achieves nothing to further legitimate concerns

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

Bangladeshis can’t marry Rohingya refugees

July 11 to Chittagong). The Bangladeshi government Tafal should make a choice: Close the refugee camps The two groups (BNP/Jamaat and Rohingyas) and repatriate the refugees back to their home possess very similar mindsets. Both groups country, or close the camps and integrate the manifest a common brutal/savage propensity Rohingya into the local community (the UN can towards violence, killing and torturing all human provide extra support to the local community being within their vicinity. and monitor the process). In all cases, the INGOs should not be involved!

Vikram Khan Tafal: It is correct that Jamaat is cashing in Lalon Shah on the ongoing refugee crisis in the south of What a stupid way to solve the problem. First, it Bangladesh. But that’s not a new problem. The will be thrown out by any court with a modicum problem is the presence of INGOs pampering of independence, on the grounds of being the Rohingyas and pressing them hard (with unconstitutional, of contravening universal promises, excuses, and false stories about declaration of human rights, and perhaps Myanmar) to stay in Bangladesh. During the past of outright frivolity. Instead, how about the 20 years, INGOs and the government allegedly government tightens the borders, punishes earned billions of dollars because Rohingyas traffickers and starts an all-out diplomatic are taking shelter in Bangladesh. So nobody is offensive to have these guys repatriated? And, willing to solve this problem. And believe me, I as a nation we can show a little generosity to know what I’m talking about! these unfortunate people. To the well-meaning It’s a good initiative, because Rohingyas commentators, I say, take a deep breath and are illegal in Bangladesh. But, how will the reflect how a large proportion of our own folks government define who’s Rohingya and who’s were refugees during our war of independence. not?! By putting marks on them? Asking them to wear certain signs or clothes (like the Nazis did Vikram Khan with the Jews and others victims 70 years ago)?!

Lalon Shah: You’re correct about “show a little People are crossing the border in the south of generosity,” but do not forget that Bangladesh Bangladesh all the time. Rohingyas have family has been showing this generosity and hospitality and relatives in Bangladesh (and Bangladeshis towards the Rohingya refugees since 1992. have family in Myanmar). And we all know very That’s 22 years! This fact places the Rohingya well that the border control on the Bangladeshi issue in the top 10 of the longest refugee side is porous because of widespread corruption problems in the world. The reason why these (border guards, police, authorities, etc). unfortunate people cannot return to their home country is because of the unwillingness and Rodders stupidity of the governments, INGOs and UN Vikram Khan: Their distinctive accent might be a responsible to solve the problem. clue. Although, I suspect, it will only be effective with the newer refugees. As for those who are Osmania already married to Bangladeshis, well there is Ridiculous and racist decision. nothing we can actually do about it. This law is simply to stem the increasing flow of migrants deep purple blue who take the backdoor to citizenship.

Hasina’s family members can marry foreigners (her son can marry an Indian and then an Vikram Khan American, and her sister’s children are married to Rodders: People living in the far southern region foreigners too), so why wouldn’t we be allowed of Bangladesh all speak a similar dialect (you can to marry a Rohingya? Really stupid decision! find people speaking this dialect from Teknaf

Climate change

July 9

Alyson Interesting discussion piece! Great way to point out the achievements Bangladesh has made. Enforcement and compliance remain key to implementation strategies for promoting resiliency and recovery.

Emma Watson to visit Bangladesh July 9

Abrar Auditore Jahin Really? She’s going to come to Bangladesh?

When? *-*

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Bangladesh wins, again July 10

Fifi Imagine that! Bangladesh has got 99 problems, but for now, this isn’t one.

History hasn’t ended (yet)

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 8 represents N so fill N every time the figure 8 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

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

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Barrel maker (6) 4 Pull along (3) 7 Ooze out (5) 8 Tempt (6) 11 Blushing (3) 12 Courts (4) 13 Camera part (4) 15 Faint (5) 16 Competitor (5) 20 Quick (4) 23 Fruit (4) 24 Devoted follower (3) 25 Laid bare (6) 26 Fruit of the oak (5) 27 Lair (3) 28 Landed property (6)

DOWN 1 Masticates (5) 2 Malignant substance (7) 3 Stagger (4) 4 Rotate (4) 5 Lyric poems (4) 6 Marry (3) 9 Today (3) 10 Also (3) 14 Obvious (7) 17 Forefront (3) 18 Consumed (3) 19 Shelf-like formation (5) 20 Visage (4) 21 Soon (4) 22 Vocal sound (4) 24 Passing craze (3)

July 10

nds The people of this country have no aspiration for democracy. They have given it up, be sure of that. Their only aspiration now is to accumulate wealth and property, by any means, no matter under the framework of democracy or autocracy. For the time being, autocracy has been serving their interest better, so they are least bothered about democracy or anything else.

Khaleda vows to topple government after Eid July 10

Truth “Because of a huge number of Jamaat leaders and activists, there was a scarcity of iftar.”

If they cannot feed guests at their own iftar party, how do they plan on running a country?

PEANUTS

Tangled Abstract Fallacy This evil alliance of Jamaat/BNP has vowed to harness the principles of Al-Badr/Rajakar/ Anti-Liberation genocidal maniacs and psychopaths. The people will have to decide if they want an economically progressive and prosperous Bangladesh or if they want a land of terrorists, psychopaths, murdering maniacs, religious extremism, in essence, a rogue/failed state like Pakistan.

Guest Tangled Abstract Fallacy: I agree. Also, this evil alliance is responsible for the death of Harry Potters’ parents. By the way, the references to Pakistan are getting old. How about some other country that we can fall back on to fear-monger about BNP, like Mubarak-era Egypt, or Ben Ali-era Tunisia, or Ataturk-era Turkey, or Saddam-era Iraq etc?

Wait a minute, weren’t these leaders running their respective countries the same way AL is running Bangladesh today? My bad! Back to Pakistan it is.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

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Op-Ed T

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Monday, July 14, 2014

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A farmer called Amjad and our football

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n Towheed Feroze

f the main talk of the town was the World Cup final, then the 3.5km long German flag in rural Bangladesh was not far behind.

As the tension of the final escalated with people running to use prediction powers of an octopus or a camel to get an idea about who might win in the end – Germany or Argentina – Bangladesh, a small country, almost insignificant in the global football map, was also news, thanks to a villager called Amjad from Magura.

To cut a long story short, Amjad used medicine brought from Germany to treat an ailment and, after recovery, became a German football team fan for life. So much is his passion for the team that with the Germans reaching the finals this time, Amjad took his fervent support one degree forward, selling part of his land to sponsor the massive flag, which is possibly the largest fan flag of the German team.

If we are to get new football players, the focus must be in the villages and districts

Is that a record we are looking at? Surely! And, if in the finals the Germans come on top, then Amjad’s euphoria will be doubled. Already he is the talk of the country as German diplomats went to Magura to see this avid supporter and the fruit of his love.

All this is good and well publicised, but the interesting thing is that with people like Amjad and many others who could not pay for something spectacular but have followed their team’s progress with equal passion, the sport of the world has truly broken social barriers.

Several TV channels sponsored Farmers’ World Cup through games featuring Brazil and Argentina fans in

Another world record? the villages, providing live coverage.

The aim was to make football World Cup fever an inclusive joy, not confined within the cities. While the sole objective was to give a new dimension to the fun of the tournament, there is of course a profound impact which is not apparent immediately – the rejuvenation of football which, within the domestic circuit, is almost in a comatose state.

If football has to relive its lost excitement, then bringing Argentina and some other top team to Bangladesh for a friendly match won’t bring any results. Such extravaganza will only add to the bank balance of certain quarters, leaving our football where it is – in the rubbish bin. Just to share an interesting fact: During the second phase of the World Cup, local giants – Abahani and Mohammedan – faced each other in the domestic league in what was

DHAKA TRIBUNE

once called the Dhaka Derby.

This time there was a record in the match – less than 100 people were present. Goes to show where our game stands. Juxtapose this with the absurd observation made by some about the goal of Bangladesh to play in the 2022 World Cup. Of course the given rationale for such a lofty ambition was that if a goal is to be set then it has to be the World Cup. We say, even when goals are set, practical sense must not be abandoned in the heat of the moment.

An Indian football fan was asked recently about football in India along with future aspirations, when Atletico Kolkata, an Indian premier division football team co-owned by Sourav Ganguly, Sanjiv Goenka, and the Spanish La Liga’s Atletico Madrid was launched. He bluntly said India can only play if they host the World Cup because though India has won the

regional championship more than other teams, the Indian team cannot assert to be the best in South Asia anymore. Now that is the observation of a sensible person who understands the realities.

To be blunt, holding the Farmers’ World Cup in the villages by dividing Brazil and Argentina fans into two sides has done more to revive the interest in the game than many impetuous comments about how Bangladesh can come out of a rut.

Accept the reality – if we are to get new football players, then the focus must be in the villages and the districts because this game, which does not require too much money, is still the sport of choice in rural Bangladesh.

As it is, our parents in the cities never inspire their children who show sporting acumen to pursue sports as a career. That means many youngsters

who have potential plus the financial backing are forced to give up sports.

Then, there is the cricket mania which rightfully supersedes other sports because we play cricket with the best, often beating the top sides with ease. Stands to reason, those who decide to take up sports as a career will choose cricket over everything else.

One does not have to be a national team player, in current day cricket there’s enough money even in the first division teams, so a player can earn a healthy income by remaining the non-poster boy cricketer all his life.

In such a state, football stars of the future have to come from villages where cricket is still seen as a game involving expensive products. Amjad, the Farmer’s World Cup, and the special spotlight on football mania in rural Bangladesh will inject much needed fervour in the game, inspiring

some rural dreamer to seriously take up the sport.

However, the main drive must come from the football authorities, not the TV channels and the media. The media has shown the way by opening a new aspect of the game, the football bosses need to follow up on that. Take football to the districts and the corners of Bangladesh, carry out mass scouting, and bring out some potential players to be trained at BKSP. Don’t, for God’s sake, bring international teams for friendly matches to Bangladesh under the lame tagline – this will rejuvenate the game in the country. No, it will only fatten the bank balances of some already fatted cows while our football remains stuck in the mud. l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

The deadline was yesterday

On the way to sustainability

n Raihan Hadi

n Md Ashraful Alam Sagar

H

ow many of you feel that our country is very much in need of creating new sectors of business and that the timeline on this has been way overdue? Don’t you think that there are too many garment factories, banks, construction firms, and that it is enough now? Well, I believe so.

It has been a long time since we have been an independent country, and I am sure that we, as a nation and as individuals of this nation, have too much potential to just waste our lives on investing in already saturated and perfectly competitive markets.

Of course, we do a lot of research on different kinds of stuff, but how many people do you personally know who have the guts to think of something outside the box, and not just chase it somewhere abroad, but make it happen here? If you said “yes” in your head, I second you.

I may not be speaking with total expertise here, but I think we, as a still-developing nation, are becoming quite boring with our business ventures.

It is not that there are not enough diverse industries in our country, of course there are: Textiles, telecom, financial services (we are so full of these), shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, logistics, appliances, cement, chemicals, agribusiness, jute, leather, tea, food processing, fishing, natural gas, solar power, microfinance, glass, ceramics, light manufacturing, sporting goods, automotive industry, life sciences, software, social business, transport, construction, steel, shipping, and handicrafts.

Were you counting? I mentioned 31 of them, and some of them have already been diagnosed with terminal illnesses and are slowly approaching death. And in such cases, if you are still counting, you are not thinking like a true entrepreneur. And let’s not talk about our stock market just because some of us can.

We are a country full of people who have the potential of doing many

different jobs at once.

Even our children in the playgrounds don’t like sticking to one particular role. So, everyone learns to be a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, and a striker. And the same goes for cricket.

Now if I ask you to refocus the same perspective on our industrialists and entrepreneurs, then what would you see? Do you see people taking risks into new ventures a lot, or just investing into a market that is already up, running, and safe? I’m not David Copperfield and yet I can say you chose the latter.

and effort, I believe our country could nurture and grow entrepreneurs who would produce export-quality worldclass smartphones, automobiles, machineries, marine navigation equipments, and also divert into complex biological and chemical research that would in turn prove to be largely beneficial scientific discoveries from which Bangladesh would benefit at first.

It’s not that I don’t see the obvious problem here. Of course the major setback is that we don’t want to use products made in Bangladesh as often as we should. The attraction towards

We have been a developing nation far too long, despite the fact that we can do more than expected

Yes, of course we want assurance for our hard-earned money, but what do we do after we have earned enough to re-invest? We repeat the process, but we don’t create much.

When I see auto body-makerturned-celebrity Leepu in the social media launching his all-efficient superduper hybrid car, I feel extremely proud.

There are some others like Tahura Khanam and her husband and business partner Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan who run an industrial testing, inspection, and consultation services company and to my knowledge have also been awarded a Gold Award for their excellence in the field very recently by the International Arch of Europe. Does this not tell us that we are capable of reaching out of the orbit and create new ones?

I believe we lack both small-scale and industrial-level researchers and manufacturers of many tangible and intangible products that we could otherwise have done tremendous business with. If we give proper time

major name brands worldwide will always be a factor. But we must always remember that it is here in this country where the production of various international brand items started.

The face of the world trade scenario is changing fast and we have been a developing nation far too long, despite the fact that we can do more than expected. We need to create and enter new markets and make that a going concern so that the growth of our economy can be a continuous fact and not just a concept to run over during the annual budget speech.

Who knows, if we as a nation start playing the game right, it may not be long before we can actually become a developed country in the not so distant future. If you have a dream to innovate, please give it a shot and then ten more. You know that it’s worth it. l Raihan Hadi is Founder, Ideas for Bangladesh, and Senior Executive, Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

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ustainable development – “environmental, economic, and social well-being for today and tomorrow,” is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Both the Rio Declaration and Program of Action – acknowledged at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) respectively – have recognised the links between sustainable development and population dynamics.

Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world.

In response to a rapidly growing population, the country has achieved remarkable progress in meeting development goals and reducing the population growth rate to 1.37% from 3% in 1973. But, for the population momentum effect and social norms, Bangladesh will continue to have an increasingly growing population until 2050. It is predicted that only after 2050, the growth will be stable. It is estimated, by that time the population will reach about 250 million.

The population size and density of Bangladesh are creating immense pressure on every sector for which sustainability is not being ensured.

About 30% of the population live in extreme poverty with poor quality of life in slums, lack regular work and livelihood, and suffer from food insecurity and lack of access to potable water and basic public services. For improving the vulnerable condition of these people, measures are being taken to reduce poverty, create new employment, and ensure food security, for which economic output is gradually rising.

This rise in the economic output is increasing pressure on the limited natural resources, making it absolutely difficult to ensure the sustainable use of these limited resources to better the well-being of such a large and growing population. As a result, Bangladesh is

suffering from rapid land degradation, deforestation, water pollution and water shortages, wetland degradation, industrial pollution, air pollution, and many other problems. These problems are indiscriminate – affecting the most vulnerable and the most affluent within this country.

To address the increasing population and growing labour pool, more extractive and carbon-intensive industries are being set up which demand an increasing amount of raw materials including energy and minerals. To meet the ongoing acute energy crisis, more power plants are under way to set up without considering their negative impact on the environment.

The construction of a power plant near the world’s largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, is currently under way which lacks proper environmental impact assessment. The natural gas reserve of Bangladesh will meet the demand for only one more decade if new gas fields are not discovered. So, the population holds the responsibility for depleting the natural resource base of Bangladesh while degrading all elements of the environment through industrial pollution and increased consumption.

Another major challenge for maintaining such a large population is sourcing alternative fuel and building materials sources, while clearing more land for agriculture. Due to this, large-scale illegal deforestation has occurred over the last several decades, and forest coverage has shrunk to less than 10% of land mass. Now the annual deforestation rate is about 3.3% which is affecting every species and every eco-system of Bangladesh, and biodiversity and wildlife are at stake.

People are converting the forests into croplands, and this unsustainable pattern of agricultural production and forestry management are responsible for water depletion, soil degradation, and degradation of other natural resources. Moreover, the lack of forests means poorer air quality as there are fewer forests to absorb carbon dioxide and clean the surrounding polluted air.

The urban population in Bangladesh is growing at a faster rate. About 30% of the Dhaka city dwellers are living in over 1,200 slums. Rapid urbanisation is creating vulnerabilities for the population in all areas including health, resiliency, and human security.

Sustainable development is directly linked to population

Urban slum dwellers rarely enjoy any civic amenities or personal decencies such as housing, safe drinking water, gas, electricity, sanitation, transport, and health facilities. They are exposed to various pollutants, which are exacerbating many communicable and non-communicable health risks.

Sustainable development is directly linked to population in every way.

Population growth itself is a force in the development process that sometimes promotes development and sometimes hinders it. The present situation of Bangladesh reveals that population growth is posing a major threat for ensuring the sustainability of development activities and constraining all social, environmental, and economic resources.

Pursuit of higher economic growth to provide better livelihood and ensuring an improved standard of living of an increasingly growing population are creating a huge amount of pressure on the quickly disappearing natural resources of Bangladesh. This pressure on essential and irreplaceable natural resources is jeopardising the sustainability of the environment. l Md Ashraful Alam Sagar is Senior Assistant Coordinator in Business Development Department (Communication).

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Six leading actors turn ‘Pagol’ this Eid

Swagata in ten Eid dramas n Shadma Malik Winning the “Best Look” of “You Got The Look” in 2005, Swagata took things to the next level by trying her luck in modelling, anchoring TV shows and acting. A darling to the small screen audience, Swagata is now busy acting in single-episode dramas for this Eid. In a conversation with the Dhaka Tribune, Swagata shares her recent ventures: “Every actor long for Eid when he or she can explore diverse roles. Though it is very hard to manage the schedule accordingly, but the offers of experimenting with different types of characters are always alluring,” said Swagata.

“I am doing as many as ten single episode-dramas for Eid. Currently, I am busy shooting for these. The audience will get to see me in diverse roles from a village girl who is exploited by her husband to that of a cleaner, a role of great significance to me. I am working in another interesting drama starring only two people, me and Intekhab Dinar.”

The busy artiste will not have the opportunity to enjoy vacation even on Eid day. “During Eid, I will be in Qatar to anchor a celebrity award show organised by

Monday, July 14, 2014

n Entertainment Desk

Channel i,” she informs.

Swagata, ex-vocalist of Mohakal, talked about why the band split up recently.

“It has been ages since I last practised music. I was not being able to give enough time for the band which also had my siblings Sondhi and Shobbhota. However Sondhi founded another band and Shobbhota is also into music. Since I belong to a family with musical orientation, I can return to music anytime I want.”

Swagata has done a film of the late director Akhtaruzzaman, titled “Shuchona Rekhar Dikey.” The director was a teacher to her.

The shooting of the film finished in 2010 but for the sudden death of Akhtaruzzaman, the release was postponed.

Recently, the film got sponsorship and is in the pipeline for release.

About the film, the actor said: “I have portrayed a role of a journalist. After the partition, the Hindus went to Kolkata and the Muslims came to Bangladesh. I come to Bangladesh with my grandfather to delve deeper into the story behind the partition for an investigative report.”

She previously acted in films titled “Shotru Shotru Khela,” “Koti Takar Fokir,” “Phire Esho Behula” and a few others. l

A seven episode drama “Pagol” will showcase six leading actors of the country in seven obsessive roles. Mir Sabbir will don the “Pagol” avatar twice, once in the episode titled “Khela Pagol” and the second time in “Gari Pagol.” The episodes promise to be fulfilled hours for the humour loving audience. The first episode “Biye Pagol” features Nisho and Shokh who are desperate to get married. Actor Zahid Hasan, Shoshi, Shamim Zaman will be seen in “Bou Pagol,” the second episode.

“Prem Pagol,” will be aired on the third day with Mosharraf Karim, Bidya Sinha Mim, and Shamim Zaman in lead roles.

“Khela Pagol” featuring Mir Sabbir, Momo, Nisho, Kazi Ujjal and others will be seen the fol-

lowing day. Drama “Jamai Pagol” featuring Toukir Ahmed, Tarin Zaman and Chitrolekha Guho will air on the 5th day. “Boi Pagol” starring Anisur Rahman Milon and Kusum Sikder will telecast on the 6th day. The seven series drama will conclude with “Gari Pagol,” starring Mir Sabbir, Momo and Arfan. The TV play will be aired on the seven consecutive days of Eid at 7:50pm on RTV. l

TODAY IN DHAKA Film

Transformers: Age of Extinction (3D) Muppets Most Wanted

Time: 10am – 10pm Star Cineplex Noah 3D Godzilla 3D

Mr. Peabody and Sherman 3D Tarkaata Ami Shudhu Cheyechhi Tomay Time: 12:30pm – 9:30pm Blockbuster Cinemas

Exhibition

Urban Experiences Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge Gulshan Avenue

Troupe Theatre staged Meraj Fakirer Ma paying tribute to iconic playwright Abdullah Al Mamun on Saturday at Bangladesh Shilpakala Acdemy

FROM AKHRA TO FUSION: TRANSFORMATION OF BAUL MUSIC (PART-12)

Baul music from 70’s to the 90’s – heading for millennium challenges and new fusion genres n Maqsoodul Haque Bangladesh Rock Music (popularly called band music) was never lagging behind in its appreciation and performance of Baul music. Post 1971, among the five legends of Bangla rock such as Azam Khan, Ferdaus Waheed, Feroze Shai, Fakir Alamgir and Pilu Mumtaz the use of folk music motifs interspersed with Baul, Jari, Shari, Kirtan, Maizbhandari, Fakiri, Ma’arefoti and Deho Tottyo into their repertoire was the usual fare.

Yet when it came to presentation of Fakir Lalon Shah’s music – there were negligible efforts among the doyen’s of Bangla rock and there are no public records available of the same.

There were two clear reasons for their hesitation. One was, the Akhara-new instruments controversy was at its height among academics and intellectuals post the Liberation War, and contributed to distance them from Lalon. The other was after the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15th August 1975, military dictators and their ilk had undertaken a covert ‘Islamization’ agenda and anything that presented secular aspects of our culture, were either trivialized or completely ignored- if not totally banned. Media was at the mercy of our military masters, and Bauls were viewed with suspicion, their lyrics vetted, sometimes replaced with sectarian words, and their performances heavily regulated.

However there has always been a silver lining in our heavily darkened cultural cloud. As has happened in various stages of Bangladesh’s cultural history, whenever faced with stiff resistance or repression, exponents of our culture have always stepped back and re-strategised. The Bengali genes of resilience has always activated itself to carve out newer niches in its creative expression and those in turn has championed newer, more robust and progressive branching out of culture.

By 1990’s the typically cliche understanding of Bauls had to a great extent started to recede, with newer artist making their presence felt in both Radio and Television as well as live performances. The Government of Bangladesh regardless of whosoever was in power (including ruthless military dictators), never failed to accommodate Baul artist in any national level cultural delegations

abroad. Baul music spread to Europe, America, all of the Middle East and to South East Asia, and while they shared platforms with other musical genres of Bangladesh, they never failed to rock. In one such performance during an international music festival in the mid-70’s at Wembley Stadium in London, Kangalini Sufiya who was allotted to sing only one song, stole the limelight after tumultuous encores from a dancing and clapping Western audience compelled her to sing for over an hour

month. Although not always accurate in its presentation, many cinemas and TV drama serials of the time projected Bauls lifestyle, and in small dosages their philosophy. All these positive projections saw by early nineties Baul becoming a fashion and accessory statement with the famous international model and fashion designer Bibi Russell presenting her “gamcha” (thin cotton towels) line of dresses to a world audience. Bibi used Baul music during catwalks in international ramps.

SADIA MARIUM

Shakib Al Hasan and Shishir talk about their love life n Entertainment Desk

A special celebrity show “Star Night” will be aired on Maasranga during Eid. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will appear in the show accompanied by his wife Shishir and give the fans a glimpse into their personal life. The couple will share their stories, many of which have never been revealed before. They will also uncover the secret of their successful courtship which led them to tie the knot. The programme will include a video showcasing Shakib’s rise as an internationally renowned cricketer and clips of his personal life. l

Lone Ranger outfit auctioned at $195,000 n Entertainment Desk

Kangalini Sufiya is legendary for her mesmerising performance both at home and abroad in the classic Akhara tradition with minimal use of instruments!

The strength, energy and prowess of Baul artist such as Abdur Rahman Boyati, Kangalini Sufiya, Mumtaz Begum (now an elected MP in the Jatiyo Shangshad), Shah Abdul Karim, Shahjahan Munshi, Shahnaz Beli etc, made them sensations in their own rights. Over the years, Baul music could shed off its “palli geeti” or “moromi sangeet” tag and emerge as a potent independent genre, with the Government giving it the adequate importance and recognition it so badly deserved over centuries. It was perhaps at this point in our history, that folk musicians of all genres started claiming themselves Bauls.

By the mid 90’s the burgeoning cassette industry made Baul music of all traditions widely acceptable at all levels, and greatly enlarged urban listener’s base. Hundreds of Baul artists were recorded and their works distributed – with some topping sales in unbelievable figures. An album by Mujib Pardesi for instance sold an astronomical 10 million copies in six

What was a matter of great pride was given all that was happening around Baul music and their controversial and unorthodox lifestyle was a progressive movement among the educated and informed young in major urban centers all across Bangladesh. The important social indicator for this trend was the deepening political divides and the incessant attempts at per force “Islamisation” that has seen the dangerous rise of religious bigotry at all ends of our sociopolitical spectrum. Under the circumstances, disenchanted citizens specially the young found their answer and solace in Lalon, and the two yearly festivals surrounding the great Sage today witnesses hundred upon thousand and ever growing number of new seekers from cities converging at his Shrine, with many preferring as in the ancient times - to go under the tutelage of a Baul Guru. l Maqsoodul Haque is a jazz-rock fusion musician and cultural researcher who is writing a series on the transformation of Baul music.

The western-style outfit actor Clayton Moore wore for appearances as the mysterious, masked Lone Ranger after portraying the character on the popular TV series sold for $195,000 at auction on Saturday, the auction house said.

Moore made many public appearances as the justice-seeking masked lawman after leaving the popular “Lone Ranger” television show that ran from 1949 to 1957 on the ABC network.

“The Lone Ranger” ensemble of matching light blue shirt and pants, a red kerchief, Stetson hat, cowboy boots and a belt holster that holds two custom-made Colt pistols, was sold to an undisclosed buyer by Waco, Texas-based auction house A & S Auction Co. The outfit fetched $45,000 more than its top-end pre-sale estimate of $150,000.

The family of late Waco businessman Bob Davis, an avid collector of Old West and Texas memorabilia, offered the outfit for sale, A & S owner and auctioneer Scott Franks said. Davis initially bought the Lone Ranger outfit for more than $100,000 at an auction in California after Moore’s death in 1999. It had remained in the Davis family since then, according to Davis’ son, Earl Davis.

“He was a big fan of the Lone Ranger and watched the show when it originally ran,” Earl Davis told Reuters. “He really wanted it so he got into a bidding war to buy it.”

“The Lone Ranger” character debuted in a radio show in 1933 before the introduction of television. l

JK Rowling releases new Harry Potter story n Entertainment Desk After news broke last week that JK Rowling had released a new short story that gave readers a glimpse into Harry Potter’s life now that he’s all grown up, the author followed it up with another column about Harry, Hermione, Ron, their children, and the goings-on at a very important quidditch match.

The column is written from the point of view of Rita Skeeter, but Ginny Potter (former Weasley) is on hand to make sure that the tabloid journalist does not write in anything too crazy.

Of course, even with Ginny’s help, Skeeter can’t be stopped. She writes about how badly Percy looks, spills the beans on George Weasley’s relationship and basically libels and slanders all the luminaries of the wizarding world.

It’s a fantastic read if you’re interested in what happened to Harry and the gang once they all grew up, but even if you don’t care so much for their adventures, the twist ending is worth it alone. l

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, July 14, 2014

First Test drawn after Binny’s maiden 50

Yin and Yang

n Reuters, Nottingham

Test debutant Stuart Binny scored his first half-century for India to frustrate England’s seamers and help the visitors draw the opening Test on the fifth and final day at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

The visitors recovered from losing three early wickets in the morning, plus Ravindra Jadeja then falling after lunch, to reach 347 for eight at tea after Binny finally went for 78, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (31) and Ishant Sharma (5) unbeaten.

India had a lead of 308 and with only 31 overs remaining, an England victory in the first of the five-match series seemed highly unlikely.

The Nottingham ground has not hosted a drawn test match since 2002, when England and India played out another draw, but a stubborn 91 partnership between Binny and Kumar ended hopes that the hosts could force the win after a good morning’s work.

Stuart Broad took the wickets of Virat Kohli (eight) and Ajinkya Rahane (24) early in the day as he found reverse swing on an overcast day.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was then bowled by Liam Plunkett for just 11 as the momentum swung to the hosts.

Jadeja stemmed the tide of wickets as he laboured to 31 but after lunch he edged James Anderson through to wicket-keeper Matt Prior.

Part-time spinner Moen Ali followed his two wickets from the previous day when he trapped Binny lbw but not before the batsman ensured a memorable first appearance.

England are chasing their first win in nine test matches and the first of coach Peter Moores’ second spell in charge, while India have not won a test away from home since 2011. l

And some pain to boot

BRIEF SCORE, DAY 5

Now to the Final. Word limits are cruel so I will give only three reasons why Argentina and Germany deserve to win. Let’s start with La Albiceleste.

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England First Innings 496 all out

some of the pretenders who had the temerity to don the glorious yellow. In a gesture of touching magnanimity, Kaka was there in person to wish his brothers well before the first game.

The gentleman deserved one last hurrah on the biggest stage.

Given that the reader will be reading this after the final has been played, it seems pointless to write about the third place game.

Not talking about the horror that visited at least 33% of our football fans, however, is like ignoring a fairly enormous pachyderm doing the samba in my living room. Some pains have no alleviation, so I won’t even try to make the Selecao feel better. Instead I am going to provide some catharsis and rub it in. Here are three reasons why Brazil’s ignominy was a good thing:

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India First Innings 457 all out

India 2nd Innings 391/9 in 123 overs S Binny 78, Pujara 55; M Ali 3-105 Match drawn

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Bread and circus. Let me first say that I am someone who enjoys both my bread and my circus, in copious amounts. Still, the sheer magnitude of misdirection that the Brazilian government tried to perpetrate through this tournament was just wrong. If Brazil had won the tournament, the economic problems caused by the huge expenditure in the World Cup would have been largely glossed over.

Now the government actually has to stand up and be accountable.

BCB. As Bangladeshi cricket lovers, we are very familiar with a sports governing body that tries to cover up failures in athletic development with grandiose events. We can host the world cup but cannot develop a team that can play well in it. End of the day, there are many countries that can host a World Cup but few that can play football in the spectacular way that Brazilians are capable of. Perhaps, now they can focus on bringing back the beautiful game and entertaining us the way once used to.

Kaka and Ronaldinho. At least one of these two legendary figures deserved a spot on the Brazilian squad. Diminished as their once mighty powers are, they would still play better than

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The game is not played on paper.

On spec the Argentines look like a highly inferior squad. Despite the protestations of the 80 million Argentine fans in Bangladesh, Messi is actually not equivalent to 11 Mullers.

But that is why the game is so great. 11 well-drilled players, through the sheer force of will, can emerge victorious against much more fancied opponents.

The Bangladeshi economy needs to survive. The humiliation of Brazil has already left one third of our economy being run by demotivated agents. If Argentina loses tonight, we will have the gloomiest run up to Eid in recent memory. There is a lot of iftar left to be made, and a lot of kurtas left to be bought. The country cannot afford to have all its heads down right now.

The last Liverpudlian standing. If Argentina win, then Mascherano will have played a massive role. Football fans, and particularly Argentine fans, should not forget that Mascherano last played as a defensive midfielder in Liverpool. So he learned all the good things he is doing right now at Anfield.

If anything Barca eroded his abilities by playing him in central defense.

Mascherano and Argentina’s glory will therefore obviously be Liverpool’s

Chris Gayle of Jamaica Tallawahs scored the Caribbean Premier League’s first ever century with 111 not out off 63 balls against St Lucia Zouks at Grenada on Saturday CRICINFO

credit. You are most welcome.

And finally Ze Germans, and why they deserve the big ball and stem of pure gold.

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Idiotic Hitler comments. I have grown sick and tired of people calling Germany Hitler’s team. The squad features three Muslim players, and one player of African origin. Hitler would have at least five cardiac arrests seeing these four playing for his beloved fatherland.

So please lets dispense with the Adolf references.

Philipp’s moment. In the unending discussions about the most important players in the World, Philipp Lahm’s name is invariably ignored. This is cruel. Lahm has arguably been the most consistently important player in not only for Germany’s but also Bayern’s recent dominance.

Everyone is screaming hoarse about Messi’s moment. I want to make the case for Philipp. A player that has proudly led his team to three major Semi-finals, and his club to multiple silverware surely deserves to win the biggest prize as much as anyone else.

There won’t be only one little genius playing tonight.

O jogo bonito. The traditional definition of the beautiful game is one where a team plays as a whole. It is about eleven players moving together, scoring together, and defending together. It is a game where each player is capable of the spectacular, and yet plays as a minor piece of a larger more brilliant whole. It is a game where goals can come from anywhere. Germany has played this game consistently since 2006. If anyone deserves the cup for playing beautifully, it is Lahm and his boys. l

Bangladesh fan unfurls 3.5 km German flag n AFP, Dhaka Germany has honoured a Bangladesh farmer and diehard fan for making a 3.5-kilometre-long (2.2 mile) flag of the country in support of Philipp Lahm’s World Cup team, officials said Sunday.

The massive flag was on display Saturday at a stadium in the western town of Magura, which the German charge d’affaires, Ferdinand von Weyhe, visited to pay tribute to the farmer.

“The 3.5-kilometre-long German flag circled the stadium four times and hundreds of people have turned up to see this amazing sight,” said Ishrat Hossain, a German embassy spokeswoman.

She said Von Weyhe handed the farmer, 65-year-old Amjad Hossain, a life membership of the official fan club of the German national team, a football, a team jersey and a certificate of appreciation.

The farmer told AFP he became a

German fan out of gratitude after he recovered from a gallbladder stone by taking homeopathic medicine made in Germany.

“I started making the flag after the 2006 World Cup in Germany. It was extended in the 2010 World Cup and in this World Cup I added more cloth. It’s now 3.5 kilometre long,” Hossain said Hossain, an impoverished farmer, said he sold a piece of farmland to help pay for the flag which cost 240,000 taka ($3,000).

“The flag will be a success if Germany win the World Cup,” he said.

Most Bangladeshis are fervent supporters of South American giants Brazil and Argentina and the flags of the two nations fly over many houses.

The South Asian nation got hooked on them in 1982 when television began broadcasting World Cup matches live nationwide.

Germany meet Argentina in the final starting 4:00 pm Sunday (1900 GMT).l

WC IN BANGLADESH PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

Send us your photographs to WorldCupBD@dhakatribune.com

In this photograph taken on Saturday and released by the German Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladeshi residents stand alongside a large German flag displayed at a stadium in Magura. Germany has honoured a Bangladesh farmer and diehard fan for making a 3.5-kilometre-long (2.2 mile) flag of the country in support of Philipp Lahm’s World Cup team, officials said AFP

Brazil press wants coach out after ‘knockout’ n AFP, Rio de Janeiro

MOST LIKED PHOTO OF JULY 13 PROBIR BIDHAN Dhaka

For more info visit our FB event page ‘World Cup in Bangladesh’ Photography Contest

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has to be sacked the Brazilian media said on Sunday after the national team’s disastrous World Cup campaign ended in a “knock-out” and “new humiliation.”

O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper’s headline lamented the “Melancholic Goodbye,” capturing the national mood after Brazil lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in Saturday’s third-place playoff.

The newspaper’s World Cup section decried the “new humiliation” just days after the 7-1 semi-final defeat against Germany, Brazil’s worst loss in its 100-year footballing history.

With the headline “Knockout,” Folha de Sao Paulo’s Cup page ran a picture of Brazil defender David Luiz lying on the pitch with his hands around his head.

“Considered favorites for the title by Felipao (Scolari), the team finish fourth after losing again to a first-rate rival; the coach should not be kept at the

helm,” Folha said.

Several newspapers also highlighted the fact that goalkeeper Julio Cesar had conceded 18 goals in 12 games over two World Cups – he had however been hailed as a hero only a fortnight ago

for saving Brazil in the last 16 penalty shootout win over Chile.

Despite the team’s disastrous campaign, Brazil’s football confederation (CBF) have yet to decide on 65-year-old Scolari’s future.

After Saturday’s game, Scolari, who coached the 2002 World Cup-winning team, said it was up to CBF president Jose Maria Marinto to decide whether he stays on.

O Dia newspaper was clear about what it wants: “Felipao Out.” The newspaper’s sports section asked “Coach? What Coach?” next to a picture of Brazil’s injured star Neymar whispering instructions to captain Thiago Silva during the game.

“Yesterday the players on the substitutes bench appeared to be the ones guiding the team,” the daily said.

The sports daily Lance said CBF’s president and number two, Marco Polo Del Nero, should both go too.

Lance columnist Luiz Fernando Gomes concluded: “Out Marin! Out Del Nero!” l

ICC bans Senanayake n AFP, Colombo Sri Lanka’s off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake has been banned from international cricket with immediate effect after his bowling action during a match against England proved illegal, it was announced Saturday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) which investigated a complaint following Sri Lanka’s victory over England at the Lords in May concluded that he used a “an illegal bowling action,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.

Senanayake, 29, who twice recorded career-best figures in the Royal London series, was reported by umpires Ian Gould and Marais Erasmus during a One-Day International series that Sri Lanka won.

“The Standard ICC Illegal Action Testing Protocol was used to assess the degree of elbow extension from the point of upper arm horizontal to ball release within the bowling action,” SLC said.

“The 15-degree elbow extension threshold was exceeded in the four deliveries considered to be suspect in the 4th ODI played at Lords. l

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Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, July 14, 2014

Brazil booed as Netherlands claim third n AFP, Brasília

Brazil’s miserable World Cup campaign ended in a chorus of boos on Saturday as the hosts slumped to a 3-0 defeat against the Netherlands in the third place playoff match.

A penalty from Robin van Persie and a Daley Blind strike saw the Dutch take a 2-0 lead after only 17 minutes as Brazil endured more woe after their humiliating 7-1 semi-final rout by Germany.

Once again Brazil’s defence was hopelessly exposed, with the first Dutch goal coming when van Persie sent Arjen Robben racing in behind them.

Thiago Silva tugged the Bayern Munich star over and although the foul began outside the penalty area, Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi pointed to the spot. Silva meanwhile was lucky to escape with only a yellow card.

Brazil’s defence was scattered once more in the 17th minute.

Daryl Janmaat crossed from the right and David Luiz’s poor headed clearance fell to Blind who finished for his first international goal.

Georginio Wijnaldum added a late third for the Dutch to trigger more jeers and catcalls for the hosts.

The defeat marks the first time since 1974 that Brazil have lost consecutive World Cup matches.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose contract was to be reviewed at

the end of the World Cup, refused to discuss his future.

The defeat comes with Brazilian fans already dreading the nightmare scenario of Argentina lifting the World Cup in Sunday’s final against Germany at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian authorities are preparing their biggest ever security operation for the final with nearly 25,800 police, soldiers and private security guards on duty in the city and at the stadium.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, whose country will host the 2018 World Cup finals, will join Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff at the Germany-Argentina match. Ukraine leader Petro Poroshenko had also planned to attend before withdrawing early Sunday saying it would be “impossible.”

About 100,000 Argentine fans are expected to invade the city, even though most do not have tickets.

“We have from today the biggest security operation that the city, the country, has ever seen,” said Rio state security secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame.

In a bid to avoid violence, bars around the Maracana stadium will be ordered to stop selling alcohol two hours before Sunday’s match. Police blockades around the stadium were being put in place on Saturday night.

Rousseff basked in the glow of what has been a largely trouble-free tournament. l

Brazil’s defender and captain Thiago Silva (R) fouls Netherlands’ forward Arjen Robben during their third place play-off football match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at the National Stadium in Brasilia on Saturday AFP

WC disaster leaves Scolari reputation tainted Silva apologises after

n AFP, Brasília Luiz Felipe Scolari may have been the coach when Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, but his name will now forever be associated with failure and the worst result in the country’s footballing history.

The 65-year-old knew he was put-

ting his legendary status on the line when he agreed to replace the sacked Mano Menezes in late 2012 and lead the Selecao into the World Cup on home soil.

“The players know they will have to win the World Cup. We can’t play a tournament in Brazil and think that second place will do,” he said in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian late last year.

He exuded confidence that Brazil could go all the way right up until last Tuesday’s shattering 7-1 semi-final defeat at the hands of Germany, a reverse that broke numerous unwanted records.

The 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands that followed in Saturday’s third-place play-off in Brasilia ensured that the hosts’ campaign ended in more disappointment.

But Scolari insists that the Selecao’s performance on home soil should be viewed in a positive light, and claims that he had no choice but to talk up his team’s chances going into the competition.

“I said in 2002 that if we finished in the first four we would be satisfied - but that was in Korea and Japan,” he

said. “We are in Brazil. If I said that this time I would be finished before I even started.

“I see the positive side. Since we were last champions in 2002, this is the first time we have finished in the top four,” he added, while continuing to proclaim the merits of his side, pointing above all to their triumph in last year’s Confederations Cup. Having previously claimed that his team could win the World Cup, now he insists that he has brought on a young team that will stand Brazil in good stead when the 2018 tournament comes around in Russia.

But the reality is that only five of this year’s squad - Oscar, Paulinho, Willian, Bernard and Neymar - will still be aged under 30 by then.

- Position untenable? And Scolari will surely not be there.

His contract is now up, but he has left a decision over his future in the hands of those in charge at the Brazilian Football Confederation, current president Jose Maria Marin and the future boss Marco Polo Del Nero.

It has been suggested that they will ask Scolari to remain in charge at least until the end of the year to help Bra-

zil prepare for the 2015 Copa America, with Del Nero this week telling newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo: “For me, he stays.”

However, Scolari’s position seems untenable after the way they capitulated against Germany and Holland.

His sides have in the past been based on a solid defence, but Brazil finish this World Cup having let in 14 goals, the most of any team at the competition since Belgium in 1986 and the most ever by a host nation.

At the time of his appointment there was something of a clamour for Brazil to turn to Pep Guardiola, who was a free agent, but the response to Scolari’s spectacular failure could be to look abroad this time.

Scolari, though, dismisses suggestions that he has been left behind tactically by modern European counterparts.

“When I won the Confederations Cup were people saying a European needed to come in and change things?

“It is nothing to do with coaches, or directors. Our team has had some difficulties. This group was very good in the Confederations Cup and was very good until the semi-final,” he said. l

latest Brazil loss n AFP, Brasilia Brazil captain Thiago Silva issued an apology on behalf of his team after their World Cup campaign ended with a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Saturday’s third-place play-off in Brasilia.

MATCH STATS Goals scored Total shots Shots on target Corners Offsides Fouls committed Yellow cards Red cards Ball possession

Brazil 0 11 5 4 1 16 3 0 57%

Ned 3 8 5 1 2 20 2 0 43%

“It is a moment of great sadness, because we tried everything and didn’t get the outcome we dreamed of. It is difficult to go home and say to your family: ‘Sorry, I didn’t manage it’”, he said after the defeat to the Dutch,

which came just four days after their 7-1 demolition at the hands of Germany in the semi-finals.

“It is difficult, because we have to lift our heads and cool down a little.

Psychologically everyone is down, but I think life has to go on. Life does not end here.”

He was fortunate not to be shown a straight red card by the Algerian referee, but saw Robin van Persie net from the spot to set Holland on their way to a convincing victory.

“I can only apologise to the people.

The switch-off against Germany really aggravated the end of our World Cup. Today’s (Saturday’s) defeat was definitely a consequence of what happened in the last match.”

However, he added: “There were lots of positives, not everything was a disaster.

“But we need to evolve, yes, tactically, technically, physically, to have success in the future. It seems as if 2018 (the next World Cup in Russia) is a long way away, but the journey will begin soon.” l

New loss disgusts fans n AFP, Brasilia

Brazil’s fans react after the third place play-off football match against Netherlands during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at the National Stadium in Brasilia on Saturday AFP

Brazilians fans shook their heads in disgust Saturday as their team ended a disastrous World Cup campaign with a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third-place playoff.

And their nightmare may not even be over: Their arch-rivals Argentina will play Germany in Sunday’s final in Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana Stadium, prompting many to support the European team that humiliated Brazil 7-1 just days ago.

Vinicius Costacurta, who traveled from Sao Paulo to attend the thirdplace game in Brasilia, left with his head down, reeling from another embarrassing loss.

“I couldn’t take it. That’s 10 goals in two games. It’s very frustrating for a team that won five titles,” said Costacurta, who wore Brazil’s jersey and painted his face in the country’s yellow and green colors.

Some Brazilians were so angry after the loss to Germany that they wore the orange Dutch jersey.

“I was supporting Holland. Our team is useless,” said businessman Diogo Chaer.

The defeat to Germany was decried as an embarrassment that eclipsed Brazil’s traumatic defeat at home to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final.

In Rio, fans began to leave a public screening on the legendary Copacabana Beach before the game was even over.

Thousands had attended the official Fan Fest, hoping for Brazil to salvage some sense of pride, but they watched in despair at another defeat.

“I’m off to another party. Dreadful match,” said Francisco Ramos, a 21-yearold soldier wearing a Brazil jersey.

Eduarda Alves, a 16-year-old wearing a shirt decorated with Brazil’s flag, walked away with two friends.

“We’re sad because the Cup is in Brazil and we finished in fourth place,” she said.

Others stayed until the bitter end.

Leonel Freitas, 25, and his sister Marina, 21, raised their hands in desperation when the Dutch scored a third goal at the end.

“The national team needs renovation. It relies too much on Neymar,” said Leonel, an industrial planning assistant, referring to the star forward who missed the last two games after breaking a vertebra in the quarter-final against Colombia.

The siblings, like many Brazilians, will cheer for Germany on Sunday even though the Europeans handed the Selecao the biggest defeat of its 100-year history.

“I will never support Argentina. Argentina can never win in Brazil,” Leonel said.

Julius Miranda, a 32-year-old government worker in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, danced on the beach with the Brazilian flag wrapped around him like a cape.l

Julio Cesar admits Brazil career is over n AFP, Brasilia Goalkeeper Julio Cesar admitted on Saturday that his international career is over after Brazil’s World Cup campaign ended in disappointment.

“This is probably my last World Cup. To play at the Copa America in 2015, at the age of 35, would be quite complicated,” he said after Brazil’s 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third-place playoff in Brasilia. To go to that Copa America without having the 2018 World Cup in mind would be selfish on my part.”

Cesar could do little to help his side in last Tuesday’s 7-1 semi-final hammering at the hands of Germany.

“It is a sad moment for Brazilian football. Now I think it is time to relax and try to forget about all of this.

“The time has come for other goalkeepers and I think Brazil has seven or eight who are quite capable of pulling on the national jersey,” he said.l

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, July 14, 2014

Van Gaal says success based on Dutch way with novel tweak n Reuters, Brasilia Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal said his team’s run to third place at the World Cup was proof that there was more than one “Dutch” way of playing the game.

Van Gaal’s side played a more defensive, containing style than that preferred by many Dutch coaches.

“We were able to show a kind of football that is rather novel, in the Netherlands at least, with players who cooperate so well,” Van Gaal said after ending his World Cup with a 3-0 win over hosts Brazil on Saturday.

“A coach has to work based on the quality of his squad and it worked out apart from the fact that we are not world champions but really we were very, very close.”

The Dutch dream of winning the World Cup for the first time ended with a semi-final defeat on penalties to Argentina in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

Van Gaal will now take over as manager of Manchester United while former Real Madrid and South Korea coach Guus Hiddink will take over the Dutch team for the second time ahead of the Euro 2016 qualification campaign.

“The next coach of the team, I heard him say he wants the Dutch way of playing football. I have always played the Dutch way and I also gave it something else,” said Van Gaal.

“Perhaps this will open everyone’s eyes in the Netherlands and make people realise that there’s not just one system,” he added.

Van Gaal repeated his view that the third place game was unfair given that Brazil had an extra day to prepare for the fixture.

“This match should never have been played. It was played under unequal conditions and FIFA should ask themselves whether they should always give the host country the advantage,” he said.

“It’s not easy to build up the squad in three days and Brazil had four days which is a big difference and I think we played a fantastic match under the circumstances.”

Dutch winger Arjen Robben, the team’s most dangerous player throughout the tournament, said there was no doubt that the Netherlands had surpassed expectations.

“Nobody expected us to be in the last four. We fully deserved this third place the way we played this tournament,” he said.

The 30-year-old Robben declined to discuss whether he had now played his final World Cup game or would be back for Russia 2018.

“It’s four years away, still a very long time so we’ll have to wait and see. As long as I enjoy it and the body functions well I will continue playing for the national teams because it’s a big honour.”l

WORLD CUP IN NUMBERS

A

The continent’s four teams failed to grab a win in Brazil, the first time Asia has gone without a victory at a World Cup since 1990 when United Arab Emirates and South Korea each lost all three group games. Australia, Korea, Japan and Iran managed only three draws between them and all finished bottom of their respective groups.

B

Bite

Uruguay forward Luis Suarez was slapped with a World Cup record four month ban from football and suspended for nine international matches after sinking his teeth into the shoulder of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez initially denied the bite, before backtracking and apologising after FIFA’s punishment. The fallout made it one of the most talked about incidents in Brazil, with everyone from pundits to presidents offering their opinion.

C

Cash

Ghana’s players wanted their appearance fees for playing in the World Cup right away so President John Mahama flew millions of dollars to Brasilia in order to appease the squad hours before their make-or-break clash with Portugal.

Pictured kissing the stacks of cash upon its arrival, Ghana’s players lost to the Portuguese and exited at the group stage.

D

Dilma

The on-field action in Brazil was amongst the best ever but the problems surrounding the organisation of the tournament were not forgotten. Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, along with FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, were routinely booed when shown in the crowd at matches, with many Brazilians angered by their government’s extravagant World Cup spending of more than $11 billion at a time when the country’s economy is sagging and public services are in dire need of investment.

E

Embarrassment

A World Cup record defeat, a first loss in a competitive home match in 39 years, it was not meant to end like this for pre-tournament favourites Brazil.

The 7-1 semi-final mauling suffered in Belo Horizonte at the hands of Germany plunged a nation into mourning and quickly led to calls for an overhaul of the domestic game.

F

Fans

The empty stadiums of the South African World Cup four years ago were never going to be repeated with fans flocking from all over the world to watch the action in Brazil.

The majority seemed to come from Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Brazilians also turned out en masse to grab a glimpse of any of the 32 competitors making the 2014 tournament the second most popular in history based on average attendances.

G

Goals, goals and goals

The group stages were full of them. The knockout stages less so but still the attacking mindset of the 32 teams resulted in 167 goals prior to the final two matches. Four short of the record 171 scored in France in 1998.

H

Hands of Howard

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard made a World Cup record 16 saves in their last-16 clash with Belgium.

It was not enough, though, as Belgium prevailed 2-1 in extra time.

I

Invasions

Fans managed to escape security and run on to the pitch in the group match between Germany and Ghana and the last-16 clash involving the United States and Belgium, while an estimated 200 Chilean fans burst into the media centre at the Maracana Stadium before their win over Spain.

3

The Netherlands have beaten no nation in World Cup football more often than Brazil

2

Brazil have lost two consecutive World Cup games for first time since 1974 (0-2 v NED and 0-1 v POL)

91.9

Arjen Robben completed 91.9% of his 37 passes vs Brazil, the highest percentage of all Dutch players Netherlands are the second team at the 2014 World Cup to use all three goalkeepers along with Potugal

23

The Netherlands have used 23 players this World Cup, the most for a single squad in one World Cup ever

2

Jasper Cillesen is the first goalkeeper to be subbed off two times in the history of the World Cup

15

Belgium (15) in 1986 were the last team to concede 14 or more goal in a World Cup before Brazil (14)

1

Brazil playmaker Oscar has picked up the first yellow card for simulation in World Cup 2014

2

Brazil have lost two consecutive matches on home soil for the first time since 1940; (0-3 v ARG and 3-4 v URU in 1940)

100

Brazil have now conceded 100 goals in the World Cup

7

All 7 of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s WC appearence have been as a sub. No player of any nation has made more without starting a game.

Robin van Persie of the Netherlands celebrates after scoring a goal against Brazil during their 2014 World Cup third-place playoff at the Brasilia national stadium in Brasilia on Saturday REUTERS

n Reuters

Abysmal Asia

14

Brazil have conceded 14 goals at the 2014 World Cup, their worst record in a single edition

3

Robben rules out joining Manchester United

(L-R) Netherlands’ coach Louis van Gaal, Arjen Robben and Nigel de Jong celebrate at the end of the third place play-off match against Brazil on Saturday AFP

15

Netherlands striker Arjen Robben will stay with Bayern Munich rather than taking the opportunity to follow national coach Louis van Gaal to Manchester United, he has told Dutch television station NOS. The Dutch dream of winning the World Cup for the first time ended with a semi-final defeat on penalties to Argentina in Sao Paulo. They defeated hosts Brazil 3-0 on Saturday in a playoff for third place.

Van Gaal will now take over as manager of United while former Real Madrid and South Korea coach Guus Hiddink will take over the Dutch team for the second time ahead of the Euro 2016 qualification campaign.

“I have a special bond with him,” Robben, one of the stars of the Dutch campaign in Brazil, said of the veteran coach. “He is the most important coach in my career. After the match he did ask me to come to Manchester.”

It was not clear how serious the offer was, but Robben, who could be seen laughing while speaking about it, added: “It is not an option. I will stay at Bayern Munich.”

Robben, who scored 3 goals in the WC, was in superb form in Brazil and is on the short list for the “Golden Ball” award presented to the tournament’s best player.

United were on the verge of signing him from PSV Eindhoven in 2004, when he met then manager Alex Ferguson, but the Dutch club said the offer was too low and Robben joined Chelsea. l

A-Z OF WORLD CUP

J

James Rodriguez

The baby-faced Colombian attacker made himself a household name all over the world after his brilliant displays and six goals in their run to a first quarter-final appearance. A mazy run and dinked effort against Japan was bettered by a sensational chest, swivel and volley from 25 metres in the last- 16 win over Uruguay.

K

Klose

The ageing Miroslav Klose scored his 16th World Cup goal to surpass former Brazil striker Ronaldo’s record of 15.

The German striker, who drew level with Ronaldo with an effort against Ghana in group play, took the record by scoring the second in the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the semi-final.

L

Lotto

The relatively small Italian kit maker managed to muscle out some of the major brands in Brazil thanks to Costa Rica’s unlikely run to a first quarter-final.

Sales of the Ticos’ shirt rose 20-fold after they topped Group D by beating Uruguay and Italy and then edging Greece on penalties in the last 16.

M

Memes

Social media and the World Cup were as intertwined like never before. After Arjen Robben’s theatrics led to a late penalty against Mexico in the round of 16, fans posted various memes of the Dutch winger lifting an Oscar for Best Actor, competing in Olympic diving, and plunging arms-flailing off the cliffs of Acapulco. Uruguay striker Suarez also received the same treatment after his bite, with pictures posted depicting him wearing a dog-cone round his neck, a Dracula outfit, or a Hannibal Lecter mask.

N

Neymar It was all going so well for the Brazilian number 10 who delivered

four goals in four games under the huge weight of expectation from a nation demanding a sixth World Cup win and first on home soil. But his tournament ended at the last-eight stage when he suffered a cracked vertebra after a heavy challenge against the Colombians. His injury led to his team mates wearing ‘Forza Neymar’ caps before the semi-final with defender David Luiz holding aloft the striker’s number 10 shirt before kick off. It did them no good, though, as Germany smashed them 7-1.

O

Oldest

Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon became the oldest player to take part in a World Cup when the 43-year-old came off the bench in the South Americans’ 4-1 win over Japan in Group C.

P

Penalties

A record-equalling four matches were settled by penalties in Brazil with Costa Rican enjoying the ecstasy of winning a shootout against Greece to make a first quarter-final only to lose to the Dutch the same way. Keylor Navas was arguably the goalkeeper of the tournament for Costa Rica but he could not match the two saves by Dutch shootout specialist, Tim Krul, who came on specifically for the spot-kicks as the Europeans advanced.

Q

Queen kiss

Mario Balotelli, whose goal helped Italy beat England, said he would aid out his beaten foe by delivering a victory against Costa Rica in their next match. All the striker wanted in a return was a kiss from the British monarch for his efforts.

Unfortunately, the former Manchester City striker failed to keep up his end of the bargain as Italy lost the match and England were eliminated.

LVG looks to replicate Dutch success with United n AFP, Brasília Louis van Gaal is hoping he can replicate the team spirit that took the Netherlands to third place at the World Cup when he arrives at Manchester United.

The Dutchman will take over as manager at Old Trafford with the challenge of getting the English giants back on track after a difficult last season under David Moyes that was marred by rumours of dressing-room unrest.

But the 62-year-old should command the immediate respect of the United dressing room thanks to the Netherlands’ excellent showing in Brazil, due in large part to the team spirit that he forged.

His decision to hand goalkeeper Mi-

R

Recife rain

Torrential rain in the north-eastern Brazilian city led to talk of the Group G decider between the U.S. and Germany being postponed. Long tailbacks were seen on roads leading to the Pernambuco arena on the outskirts of the city with fans wading through waste-deep water to watch the game which Germany won.

Pre-match warm-ups for both teams were disrupted because of concerns about the pitch, with players forced to sprint and stretch behind the goal-lines in order to preserve the surface.

S

Spain

They arrived in Brazil with ambitions of successfully defending the title they won four years ago and winning a fourth consecutive major championship, but exited the World Cup embarrassingly early following a 5-1 defeat by the Dutch and a 2-0 loss to Chile in their opening matches.

T

Technology

Goal-line technology made its World Cup debut with France the first team to be indebted to it when Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares knocked a rebound from the crossbar over the line before scrambling it clear. Once upon a time Valladares would have got away with it but thanks to German company GoalControl that will no longer be the case.

U

Under arrest

A Rio court approved the detention of a chief executive of a Swiss hospitality company and 10 other suspects, who are believed to have run a scalping ring for World Cup tickets originally allocated to soccer federations and other VIPs. Ray Whelan, of MATCH Services, was briefly arrested earlier in the week and released pending a court order. MATCH, which has denied any wrong doing, is the main provider of hospitality packages for the World

chel Vorm a late appearance as a substitute in Saturday’s 3-0 third-place playoff win against Brazil in Brasilia means all 23 members of the Dutch squad played some part at the tournament.

“There will always be a place in my heart for these 23 players,” said van Gaal, who will be replaced as Dutch coach by the returning Guus Hiddink.

“My players were great. I hope that the group in Manchester will become like this one because we have to read from the same hymn sheet. I hope I can get them to do that there. I just hope that at Manchester United I can do my best. Whether that’s enough for the fans, we’ll have to wait and see, but I genuinely hope that will be the case.” l

Cup and paid $240 million for the exclusive rights to sell corporate hospitality at the 2010 World Cup and this one.

V

Vanishing spray

Another World Cup debutant in Brazil. Referees have been reaching for their canister to spray the white foam on the ground around the ball at a free kick and also 10 yards - or 9.15 meters away to ensure no defenders encroach.

W

Water breaks

Searing temperatures and midday kick-offs caused players t wilt in the heat and FIFA approving the first water break. It came after 30 minutes in the Netherlands’ 2-1 win over Mexico in the Last 16 in Fortaleza.

X

Xherdan Shaqiri

Dubbed the ‘Alpine Messi’ in some quarters, the Swiss midfielder scored a hat-trick in the Group E win over Honduras. It was the 50th treble in World Cup history and the second of the tournament after Thomas Mueller’s trio for Germany in their 4-0 opening win over Portugal.

Y

Yuichi Nishimura

The Japanese referee was at the centre of the first officiating controversy of the World Cup when he awarded hosts Brazil a penalty in their Group A clash with Croatia. The match was level at 1-1 when Fred hit the turf theatrically with Nishimura pointing straight to the spot and leaving Croatia coach Nico Kovac fuming.

Z

Zuniga

Colombian defender Juan Zuniga became public enemy number one in Brazil when he carelessly thrusted his knee into the back of the hosts’ talisman Neymar, who suffered a cracked vertebra and was ruled out of the World Cup. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, July 14, 2014 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 16, 2014

13 BD fan unfurls 3.5 km German flag

14 Brazil booed as Dutch claim third

Sport

15 Success based on Dutch way: LVG

Colombian pop star Shakira, center in red, performs during the closing ceremony before the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil yesterday

AP

Brazil at an all-time low Disgarce, humiliation and dejection are the three words that will be the perfect synonyms to describe the status of the Brazilian team that finished at an all-time low at their own backyard. Following the unprecedented 7-1 abjection at the hands of Germany, Brazil lost 3-0 in the third-place de-

cider against the Netherlands, the first instance in 40 years when the Selacao lost two consecutive matches at home.

It was a pity to see all the Brazilians boycotting the match as Bras, the biggest market in Sao Paulo. Although the market kept on buzzing as the match started, people paid little attraction to the game. It was totally a different scenario altogether when the World Cup started. The roads were deserted, the pubs were full of yellow and green jerseys and parties took place after every match. On Saturday, when Brazil were playing against the Netherlands, it was not the same.

The shops were open, the roadside

cafes had little audience although the television was showing the game and when Brazil conceded the first goal some people let out screams of dejection in favour of the Netherlands. No one even bothered to counter them.

It was not the way Brazil wanted to finish the World Cup as Ramires said in the mixed zone at the Brasilia Stadium.

Ramires apologised to his countrymen for the disappointing campaign in the tournament.

“We were disappointed to have ended this way but we have to try to put the head in place and have peace of mind with our families. What we ask is sorry to the fans who supported us

even today on the way to the stadium,” said Ramires.

“We came from a big defeat, which nobody expected. Today we went from the beginning trying to win to clinch third place but it was not our day. We created chances and tried to play well but we lost. Do not have to say anything more. We need to see what went wrong to improve in the future but it is true that this will mark us for the rest of our lives,” admitted Ramires.

According to Aristotle, tragedy led to catharsis, a great emotion deeply rooted in the heart. Brazil will now look forward to propel themselves in 2018 and they have a hell lot of work to do. l

FLOPS OF THE TOURNAMENT GOALKEEPER

CENTRE BACK

LEFT BACK

Shinji Kagawa (Japan)

Iker Casillas (Spain)

Pepe (Portugal)

Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Cameroon)

Kept his place ahead of Pepe Reina and David de Gea despite no longer being automatic first choice at Real Madrid. He began with a nightmare performance in the 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands and produced another blunder in the 2-0 loss to Chile when he punched a free kick straight to Charles Aranguiz who scored the South Americans’ second goal. Left Brazil with his reputation in ruins.

The controversial Real Madrid defender got himself sent off before halftime in the opening 4-0 defeat by Germany for pushing his head into Thomas Mueller as the forward sat on the ground. Banned for the next game against the United States, Pepe returned for the final match against Ghana but the damage was done and although Portugal beat the African side 2-1, their star-studded team failed to make the last 16.

Made headlines when he incredibly attempted to heat-butt team mate Benjamin Moukandjo late in the 4-0 defeat

by Croatia. French sports daily L’Equipe reported that the bust-up continued in the tunnel after the game with Assou-Ekotto throwing a water bottle at his team mate.

He was dropped for the following game against Brazil.

A shadow of the livewire player who helped Borussia Dortmund win two successive Bundesliga titles, Kagawa was substituted late in the game against Ivory Coast and dropped altogether against Greece. He said he had “lost the battle with myself” against the Ivorians.

RIGHT BACK Dani Alves (Brazil)

Sergio Ramos (Spain)

The Barcelona player left so much space down Brazil’s right flank that it was dubbed “Dani Alves Avenue” by local media. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari eventually lost patience and brought in Maicon to try and plug the gaping hole in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but with no success.

The World Cup seemed to be a bridge too far for Ramos after his exertions in helping Real Madrid win the Champions League. Sank without trace as Spain were utterly overrun and humiliated in their 5-1 defeat against the Netherlands, from which they never recovered.

MIDFIELD Eden Hazard (Belgium) Supposedly the pick of Belgium’s so-called “golden generation”, Hazard performed one of the most impressive disappearing acts at the tournament.

The low point was his utterly ineffective performance in the quarter-final defeat by Argentina which led him to being hauled off near the end.

Alex Song (Cameroon) After his uncle Rigobert Song was sent off in both the 1994 and 1998, Song kept up the family tradition when a senseless elbow in the back of Mario Mandzukic earned him a first-half sending off against Croatia. Trailing 1-0 at the time, Cameroon crashed to a 4-0 defeat and were eliminated after two games. Song, who apologised for what he described as a blunder, was banned for three internationals by FIFA.

CENTRE FORWARD Fred (Brazil) Following in the footsteps of Jairzinho, Careca, Romario, Bebeto and Ronaldo was never going to be easy, and Fred never came close.

Arguably the least effective Brazil striker since Serginho in 1982, he managed a meagre one goal and was singled out for vicious jeering by the crowd during the semi-final drubbing by Germany.

Mario Balotelli (Italy) Having scored the winner against England, “Supermario” followed up with two ineffective performances in losses to Costa Rica and Uruguay.

He missed two good early chances against the Central Americans which could have sent Italy’s campaign in a completely

different direction. The maverick striker did not help his cause by filling a Panini album with stickers of himself after the England game and posting a photograph of it on his Facebook page. Daniele De Rossi said after Italy’s elimination: “We need real men, not Panini stickers or characters.”

FORWARD Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Suffered tendonitis in his left knee shortly before the tournament and never lived up to his world player of the year status.

Although he got precious little support from a thoroughly mediocre Portugal team, Ronaldo did not help his cause by the manner in which he continually remonstrated with his team mates.

He scored the winner in their final match against Ghana but Portugal’s hopes of getting the big win they needed to qualify had already been scuppered when Ronaldo missed a sequence of excellent chances in the second half. l Reuters

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B3 After decades of dis-

B4 Karl Marx was right - at

appointment, Berlin’s economy looks up

least about one thing

MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

BASIC cared no credit rules An audit report finds 13 gross anomalies in the bank’s three branches Reza Chowdhury and n Kamran Asif Showkat Kallol BASIC Bank’s three branches didn’t follow any due process in giving out loans to big borrowers who later turned defaulters, said an audit report.

The report which was submitted to the parliamentary standing committee on public undertakings past week found 13 gross irregularities in lending process during last five years.

The irregularities even include giving loans to clients who had not filed any application in designated form and Know Your Client or KYC form.

M/S Aziz Halim Chowdhury, a chartered accountant firm, conducted functional audit of the state-run bank hit by large loan scams totalling Tk4,500 crore.

The irregularities took place in the bank’s Gulshan, Dilkusha and Shantinagar branches.

M Aslam Alam, Secretary to the Banking and Finance Division, said the new board of directors of BASIC Bank would be responsible for recovering

Tk4,500 crore from defaulters.

The BASIC Bank gave loans amounting to over Tk456 crore and over Tk498 crore in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

The amount shot up to over Tk881 crore the next year and grew to Tk1,965 crore in 2012, according to the report.

In 2013, the bank made loans amounting to over Tk2,305 crore to 23 firms which is five time higher than the amount in five years ago.

The report said branches’ credit committees did not care about the consequence of lending to “unknown clients” which were later approved by the board of directors of BASIC Bank.

As the credit committees approved, the board of directors of BASIC Bank also endorsed the faulty credit proposals, it said.

The bank also accepted forged documents from third parties as collateral for approving big loans.

The authorities of the branches gave loans without examining the clients’ business experience and repayment capacity.

Officials didn’t visit the clients’ busi-

SHEER IRREGULARITIES IN THE STATE-RUN BANK Borrowers got loans with no application Clients didn’t sign credit security form The bank and clients filled in credit security forms with pencil Lands purchased with the loans and later the land was showed as collateral for further loans TIN certificates collected after releasing loans ness centres before approval.

The updated CIB information from Bangladesh Bank was not taken in most cases, the report also mentioned.

BASIC Bank branches provided loans to unknown clients through open current accounts in the branches within short time without securitizing client loan proposals and in some cases branches provided loans just in a single day.

According to the report, the three branches also didn’t meet the conditions of loan approval letters.

n Jebun Nesa Alo

No collateral deposits were also made in the branches for the loans violating the credit distribution policy of BASIC Bank.

In some cases, the head office and branches collected clients’ TIN certificates after giving loans.

Some clients purchased lands with the loans although the loans were taken for business. Later, the land was showed as collateral for further loans.

The report said the credit security form was not singed by the clients.

The bank branches and in some cases the clients even filled in the forms with pencil.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith recently told the Parliament that: “What is going on at BASIC Bank is robbery.”

BASIC Bank Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu, during whose time the irregularities happened, finally resigned on July 2 after fierce criticisms from different sections.

On July 6, the bank’s board of directors was dissolved and Alauddin was made new chairman. l

BO accounts rise 11% in FY14

New monetary policy may focus on credit flow, investment n Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh Bank (BB) is preparing the new monetary policy statement (MPS) with special focus on some measures for increasing credit flow and spurring local and foreign investment.

The new MPS for the first half of the current 2014-15 financial year (FY15) would be announced later this month, reports BSS. “There will be some measures to cut lending rate to create more demand for credit in the market,” a central bank official told BSS. Accordingly, he said the interest on bank’s deposit would also be reduced to protect the interest of both the people and banking sector.

The central bank in its two past MPS kept private sector credit growth to 16.5 percent to manage inflation at a comfortable level, which had been soaring due to high food prices. The inflation at the end of June dropped to a 17-month low of 6.97, creating the scoop of credit expansion particularly to the productive sectors.

The central bank, however, would prefer small and medium enterprises and similar sectors for credit expansion so money circulation on the market would not increase from non-productive spending, the BB official said.

Besides, the central bank is expecting that the current trend of export and import would also help increase credit flow to private sector in the coming days.

The official said that the new MPS would have some measures to create scope of offering incentives to encourage both local and foreign investment.

Economists, think-tanks and development partners earlier cautioned that the economy in the next few years would bump into some major challenges. Among the challenges is driving forward the country’s industrial sector by continuously attracting domestic and foreign investment.

Keeping in mind the long term goal of mobilizing investment from internal and external sources, the next MPS would propose incentive measures for investment in the productive sector, but with a balanced approach so the incentives would not hinder the growth of existing industries, the official said. l

n Tribune Business Desk

IPO’s of the companies, waiting to be listed with the bourses.

The small investors are investing in the primary market as the IPOs helped themto make a quick profit without any risk of loss.

Number of new investors (BO Accounts) has been increased due to the rise in the issuance of new IPOsas small investors always prefer to participate in IPOs for making profits without any risk, Ahmed Rashid Lali, former DSE vice-president, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“As the omnibus accounts were closed, the omnibus account holders are also needed to open new accounts, which ultimately led toan increase in BO accounts,” Ahmed explained further.

“Since the market has witnessed its worst-ever price correction after the debacle in 2010, accounts of a group of investors have become negative and they are unable trade on their pre-

vious accounts,” said Akter Hossain Sannamat, managing director of Union Capital.

To remain active on the trading floor and to make fresh investments, those investors had to open new accounts, whichalso helped to increase the overall BO accounts, he added.

“To make a second source of my earnings, I have decided to invest in the primary market as it is risk-free and needs small amount of money,” said Rezaul Karim, an office assistant at a private bank in Motijheel, who has recently opened a new BO account.

According to DSE, a total of 10 companies were listed in the last fiscal year, while 10 other companies are waiting to be listed with the bourses as they had already offloaded shares through IPO and some of them opted to offload as they got nod from the regulator to go public. l

Dimitris Pikrodimitris took out a mortgage four years ago when he was drawing an annual income of 27,000 euros ($36,720).

But the economy quickly sank into a debt crisis, forcing Greeks to tighten their belts and driving the insurance agent’s wages down to just 6,500 euros last year.

“I have difficulty even making

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday said the country would see a breakthrough in the tourism sector by next year as the government is going to take programmes to attract more foreign tourists.

“We’ll try to make a break-through in the country’s tourism sector by next year … our efforts will be to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP from 2.1% now,” he told a discussion on “Development of Southern Part and Tourism Industry” at a hotel in the capital.

Barisal Division Development Forum (BDDF) arranged the seminar.

Dhaka city president of Workers’ Party Abul Hossain presided over the function while lawmaker Sheikh Tipu Sultan, Professor of Dhaka University Dr Sikdar Hedayet Khan and central committee members of the party addressed, reports BSS. Tourism development activist Ziaul Haque Hawlader presented the keynote paper on the problems and prospects of tourism industry.

Menon, who is the president of and Workers’ Party, said Barisal division is still deprived of development compared to other divisions in the country.

He favoured projecting Barisal’s unique potentials before all to lift the division out of the deprivation.

Listing the government’s various development projects, he said a number of mega infrastructure projects in

the list have specially been designed for Barisal division.

He said Kuakata Watch Tower would be set up through Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Besides, he said, steps have also been taken to set up worldclass motels there aimed at utilising untapped potentials in Barisal.

“We want to bring more tourists in Bangladesh’s attractive tourist destinations. one tourist create jobs for three people,” said Menon.

Referring to Malaysia and Maldives, he said these Muslin countries have developed a lot in the tourism sector but Bangladesh is lagging behind despite existence of untapped tourist resources. l

Women micro entrepreneurs declining gradually n Afrose Jahan Chaity

The country has been witnessing a gradual decline in women micro-entrepreneurs as their percentage had fallen to 13.25% in the last two years from 43.37% some ten years back, mostly due to social-cultural aspects.

The observation was unveiled by a report – Economic Justice for Women – jointly conducted by Steps Towards Development and World Vision at CIRDAP auditorium in the capital yesterday.

The report also observed that social-cultural aspects place barriers before women entrepreneurs to work full time at their business, while patriarchal social norms force them to ensure timely procurement of inputs. The report also shows how mobile phone

Guests at the launching of a report on ‘Economic Justice for Women’ in Dhaka yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

technology for communication and financial transactions made significant positive impact on women’ participation to the economy.

The study documented interviews

of a total of 83 women small business owners and 119 labourers, which consisted of 51 males and 68 females, in eight different locations in eight districts of the country to analyse access

Greece battles to defuse ticking debt bomb n AFP, Athens

If a detailed investigation into BASIC Bank irregularities is not undertaken, the bank’s former chairman will remain immune from any legal action, said a senior central bank official.

“Someone who was very tactful in bringing out bank’s money can avoid justice and put himself in a safe side,” feared Bangladesh Bank Executive Director S M Moniruzzaman.

He was addressing a press conference yesterday after a meeting with the new board of directors in BASIC Bank.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman chaired the meeting. The government appointed Alauddin A Majid as new chairman of BASIC Bank after the resignation of former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu.

S M Moniruzzaman said the central bank cannot undertake special investigation into the alleged irregularities of the bank’s board and its chairman.

A report on the irregularities that took place in the bank during past several years was presented to the new chairman and recommended taking action plans to restore confidence of the clients.

Moniruzzaman said the chairman was not the only person as he had no absolute power to bring out money from the bank without help of the CEO or the office staff.

“We have asked the new board to identify the corrupt officials who were dependable person of the former chairman and managing director and then take punitive actions against them.”

“The central bank will send further reports of corruption held in the bank to the Anti-Corruption Commission. If ACC initiates deep investigation, all the irregularities against the chairman will be unearthed.”

Moniruzzaman said the anti-graft body could judge the irregularities held in the bank in a wide range as it has relevant laws for taking actions, but the central bank has some limitations in this regard. Moniruzzaman said: “We have asked the new board to submit a recovery plan of the bank to the central bank by Monday (today).”

The new chairman urged to soften conditions in the memorandum of understanding and the governor ensured him to do it if they could show efficiency in recovering the bank’s financial health. l

Breakthrough in tourism by next year: Menon

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Opening of the new beneficiary owners’ (BO) accounts witnessed 10.68% rise in the just concluded financial year (2013-14) thanks to the rise in the initial public offerings (IPOs).

According to Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL), a total of 5.33 lakh BO accounts were opened in the last fiscal year. The total number of BO accounts attached with the CDBL now stands at 55.27 lakh, of which 25.69 lakh has been remained suspended.

Meanwhile, the number of accounts in operation rose to 29.58 lakh, which is 11.83% higher compared to 26.45 lakh of the previous fiscal year 2012-13.

Stockbrokers and merchant bankers have also welcomed the new investors as they believe that it would help make the capital market vibrant.

“It’s a good sign for the country’s stock markets as the new investors are coming up with new funds,” said a stock broker while commenting on the rise in opening new BO accounts.

He also observed that the stock market regulator should allow more IPOs to attract more investors in the stock market.

According to BSEC source, there are about 40 companies, which had, earlier, submitted IPO proposal to the BSEC to go public.

Stock brokers have categorically alleged that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) are making unusual delay in approving the

BB for deeper probe into BASIC ex-chair

basic expenses. I haven’t paid the loan for the last two years,” Pikrodimitris told AFP. The number of defaulting debtors like Pikrodimitris is growing in Greece, and experts are warning that the situation could blow up and smash hopes the country can finally emerge from a crippling sixyear recession this year.

Greece’s central bank said that non-performing loans - loans for

which debtors have failed to make payments for more than 90 days are currently worth 77bn euros.

“Managing non-performing loans is a key challenge for banks,” Yannis Stournaras, a former finance minister who is now the Bank of Greece chief, told parliament last month.

Repayment has stalled on around 30% of mortgages and business loans, and around 50% of consumer loans, says Victor Tsiafou-

tis, a lawyer offering guidance to debtors at Athens-based consumer group Ekpizo.

“This is a bomb that is going to blow (and cause) a breakdown in the bank system,” Tsiafoutis said.

“Imagine a default of 70bn euros.

Who is going to pay this money?”

Greece’s central bank said the rate of non-performing loans has risen to 33.5% at the end of March from 32% last year. l

to market, fair wage and property right from a woman’s perspective.

The survey further showed that of the 202 respondents, only 29% women had private property either through inheritance and/ or through purchase, 20% women had no property where 1% had their own property but not under their disposal. The survey also showed wage discrimination based on gender where 32% of the women received less then Tk100 per day, 61% received Tk100 to Tk200 and only 7% received Tk200 to Tk400, when 56% men received Tk200 to Tk400 for the same work.

“It is hard for the government to change the total mentality towards women immediately. Women accept whatever happens with them and are not clearly aware of their rights. Due to

religious fears, they opt not to fight for their rights. So, we also have to work on this issue,” said State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki.

Other speakers at the programme emphasised on security at workplaces, declaration of the National Minimum Wage to reduce gender-based wage discrimination and reducing household work burdens for women so that they can participate in economic development.

Chhobi Biswas MP, Ain O Shalish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad President Ayesha Khanom, Professor M M Akash, Economist Harun Rashid, and representatives from different organisations also addressed the programme, among others. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSEX falls for 9th straight session n

Stocks continued to decline amid volatility yesterday with the benchmark index DSEX falling for the ninth consecutive session – longest losing streak this year.

Factors like long bearish trend, sluggish sentiment during the month of Ramadan and possible political chaos after Eid are responsible for it, dealers say.

The benchmark DSEX lost 19 points or 0.5% to end at 4,344 – lowest since June 19 this year.

The Shariah Index DSES was down 6 points to 990. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,595, shedding 9 points or 0.6%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, fell 34 points to 8,293.

All the major sectors closed in red with non-banking financial institutions and telecommunications losing highest more than 1% each.

Power, pharmaceuticals, banks and, food and allied edged down.

Lackluster trading continued to hit the market as trading at DSE plunged to Tk150 crore, which was the lowest turnover of the year so far and 15.4% lower over the previ-

1,499.64 42,010,417

Number of Contract

43,097

Traded Issues

293

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

55

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

232

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,264.50

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.45

CSE key features July 13, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

135.81

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

4,822,944

Number of Contract

6,796

4344.36530

(-) 0.43%

▼

Traded Issues

212

990.26574

(-) 0.67%

▼

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

53

1595.27149

(-) 0.57%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

155

CSE All Share Index:

13394.75540

(-) 0.47%

▼

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

CSE - 30 Index :

11165.06450

(+) 0.02%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,181.81

8293.09880

(-) 0.41%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.45

DSE Shariah Index : DSE - 30 Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Midas Financing-Z B I F C -A LR Global BD MF1-A Wata Chemicals -A Shampur Sugar -Z Stylecraft -A BD Finance-A SonarBangla Insu. -A

-10.00 -8.90 -8.06 -6.95 -6.58 -6.24 -6.02 -5.17

Average (% change) -10.04 -9.06 -7.37 -6.02 -3.55 -6.24 -7.00 -4.15

Prime Islami Life -A FAR Chemical-N

-4.34 -4.27

-4.10 -5.97

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

Provati Insur.-A Wata Chemicals -A B I F C -A LR Global BD MF1-A Standard Insurance-A BD Finance-A Prime Textile -A Hakkani P& Paper -B

-9.35 -8.33 -8.16 -7.81 -7.01 -6.72 -6.52 -6.36

Average (% change) -4.73 -6.41 -7.35 -7.81 -6.67 -7.23 -6.52 -6.36

MutualTrust Bank-A FAR Chemical-N

-5.81 -4.30

-5.99 -5.34

Company

Closing (% change)

ANALYST

Closing average

Closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 129.33 41.89 24.31 115.89 98.70 120.63 0.74 203.67 227.21 0.01 16.07 8.10 7.42 101.89 8.30 32.67 29.77 114.79 68.58 149.25 0.42

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

22.58 13.55 5.91 217.42 7.33 1022.00 12.63 16.65

22.50 13.30 5.70 213.00 7.10 1022.00 12.50 16.50

23.10 14.20 6.20 235.60 7.20 1022.00 13.30 17.30

22.50 13.20 5.60 210.00 7.10 1022.00 12.00 16.20

0.081 2.345 1.227 6.527 0.011 0.102 1.898 1.234

-6.91 0.24 0.64 6.24 -61.36 26.16 1.22 1.52

-ve 56.5 9.2 34.8 -ve 39.1 10.4 11.0

86.05 44.90

85.90 44.80

88.00 47.40

85.50 43.90

0.371 62.184

4.95 3.92

17.4 11.5

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Shinepukur Cera-Z Popular Life Insu. -A UNITED AIR-A BGIC -A Beximco Syn.-Z BD Fixed Income MF-A Imam Button -Z GBB Power Ltd-A PragatiLife Insu. -A

19.40 220.00 13.50 5.90 25.20 12.50 21.50 26.50

20.00 220.00 14.10 5.90 25.20 13.00 21.50 26.50

19.40 220.00 13.30 5.90 25.20 12.40 21.50 26.50

0.013 0.004 0.196 0.041 0.013 0.134 0.022 0.013

2.24 6.24 0.24 0.64 2.88 1.22 1.13 0.28

8.7 35.3 57.8 9.2 8.8 10.3 19.0 94.6

16.17 45.03

16.20 44.50

16.20 46.80

16.10 44.00

0.049 8.466

2.40 3.92

6.7 11.5

Fear of further decline still prevailed in the market. Investors’ cashing out tendency ahead of Eid-Ul-Fitr prolonged while fresh fund injection remained in setback

% change 8.62 2.79 1.62 7.73 6.58 8.04 0.05 13.58 15.15 1.07 0.54 0.49 6.79 0.55 2.18 1.99 7.65 4.57 9.95 0.03

Million Taka 11.35 3.96 2.41 8.95 5.01 8.22 16.06 18.82 1.19 1.27 1.71 0.82 7.42 0.86 0.25 1.83 10.49 14.81 23.89 0.01

% change 8.15 2.84 1.73 6.42 3.60 5.90 0.00 11.53 13.51 0.86 0.91 1.23 0.59 5.33 0.61 0.18 1.31 7.53 10.63 17.15 0.01

Million Taka 140.68 45.85 26.73 124.83 103.71 128.84 0.74 219.73 246.03 1.21 17.35 9.81 8.24 109.31 9.16 32.92 31.60 125.28 83.39 173.14 0.43

Total

8.50 5.83 5.26 4.20 3.47 2.94 2.63 2.60 2.30 2.22

CSE GAINERS Company Phoenix Insur -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Imam Button -Z Reliance1 M.F.-A ICB -A UNITED AIR-A Shinepukur Cera-Z Beximco Pharma -A GBB Power Ltd-A Rupali Bank - A

Closing (% change) 9.93 8.14 6.67 5.81 3.97 3.33 3.28 2.43 2.29 2.19

Average (% change) 3.55 4.24 8.02 2.67 2.21 2.34 5.26 3.25 0.23 2.23 Average (% change) 9.89 3.39 1.73 5.48 3.97 2.16 1.90 3.79 1.19 2.61

Closing average 30.95 12.54 184.40 12.31 20.79 10.51 8.00 7.95 21.86 133.72

Closing average 31.00 30.83 7.63 9.05 1998.00 12.30 12.33 41.92 22.10 65.33

Closing 31.90 12.70 184.20 12.40 20.90 10.50 7.80 7.90 22.20 133.70

Closing 31.00 31.90 8.00 9.10 1998.00 12.40 12.60 42.10 22.30 65.30

Daily high 32.30 13.10 192.50 12.70 21.10 10.60 8.00 8.10 22.50 134.00

Daily high 31.00 32.40 8.00 9.40 1998.00 12.60 12.80 43.00 22.70 65.50

Daily low 26.50 10.80 176.90 10.80 18.30 10.00 7.60 7.80 20.00 130.00

Daily low 31.00 29.50 6.90 8.50 1998.00 12.00 11.40 41.20 21.50 65.00

Turnover in million 120.947 2.049 0.461 41.178 1.160 0.589 0.008 0.159 9.552 2.949

Turnover in million 0.025 21.511 0.011 0.240 0.100 8.973 0.031 0.558 1.368 0.046

Latest EPS 1.12 0.64 17.00 0.77 1.36 0.76 0.56 -1.85 1.44 2.38

Latest EPS 3.00 1.12 -1.85 1.86 53.53 0.77 0.64 3.60 1.44 3.96

Latest PE 27.6 19.6 10.8 16.0 15.3 13.8 14.3 -ve 15.2 56.2

Latest PE 10.3 27.5 -ve 4.9 37.3 16.0 19.3 11.6 15.3 16.5

News, analysis and recent disclosers ALARABANK: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has rated the Company as "AA3" in the long term and "ST-2" in the short term based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

GOLDENSON: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the entity rating (surveillance) of the Company as "AA3" based on audited financial statements up to December 31, 2013; bank liability position as on July 09, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

SHAHJABANK: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Account on July 08, 2014.

PHENIXINS: The Company has informed that cash dividend for the year 2013 has been transferred to the respective shareholders' Bank Account through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN)

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z FAR Chemical-N Olympic Ind. -A Square Pharma -A UNITED AIR-A

CSE

Closing (% change)

on July 09, 2014.

JMISMDL: In connection with their earlier news disseminated by DSE dated July 02, 2014 the company has further informed as follows: "The board of directors has decided to keep continuation of last board meeting decision that is to reduce the loan liability and meet the working capital requirements Company's paid up capital will be increased 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) subject to the approval of shareholders in the 7th EGM and the Regulatory Authority. Record date for EGM: 22.07.2014. Date, Time & Venue of the 7th EGM will be notified later."

LAFSURCEML: The Company has informed that the distribution of interim cash dividend of the Company has been completed on July 07, 2014 in the following manner: 1) by way of Electronic Transfer to the bank accounts of the shareholders having Beneficiary Account (BO); 2) by way of remittance to the respective bank accounts of the Non-Residence Bangladeshi

and foreign shareholders; and 3) by way of sending Dividend Warrant by courier service to the shareholders having shares in paper form (Folio). In case of non-receipt of the dividend, shareholders are requested to collect from the Share Department of the Company.

RENATA: The Company has requested the concerned shareholders to collect their cash dividend warrants for the year 2013 from the share department at the Company's Corporate Headquarters at Plot No. 1, Milk Vita Road, Section-7, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216 from July 13, 2014 to July 17, 2014 during the office hour. The Company has further informed that if the Dividend warrants are not collected within the mentioned period, it will be dispatched to the address of the respective shareholders through post/courier service.

IPO Subscription: Saif Powertec Limited subscription date 06-10 July 2014, NRB upto 19 July 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited subscription date 1317 July 2014, NRB upto 26 July 2014. @ taka 40, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Latest PE

19.53 220.00 13.87 5.90 25.20 12.58 21.50 26.50

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Monday, July 14, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features July 13, 2014

ous session’s value.

Most investors, both institutional and retail, are reluctant to put fresh fund in the market, as they anticipated possible political unrest might begin after Eid, said a market player.

Now, some investors have tried to save their investment by selling existing holdings, he said.

IDLC Investments said depressed tone extended further.

“Fear of further decline still prevailed in the market. Investors’ cashing out tendency ahead of EidUl-Fitr prolonged while fresh fund injection remained in setback.”

Hence, some news on macroeconomic issues, like declined inflation and RMG’s record export of $24.5bn could not keep its sign in market, it said. “Overall market level dullness beat on investors’ confidence.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said investors’ sentiment still remains shaky as they are unsure about the future market direction.

Highest market contribution was from the pharmaceuticals sector making up over 15% of the total trade, followed by the textile sector with 13.61% and telecommunication 7.69%. l

Tribune Report

Stock

% change 8.58 2.80 1.63 7.62 6.33 7.86 0.04 13.41 15.01 0.07 1.06 0.60 0.50 6.67 0.56 2.01 1.93 7.64 5.09 10.56 0.03

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Square Textile -A G Next Fashions-A Padma Oil Co. -A

Appollo Ispat CL -N BSC-A Envoy Textiles Ltd-N BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

UNITED AIR-A FAR Chemical-N Grameenphone-A The Peninsula CTG.-N G Next Fashions-A LafargeS Cement-Z BD Submarine Cable-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Emerald Oil Ind. -N Square Pharma -A Keya Cosmetics -A BSC-A National Bank - A AramitCementA

Volume shares 3,907,984 311,998 853,500 1,385,000 241,174 165,174 3,343,783 458,091 1,763,249 97,192

1,019,200 46,355 452,130 125,801 86,044

Volume shares

697,732 729,578 188,000 20,200 163,600 284,165 60,500 25,100 143,600 13,000 10,750 102,000 4,310 199,635 44,500

Value in million 120.95 92.11 64.98 62.18 56.12 45.87 41.18 40.28 30.66 30.03

28.28 23.73 23.07 22.68 22.63

Value in million

21.51 8.97 8.47 5.97 5.40 4.95 4.63 4.52 3.99 3.02 2.99 2.29 2.20 2.17 1.91

% of total turnover 8.07 6.14 4.33 4.15 3.74 3.06 2.75 2.69 2.04 2.00

1.89 1.58 1.54 1.51 1.51

% of total turnover

15.91 6.64 6.26 4.41 3.99 3.66 3.42 3.34 2.95 2.24 2.21 1.69 1.63 1.60 1.41

Daily closing 31.90 294.10 76.50 44.80 233.50 277.10 12.40 86.50 17.20 307.30

27.80 510.25 51.00 179.30 263.60

Daily closing

31.90 12.40 44.50 296.00 32.90 17.30 76.70 179.20 27.80 41.80 278.10 22.30 508.30 10.80 42.90

Price change 8.50 -1.08 -2.67 -4.27 -0.09 -0.54 4.20 0.46 -2.82 -1.66

Daily opening 29.40 297.30 78.60 46.80 233.70 278.60 11.90 86.10 17.70 312.50

Price change

Daily opening

-0.36 -0.68 -1.73 -0.66 -0.30

8.14 3.33 -4.30 -1.10 -1.50 -2.81 -1.92 -0.99 -0.71 -82.09 -0.32 -1.33 -1.11 -1.82 -0.23

27.90 513.75 51.90 180.50 264.40

29.50 12.00 46.50 299.30 33.40 17.80 78.20 181.00 28.00 233.40 279.00 22.60 514.00 11.00 43.00

Daily high 32.30 299.00 78.20 47.40 234.90 280.00 12.70 89.00 17.70 312.40

Daily low 26.50 280.00 75.00 43.90 221.00 270.00 10.80 77.50 16.60 300.00

Daily average 30.95 295.24 76.13 44.90 232.70 277.71 12.31 87.93 17.39 308.97

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

28.30 516.00 51.90 182.50 264.50

32.40 12.60 46.80 300.00 33.50 17.90 77.30 182.50 28.00 42.30 278.90 23.50 520.00 12.00 43.70

27.40 508.75 47.00 163.00 241.40

29.50 12.00 44.00 293.60 32.80 16.10 75.00 178.70 27.60 41.80 277.10 22.00 507.00 10.00 42.20

27.75 511.90 51.03 180.27 262.97

30.83 12.30 45.03 295.37 32.99 17.40 76.54 180.13 27.79 232.68 277.92 22.40 510.42 10.85 42.85

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

After decades of disappointment, Berlin’s economy looks up n Reuters, Berlin It has taken a quarter of a century longer than hoped but Berlin is now glimpsing the prosperity that was supposed to land in its lap after the Wall came down in 1989 and it was restored as the jubilant capital of Germany.

Twenty five years after reunification, Berlin remains a work in progress: with higher unemployment and lower income than the likes of Frankfurt and Hamburg, it will take years to catch up.

But its economy is growing faster than the German average and there are signs that Berlin is no longer a basketcase whose welfare dependency, lack of industry, poor infrastructure, high debts and pride at being “poor but sexy” - as the current mayor once said - make other Germans roll their eyes in despair.

Berlin does not dominate decentralised, federal Germany the way London or Paris do in their own countries.

Generating just 4% of output, it cannot rival Bavaria or Baden-Wuerttemburg in manufacturing or Frankfurt for finance. Nor is Berlin’s start-up scene likely to challenge Silicon Valley; but it can join the digital dots.

That chimes with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s vision of the German economy keeping ahead of competitors in future by what she calls a “fusion of classic industry with the digital world”.

“We won’t be making cars like Stuttgart or Wolfsburg - but the bases of the technology,” said the city’s economy minister, Cornelia Yzer, referring to the headquarters of the German auto giants Daimler and Volkswagen.

Berlin is not devoid of manufacturing: Siemens makes gas turbines here and BMW makes motorbikes. But it has no DAX-30 blue-chip of its own and industry makes up just a tenth of economic activity - half the national level.

The real business buzz is around its universities, whose scientific alumni include Albert Einstein and Max Planck.

Deutsche Telekom’s Innovation Laboratories set up at Berlin’s Technical University in 2005 now have offshoots in Silicon Valley and Israel. CEO Tim Hoettges, visiting the labs, called them “sensors” keeping Telekom up with new developments.

Since Berlin began focusing on the digital economy in 2005 its information and communication sector has grown 58% in gross added value, said Hertmut Mertens, chief economist at the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), which finances local business.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Berlin-Chemie which is owned by Italy’s Menarini, cites the scientific talent for its latest expansion plans; General Electric, breaking ground on a new Berlin site last year, also cited the universities and R&D, plus the “proximity to the political decision-making”.

Jobs wanted

There is optimism in the air: shopping centres are going up on the former ‘no-

Putin, Kirchner seek ‘multipolarity’ in Argentina visit n AFP

A worker is seen behind scaffoldings at a construction site near the Fernsehturm television tower in Berlin mans land’ by the Wall to cater to the boom in tourism, the public transport network has made its first profit and the population is growing fast, though at 3.4 million it is still less than in the city’s early 20th century heyday.

“Berliners are benefiting from the persistently good economic situation, higher employment in the city and the rise in real wages,” said Frank Bach at the Berliner Sparkasse savings bank, reporting a rise in summer-holiday spending plans.

“We are definitely not as poor as we were in the past,” said Yzer, predicting 2% economic growth this year, after 1.7% in 2013 - when Germany overall grew 0.4% - and above-average growth repeatedly since 2005.

It has been a long road to recovery.

Economic activity that survived Allied bombing or Soviet expropriation was subsidised during the Cold War on both sides of the Wall, to prop up the divided and isolated city for strategic reasons.

When the Wall fell, many companies collapsed in the face of competition or were bought out by westerners. “Half of the jobs in industry were destroyed,” said Yzer. Unemployment in Berlin soared to 19% by 2005; at 11%, it is still way above the national rate of 6.7%.

IT and biotech are no quick fix, employing graduates rather than the longterm unemployed. But the boom in population and tourism may help some of the 200,000 unemployed find work.

Commercial real estate group CBRE’s Alexander Torwegge says he expects to see “lots of jobs created” by new retail outlets like the Mall of Berlin, which is about to open on a former bomb site on Leipziger Platz.

Development does meet resistance.

A referendum has defeated plans to

build on the disused Tempelhof airfield, venerated for its role in the 1948 Berlin Airlift and now popular for skateboarding and picnics.

Paradoxically, Berlin’s hipster chic and cheap rents are a big part of its appeal to young professionals working for start-ups, which feed talent into the R&D outfits of major companies.

Some people believe the city should focus on manufacturing instead to attract more sustainable sources of employment.

Stefan Hilscher, head of the local newspaper group Berliner Verlag, says it is essential to lure companies which are “firmly located in the Mittelstand” - the small to medium-sized firms central to the German economy.

Speaking at the Verlag’s headquarters near Alexanderplatz with a revolving logo on the roof, he regretted that “the image has stuck” of Berlin as the work-shy capital.

Episodes like the attempt to build an airport more befitting Berlin’s status than the ageing Tegel and Schoenefeld don’t help - the “BER” project is running five years behind schedule, at twice the original budget, and has become a national joke.

“The city is growing economically, lots of international business people are coming to Berlin and they all have to go via Frankfurt,” said Yzer. “It’s a disaster, no doubt about that.”

Old habits

The city also finds it difficult to bring its debt below 60bn euros, its debt per capita is twice the national average and GDP per capita and productivity are way under par. It has reined in spending but will remain a net recipient of inter-state transfers “for quite some

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Monday, July 14, 2014

REUTERS

time”, city officials say.

For economist Karl Brenke at the DIW institute, Berlin has grown accustomed to receiving handouts “today and all the time since World War Two” and needs to change that mentality.

Nearly 17% of Berliners rely on welfare - more than twice the national average - which can make it hard to find youngsters who want to learn a trade, local businesses say.

“Young people nowadays are no longer interested in learning a trade,” said Detlef Knop, who runs a small glazing firm. “It’s difficult to convince them to do vocational training because of the pay levels compared with welfare.”

But according to a study by Ernst & Young, R&D will be the growth driver in Europe in coming years, so Berlin may be wise to focus on this area. It has ranked Berlin as Europe’s third most attractive city for investors after London and Paris.

But it also points out a lag in real investments, with just 34 foreign direct investment projects in Berlin in 2013 versus 84 in Duesseldorf and 81 in Stuttgart. Berlin’s start-ups have only a 5% chance of creating “the next Google”, it says.

On the other hand, consulting firm McKinsey estimates the start-up scene, centred around the brand-new “Factory” campus in the Mitte district, could generate up to 100,000 jobs by 2020.

Either way, economy minister Yzer says Berlin has to grow faster than the rest of Germany “for many years” to catch up.

How long is uncertain, but Brenke at DIW pours cold water on talk of anything but a very slow recovery, saying: “Berlin will be an economically weak region for the next 20 to 30 years.” l

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner called Saturday for a multipolar world order as Moscow sought to boost ties with Latin America amid heightened East-West tensions.

Putin is on a six-day tour seeking to increase Moscow’s influence in the region at a time when the Ukraine crisis has eroded Russia’s relations with the United States and Europe to their lowest point since the Cold War. His itinerary includes meetings with a string of leftist leaders critical of the United States and a summit of the BRICS group of emerging countries - an agenda that neatly aligns with his push for a multipolar world less dominated by the West.

Kirchner is meanwhile waging her own fight against Washington, battling a US court ruling that Argentina must pay more than $1.3bn by the end of the month to hedge funds refusing to accept the restructuring of the country’s defaulted debt.

Putin said Russia shared “a very similar, very close view of international relations” with Argentina.

He also voiced his support for Argentina’s long-standing territorial claim to the Falkland Islands, the British territory it calls the Malvinas, which sparked a 1982 war between the two countries.

“We favor the principles of a multipolar world, which are equality, indivisibility and security. Russia continues to support the need to find a solution to the dispute over the Malvinas Islands at direct negotiations between Great Britain and Argentina,” he said at a dinner in his honor.

The Argentine leader for her part insisted that global institutions must be overhauled and made more multilateral.

“We firmly believe in multipolarity, in multilateralism, in a world where countries don’t have a double standard,” Kirchner said after the pair toured the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.

“We need to globally regulate the flow of capital that has turned the world into a financial casino where

many countries are drowning in huge debts.”

She called for the next meeting of G20 major economies to set a broader agenda that also targets global economic and financial regulation.

The pair looked on as their delegations signed a series of bilateral deals, including one on nuclear energy that comes as Argentina ramps up work on its fourth nuclear plant, the $3bn Atucha III reactor.

Kirchner said members of the Russian delegation would also visit the massive Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field, potentially one of the largest finds in history, which cash-strapped Argentina - locked out of capital markets since its 2001 default - needs investment to develop.

The pair also discussed military cooperation, including the prospect of Russia providing transport planes for use in Antarctica.

Cold War echoes

Putin’s six-day trip will next take him to Brazil, where he will participate in a summit of the BRICS emerging nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Russian strongman has invited Argentina, which is keen to join the group, to attend the meeting as an observer.

He will also watch Argentina play Germany in the World Cup final.

There were distinct Cold War echoes in the former KGB spy’s travel itinerary.

He launched his tour Friday in Russia’s Cold War ally Cuba, where he met with President Raul Castro and his 87-year-old brother Fidel, father of the island’s communist revolution.

He then made a surprise stop in Nicaragua for talks with President Daniel Ortega, a former guerrilla whose government was close to the Soviet Union during the Sandinista regime of the 1980s.

But Putin also had plenty of modern-day business on his agenda.

In Havana, he oversaw the signing of a dozen bilateral deals, including for oil exploration off the island’s coast. l

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (R) shakes hands with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires REUTERS

Indian premier Modi pins hope on new BRICS bank n AFP, New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to Brazil Sunday for a meeting of the BRICS group of emerging powers, hoping to seal the long-discussed deal to open a new development bank.

Modi will be the guest of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff who also

hosts the leaders of Russia, China and South Africa on Tuesday before a meeting with South American leaders the next day in Brasilia.

The countries are looking to set up a development bank to finance infrastructure projects as well as a reserve fund to fend off currency and balance of payments crises.

First Security Islami Bank Ltd recently opened its Postogola Branch. The bank’s managing director AAM Zakaria inaugurated the branch

The bank and the reserve are being seen as a counterweight to Westerndominated financial organisations like the Washington-based World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Modi, who was elected with a massive mandate in May, was upbeat about the two economic initiatives finally taking shape.

“I look forward to the successful

conclusion of major BRICS initiatives, like the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which have seen significant progress since their launch in New Delhi in 2012,” he said in a statement.

“These initiatives will support growth and stability in BRICS and also benefit other developing countries,”

Bank Asia recently held its semi-annual performance review conference at a hotel in Dhaka.

The bank’s chairperson A Rouf Chowdhury inaugurated the programme as chief guest

the Hindu nationalist leader added.

The BRIC acronym, to which South Africa was later added, was created by economist Jim O’Neill, who used the term in 2001 to describe the growing clout of the economic grouping.

The summits come as BRICS countries, whose economies together represent 18% of the world total, see slow-

downs in their once frenetic rates of growth. Russia and Brazil are expected to see growth of just one percent this year while India is mired in its deepest slowdown in a quarter-century.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Modi will also have one-on-one meetings with the leaders of the participating countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. l

The National Board of Revenue recently awarded Radiant Pharmaceuticals Limited for being among the top VAT paying firms. The company’s chair Md Nasser Shahrear Zahedee received the award from State Minister for Finance, MA Mannan at a ceremony held in Dhaka

HSBC extends submission deadline for export excellence awards n Tribune Business Desk United Commercial Bank Ltd recently held its half yearly conference for its managers at the bank’s head office. The conference was presided by the bank’s managing director Muhammed Ali

The executive committee of Modhumoti Bank Limited recently held its 14th meeting that was presided by the committee’s chairperson Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh

HSBC has recently extended the submission deadline for the SME category at the 5th HSBC Export Excellence Awards to 28 July, 2014. SME exporters with annual export turnover (non RMG/textiles) of less

than $5m can submit their nominations to be selected as one of five ‘Exporter of the Year’ titles, said a press release.

The nomination deadline for SME category has been extended based on numerous requests from the exporters in SME sector, the bank said. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, July 14, 2014

Karl Marx was right – at least about one thing n Anatole Kaletsky Confidence in the global economy is steadily improving, as shown in the financial markets’ bullish behavior and confident comments from companies and policymakers over the past few weeks. Though these columns have argued in favor of a robust recovery, when investors get uniformly bullish, the pessimistic case deserves attention.

Many distinguished economists believe that the current improvement in global conditions is just a blip. They insist that the world faces years, if not decades, of “secular stagnation.” How seriously should we take them?

The good news is that there is little evidence of secular stagnation in global statistics. The “new normal” for the world economy since 2008 has not been very different from the pre-crisis period.

The average growth of the global economy from 1988 to 2007, the 20 years before the crisis, was 3.6%, according to the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook database. The IMF latest forecast for 2014 is exactly the same - 3.6%. Though Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, hinted at a modest downgrade this week.

At first glance, this continuity seems hard to square with the slowdown in economic activity in all major economies since 2008. The IMF expects only 2.2% growth this year in the developed countries, compared with an average of 2.8% during the two decades before the crisis. In the emerging economies, meanwhile, growth is projected at 4.8 percent this year, slightly below the average of 4.9% of the pre-crisis decades.

Since both emerging and developed economies have weakened, how can it be that the world economy as a whole has not slowed? The answer is the

Sculpture of Karl Marx, who wrote before the word 'economy' had its current meaning shifting balance of economic activity from slower advanced economies to faster-growing developing economies.

The emerging economies now account for 51% of global economic activity, compared with 36% in 1994. This means that emerging economies, even as they slow down, contribute more than ever to global growth.

China, for example is now growing at a rate of around 7% instead of the 10% it achieved in the pre-crisis decades. But that 7% gross domestic product growth, from a base of $10tn,

adds $700bn to global demand. This is over three times more than China added 15 years ago, when it was growing by 10% annually from a base of $2tn.

Now for the bad news. While the steady or slightly accelerating global growth rates predicted by the IMF is the most likely outcome, it may not be achievable because of three imbalances: social, geographical and demographic. These seem deeply embedded in the structure of global capitalism today. They are weakening demand, creating excess savings and driving

REUTERS

the buildup of borrowing and lending that has been both a cause and consequence of the global financial crisis.

The most dangerous imbalance is in the distribution of wealth and income. Income disparities have become a source of political and moral controversy, but their macroeconomic effects have attracted less attention.

The mechanism whereby income inequality causes economic stagnation was recognized by Karl Marx and other 19th-century writers.

If too much of the income created

by capitalism’s capacity to increase production flows to people who are already rich and likely to save rather than spend, then crises of under-consumption become almost inevitable, as described by Marx in Das Kapital and analyzed more rigorously by John Maynard Keynes in the 1930s. The only way to avert such crises is to create financial systems that recycle excess incomes from rich savers to poorer consumers via a buildup of debt.

Geographical imbalances are a second major cause of weak demand. The global imbalance that generated controversy before the crisis was between the United States and Asia. This has largely disappeared as US consumption and borrowing have subsided, while China and Japan have shifted away from export-driven growth models.

In the meantime, however, an equally troublesome imbalance has emerged between Germany and the rest of the Europe. Germany’s current account surplus of 7% of GDP is now larger and more persistent than the Japanese or Chinese surpluses before the crisis. Yet on the global stage, Germany is not subjected to the same sort of pressures. Germany’s political dominance in Europe also makes it immune to the kind of demands for policy changes that Washington applied to Japan and China, while the existence of the euro rules out the currency adjustments that ultimately removed the imbalances between Asia and the United States.

The third imbalance is demographic. Believers in secular stagnation have drawn attention to the downward pressure on labor supply as baby boomers retire. But this is unimportant in a period of high unemployment, when there is no shortage of workers to limit

Charting a path to ‘normalization’ Japan says Pacific trade China’s test

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen smiles at the inaugural Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington REUTERS

n

Reuters, Brussels

Investors shift focus this coming week from trouble spots such as Portugal’s biggest listed bank to a marathon testimony by the US Fed chair that could help chart a global path towards postcrisis “normalization”.

Concerns about losses associated with the founding family of Banco Espirito Santo had threatened to rattle euro zone markets, but by Friday traders had decided that BES was unlikely to disrupt Portugal’s financial system or revive broader worries about the bloc’s weaker economies.

In any case, Janet Yellen’s two-day appearance in the US Congress from Tuesday will dominate global markets, which want above all to know how long the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates low after an unprecedented period of cheap money since the financial crisis.

While October is likely to mark the end of the central bank’s money printing, investors are looking for hints of an interest rate hike early next year, which would signal a return to normality after the Great Recession and its aftermath.

But much depends on the health of the US economy and its ability to bounce back from a disastrous first quarter.

DILBERT

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended July 5 fell to one of its lowest levels since before the 2007-09 recession, more evidence of a strengthening labor market.

The consensus has been for a rate hike in late 2015, but many economists are bringing forward their forecasts, with European-based banks including BNP Paribas expecting the Fed to hike near the middle of next year.

Others expect US interest rates to rise sooner.

“There’s a pessimistic view of the economy among some in the market, but a stronger jobs picture and rising inflation will prompt the Fed to act,” said Julian Jessop, chief economist at Capital Economics in London, who sees a rate rise in March.

Worries about soft growth will keep the Bank of Canada from hiking interest rates until late next year, economists say, but rising prices are expected to temper expressions of concern about low inflation in its policy statement on Wednesday.

Most investors expect the Bank of England to be the first major central bank to raise rates since 2007 as the economy recovers from a long period of stagnation.

The British central bank held rates at record lows last week but is expected to raise them late this year or in 2015.

Investors will hear from Governor Mark Carney and his deputy Andrew Bailey on Tuesday at the British parliament when they face the Treasury Committee, while jobs data for June due out on Wednesday will give the market crucial signals.

In China, the success of authorities’ efforts to keep the economy growing at around 7.5% will be tested by the second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) reading due on Wednesday, with other data including retail sales for June.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the first quarter’s 7.4% GDP reading to be repeated in the second. Premier Li Keqiang said last week the Chinese economy still faced risks and he will further fine-tune policies.

June new house price data will also give a sense of how far China’s housing slowdown is dragging on growth.

No ‘material stress’

The European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi faces a different challenge in trying to revive the euro zone economy. While losses on loans will not put Banco Espirito Santo at risk of running short of capital, ripples of concern forced Spain’s Banco Popular to call off a bond issue and Greece managed to place just half of its debt issue.

Portugal’s government assured investors that the country’s financial system was sound, steadying markets, although questions remain about the Espirito Santo business empire.

“If this uncertainty about BES continues, then peripheral debt looks likely to underperform and more investors will look to reduce their exposure,” said Peter Chatwell, an interest rates strategist at Credit Agricole CIB, referring to countries such as Italy, Spain and Ireland.

“But I don’t think is going to put material stress ... on other peripheral countries,” he said.

Draghi will speak at the European Parliament on Monday evening in Strasbourg and will face questions on issues such as the slowdown in the German economy.

Investors will look to the July ZEW survey on economic sentiment on Tuesday to see how great the impact of the crisis in Ukraine has been on confidence in Germany after the mood deteriorated following a strong start to the year.

“The last few weeks, with the numbers out of Germany, have made me more pessimistic,” said Carsten Brzeski at ING. “The picture across the euro zone countries is not encouraging with France in a mess and Spain still struggling with unemployment.” l

talks agree broadly on labor, health issues n Reuters, Tokyo Pacific trade talks have reached broad agreement on labor issues and sanitary and phytosanitary standards but some difficult aspects remain to be tackled, Japan’s chief negotiator said on Saturday.

US President Barack Obama said last month he aimed to have a free-trade draft he could take to meetings with other leaders in November.

Chief Japanese negotiator Koji Tsuruoka said the 12 member nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) made progress at talks in Ottawa but there was no discussion about the timing of the overall accord in the regional free trade agreement.

“We came to Ottawa so that we would clarify what issues are left (after TPP talks in Ottawa) and find out the direction. We achieved the desired goal,” he told a news conference.

But gaps remain to be bridged and further talks are required on issues such as intellectual property, stateowned companies and the environment, he said.

The meeting in Ottawa would be

key to advancing the trade pact talks to their final stage by the end of the year, he had said last week.

But Tsuruoka said the countries felt the situation was not yet ripe to set the timing for a ministerial meeting as talks among officials had not made sufficient progress by the end on Saturday of the talks in Ottawa, which ran about a week.

The TPP talks also include countries such as Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast told reporters on Friday he would not put a timeline on when the TPP talks will conclude.

“We are bringing all of our efforts to bear to bring these negotiations forward in a timely manner,” he said.

Asked to comment on New Zealand’s suggestion that Japan should be eliminated from the TPP if it doesn’t open its markets to more farm imports, he replied: “I’m not going to comment on what other TPP partners say. All of them are valuable partners; they all bring value to the table.” l

economic output. The bigger impact of demographic aging is on macroeconomic demand. Particularly when this problem is aggravated by Social Security and labor policies that shift incomes and economic opportunities in favor of retirees and older workers at the expense of younger generations.

Since 2008, governments the world over have protected or even increased pensions and healthcare “entitlements,” while slashing spending on in-work welfare, education, family policies and child support. This redistribution of income toward older voters has been exacerbated by employment policies that favor job protection for older workers, especially in Europe, over flexibility and job-creation policies that would provide opportunities for the young.

Because the aging baby boomers are already richer than their children and grandchildren, this policy imbalance has widened wealth inequalities, forced young people deeper into debt, increased excess savings and added to deflationary demand pressures. Given the electoral weight of older voters, however, the political favoritism for baby boomers is deeply entrenched in most modern democracies.

If the current cyclical recovery fizzles out and turns into secular stagnation, these three imbalances will be largely to blame. Unfortunately, the politics of income distribution, geographic rebalancing and inter-generational equity are so difficult that all these imbalances are likely to persist for many years. l Anatole Kaletsky is an award-winning journalist and financial economist. The opinion expressed was initially published at Reuters.

China demands wall around wealth management sector to cut risk n Reuters, Shanghai Chinese banks must create a firewall around increasingly popular wealth management services, the country’s banking regulator urged, in order to avoid any contagion from higher risk products spreading to normal bank loans.

Banks must establish a separate department to carry out wealth management business by the end of September, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on its website on Friday.

Thirsting for higher returns, China’s wealth management sector has exploded in recent years, hitting around 12.8tn yuan ($2.06tn) by the end of May. But the opaque nature of the sector has fed concerns about its health.

New rules require banks to set up separate departments for risk management, accounting and statistical analysis for wealth management services, and give details for each wealth management product individually.

China has been pushing to strengthen regulation of its wealth management sector as it looks to diversify funding channels in an economy historically over-dependent on bank lending for finance. l

Children play with Playmobil toys at the Waldorf Hilton hotel in central London, on July 12, 2014. The hotel has worked with the German toy company to create a Playmobil suite, for a limited period of forty nights. The family room contains giant Playmobil figures, a wide variety of regular playmobil sets plus a range of exclusive extras AFP