22 July 2014

Shraban 7, 1421 Ramadan 23, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 112

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Bihari camp killing probe runs afoul Former DC allegedly ordered not to arrest anyone; only Biharis charged in six cases

n Tazlina Zamila Khan Law enforcers have been reluctant to investigate the six cases filed over clashes and arson attack in Kurmitola Bihari Camp that claimed 10 lives last month.

Leaders at the camp claimed that the police had assured them of not arresting anyone from the camp. Former deputy commissioner of Dhaka Sheikh Yusuf Harun, however, denied the claim. Police rather said they were working to find the reasons behind the June 14 incident.

Meanwhile, witness “Napak” Raju – who is a close associate of Jalaluddin Bhantu, the chairman of Kurmitola Relief Committee – claimed that he recognised several local Jubo League leaders during the clashes who set fire to the house of Md Yasin. Nine members of Yasin’s family were burned alive in the incident.

He alleged that the police assisted the ruling party men during the arson attack by driving away the Biharis and hurling grenades towards the demonstrators.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Raju also blamed his boss, Bhantu, for the occurrences which were “avoidable.”

On June 14, a series of clashes among the Bihari residents of the Old Kurmitola Camp in Kalshi, police and outsiders centring explosion of firecrackers left at least 10 people dead.

A youth, Azad, was killed in police firing when he and others went to douse the fire allegedly set by Jubo League activists. He received two or three bullets in his chest and back, Raju said.

Apart from the six cases, Mohammed Mobarak Hossain, vice-president of Baitur Rahmat Jame Masjid, filed a case against six people, including Jubo  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

With a token trunk representing the prime minister’s relief fund, families of the dead and injured victim workers of the November 2012 Tazreen factory fire forms a human chain in front of the capital’s National Press Club, demanding their long overdue compensation before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. Story on page 3 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Ukraine launches assault on rebels Human Rights Watch: n Agencies Ukraine launched a heavy assault on the rebel-held city of Donetsk, as international investigators arrived in the region to examine the remains of 298 people who killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down on Thursday.

A separatist leader yesterday said Ukrainian government forces were trying to break into Donetsk and there was much fighting taking place near the city’s railway station.

Sergei Kavtaradze, of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said at least four tanks and armoured vehicles were attacking his men. Two rebel tanks were reportedly heading to Donetsk railway station.

A Ukrainian military spokesperson said the operation was in progress, but he would not comment on troop movements.

The city of Donetsk is about 80km from the MH17 crash site. Allies of Kiev said the security situation in the area was hampering the investigations.

Three members of a Dutch victim identification team arrived in the region yesterday, and were expected to visit a railway station near the crash

site where nearly 200 bodies have been stored in refrigerated wagons.

Rescuers said they had found a total of 251 bodies and 86 body fragments at the crash site, and added that a second refrigerated train had arrived.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine was prepared to hand over all evidence to the Dutch, and that the Netherlands should

lead the inquiry into the plane’s destruction.

However, rebels control the crash site, and the whereabouts of the plane’s flight recorders are unknown.

On Sunday, the US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had “overwhelming evidence” that Russia had supplied and trained separatists on a surface PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

A pro-Russia separatist lies on the ground near a train station as intense shelling rocks the area in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine AFP

Shut down RAB n Ashif Islam Shaon RAB is beyond reform and should therefore be disbanded, Human Rights Watch has said in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The New York-based rights organisation also recommended the withdrawal of all army officers from Rapid Action Battalion so it can be transformed into a civilian force before being disbanded.

In the letter, Brad Adams, executive director of HRW’s Asia Division, yesterday wrote: “Although RAB is officially led by a senior police officer, in practice it is run by the military officers who act as his deputies.”

Adams claimed police officers working in RAB “privately complain” of being treated as subservient to the military. He however did not give any instance.

The RAB structure allowed men from the army to participate in securing civilians “without proper training or civilian accountability and oversight,” he said. The Ruling Awami League raised these points when it was in opposition, he claimed.

However, snuffing out the allegations, RAB turned the table on HRW asking it to concentrate on Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas militants, where until yesterday, at least 501 people had died.

“Hundreds of innocent people have been killed by Israel there. The Human Right Watch should concentrate on that issue. It is more urgent than talk-

ing about RAB, which is a country’s internal issue,” said Col Ziaul Ahsan, additional director general of the force.

Brad Adams said the elite police unit had been “allowed to operate with impunity by all successive governments” ever since its inception.

He, however, viewed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s “endorsement of HRW’s recommendation to disband

The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, led by Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, yesterday rejected Human Rights Watch’s proposal to dissolve Rapid Action Battalion.

The global human rights watchdog yesterday sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the request.

Amir Hossain Amu told reporters yesterday after a meeting of the committee: “It is an internal matter. They cannot request to dissolve the elite force. We will not make any decision in the light of their request. We will make decisions in our context.”

According to the HRW website, the letter termed RAB a “death squad” and suggested that until it is disbanded, the force “should be made into an entirely civilian force by withdrawing all military officers and soldiers from its members.”

Asked what they had been thinking about BNP’s threat of staging a strong movement after Eid to topple the government, Amu said: “It is none of the cabinet committee’s business. We

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‘There is nothing called extrajudicial killing in RAB. The government will look after the matter’

Unfit city service buses gearing up for the long routes Sakhawat and n Adil Abu Hayat Mahmud

The transport company owners, whose buses operate only within the city limits, may not like the empty streets of the capital during every Eid, but that does not mean they do bad business during the “off-peak” season.

During Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha every year, millions of people leave Dhaka to observe the religious festivals with their dear ones at their village homes.

That also leaves the city of more than 10 million residents unusually empty for more than a week. Because

SEHRI & IFTAR TIME

of the reduced demand for transport, a significant number of vehicles in the fleets of the city bus services, have to remain idle.

In recent years, the owners have discovered an alternative way of earning instead of keeping their vehicles in “sleep mode.”

Compared to the big buses with heavy engines that carry passengers from one district to another, the buses that operate within the city are smaller.

They do not even have the permission to ply the highways.

However, several city services have been for a number of years lending their smaller buses to the intercity services.

With less than a couple of weeks to go before Eid, local private bus services such as Bahon Paribahan, Baishakhi Paribahan, Suktara Bus Service, Monjil Paribahan, Falgun, Rupkotha Paribahan, Projapoti Minibus Services, Gulistan-Dhamrai Bus Services and Shuvojatra Bus Services have been gearing up to lend some of their vehicles to run on the long routes.

Some of these buses are 10-20 years old and not even fit to carry passengers within the city.

Instead, the borrowers are including these small buses in their fleets to carry passengers on 100km journeys.

They are borrowing these old “local

buses,” getting them painted and minimally repaired and incorporating them into the route plans.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), a total of 92 bus services are operational in the city. But during the Eid season, most of these buses carry passengers on the long route, officials said.

Mohammad Belayet, owner of Suktara Minibus Services, told to Dhaka Tribune that he had arranged six buses to meet the needs of home-bound passengers. He said he rented his buses for around 10 days during Eid every year to renowned transport companies that operate on the long route.

He also said he had never faced any action from the administration.

A recent BRTA study says 87% of the buses and minibuses that run in the capital are unfit. But during Eid, these unfit buses meet the demand of the home-bound people with their new colours but very little to no repairs.

The Dhaka Tribune correspondents have found that workers and painters at the city’s Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Sayedabad bus terminals are busy re-painting these local buses.

Kazi Jaynal Abedin, owner of Decent Engineering Workshop, said: “I have got six orders for repairing and

6 | Nation

8 | World

12 | Entertainment

14 | Sport

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

INSIDE B1 | Business

Bangladesh Bank has asked all the banks to reduce their lending rates to increase credit growth in the industrial sector as the money market awash with huge liquidity.

4 | News

The United Nations will endorse a set of targets for the sustainable use of marine resources around the world which may eventually have a positive impact on the future exploitation of resources from the Bay of Bengal.

Hundreds of people in the district formed a human chain yesterday to protest Israel’s recent attacks on Gaza which killed several hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

Russian President Putin called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, again, and urged that the parties involved come back to the negotiating table so that a diplomatic solution can be reached.

There is nothing that gets music enthusiasts more excited than hearing that the legendary singers are back in the studio, especially when they are stars like Sabina and Runa.

Home Ministry rejects HRW’s proposal n Mohosinul Karim

Manchester United players looked to be in a relaxed mood as they headed out for another pre-season training session in Los Angeles on Monday.

Day

Sehri

Iftar

Ramadan 23/July 22

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6.50pm

Ramadan 24/July 23

3.55am

6.50pm

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Mirza Abbas agrees to work The first meeting of the city unit will be held tomorrow n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Finally, the newly-formed Dhaka city convening committee of the BNP has decided to start its activities formally from tomorrow, though Convener of the unit Mirza Abbas had expressed his grievances over the committee.

Party insiders say the committee members will sit at the city office tomorrow and place wreaths at the grave of party founder Ziaur Rahman on July 25.

Abbas had expressed his strong reservation about the inclusion of Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Abdus Salam and their followers in the new committee.

The first meeting would be an introductory one, said a leader of the unit.

Mirza Abbas will also be present while placing wreaths at Zia’s grave, he told the Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity.

Senior leaders of the party including

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Awal Mintoo and Barkatullah Bulu went to the house of Abbas on Monday afternoon to convince him to start the activities.

“Abbas was disappointed with the committee. Senior leaders of the party persuaded him again and again saying

Abbas had expressed strong reservation about the inclusion of Khoka, Salam and their men in the committee that if the committee does not start its activities soon, then the party politics will be under threat and the followers demoralised,” a senior leader told the Dhaka Tribune asking not to be named.

After long arguments, Abbas agreed

to start working for the unit, he added.

Following the announcement of the committee on Friday, Abbas did not meet with the party leaders and activists, and also did not talk to the media.

Another BNP leader said Abbas had been desperate not to start working before discussing the issues with party Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Abbas reportedly said the party chief had been wrongly convinced and that is why such a committee was announced. He blamed some senior leaders and some officials of the chairperson for this.

Until Thursday evening, everyone knew that it was going to be a 31-member committee and would not have a member secretary post. However, when the committee was announced officially, it had 52 members while the member secretary post was intact. l

Prof Yunus meets Suu Kyi n Tribune Report

Cost rise for two govt high-rises to be audited

Nobel Peace laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus met Myanmar democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her residence in Yangon during his three-day visit in the neighbouring country.

This was the first-ever meeting of the two Nobel Peace winners, said a press release. Prof Yunus arrived in Yangon on Saturday.

He thanked Suu Kyi for her support to replicate Grameen micro-credit programme in Delta Zone of Myanmar in 1997.

Prof Yunus spoke on the potential of close collaboration between the two countries and the needs to resolve the outstanding issues. Suu Kyi recollected her earlier visit to Bangladesh and hoped to visit the country again soon. l

n Tribune Report The cabinet committee on public purchase has asked the Public Works Ministry to audit the second-time rise in the construction cost of two of the 17 high-rises containing 1,020 flats in Mohammadpur in the capital.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith asked for the audit at a meeting of the committee yesterday, said Joint Secretary Mostafizur Rahman. The audit report will be placed at the committee’s next meeting.

An extra Tk2.62 crore will be required for the two in blocks 7 and 8 being constructed by the PBL-BAB. Of the 17 16-storey buildings, nine

will have 540 flats of 1000 square-feet size and eight will have 480 flats of 800 sq-feet size.

The project involving Tk305.59 crore was approved last year and is supposed to be completed by next year.

The government took up initiatives to build four satellite towns near Dhaka to reduce the mounting pressure of population at the centre.

Joint Secretary Mostafizur Rahman said the meeting yesterday also approved procuring 30,000 tonnes of granular urea for Tk73.93 crore (at $314 per tonne). The government will also print 4.88 crore books for Dakhil, Ebtedayi and Dakhil vocation curriculum at Tk90.72 crore for 2015. l

Bihari camp killing probe runs afoul  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

League activists Arif, Jewel and Azad, and 800-900 other unnamed people on June 14 on charges of vandalising the mosque and harassing the devotees.

Raju blamed the police for not taking their cases following the killings: “After the incident we went to the police station to file cases, but the officers did not register our case.”

Understanding

Around 3,000 Urdu-speaking people, most of them unnamed, have been sued in the six cases filed with Pallabi police station. So far, police arrested at least seven Biharis in connection with the case filed over Azad murder. They are now on bail.

No one except than the Biharis have been sued although several Jubo League leaders and their followers took part in the clashes with the police.

Asked about the cases, Bhantu told the Dhaka Tribune: “In late June, I met former Dhaka DC Sheikh Yusuf Harun when he assured me that he would talk

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to the police so that they do not arrest us in the cases.”

Raju acknowledged the matter. “I am also aware of the understanding.

The chairman told me about it. On Monday, Sub-Inspector Shahin Uddin of Pallabi police came to meet the chairman at the camp office. He also talked about this.”

When contacted, however, Shahin brushed aside Raju’s claim.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Kurmitola Relief Committee Mostaq Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune: “Police spoke to us. They said they would not do anything as long as we remained silent on the matter.”

Yusuf Harun said: “When I went to the spot after the incident, I saw four people arrested by the police. When the police wanted to take the bodies, the Biharis asked for releasing their men. So, I told the police to release the detainees. Then the police released three among them.

“But it does not mean police can never arrest anyone,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Harun said he had not met any Bihari leader in June. “It is a propaganda.

If police find anyone guilty, they must arrest the culprits.”

Syed Ziauzzaman, OC of Pallabi police station, said: “We are investigating the case and will soon resolve it.”

He also claimed that the former DC had not given them any order not to arrest Biharis. “Nor did our officers make any deal with the Biharis either.”

‘Jubo League men torched houses’

Eyewitness Raju told the Dhaka Tribune: “I did not see our chairman at the time of clashes to save us. He is a very clever and cunning man and thinks about his personal interests only.

“Most of the time, he instigates a clash and then escapes the spot.”

Raju is very disappointed with his boss. “Bhantu Chairman gave dwellers of the new camp illegal electricity connection but the authorities cut the line. Bhantu again wanted to give them power connection in exchange for money. I tried to stop him but he never listened to me.

“On June 10, when local Awami League MP Elias Mollah came to the camp to solve the issue, he called Bhantu. But, Bhantu did not meet the MP although he was sitting at the camp office. Rather he said he was outside for a meeting.

“Later, I met the MP and talked to him. At that time, a few Biharis misbehaved with the lawmaker. Local Jubo League leaders Jewel Rana and Munir, who came to the camp with the MP, threatened to do something within the next two days.”

Had Bhantu gone to the spot to solve the issue, no chaos would have happened, Raju said.

“On the day of the occurrence, I was in Mohammadpur and came to the camp after hearing the news of clashes.

I had arrived before Yasin’s house was torched.

“During the clashes, I saw Jubo League leaders Jewel Rana, Munir, Mukul and two-three others pouring kerosene inside the water tank of the house from bottles and on the ground and start fire. The police also hurled around 10 grenades towards the house and the demonstrators.”

Several police vehicles were positioned beside Yasin’s house. But they did not put out the fire. They rather drove away the Biharis who tried to douse the fire with buckets of water.

After 10-12 minutes when the house

Human Rights Watch: Shut down RAB  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

RAB” as a major turning point as the elite force was established by her government.

“Independent organisations estimate that RAB has been responsible for approximately 800 killings over the past 10 years,” Adams said without specifying which organisations he was referring to.

He also said senior government officials including former law minister Shafique Ahmed and Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan had ignore extrajudicial killings by RAB, terming them “necessary for crime control.”

The letter also mentioned the alleged involvement of RAB officers in the abductions and murders of seven people including Naryanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam which had plummeted RAB’s public image “to an alltime-low.”

Former RAB 11 chief Lt Col Tarek

Sayeed, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MM Rana were removed from their units after the bodies of the seven people were found floating in Shitalakhyya River in April. After arrest, they admitted their involvements.

In their confessional statements, the dismissed officials mentioned that they followed the orders of a “RAB high up named Zia.” Following the developments, RAB decided to stay away from tasks outside its core duties. It returned to patrolling the streets two days into Ramadan.

HRW welcomed the probe but said Sheikh Hasina had utterly failed to keep her promise to “hold RAB accountable and prevent future killings.”

The prime minister ruled out disbanding the elite force after the Narayanganj killings and defended its record instead, it said.

Hasina on May 31 dismissed Khaleda’s call for disbanding RAB, saying the

institution could not be shut down all of a sudden.

State minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan also said “disbanding RAB was out of the question.”

HRW calls RAB death squad

Claiming to have investigate several cases, HRW said: “RAB has acted alone or in joint forces with police and BGB to ‘execute’ opposition activists before the January election.

“Authorities in multiple cases have admitted that these men were shot in custody or during encounters.”

HRW claimed to have probed at least 10 cases of illegal arrests by men who identified themselves as RAB and found that victims, who were taken away on RAB vehicles, ended up being dead and their bodies were dumped on the side of the road.

“These cases and others are the reason Human Rights Watch calls RAB a

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Indo-Bangla FM level meeting likely in August or September n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The government is toying with two dates to hold the third foreign minister level meeting to be held in New Delhi where Teesta deal, ratification of Land Boundary Agreement and other thorny issues between the two countries, will also be discussed in details.

“Two dates – one in August and another one in September – have been proposed,” a senior official of the Foreign Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We will select the date considering convenience of both parties.”

Dhaka and New Delhi decided to hold the meeting at the soonest during the goodwill visit of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to Dhaka in June.

The official said: “Departure from the regular practice, we will not hold foreign secretary level talks this time.”

Before the first two Joint Consultative Commission meetings at foreign minister level, the foreign secretaries held talks and hammered out the agenda for the meetings of their superiors.

“New governments have taken over in both the countries and this meeting will set the tone for future cooperation,” the official said.

Sushma chose Bangladesh as her first standalone foreign trip and it showed a good gesture from the newly-elected BJP government, he said.

She first came to Dhaka to understand the attitude of the government and the people of the predominantly Muslim nation – Bangladesh – towards the Hindu-leaning BJP government, he added.

The Narendra Modi-led government has a big vision to revive the Saarc region and they did not feel shy in sharing their ideas about how Bangladesh fits in the vision, the official said.

had almost turned into ashes, the police used a water cannon to put out the fire.

Raju saw the incident from in front of the mosque while hurling bricks. He said he had not seen who locked the gate before torching the house.

Another resident of the camp named Mohammad Asif also said he had seen Jewel Rana, Mukul and Shohag setting the houses on fire.

‘Bhantu creating panic’

Raju claims that ahead of the arrival of camel meat from the Middle East on the occasion of Eid, Bhantu had been trying to divert the issue by creating panic among the Bihari people, by saying that he had heard that the Jubo League activists would attack them again after Eid. Raju, however, said: “Bhantu is spreading fear among the Bihari people intentionally. He wants to instigate a clash and create chaos again.”

‘Send us to Pakistan’

Speaking of their living condition, Kurmitola Relief Committee Secretary Mostaq expressed frustration; so did Bhantu, Raju and a dozen others of the camp who this reporter had talked to.

Mostaq said: “We do not want to be citizens of Bangladesh. Send us to Pakistan where we can live with full security and peace.

“It is a shame that we have to die in other people’s country [Bangladesh].

We urge the government to send us to Pakistan. We want to go back to our country anytime.”

Mohammad Kuddus, a weaver by profession, said: “We are not getting any benefits in this country. The fire incident has shocked us. We do not want to live here anymore.” l

death squad,” the letter said.

“HRW is aware that Bangladesh needs ‘strong law enforcement agencies’ but RAB is beyond reforms because of its long involvement in ‘systematic killings’,” Adams said.

RAB denies HRW’s allegations

Denying HRW’s allegation, RAB ADG Col Ziaul Ahsan said: “The RAB has never never been involved in any extrajudicial killing. Since the beginning, RAB has been working to curb crime and it will continue doing so.

“There is a government body designated to punish the offenders in law enforcement agencies. Moreover, there are many instances in which we have taken departmental actions following internal investigations.

“There is nothing called extrajudicial killing in RAB. The government will look after the matter,” the colonel said. l

Sushma at a lecture in Dhaka on June 26 said: “Building a comprehensive and equitable partnership with Bangladesh is essential for the realisation of our vision of a stable, secure and prosperous South Asia.”

Teesta agreement

Before her visit to Dhaka, the Indian foreign minister had talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and hinted that the latter was positive about the Teesta water-sharing.

India notified Bangladesh that New Delhi had already started to work with all stakeholders to build internal consensus to get it through soon, the official said.

Bangladesh and India have been negotiating on the Teesta water sharing agreement for four decades and was scheduled to sign in 2011 during the visit of then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but it could not be inked due to strong opposition from Mamata.

LBA

The immediate past Congress-led Indian government had placed a bill to amend the constitution in the Rajya Sabha to pave the way for the ratification of land boundary agreement, but it was opposed by the then opposition BJP on the grounds that it would not support quick ratification of the LBA. “But this time, they are in power and we hope that they will not oppose,” the ministry official said.

The issue has been pending for four decades and the new Indian government must prove that they are sincere in resolving the boundary dispute, he said.

Bangladesh and India signed the LBA in 1974 and Dhaka ratified it in the same year, but New Delhi is yet to do so. l

Navy forms new counter-terrorism unit n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The Bangladesh Navy has intensified counter-terrorism efforts to combat crimes such as piracy, drugs and human trafficking via the Bay of Bengal, since Bangladesh got its maritime boundary set by an international court.

Petty criminals, arms and narcotics smugglers and the human traffickers often face no problems while operating via the bay because of an absence of Navy commandoes.

The Navy informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Defence Ministry yesterday of the formation of the new commando unit, Special Warfare Diving and Salvage command.

Officials said the US government had provided technical support for the unit.

The Navy has been demanding a commando unit for a long time but the proposal had been put on hold for years.

“The Special Warfare Diving and Salvage Command has been formed to enhance the counter-terrorism capabilities of Bangladesh Navy,” said the working paper of the Defence Ministry placed before the parliamentary watchdog.

“And this command has been working fine. It will combat all criminal activities in the Bay,” Shubid Ali Bhuiyan, a retired major general turned politician, told the Dhaka Tribune.

In the absence of strong governance in the Bay area, including the high seas, the criminals and traffickers from the south and Southeast Asian countries have been enjoying sanctuary in the Bangladesh waters.

“This unit can also take part in the operations against robbers such as the Somali pirates who took many Bangladeshi mariners hostage for hefty ransoms,” a navy official told the Dhaka Tribune.

He clarified that the members of the special command would fight the pirates, if necessary, and the smugglers, by dividing into small groups. l

Home Ministry rejects HRW’s  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

are not even worried that they could do it... We are keeping a close eye on things. If we see that they are creating anarchy or violence in the name of movement, we will make a decision by calling an emergency meeting. But, we hope they will not be able to do it.”

Amu also said yesterday’s meeting ordered the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to keep law and order under control during the Ramadan, Eid-Ul-Fitr and Durga Puja. The owners of the readymade garments factories were requested to pay the wages and festival allowances of the workers before Eid. The law enforcement and investigation agencies had been instructed to speed up the investigations into the Narayanganj seven murders and Feni upazila chairman Ekramul Haque killing cases.

The cabinet body issued an instruction for beefing up security at the Bihari Camp in the capital’s Mirpur area in the wake of last month’s skirmishes and arrest the persons responsible for the attack on the camp and the death of 10 people.

“The prison authority has been asked to reshuffle jail police because most of the staff of the Department of Prisons have been working in one place for a long time. It is one major reason behind irregularities in jails across the country,” Amu said.

Authorities concerned had been instructed to follow the new Formalin Control Act in conducting special drives at the district level to check misuse of the harmful chemical in food staffs.

The cabinet committee also instructed the authorities concerned to resist diesel, patrol and drug trafficking at the border.

The meeting, held at the Home Ministry, was also attended by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Expatriates Welfare Minister Khondaker Mosharraf Hossain, Post and Telecommunications Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and State Minister for Labour Mojibul Haque Chunnu. l

Ukraine  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

to-air missile system that the US says was used to shoot down the airliner.

“There’s [an] enormous amount of evidence ... that points to the involvement of Russia in providing these systems, training the people to use them,” Kerry said on the CBS news network.

The evidence has not been made public. l

Unfit city service buses gearing  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

re-painting buses this year. If they properly repair the unfit vehicles, they will have to spend Tk45 lakh. But instead, they spend only Tk25,000-Tk35,000 for painting and repairing, just to make sure that the buses look new.”

A few days ago, a Konok Paribahan city bus was given a new name – Anita Paribahan, which operates on the long route. They just replaced the sticker.

Tapash Kumar, owner of Anita Paribahan, was standing right there. He said: “From the 26th of Ramadan, home-bound people start leaving Dhaka. I cannot meet the demand of so many passengers. So, I hired four buses from Konok Paribahan to send passengers to Nilphamari.”

When asked why he had hired these unfit buses, he said: “I am spending more than Tk1 lakh to give them a new look. The passengers do not care what buses they ride. All they need is a vehicle to carry them home during Eid.” Ripon Mia, owner of another long route bus company, said: “I have hired five buses from a city service named Bahon Paribahan for Tk30,000 each. I am repairing those buses for Tk20,000Tk30,000 each. I will send those buses to Rajshahi and Rangpur. Each seat will be sold for Tk700-Tk800.”

On that count, considering that they will make three trips ahead of Eid, each of these 50-seat buses will fetch Ripon at least Tk1,05,000.

The law enforcement agencies do not get any instructions to prevent this dangerous practice.

Khan Muhammed Rajowan, Deputy Police Commissioner (traffic), said: “Usually, because of the high demand, long route bus services hire vehicles from the city services. But this is risky because many of those buses are over 20 years old. So they are unfit according to law.

But if we get any instruction from the higher authorities, we will take action against those unfit buses and the owners. But, till now, we do not have any instructions from the Communications Ministry.”

BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam said: “These mini buses can run outside Dhaka if they are fit. But if they are unfit, they cannot operate outside the city. The owners just put fresh colours on those unfit vehicles. It is just an eyewash. So, we have decided to be strict.

If we can identify them, we will take stern actions.”

He also claimed that mobile teams had been visiting the bus terminals to check the illegal practice. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

26 Tazreen victim families yet to be compensated n Afrose Jahan Chaity The families of 26 victims of the Tazreen factory fire have been waiting since May to receive the compensations pledged by the government for the devastating incident that took place on November 24, 2012.

Earlier this year, the Labour Ministry prepared a list of 26 Tazreen victims – of whom 14 were unidentified or missing workers – and sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office. In May, the ministry informed the family members of the victims that the compensations would be given within a week.

Earlier, the High Court ordered the government and the BGMEA – the association of garment factory owners – to pay the compensations. Each family was to get Tk7 lakh, as per the recommendations made by the government and the BGMEA. Yesterday, the family members and survivors of the Tazreen tragedy and Activist Anthropologists group held an open press conference in front of the National Press Club demanding the compensations before Eid-ul-Fitr.

During the demonstration, the organisers put a golden tin-made box full of money on the street and wrote on it

“Prime Minister’s Relief Fund: Tk105 crore.” The box was later locked and painted red.

Family members and survivors then put photos of their beloved ones and those were remain missing on the box.

The survivors and victims’ families of the Tazreen fire incident and the Rana Plaza collapse have been waiting for a long time to be compensated from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund where the BGMEA and others contributed money.

At least 112 people, mostly female workers, were killed and many others were injured during the fire incident

at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd factory in Nishchintapur of Ashulia on November 24, 2012. It is a sister concern of Toba Group.

At the event, several survivors including Rukaiya Begum and Amena Begum described the ordeals they had been undergoing due to a lack of financial support.

Sumaiya Khatun, one of the victims, died on March 21 this year because she lacked money for proper treatment, they said.

The victims’ family members warned the government that they would wage movements if they were

not paid the pledged compensation before Eid. At the event, Shahidul Islam, finance secretary of Garments Workers Unity Forum (GWUF), said: “The families of the missing workers have lost their only source of income. The survivors have been facing problems in finding new job because of injuries. Many of the victims are unable to pay the high medical costs. Some workers who survived the fire succumbed to their injuries because they did not receive any support at all. The delay in the payment of the deserved compensation is only making their lives worse.” l

Qaisar’s defence irks tribunal n Udisa Islam The war crimes tribunal yesterday asked the defence counsel of Syed Mohammad Qaisar to conclude the cross-examination of the investigation officer of the case by today.

ASP Monowara Begum, 59, was questioned for the third session yesterday. The defence counsel, Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, started questioning her about how and when she had recorded depositions of the witnesses. It irked the tribunal.

The three-member tribunal 2 then said: “These questions have no importance and relevance with the case.” It then cautioned Tarafder and fixed today for concluding the cross-examination.

During the proceedings, the tribunal reminded the defence counsel several times to conclude the session.

Meanwhile, the defence counsel for accused Maulana Abdus Subhan ended cross examining the prosecution’s 21st witness after two days’ session. The counsel argued that the witnesses had given false deposition and claimed that the accused Jamaat-e-Islami leader had not been present at the places of incident.

Later both the prosecution and the defence pleaded for adjournment in the case. Surprised, the tribunal 2 asked: “What will we do until that day?” tribunal Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan then set August 6 for further proceedings in the case. l

Met hoists signal three over ports n Abu Bakar Siddique A higher than usual tide has disrupted ferry and boat services on the Padma and Meghna Rivers and threatened to hamper Eid travellers’ plans as the met office hoisted cautionary signal number at the country’s maritime ports. It cautioned fishing boats and trawlers in the north bay to anchor close to the coast.

Squally weather and a steep pressure gradient over north bay caused the warning in a special weather bulletin.

High tides caused by the depression over the bay hampered inland water navigation as well.

Ferries services on the Padma River at the Mawa-Kaorakandi crossing was interrupted yesterday because of the unusual tide.

“Gigantic waves are hampering ferry services. The huge waves on the river are made all the more difficult to manage because of rain,” said Sirajul Haq, a manager at the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

According to BIWTA, 10 of 17 ferries halted their services since Sunday night.

“If this situation continues until Eid-ul-Fitr, passengers will have a very hard time,” he added.

Launch terminals on the Meghna River including Dhaka-Inchli–Chandpur were closed due to a fear of accidents. l

3 students arrested for taking bribe n Our Correspondent, Bogra Detective Branch of Police in Bogra arrested three Nobab Siraj-ud-Doula College students yesterday for taking money from students and promising them that their honours results under the National University would be improved.

Bogra Assistant Police Super Gaziur Rahman told reporters that acting on a tip-off, around 11:30pm on Sunday, they had arrested college student Tipu Sultan from Bogra Edward Park. Two answer scripts were seized from his possession.

Later, acting on information given by the detainee, Enamul Haque and Polash were also arrested from their respective houses in Natore’s Noudapara and Berila villages.

During the primary interrogation the detainees confessed their involvement in the crime. They also claimed that they had committed such crimes before. l

3 HC for testing formalin detector n Nazmus Sakib The High Court yesterday asked the authorities concerned to submit reports before it after conducting laboratory test of the formalin detector “Formaldehyde Meter Z-300.”

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and National Food Safety Laboratory were asked to place the reports within four weeks.

The bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani passed the order following a writ plea filed by a food trader, saying that the detector was manufactured by a US company to detect formalin in the air, not in the food items.

The court, however, said the order would not hamper the ongoing drive against formalin, Deputy Attorney General Mokleshur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.

Swadhon Chandra Das, president of Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association, in his petition said the presence of formalin in all fruits was found when the machine was used to spot harmful chemicals in food.

According to Environmental Sensors Company, this machine measures formaldehyde in the air, he said, adding that it is not used for measuring formaldehyde or formalin in fruits and vegetables.

Petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid said the law enforcers’ drive put an adverse impact on the economy causing sufferings to traders and consumers. l

MIRPUR RAPE INCIDENT

HC exempts officials from personal appearance n Nazmus Sakib

Bangladesh Christian Association forms a human chain in front of the capital’s National Press Club yesterday, protesting the attack on the priests and nuns at a Catholic church in Baldipukur in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

35 fake freedom fighter certificates cancelled n Mohosinul Karim

The Liberation War Affairs Ministry has cancelled fake freedom fighter certificates of 35 government officials and employees.

An order signed by Deputy Secretary Md Salimullah was published yesterday afternoon.

According to the report of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and district administrations, 32 of the public servants could not provide any convincing evidence in participating in the 1971 Liberation War, two did not have the proper age to take part in the war while another certificate was cancelled as the person had received two certificates.

Since 2009, a total of 116 fake certificates of public servants have been cancelled, the report says. Investigation into over 500 other allegations is underway.

Of the 35, many have already lost their jobs while others will face departmental action.

The persons include OSD Deputy Secretary of Public Administration Ministry Sheikh Alauddin, Railway’s Additional General Manager Solaiman Chowdhury, Assistant Administrative Officer of the Agriculture Ministry Abdur Rashid Hawlader, Chief Accounts Officer of the Food Ministry Jainal Abedin, Tax Inspector Delwar Hossain, Sonali Bank’s Senior Executive ATM

Abdul Hai Khan, Town Sub-Inspector of Chandpur Nurunnabi Patwari, Constable of Rajarbagh Police Lines Solaiman Bishwas, former manager of Jamuna Oil Company Golam Rab Mollah and Office Assistant of Ashashuni education office Abul Hossain.

Among others are Railway Ministry’s Shafiar Rahman and Abdul Wares, Home Ministry’s Abdul Alim and Shafiqul Islam, Health Ministry’s Azhar Ali Khan, Land Ministry’s ALM Bazlur Rahman, Primary Education Ministry’s ATM Shahjahan, Education Ministry’s Danesh Miah, Agriculture Ministry’s Abbas Ali Khan, Customs’ Sheikh Mahbubul Islam, Dhaka DC office’s HarunOr-Rashid Khan and Munshiganj DC

Nur Hossain on 14-day remand by Kolkata court n Tribune Report The prime accused in Narayanganj seven murder case, Nur Hossain, was placed on 14-day police custody by an Indian court yesterday.

The District Judge’s Court of North 24 Parganas of West Bengal gave the order. The court also ordered him to appear before it on August 2 again. Nur did not plead for his bail.

Nur told reporters at the court that he had fled Bangladesh fearing his life.

He claimed that he had been framed in the murder case. “You will be sure about it if you check my wealth and bank accounts,” he said.

Nur said he would appeal for bail once his relatives went to India and contact with his lawyers.

His associate Khan Sumon, who was arrested along with Nur, yesterday applied for bail but the court rejected the petition.

Nur, a councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation, had been absconding

following the murder of panel mayor Nazrul Islam and six others in April.

He and two of his associates were arrested from an apartment in East Kolkata’s Koikhali area on June 14. The three were produced before the court the next day and were remanded in police custody for eight days.

They have been sued under the Arms Act and the Foreigners Act for illegal trespass into Indian territory without valid travel documents and for illegal possession of a firearm. l

Gonojagoron Moncho displays cartoons at Chhabir Haat in Shahbagh yesterday, mocking BNP-Jamaat atrocities

MEHEDI HASAN

office’s Shahjad Azim, former primary school headmasters Ranjit Kumar Roy and Mojibor Rahman and former assistant teachers Rawshan Alam and AKM Habibullah, Collector of Naogaon municipality AKM Jalal Uddin and Health Assistant of the same municipality Hashem Ali. The fake certificates provided by Rajapur of Jhalkathi’s KA Nijahar Uddin, Singair of Manikganj’s Abu Hossain Miah, Ulipur of Kurigram’s Mohammad Ali, Begumganj of Noakhali’s Nur Islam, Shyamnagar of Satkhira’s MA Majid (one of the two certificates), Joypurhat’s Belal Hossain Akanda and Abdul Malek from Ghatail of Tangail were also cancelled. l

The High Court yesterday exempted three public servants from personal appearance after they placed affidavit stating that an alleged rape of a garment worker in Mirpur was cooked up.

The court said if it was convinced that the incident was forged, it would direct appropriate legal action against the so-called victim and the informer, said plaintiff ’s lawyer Abdul Halim.

Halim also said the court apparently found the incident fictitious, as the victim’s statement given to a lower court was inconsistent with actual facts.

Medical report prepared by Dr Shamima Haque, coordinator of the One-Stop Crisis Centre at DMCH, said although the victim had signs of sexual intercourse, they did not prove that force was applied.

Responding to a writ petition by Children Charity Bangladesh Foundation, an HC bench on July 9 summoned Dr Shamima, Imtiaz Ahmed, DC of Mirpur police, and Mirpur police station OC Md Salahuddin. Later, the court fixed September 14 for further hearing over the writ petition.

On July 1, an RMG worker at a Mirpur factory was reported to have been raped on the way back from her workplace. l

Blogger Rajeeb murder accused Sadman to stay in jail n Nazmus Sakib The Supreme Court yesterday upheld its previous order that stayed the bail granted to Sadman Yasir Mahmud, a former North South University student who is a chargesheeted accused in blogger and architect Ahmed Rajeeb Haider murder case.

A five-member full bench headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the order after disposing of a state plea filed against the bail, granted by the High Court on June 1 for six months.

Sadman is now in jail as he surrendered on June 24 before the trial court after the chamber judge had stayed his bail on June 11, said BM Elias, lawyer of the accused. He had been released from jail on June 4.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam contended for the state during yesterday’s hearing.

Rajeeb, an organiser of anti-war criminal Shahbagh movement, was

hacked to death near his house in the capital’s Pallabi on February 15 last year. He used to write on different blogs under the pseudonym “Thaba Baba.”

Following his death, Islamists labelled him as “atheist” and also set up a blogsite after his name containing derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to establish their claim.

On February 18 this year, a Dhaka court took into cognisance the charge sheet pressed against Sadman and six other North South University students (who were later expelled), and Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmania, chief of Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team – a Bangladeshi follower of al-Qaeda.

The detained NSU students reportedly confessed that they had killed Rajeeb upon the directives of Mufti Jasim.

Also the chief of Markajul Ulum Al Islami from Dhaka’s Mohammadpur, Mufti Jasim was arrested along with 30 of his followers at his house in Barguna on August 12 last year. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

UNGA to devise targets for sea resource utilisation n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The United Nations will endorse a set of targets for the sustainable use of marine resources globally, which will have a positive impact on the future exploitation of resources from the Bay of Bengal.

“The targets will be adopted in the UN General Assembly in September,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

The UN member countries engaged in an unprecedented negotiation for the last 17 months and adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including sustainable use of marine resources and 170 associated targets.

The SDGs will be in effect from 2016 since the Millennium Development Goals expire next year.

Bangladesh actively took part in the negotiation process and successfully persuaded others to incorporate the targets at the 69th UNGA in New York where heads of states and governments of all countries will meet in September.

It is very important for Bangladesh as it received two back-to-back maritime boundary verdicts which cleared Dhaka to utilise marine resources in

1.2 lakh sq-km territorial sea area, the official said.

“Bangladesh, along with other like-minded countries, successfully negotiated to retain a goal on the sustainable use of marine resources,” he said.

Under the goal on sustainable use of marine resources, there are several targets which will determine the future exploitation of marine resources in the Bay. The targets state that coastal countries will have to reduce marine pollution by a certain percent by 2030, halt ocean acidification, restore and protect the ecosystem from destruction, as well as eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices.

The two important targets are to establish marine protected areas and eliminate fishing subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

Bangladesh intervened in the negotiation in April this year and put forward these targets and pushed to have them adopted, the official said.

“We do not have adequate analytical and evidence-based scientific assessment of the changes in the Bay of Bengal. Hence, it needs to develop its capacity for proper utilisation of the marine resources, he added. l

News

Chittagong UP member’s bullethit body found n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Police yesterday recovered the bullet-riddled body of a Union Parishad member it is a murder that is believed to have been in sequel to a feud over arms trading–in Chittagong.

Deceased Hossain Jasim, 40, was the member of Ward 7 of Nowajishpur union of Raozan upazila.

Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Ismail of Hatahazari police station said the miscreants might have shot Jasim and left his dead body on the playground of Langolmora Government Primary School.

Jasim’s father Nurul said his younger son, Gias Uddin, 28, called up Jasim and went out together yesterday night and since then Jasim’s phone had been switched off.

Meanwhile, RAB 7 nabbed Gias, and Abdur Razzak, 42, two alleged arms dealers, from Hathazari upazila’s Foyzia Bazar around 4:30am, said Lt colonel Mifta Uddin, commanding officer of RAB 7. “A SMG, two magazines and two rounds of bullets were seized from them,” he added. The arrestee will be handed over to Hathazari police station and a case will be lodged with the police station in this connection, said the RAB 7 commanding officer.

However, Jasim’s father alleged that Sumon, a local of Nadimpur area of Raozan, killed his son and claimed that Gias was innocent.

OC Ismail said they also nabbed Sumon in connection with this murder.

Lt Colonel Mifta declined to relate the murder to the arms recovery and said they know nothing about the murder as their arms recovery spot is far away from where the body were found. l

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman, among other family members, and Saudi officials offer a prayer at Madina in Saudi Arabia yesterday PHOTO: COURTESY

Bangladeshi boy Family of shopkeepers taken by BSF, later attacked, Tk5 lakh looted released run Maa General Store and Shubho n Tribune Report General Store.

Our Correspondent, Thakurgaon n Maya Rani said: “Two customers Unidentified assailants attacked a famThe Indian Border Security Force personnel picked up a Bangladeshi 12-year-old from Haripur of Thakurgaon yesterday morning.

The BSF men caught Mohammad Wasim, of Geruadangi village in Haripur, while he was working on the field with his father around 11am, and took him away.

Intelligence Officer Maj Tawhid bin Ishaq of BGB 30 Battalion said: “We protested the matter over the phone and asked for a flag meeting.”

Wasim was released two hours later, after a flag meeting on the no man’s land near Dabri border. l

BracU appoints new vice-chancellor

n Tribune Report

Dr Syed Saad Andaleeb has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of BRAC University in the capital.

The u n i ve r s i t y ’s board of trustees confirmed his appointment recently. He took office on Sunday.

Dr Andaleeb was Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the Sam and Irene Black School of Business in Pennsylvania State University. He completed his PhD in business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BS in chemical engineering and MBA at the University of New Hampshire. l

ily who run two stationary shops in the Notunbazar area of the capital yesterday, leaving two members critically injured and stealing Tk5 lakh from the store. The victims say it was an act of revenge.

Four family members, including a 60-year old woman, were injured and Tk5 lakh was stolen when the assailants, angered after being refused let them buy goods on credit, returned to the store with accomplices and looted and attacked the shopkeepers.

The injured persons are Somir Chandra Mandal, 32, Sajal Chandra Mandal, 25, Rupa Rani, 30 and Maya Rani Sneha, 60.

Somir and Sajal, who are brothers,

came to the store around 2pm and selected some goods. When they were asked to pay, they refused and told us to write the purchase down in the due book. My sons said they needed money to do some shopping before Eid, but the customers still refused to pay. My sons, Somir and Sajal, later snatched away the items the shoppers had intended to purchase and told them to come back when they could pay in cash.”

“Later, they returned with seven or eight others and attacked my sons.

They beat me and my daughter Rupa when we tried to protest, and then fled the scene,” Maya said.

Locals took the injured shopkeepers to DMCH around 4pm. l

GIZ and EU celebrate 4 years of collaboration n Tribune Report GIZ, the German Development Cooperation, and the European Union (EU) marked and celebrated four years of their collaboration in improving labour standards in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh at the Brac Centre Inn Dhaka on Sunday.

State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu, chief guest at the ceremony, said: “The EU has been playing an important role in the development of Bangladesh for over four decades.

“Through the project Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry (PSES) with the Ger-

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

man Development Cooperation, it has played a key role in ensuring the health and safety of RMG workers.

“The government and representatives of Bangladesh employers’ and workers’ organisations have already signed an integrated National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety and Structural Integrity in the garment sector. In line with the action plan, Bangladesh has amended its labour law, improving workers’ rights. It has also upgraded its system for inspecting factory safety and begun the recruitment process of hundreds of new inspectors,” he said.

William Hanna, ambassador, head of delegation to EU in Bangladesh, was present at the event as well. l

Pedestrians and vehicles pass by an open garbage dumping site just underneath the Kuril Biswa Road flyover in the capital yesterday.

Not only has the road narrowed down, the health of local residents are also at stake MEHEDI HASAN

Global immunisation coverage reaches 84% n Moniruzzaman Uzzal More than 111 million infants, 84% of the world’s children, received vaccines for deadly diseases last year, while 21.8 million remained unvaccinated, according to new estimates from World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef.

The global coverage with vaccines, measured by the proportion of children who received three doses of vaccines containing diphtheria tetanus-pertussis (DTP3), rose from 73% in 2000.

However, the numbers still fall short of the goal set out in the Global Vaccine Action Plan, which was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2012.

That plan has a target of 90% coverage for all vaccines by the year 2020, according to a press release issued by WHO on Thursday.

“We face a challenge in closing the gap between 84% and 90%,” said Michel Zaffran, coordinator of WHO’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). “The countries have succeeded in maintaining a high level of vaccination coverage while, at the same time, introducing new vaccines and immunising an increasing number of children born each year.

“However, it is hard for them to reach all children, including those in remote areas or in urban slums.”

The data used in these estimates comes from official reports by national authorities as well as survey data from the published and grey literature.

Small anti-vaccination groups in some countries, Zaffran noted, also sometimes cause difficulties with misinformation about vaccines, presenting added challenges to national immunisation programmes in some cases.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, is closer to reaching the target of 90% coverage.

Dr Tajul Islam Bari, assistant director of EPI at the Directorate General of Health Services in Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune that the Health Ministry had currently been providing nine types of vaccines free of cost.

He said the ministry would achieve 90% coverage in the country within 2015 through the immunisation programme.

A few days ago, the ministry conducted a very successful mass vaccination programme to vaccinate more fifty million children across the country, said Dr Bari. l

UGC suspends official on charges of corruption

n Mushfique Wadud

The University Grants Commission (UGC) yesterday suspended Ferdous Zaman, additional director of the UGC, on allegations of taking bribe from a university.

A press release issued by the UGC yesterday said Ferdous had taken Tk5 lakh as bribe from Britannia University.

The release also said a three-member committee was formed to investigate the incident.

After a study by Transparency International Bangladesh which alleged that a section of the UGC officials, education ministry officials and private university authorities were involved in financial irregularities, the UGC and Education Ministry sent letters to private universities, seeking information whether they had to give bribe at any level.

In response, Britannia University informed the UGC that Ferdaus Zaman took Tk5 lakh as bribe from them.

The TIB on June 30 said it found amounts ranging from Tk50,000-Tk2 lakh were being exchanged for getting names of VCs, Pro-VCs and treasurers approved, Tk1 lakh for inspection, Tk10,000-Tk20,000 for settling complaints and Tk1 lakh for preparing illegal audit reports. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Eid shopping frenzy begins in Chittagong

Barisal traders disappointed with dull sale

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Although one week is left before Eidul-Fitr, shopping malls as well as markets in Barisal is yet to see huge rush of shoppers.

Shoppers blamed a budget crisis created by price hike of the commodities and bad weather for the dull sale in Eid shopping.

Saidur Rahman Rintu, president of Barisal Chamber Of Commerce and Industries, said buying capacity of the common people has fallen because of price hike of essential commodities and economic recession.

Sheikh Abdur Rahim, owner of Moyuri Departmental store, said last week they had expected that customers would throng market after getting their salaries.

Shukkur Mia, a hawker who sells dresses in front of the Barisal district council, said “Eid shopping is yet to get momentum in the city. There are many shoppers, but very few buy clothes.”

Mahbub Hasan, a shopper who was visiting Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hawkars Market yesterday, said he usually tried to finish his shopping within the second week of the Ramadan to avoid huge rush, but downpour forced her to stay at home.

After visiting Chawk Bazar, Katpatty, Hemayetuddin Road, Fazlul Huq

With only a week befpre Eid-ul-Fitr, people from all walks of life in Chittagong have started crowding shopping malls, arcades and markets as well as makeshift shops on footpaths in the port city’s to find their desired clothing.

From the city’s top-notch shopping malls to street hawkers, a huge flow of people were seen from morning till midnight in the last ten days of Ramadan.

Most city markets took a festive look with shops displaying new collections and latest fashion trends in clothing.

However, many customers complained of high prices while sellers attributed this to the high quality or cost prices.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, most shop owners said a hike in production and import costs of dresses had pushed the selling prices higher while buyers alleged that the sellers were trying to make some quick profit ahead of the religious festival.

Well-off residents of the city were seen gathering at upscale shopping malls like New Market (Bipani Bitan), Amin Centre, Sanmar Ocean City, Central Plaza, Mimi Super Market, Chittagong Shopping Complex, UNESCO Tower, Bay shopping Centre, Akhteruzzaman Centre and Afmi Plaza.

Middle-class shoppers were seen visiting shops at Reazuddin Bazar, Lucky Plaza, Chawk View Market, Terri Bazar, Tamakumandi Lane Bazar, Shipping Complex, Singapore-Bangkok Market and other markets for finding their desired items at a reasonable price.

Kamrul Islam, a salesman of Nabarupa at UNESCO Tower, said highly-decorated pure chiffon silk, Jamdani, Katan and other sarees between Tk 2,500 and Tk 40,000 were in high demand this year.

Nasima Akhter, a housewife, finally came to Reazuddin Bazar to find her desired designed saree at a reasonable price after visiting Sanmar, Amin Centre and New Market .

“At last, I managed to buy a Katan saree at Tk 2,000 after bargaining with the salesmen of a shop at Reazuddin Bazar,” she said.

Salwar-kameez decorated with different artistic patterns, with brand names like Pakhi, Panela, Punkowri, Aksara and others, have become popular among the young generation this year with prices starting from Tk 4,000 to Tk 15,000 at different shops across the city.

Young boys were seen gathering at popular outlets like Khadighar, Paristhan, Sristi, Nongor, Aarong, An-

jans, Shoilpik, Nakkhotro and others that showcased attractive and colourful Punjabis.

Apart from traditional markets, several upscale outlets such as Handicraft, Handibazar, Westin, Westwood, Revlon, Cat’s Eye, Menz Klub, Ruby Red and Khakki also unvield their latest collection of shirts and pants for gents.

Dedar Alam, a shopper who came to Central Plaza mall in the port city with his wife, complained that he was unable to buy anything from the market as most items exceeded his budget.

Besides, the authorities have allowed about 35,000 hawkers to do business on the footpath again at different city points offering a scope for thousands of lower middle class and low income families to shop for Eid. Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operation) Banaz Kumar Majumder of Chittagong Metropolitan Police said additional members of law enforcing agencies had been deployed at all markets, shopping malls and shopping areas of the port city to evade any kind of hassle for Eid shoppers.

“Our female police forces were also deployed in the markets to help women with sexual harassment or stalking,” he added. l

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Avenue, Bogura Road, Sadar Road, Bazaar Road, Port road this correspondent found that almost all the city’s shopping malls and markets experienced good rush, but least sale.

Although huge numbers of shoppers are crowding in the city’s shopping malls, the grand sale yet not started, said Ali Haidar, a salesman at Venus Shopping Complex of the city.

Many shoppers did not step out of their houses because of inclement weather, said Mosharraf Hossain, owner of a shop at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hawkers’ Market.

“Customers are taking idea about price and dress and also knowing fashion trends,” said Ali Ahmed, owner of a dress house at Chawk Bazaar market.

The prices of women and girl dresses are ranged from Tk1,500 to 30,000.

However, dresses like short and long Panjabi for male, including young men, teenage boys dominates the market with price tags from Tk800- 4,000.

The price of goods now comparatively higher than in the first half of Ramadan, said some customers.

The market would be over crowded and price will also be up on last week of Ramadan.

“Usually at least 20 to 25 percent increase in price was expected and affordable,” said Rokeya Begum, a housewife roaming in the market. l

5 Leather workshop promotes labour rights n Tribune Report Speakers at a day-long workshop titled Designing Education Programmes for Workers in Leather Sector yesterday stressed on the need for creating wider awareness on occupational safety and health among the workers and employers in the country’s leather industry.

They also stressed on ensuring better working conditions at tannery factories to reduce the health risk of the workers and people leaving in the areas.

Addressing the event, Khondokar Mostan Hosaain, joint secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said: “It is vital that the workers in tannery factories and leather sector have access to information regarding the risks associated with the sector and knows how to reduce it. I hope this workshop will provide us with much needed insight of the sector.”

The workshop was jointly organised

by Promoting Fundamental Rights and Labour Relations in Export Oriented Industries (FRLR), an International Labour Organisation (ILO) project funded by the Norwegian government, and the Tannery Workers Union.

Merete Lundemo, ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, said: “Everybody must enjoy basic worker’s rights, work in an environment where standards are respected, and receive their share of the wealth created.” l

CHITTAGONG FIRE DEATHS

Nothing can console lone survivor Mahbubul n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Lone survivor Mahbubul is devastated and haunted by the images of all his family members who died in the Sunday night fire.

All his dreams and hopes are shattered and he keeps recalling the Eid shopping spree he had planned to go on yesterday with his four kids.

“I had planned to go Eid shopping yesterday since my wife wanted to buy a saree and our children wanted their new dresses. I used to work beyond the usual trading hours at night just to earn some extra money,” recounted vegetable trader Mahbubul.

He lost his wife and four children in the fire incident in his house at Chittagong district’s Hathazari upazila on Sunday night.

“I was supposed to dine with my family after Tarabi prayer. But as soon as I heard the news of the fire, I ran toward my residence where I found only ashes and burnt skeletons of all my family members,” he recalls sadly.

After seeing the bodies, Mahbubul began to experience fainting episodes from Sunday night and physicians suggested that he take bed rest. This was the most traumatic event in his life, said Mahbubul’s brother Mohammad Azam.

As soon as he regained conscious-

ness, he started crying relentlessly and hitting himself on the chest, said Azam.

“My daughter Rina and Sima studied at a madrasa and my wife and I had planned to get Jhuma and Maruf admitted to a school next year, but all my dreams were dashed,” Mahbubul said, adding disconsolately, “I wished I had been burnt along with them.”

The ill-fated soul wed his wife Rosi in 2001 and their financial condition had not been good, Azam said, adding that recently his brother had been making a good profit in his business.

On Sunday around 8:30pm, a fire originating from an electric shot circuit gutted Mahbubul’s newly made tinshed house in Kumarikul area under Sarkarhat union of the upazila.

His wife Rosi Aktar, 35, and four children Rina Aktar, 12, Sima Aktar, 10, Jhuma Aktar, 7, and son Maruf, 5, were burnt to death, said fire brigade sources.

The firemen, however, managed to douse the fire within one hour, but recovered only the burnt skeletons of the five, said Jasim Uddin, deputy assistant director of the Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence unit.

The bodies were buried in the area early yesterday, after completing the necessary formalities, said Mohammad Ismail, officer-in-charge of Hathazari police station. l

A transport worker collects toll from a truck driver in Kashiadanga area of Rajshahi on Sunday. Transport workers have been collecting extortion from vehicles plying the DhakaRajshahi Highway since the beginning of Ramadan AZHAR UDDIN

Mawa-Kawrakandi ferry service halted

WEATHER

LIGHT RAIN TUESDAY, JULY 22 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:47PM SUN RISES 5:23AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

32

26

Chittagong

30

26

Rajshahi

31

26 26

Rangpur

33

Khulna

30

25

Barisal

29

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Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj Hundreds of vehicles, including buses and trucks, were stuck on roads for hours as the ferry service on the Mawa-Kawrakandi route were suspended for 20 hours because of a gigantic wave in the Padma River.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation Manager Sirajul Haque said ferry service on the Mawa-Kewrakandi route had remained suspended from 8pm on Sunday because of a

strong current in the river.

According to the BIWTA a total of 14 ferries out of 17 are plying on the route. Later, ferry service was partially restored as seven ferries started plying the route around 9am yesterday.

But three ferries – Faridpur, Dhaka and Karnaphuli – are yet to start operation. “I have been waiting here for the 20 hours but failed to cross the river. I don’t know when I will get the chance,” said Sufia Khatun, who was waiting on the Mawa point yesterday morning.

Jakir Kawsar, a resident of Tongibari upazila, said he wanted to go to Gopalganj on a business trip. “Now I am returning home having seen the condition of ferry service,” he said.

Sirajul Haque said the gigantic wave was created because of rise in the water level in the river.

Heavy downpour also contributed to the sufferings of passengers, he said, adding that Eid passengers would have to suffer if the inclement weather continued. l

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

33.6ºC Rangpur

24.6ºC Cox’s Bazar

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:59am 5:22am 12:05am 4:45pm 6:47pm 8:12pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

A woman returns back to home after collecting water from a roadside tube-well in Tanti Bazar area of the Old Dhaka yesterday as water crisis has turned severe in the area MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Sudden bus strike causes woes for commuters Hayat Mahmud with Our n Abu Barisal Correspondent Commuters in Barisal and its adjoining areas had to suffer immensely after the Barisal Bus Owners-Workers Solidarity Association enforced a sudden 24-hour strike on Barisal-Dhaka route yesterday.

The strike, which began yesterday morning and is expected to end today, was called to demand compensation for the victims of a recent road accident which left 12 people dead and 22 others injured.

At the same time, most Barisal-bound passengers in the capital could not catch buses at the Gabtali and Sayedabad bus terminals due to the strike. Many passengers were forced to cancel their journeys or to use buses heading to other districts to reach their destinations.

During a visit to the Gabtali and Sayedabad bus terminals, the Dhaka Tribune found that every Dhaka-Barisal bus service had closed down and had already sold out advance tickets for Eid-ul-Fitr.

Farid Ahmed, a Barisal-bound passenger at Gabtali bus terminal, said: “I did not know about the strike. If I knew, I would have not started my journey today.”

“Bus authorities should inform the media before taking such measures,” he added, frustrated.

Abu Taleb, counter manager of Hanif Paribahan at Nathullabad Central Bus Stand in Barisal, said: “The day-long strike on the Barisal-Dhaka route has been continuing as per the decision of the central committee of the association.”

Md Kafiluddin, owner of Hanif Paribahan, said: “The incident was unwanted and shocking, but it was an accident. The company agreed to compensate the victims as per rules fixed by the government, not more than that.”

On July 11, at least 12 people were killed and 22 others injured when a Hanif Paribahan passenger bus plunged into a roadside ditch on the Barisal-Dhaka highway.

Earlier, a meeting decided that Hanif Paribahan would pay Tk60,000 to each of the families of the deceased, Tk25,000 to each of the injured victims, Tk40,000 to each of the owners of eight damaged three-wheelers, Tk15,000 to each of the owners of two damaged auto rickshaws, Tk10,000 to each of the owners of two damaged rickshaws, Tk5,000 to each of the owners of eight damaged shops and Tk30,000 for the treatment and burial costs of Alamgir Hossain, a rickshaw puller who succumbed to his injuries at DMCH. BRTA chairman Nazrul Islam was unavailable via phone to comment about the issue. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Rice procurement faces setback n Our Correspondent, Sherpur The target of the government’s food procurement drive in Sherpur is unlikely to be achieved this season because the mill owners have stopped supplying rice.

Local sources said mill owners have already stopped providing rice to the food warehouses saying that they would not get fair prices if they sold rice to district food offices.

According local sources, the district food office is buying 1kg of rice at Tk31 while the same amount is being sold at Tk32 at local markets.

With a target to buy 38,553 tonnes of rice from Sherpur this year, the district food office started rice procurement drives on May 1.

A total of 604 out of 760 rice mills have signed agreements with the food office but 66 mills did not sign any contract considering the low price. The food office has procured 20,482 tonnes of rice till last week.

Many traders told the Dhaka Tribune that the production cost of each kilogram of rice was Tk32 but the government was offering them Tk31 for this quantity.

They said if the price of rice is not increased or the government does not provide necessary incentives to them, the target of the food grain procurement drive may suffer a shortfall in the current season.

The district food office has already sent a letter to the mill owners, giving them a warning to fulfill the rest of the target immediately.

According to the agreement, the mill owners will purchase rice from the local markets and after processing it in their mills, they will supply the rice to the food warehouses.

Mill owners, however, said they could not buy the targeted amount paddy from farmers as many farmers have stocked the food grain after being informed about the price of rice.

From the very beginning, the mill owners bought rice from outside the district, violating the conditions of the agreement, because of the low price at the local markets, and provided that product to the warehouses, said district food office sources.

Last year, the district food office procured 36,375 tonnes of rice against the targeted 420,49 tonnes.

The district food office’s financial dealings with the mill owners discourage them from providing rice this year to the food department.

Shahidullah Shahid, a mill owner, said they were incurring a huge loss this year. He said, “If the government does not increase the price of rice this year, we will not sign any agreement next year.”

District Food Controller GM Faruk said mill owners were not interested to supply rice and consequently they were unable to achieve their target. l

Random felling of roadside trees in Munshiganj n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj The forest department in Munshiganj has starting felling roadside trees on the Sipahipara-Dighirpar road and selling them.

Sources at the forest department said they were cutting down the trees since they had received permission to cut down the trees along 3km of road in Sadar, Tongibari, Gazaria and Sirajdikhan upazilas.

The forest department has recently sold 750 roadside trees through a tender, said the sources.

But local people alleged that they were not only cutting down mature trees but also saplings, which could be disastrous to the ecological balance.

Mintu Bhuyan, a resident of Rampal village, won the tender bid and bought 390 trees for Tk18 lakh while Delwar Hossain, Kabir Hossain and Kazi Arman won tenders for the rest.

Local people, however, alleged that some officials of the department are also involved in stealing the trees.

Abu Taher, regional officer of the district forest department, said he had taken initiatives to cut down the trees after taking permission from the Forest Ministry.

When asked about random felling of the trees, Deputy Commissioner Md Saiful Hasan Badal said he had stopped the initiative taken up by the forest officials and formed a three member probe committee on Sunday headed by Additional District Magistrate to look into the matter.

Magistrate AKM Shoukat Alom Mojumder said: “This felling of trees by the forest officials will be investigated soon.” l

Smugglers hurl crude bombs at BGB patrol team n Our Correspondent, Chuadanga Smugglers allegedly threw cocktail bombs at a patrol team of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Jibannagar upazila in Chuadanga on Sunday.

The incident took place near Main Pillar No 63 on Goyeshpur border of the upazila, said Chuadanga-6 BGB Battalion Director Lieutenant Colonel SM Moniruzzaman.

Police were informed and they arrested four persons on the charges of involvement in the attack.

The arrestees are Murad Hossain, 27, son of Ali Hossain, Malek, 28, son of Wahab Mondol, Fole Haque, 20, son of Intadul Haq, and Abdul Momin, son of Tetul Mondil of Goyeshpur village.

Jibannagar police station Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Shakhawat Hossain said they produced the accused before court around 12:30pm.

Inspector (police) at Chuadanga Court Faruk Hossain said they had kept the accused confined in the court prison room for now. l

6,000 Yaba pills seized in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A human chain was formed in Kurigram district town yesterday, protesting Israel attack on Palestinian civilians

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Israel’s attack on Gaza protested n Our Correspondent, Kurigram

Hundreds of people in the district formed a human chain yesterday to protest Israel’s recent attacks on Gaza which killed several hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

The district Ghatak Dalal Nirmul

Committee, Udichi, Prachhad, Rabindra Sangeet Sammilon Parishad, Methojon, Mahila Parishad and Sammilito Sanskritik Jot organised the programme at Zero point in the town.

Among others, freedom fighter Harunur Rashid Lal, Nandita Chakrabarti, Portima Roy Chowdhury, Moslem Ud-

din, Kaziul Islam, Alok Sarker, Imdadul Haque Imdad, Nur Mohammad Ansar, Manik Chowdhury, Monabber Hossain Mintu, Joti Ahmed, Dulal Bose, Yunus Ali, Yusuf Alamgir, Subrata Roy and Raseduzzaman Babu spoke on the occasion, with Shamol Bhowmick presiding. l

The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) yesterday took two people into custody together with 6,000 pieces of Yaba from in front of Sanmar Ocean City shopping centre in the Nasirabad area of Chittagong city as they attempted to smuggle the illicit drugs hidden in a cargo truck loaded with betel leaves.

The arrestees, both Cox’s Bazar natives, were Ziaur Rahman, 32, of Teknaf upazila and Monir Hossain, 26, of Ukhia upazila.

They were handed over to Panchlaish Police Station and a case was lodged at the police station against them, DNC Deputy Director of the Chittagong Metro region Mukul Jyoti Chakma said.

Acting on a tip-off, agents of the anti-narcotics force stopped the cargo truck bound for Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar around 4am, nabbed the duo and seized contraband items worth Tk30 lakh from their possession.

The truck and the Yaba pills were handed over to Panchlaish Police Station, the DNC deputy director said.

Police sources say there has been a spate in incidents of smuggling Yaba aboard goods-laden trucks because it is easy to hide the illegal cargo.

Thousands of cargo trucks travel between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar and between Dhaka and Chittagong making it difficult to intercept drug shipments without inside information, DNC sources said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

7

For the greater good of cricket We need an alternate world-order for the governance of cricket

The rest of the cricketing world does not need to play the big three’s proposal with a straight bat; the response should be more adventurous than a mere forward defence

A

n Mohammad Ali Sattar ccording to an Indian cricket boss, India had a contemplation of forming a separate cricket governing body if the ICC refused to abide by their claims and demand for a larger share of the revenue from cricket earnings.

The reason is: India earns and contributes the largest sum to the ICC fund, and gets only peanuts. So the BCCI thought to make amends to ICC regulations and ask for bigger gains.

The cricket bosses thought they have the potency (if not the judgment) to strike a bargain and come out victorious.

If India could threaten to create another cricket governing body, why can’t the rest of the members of the ICC walk out and form a World Cricket Council?

They took Team Australia and the English Cricket Board along with it.

They formed the trio calling themselves Big Three. The essence is to get a bigger share of revenue. Although the idea is self-destructive, to them it appears right.

The reason India and Australia put themselves in the same bracket is somewhat understandable, India now being the richest, and Australia a well-rounded team. Why should England be in the same rank, is inexplicable.

How far is the step right and reasonable? For simple reason, it is not right. India was never a force to reckon with. Not at least with its cricket. It came to the limelight once by its fluke win over the West Indies in 1983 ODI World Cup. Throughout it’s more than 6o year history, it never was a team to gossip about. It has still got the tag of “losers overseas.” They

have been losing overseas matches most humiliatingly.

Indian cricket roars, with full backing of its media and loud commentators, only when playing at home. If you watch closely, the BCCI and the media have been the main agents to raise the hype for cricket and the cricketers. The star is born even before he makes it to the national team. Most fade away sooner than later.

Of late, the IPL money has added to the power of the BCCI. We all know that the IPL was robbed from the ICL earlier introduced by Kapil Dev and others.

Don’t forget, if BCCI is rich today, it is not due to Indian sweat or performance. It is because of the international participation in the tournaments arranged by India, in India. It is the corporate money that attracts the foreign players and they in fact inject the extra life in these contests. BCCI got greedier day by day.

Drive away the foreign players, and then see how the BCCI and its events run – it will come to a grinding halt. BCCI authorities have long been involved in politics. The governing body members have come under severe criticism and acts of controversy many a time. Even the next ICC boss, the very Indian, Srinivasan has to be cleared by the court before he takes his seat as the chair of the ICC. The dissection in the ICC team ranks was tacitly accepted by the members. I was wondering what prompted other teams and their boards to accept the terms lying down. We know from reports that Pakistan raised its voice against the move, but later had to give in. What led the others to cower down?

The cricket bosses of other member countries did not dare to stand up and announce the incongruity, even if they did not approve of the plan from their hearts. In principle they are still against it, you bet.

If India could threaten to create another cricket governing body, why can’t the rest of the members of the ICC walk out and form a World Cricket Council (WCC)?

World boxing has three separate bodies for boxing, World Boxing Federation (WBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), and World Boxing Council (WBC). Each of them are holding their identities and running according to their rules. Each is awarding titles to their contenders at various categories.

Similarly, cricket also has the right to get a newer and more effective body for smooth operation of the game. However, things will not be the same with cricket as with the boxing

bodies, as the new organisation is likely to be a huge congregation of members compared to the current ICC with dictatorship of India and two others in force.

So a new body for cricket would be most welcome.

It’s easy, it’s simple.

How? It goes like this, subtracting India, Australia, and England, the rest would form the new body. Every cricketing nation will be immediately absorbed as full members of the WCC. There are at least 40 to 50 nations playing cricket. They will become members by paying a certain amount of fees. The HQs will be anywhere in UAE or Europe or Southeast Asia.

With a strong 50 (or even more) member council, the WCC will have a tough governing body from the top cricketing nations like Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and even more.

Look at the prospects – teams from USA, UAE, Afghanistan, USA, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Fiji, African countries, Ireland, Scotland and other European states and the Caribbean islands will make a huge figure of members. The membership will far outnumber the current ICC list.

The UAE, the USA and many affluent European countries will make the WCC richer than the BCCI and its two friends. So, there should not be any reason of doubt over the donation and availability of funds. Rather WCC will be wealthier and they will be able to systematise more tournaments, matches and bilateral series between members more effectively with additional returns and revenue.

The world will be successfully abuzz with new cricket bonanza. The game will be expanded across the globe. We shall have more venues and added crowds enjoying the game, more people and governments involved in this.

We expect to get almost the same amount of excitement and heat as we now generate from football throughout the world.

The media will find its hub and pit of revenue here. They will squabble for rights to broadcast and telecast the events by WCC. What would be the fallout? It will be something like this – all the teams will be benefitted. Smaller teams will get a bigger access to the world of cricket and competition will turn fierce. It will unfasten the gates of gushing geniuses. There will be more faculties (players, organisers, sponsors) available from these countries, which are rich by all other means!

Even the donations that will pour

in from the member countries and private sponsors will be enormous! I believe that the WCC should be the richest body, if run appropriately.

There should not be any politics or big brothers (match fixers) in the body.

The election system should be worked out in thorough detail before embarking on this. The constitution ought to be revised minutely and considered by all members before final approval!

What about the current big three?

These “biggies” will soon be dwarfed.

Because they will be left to play only among themselves! Imagine the scenario. The bilateral series will be played only in venues at India, England and Australia, the ODIs and T20s will be contested only among the three.

How long will the boards be able to pull crowds? How long will the tickets sell? What about the world

WIKIMEDIA

economies and successful cricketing nations to sit together and start working on the new organisation, WCC. Cricket should be given a chance to thrive and survive. We have plenty of talent scattered around the globe. Give them a chance and see what they make of the opportunity! They will indeed illuminate the game with more power and talent and make it more ornamental. Who knows we might stumble upon more genius than we have seen up until now. Make the game global in the true sense of the term!

The divisive minds of the so-called big ones are nothing but a senseless step to divide the sport and reap short term benefits!

Sport or for that matter cricket is now on a higher plane than before.

The spoilt minds have failed to behold that. l

Cricket should be given a chance to thrive and survive. We have plenty of talent scattered around the globe. Give them a chance and see what they make of the opportunity!

championships? Only three teams will be left to compete under the ICC banner! How long will the three member team body exist?

The fate is simple. Within a year or two the whole of ICC and the teams will dry out and cease to be of any purpose. Players of the three teams will then opt for transporting themselves to those countries (WCC members) to make themselves available for cricket! And the BCCI and its partners (the trio) will have to lay off officers, panel of umpires, other staff and technical hands until it will lock the main office and walk away to find some other job. They may even apply for newer positions in the WCC! It is time we think of the WCC very seriously. I call upon the stronger

Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and a DT columnist. He can be reached at malisattar@ outlook.com

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Israel kills ‘militants’ entering from Gaza, death toll tops 500

Kerry makes mic gaffe on Gaza n AFP, Washington

n Reuters, Gaza/Jerusalem Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinian militants who slipped across the border from Gaza through hidden tunnels on Monday, the military said, as the death toll from the two-week conflict passed 500 amid growing international calls for an end.

Defying a UN Security Council appeal for an immediate ceasefire, Israeli jets, tanks and artillery continued to pound the Gaza Strip, killing 28 members of a single family near the enclave’s southern border with Egypt, medics said.

The Islamist group Hamas and its allies fired multiple missiles across southern and central Israel, and heavy fighting was reported in the north and east of Gaza.

Non-stop attacks lifted the Palestinian death toll to 496, including almost 100 children, since fighting started on July 8, Gaza health officials said. Israel says 18 of its soldiers have also died along with two civilians.

Despite worldwide calls for a cessation of the worst bout of Palestinian-Israeli violence for more than five years, Israeli ministers ruled out any swift truce.

“This is not the time to talk of a ceasefire,” said Gilad Erdan, communications minister and a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner security cabinet.

“We must complete the mission, and the mission cannot end until the threat of the tunnels is removed,” he told reporters.

For its part, Hamas, weakened by the loss of Egypt and Syria as allies, voiced determination to fight on to break Israel’s economic siege of Gaza.

US Secretary of State John Kerry was due to fly to Egypt later in the day as part of a gathering effort to halt the bloodshed, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is touring the Middle East trying to secure a ceasefire.

Past flare-ups between Israel and its foes in Gaza and Lebanon have usually ended when the United States, the Jewish state’s guardian ally, calls a halt,

Palestinian relatives and friends mourn above the bodies of nine members of the Siam family, who were killed in an Israeli air strike, during their funeral yesterday sometimes hastened by a strike that inflicts high civilian casualties on the Arab side.

While Washington went along with Sunday’s Security Council statement, it has so far defended Israeli actions and refrained from pressuring Netanyahu publicly to stop.

Violence along the Gaza border intensified on Monday and sirens wailed across much of central and southern Israel to warn of rocket attacks. At least nine missiles were shot down by Israel’s

Iron Dome interceptor, the army said.

Looking to take the fight onto Israeli soil, two groups of Palestinian fighters crossed from Gaza via two tunnels in the early morning, opening fire as they entered.

Black and white surveillance footage supplied by the army, showed one group of five or six men crouching and firing in long grass. Seconds later they were hit by a large explosion, which sent a cloud of smoke and debris flying into the air.

UN to vote on crash resolution; Russia has doubts n AP, United Nations The UN Security Council will vote Monday on an Australia-proposed resolution demanding international access to the Ukraine plane crash site and a cease-fire around the area, with diplomats pressuring a reluctant Russia to approve it.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country would view a Russian veto of the resolution “very badly,” adding that “no reasonable person” could object to its wording.

“This is still an absolutely shambolic situation. It does look more like a garden clean-up than a forensic investigation,” he told reporters.

“Given the almost certain culpability of the Russian-backed rebels in the downing of the aircraft, having these people in control of the site is a little like leaving criminals in control of a crime scene,” Abbott added.

The United States has presented what it called “powerful” evidence that the rebels shot down the plane

with a Russian surface-to-air missile and training. Other governments have stopped short of accusing Russia of actually causing the crash.

Russian officials have blamed Ukraine’s government for creating the situation and atmosphere in which the plane was downed.

Security Council diplomats held consultations late Sunday until past midnight to work out key differences between Australia and Russia. The diplomats emerged cautiously optimistic that a resolution would be approved, but Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin would not guarantee it.

“It was a worthwhile session, so let’s see what the result is going to be tomorrow,” Churkin told reporters.

The resolution calls for pro-Russia separatists to allow access to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 298 people, including 37 Australian citizens and residents. It asks for the full cooperation of all countries in the region, including Russia.

Earlier Sunday, Churkin said Russia is concerned the draft “does not accurately reflect the need for an impartial, international investigation.”

He said Russia is proposing that the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency, take the lead in the investigation. The current proposal welcomes “the decision by ICAO to send a team to assist” Ukrainian investigators.

Council ambassadors did not say if an agreement on that point had been reached Sunday.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the council will vote Monday afternoon and “we hope it will be unanimous” in favor of the resolution.

Earlier, Lyall Grant accused Russia of proposing one amendment after another to delay passage of the resolution.

“It looks like a typical Russian delay in tactics, and one can guess why they want delay,” Lyall Grant told reporters.

Russia has the power to veto the resolution as a permanent council member. l

Putin reiterates Russian position over Donetsk tragedy n Tribune desk Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, again, and urged that the parties involved come back to the negotiating table so that a diplomatic solution can be reached.

A Russian Embassy press release, issued yesterday, conveyed the Russian position to Dhaka Tribune. The statement was issued on the wake of the MH 17 crash.

“We have called repeatedly on all parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed immediately and begin negotiations. I believe that if military operations had not resumed in eastern Ukraine on June 28, this tragedy probably could have been avoided,” the statement said.

“For its part, Russia will do every-

thing within its power to move the conflict in eastern Ukraine from the military phase we see today to the negotiating phase, with the parties using peaceful and diplomatic means alone,” The statement concluded.

The statement also remarked that the crash site should be opened to Icao experts under all humanitarian corridors required: “It is essential that

a full-fledged group of experts under ICAO aegis, an appropriate international commission set up for the task, be able to work at the crash site. We must do everything possible to ensure their complete and guaranteed safety and provide them with the humanitarian corridors they need for their work. ” Putin’s statement remarked that the international attention on the issue of the gunning down of the aircraft should not be used to take political advantage.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed on July 17. It is believed to have been shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile. The aircraft went down near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, about 40 km (25 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border. All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board died. l

A military spokeswoman said at least 10 militants died. She did not comment on reports of casualties amongst Israeli forces. Hamas said its men had destroyed an army jeep in the assault.

Fighters from Hamas, which controls Gaza, and its allies, have repeatedly tried to infiltrate Israel over the past week through a vast network of hidden tunnels, looking to attack villages and army encampments that dot the border area.

AFP

Netanyahu sent in Israeli ground forces on Thursday to destroy the tunnels and the militants’ missile stock pile.

Capture claim

Hamas announced late on Sunday its fighters had captured an Israeli soldier during fighting, setting off celebrations around Gaza. It named the man as Shaul Aron and showed his ID papers, but did not release any picture of him alive in their hands. l

Dutch angry with treatment of Ukraine bodies n AP, The Hague, Netherlands It is no longer only grief and mourning sweeping across the Netherlands in the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. It is now anger.

The Dutch have widely condemned the way the bodies of loved ones have been treated in Ukraine and the fact they have not yet been returned home, four days after Thursday’s tragedy.

“No words can describe it,” said Silene Fredriksz-Hoogzand, whose son Bryce and his girlfriend Daisy Oehlers died on their way to a vacation in Bali.

“Bodies are just lying there for three days in the hot sun. There are people who have this on their conscience.

There are families who can never hold the body of a child or a mother.”

Prosecutors in the Netherlands said they have begun a criminal investigation, though it remains unclear exactly where any suspects might be brought to justice.

Fredriksz-Hoogzand was among scores of victims’ relatives expected at a behind-closed-doors meeting Mon-

day near the central city of Utrecht, where they were to be consoled by King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The downing of the Boeing 777 over eastern Ukraine on Thursday killed 298 passengers and crew, including 193 Dutch citizens.

A group of lawmakers hurried back from their summer recess for a meeting Monday with Rutte, who told them that getting the bodies home as soon as possible was his government’s top priority. He said a Dutch military transport plane is ready to repatriate the remains, which are now being stored in a refrigerated train in a rebel-held town.

“If the train finally gets going and the bodies get to Ukraine-controlled territory then we would prefer — and a Hercules is ready at Kharkiv airport — to get the bodies back to the Netherlands as soon as possible,” Rutte said.

One lawmaker, Gert-Jan Segers of the Christian Union, voiced the growing nationwide frustration.

“The Netherlands is grieving,” he said. “And angry.” l

Nigeria’s fears crackdown over Boko Haram battle n Reuters, Abuja/Lagos Nigeria’s press is traditionally free to write almost anything about anyone whether it’s true or not. But reporters fear a government sensitive to criticism is now cracking down, especially on coverage of the battle against Boko Haram.

After 15 years of democracy, journalists believe the state is trying to tame the vibrant, prolific media during its faltering campaign to stamp out the militant Islamist group.

One Friday last month the army seized newspaper print-runs, halted distribution vans across the country and ransacked offices of newspaper distributors and agents, detaining staff for several hours, the Nigerian Press Organisation said.

For Femi Adesina, now editor-in-chief of Nigeria’s top tabloid,

The Sun, this awoke bad memories of life under military rule, when reporters were routinely hauled in for questioning over their news stories.

“You virtually had your heart in your mouth. You wrote the story and you didn’t know whether you should sleep at home or sleep somewhere else,” recalled Adesina, who is also president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. “If we are not careful as a country, we could slide back to those dark days.”

While reporters accuse the security forces from time to time of intimidation, conditions for journalists remain a long way from the era of military dictatorship. Newspapers are able to publish vitriolic criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan that is largely tolerated.

Spokesmen for the presidency and police and a spokeswoman for the state security service did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. l

US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to criticize Israel in candid remarks caught on an open microphone between television interviews Sunday.

Kerry was heard talking about Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza to a State Department official identified as Jonathan Finer just before appearing on the “Fox News Sunday” political talk show.

“I hope they don’t think that’s an invitation to go do more,” Kerry says.

“That better be the warning to them.”

A frustrated Kerry then says: “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” in apparent frustration over the civilian toll in the Israeli operation. The Palestinian death toll topped 500 on Sunday as Israel pressed a ground offensive into the densely packed Gaza Strip after two weeks of aerial attacks. “We’ve got to get over there,” Kerry is heard saying on the Sunday recording. “I think, Jon, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around. Let’s go.”

When confronted over the remarks

by Fox host Chris Wallace, Kerry reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense.

“I think it’s very, very difficult in these situations, obviously very difficult,” Kerry said.

“You have people who’ve come out of tunnels. You have a right to go in and take out those tunnels. We completely support that. And we support Israel’s right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in. Hamas has started this process of rocketing, after Israel was trying to find the people who killed three young – you know, one American kid, three young Israeli citizens. It’s disgraceful,” Kerry said.

“It’s tough to have this kind of operation. I reacted obviously in a way that ... anybody does with respect to young children and civilians.

“But war is tough, and I’ve said that publicly and I’ve said it again. We defend Israel’s right to do what it is doing in order to get at those tunnels,” Kerry said.

Kerry then urged Hamas to “step up and be reasonable and understand that you accept the cease-fire, you save lives.”

Kerry traveled to Cairo early Monday for crisis talks on Gaza, following President Barack Obama’s call for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israelis and Palestinians in the conflict l

NEWS BITES

German court: ‘Sex tax’ also applies to tantric massage

n Agencies

Tantric massages provide sexual pleasure and are subject to the same tax levied on brothels and swinger clubs in a German city, a state court said on Monday. The decision by an administrative court in Baden-Wuerttemberg state followed a complaint by the owner of a massage parlour who had been billed a total of 840 euros ($1,140) for January and February 2012 under a local “amusement tax” targeting the sex trade in the state capital Stuttgart.

The court said in a ruling dated July 3, released on Monday, that a studio offering the massages falls under the same tax levied on businesses that “specifically grant the opportunity for sexual pleasures.”

It upheld the ruling of a lower court from November. Stuttgart introduced the “amusement tax” in 2012.

The business owner had argued that tantric massages should be exempt because “although the genital area is involved during the massage, the main purpose of the treatment is not sexual pleasure.” l

Early HIV drugs ‘may not stop virus’

n Agencies HIV can rapidly form invulnerable strongholds in the body, dashing hopes that early treatment might cure the virus, according to new research.

A baby was thought to have been cured with treatment hours after birth, but the virus emerged years later.

Monkey research, published in the journal Nature, suggests untouchable “viral reservoirs” form even before HIV can be detected in the blood.

Experts described it as a “sobering” and “striking” finding.

Reservoirs of HIV in the gut and brain tissue are the massive obstacle in the way of a cure.

Remarkable progress in developing antiretroviral drugs means HIV can be kept in check in the bloodstream and patients have a near-normal life expectancy.

But if the drugs stop, the virus will emerge from its reservoirs. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Iran dilutes enriched What Iran must do, and get in return, under nuclear talks extension uranium stockpile n AP Iran has turned all of its enriched uranium closest to the level needed to make nuclear arms into more harmless forms, the United Nations’ nuclear agency has said.

Tehran had committed to convert or dilute its 20-percent enriched stockpile under an agreement with six powers last November that froze its atomic programmes pending negotiations on a comprehensive deal. Those talks were extended on Saturday to November 24.

The development was noteworthy in reflecting Iran’s desire to continue the diplomatic process with the six countries - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany.

Iran had more than 200kg of 20% enriched uranium when the preliminary agreement was reached. That’s nearly enough for one warhead.

A report from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said that all has now been converted or diluted, AP news agency reported. The report said Iran was observing all of its other commitments as well.

Sushma: No change in India’s policy on Palestine n Agencies Asserting that India’s policy on Palestine issue remains unchanged, government on Monday refused to take sides over the Gaza conflict as it said Israel and Palestine should have peace talks and forestalled a resolution in Rajya Sabha which was demanded by the opposition.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the House should not be divided but send out a joint message that wherever there is violence, it is condemnable and both Israel and Palestine should accept Egypt’s offer of peace talks.

She was replying to a short-duration debate on Gaza situation during which opposition condemned the violence in Gaza, pressed for adoption of a resolution, demanded suspension of all military purchases from Israel and wanted India to raise the issue at the UN. Rejecting opposition demand for a resolution, deputy chairman PJ Kurien said the Rule 176 under which the discussion took place does not provide for a resolution or motion of any kind. Besides, he pointed out that the government was not agreeable to a resolution or motion of any kind and there was no consensus, because of which he could do nothing. l

At 20%, enriched uranium can be converted quickly to arm a nuclear weapon. Iran denies wanting such arms.

Tehran is keen to seal a deal that would end nuclear-related sanctions on its economy, but is resisting a USled drive to put stiff, long-term constraints on atomic activities that have both peaceful and weapons-related applications.

The main dispute is over uranium enrichment, which can make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Up to last week Tehran had demanded that it be allowed to expand its enrichment programme over the next eight years to a level that would need about 190,000 current-model enriching centrifuges.

It now has about 20,000 centrifuges, with half of them operating. Iranian officials have recently signalled they are ready to freeze that number for now.

But US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week it was “crystal clear” that even 10,000 are too many.

Diplomats say Washington wants no more than 2,000 of the machines.l

n Reuters, Vienna After more than two weeks of negotiations in Vienna, Iran and the powers announced early on Saturday that they would extend an interim deal that they hammered out in Geneva late last year.

They agreed to continue talking until Nov. 24 after realising that remaining wide gaps in negotiating positions - especially over the permissible scope of Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity meant they would miss a self-imposed July 20 deadline for a comprehensive agreement.

The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China want Iran to significantly scale back its uranium enrichment programme to make sure it cannot produce nuclear bombs.

Iran says the programme is entirely peaceful.

During the additional period, Iran and the six nations will continue to implement the six-month Geneva agreement - under which Iran halted its most sensitive nuclear work in exchange for a limited easing of sanctions that have crippled its economy. They also agreed

on some additional steps. Here is a brief overview of the extension:

Why was the july 20 deadline missed?

During six rounds of negotiations that began in February in Vienna’s 19th century Coburg palace, Iran and the powers made some progress, diplomats say.

For example, they have narrowed differences on the future of Iran’s planned Arak research reactor, which the West fears could yield plutonium for bombs but Tehran says will produce medical and agricultural isotopes.

On the pivotal issue of Iran’s enrichment capacity, however, the gaps proved impossible to overcome by this month’s deadline. Despite this, Western officials said enough headway was made overall to justify giving diplomacy more time, expressing hope that a final accord will be struck by late November. Talks are expected to resume in coming weeks.

“The main text (of the draft agreement) is there, all aspects are addressed ... But we need to solve the core issues which remain in ‘brackets’,” a senior Western diplomat said.

What must iran do during the extension?

Under the terms of the extension, last year’s interim accord will run for up to four months more, with some adjustments.

This means Iran will continue to implement the steps it agreed to in that accord: a halt of its most sensitive nuclear work - uranium enrichment to a fissile purity of 20% - and some other measures aimed at addressing Western concerns, including suspending most construction work at Arak.

In addition, US officials said on Saturday, Iran has undertaken to use the part of its 20% uranium stockpile it has already converted from gas into oxide, to make fuel - which would be difficult to use for a bomb - for a Tehran research reactor. They said Iran would also dilute all of its stockpile of uranium gas refined to a two percent fissile concentration, estimated at three tonnes.

“In a (nuclear weapons) breakout scenario, it’s quite significant and quite important. So we think this is a big step forward,” a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

Iran says it is enriching uranium

It will continue to receive the limited sanctions relief it enjoyed during the six-month Geneva accord whose implementation started on Jan. 20, including suspension of some restrictions on trade in gold, precious metals and petrochemicals, and in the auto industry.

In addition, it will be able to receive $2.8 billion of what US officials say is more than $100 billion of its funds held abroad, access to which has been made difficult because of tightening sanctions in recent years.

However, “the overwhelming majority of our sanctions, including the key oil, banking, and financial sanctions, all remain in place,” a senior US official said. “And we will continue to vigorously enforce those sanctions throughout the extension period.”

Officials say the ultimate aim of the talks is to agree long-term curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions. l

US special envoy visits Pakistan

n Agencies

This handout picture released on July 20, by the Protezione Civile Italiana (Civil Protection) shows an aerial view of the refloated wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Giglio Island. The Costa Concordia is due to be dragged away on July 22, from Giglio Island, where it crashed on the night of January 13, 2012 in a disaster that killed 32 people. The ship’s final journey for scrapping in the port of Genoa in northwest Italy is set to take four days AFP

Reuters, Baghdad

Indonesia’s outgoing leader on Monday came within a whisker of telling retired general Prabowo Subianto to admit defeat so that the country’s most bitterly fought leadership contest could be resolved.

Prabowo has almost certainly lost the July 9 election but on Sunday cried foul and demanded the Elections Commission investigate vote cheating before he would accept its result. The Commission is due to announce the result on Monday or Tuesday.

“Admitting defeat is noble,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters in a clear reference to Prabowo.

A protracted wrangle over the election outcome could undermine confidence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy which has seen strong investment in recent years.

Private tallies of the 130 million votes show Jakarta governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo won by about five percentage points over Prabowo who has spent the last 10 years preparing for his presidential bid.

Prabowo’s recalcitrance has led to fears his supporters might turn violent and some have threatened to rally outside the Elections Commission (KPU) office in central Jakarta ahead of the official result, which under law must be declared by July 22.

The national police and military have deployed nearly 300,000 personnel across the vast archipelago of 240

What will iran get in return?

NEWS BITES

T H E F I N A L V OYA G E

Indonesian leader urges Iraq Catholic leader says Islamic presidential election State worse than Genghis Khan n loser to concede n Reuters, Jakarta

only to fuel a planned network of nuclear energy plants.

million people. Security has also been beefed up around the KPU office but there has been no word of any violence.

“We don’t anticipate the KPU to be a hot spot for violence,” national police spokesperson Boy Rafli Amar told Reuters.

“At the same time, we ask the public not to assemble there so that the KPU officials can continue their work in a conducive atmosphere.”

Candidates can lodge complaints with the Constitutional Court, which has been done by the losers in the previous two presidential elections. The Court has to return a verdict on any challenge within two weeks. The verdict cannot be appealed.

“If there is someone who does not accept the official result, I would advise them to peacefully go the constitutional route,” said Yudhoyono, who hosted both candidates for dinner at the presidential palace on Sunday night.

‘Failed’

KPU officials said reports of irregularities have been investigated as recommended by the election watchdog.

They said the number of disputed votes numbered in the thousands.

Analysts reckon it would need a reversal of up to seven million votes to hand Prabowo victory.

As it has become increasingly clear that Prabowo has lost, so signs have grown that key supporters may be ready to leave his “permanent coalition” of parties, or join the other side. l

The head of Iraq’s largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad.

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis decried what he said was the persecution of Christians in the birthplace of their faith, while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Islamic State’s actions could constitute a crime against humanity.

Hundreds of Christian families left Mosul ahead of Saturday’s ultimatum, many of them stripped of their possessions as they fled for safety. They formed the remnants of a community which once numbered in the tens of thousands and traced its presence in Mosul to the earliest years of Christianity.

People of other faiths in the once diverse city, including Shi’ites, Yazidis and Shabaks, have also fled from the ultra-conservative militants, who have blown up mosques and shrines and seized property of fleeing minorities.

“The heinous crime of the Islamic State was carried out not just against Christians, but against humanity,” Sako told a special church service in east Baghdad where around 200 Muslims joined Christians in solidarity.

“How in the 21st century could people be forced from their houses just

because they are Christian, or Shi’ite or Sunni or Yazidi?” he asked. “Christian families have been expelled from their houses and their valuables were stolen and ...their houses and property expropriated in the name of the Islamic State.”

“This has never happened in Christian or Islamic history. Even Genghis Khan or Hulagu didn’t do this,” he said.

Hulagu Khan led a Mongol army which sacked Baghdad in 1258, killing tens of thousand of people, destroying a caliphate which lasted nearly 600 years and leaving the city in ruins for centuries.

‘World must act’

Muslims at the service held up leaflets declaring “I am Iraqi, I am Christian,” some writing it on their shirts.

Others marked themselves with an “N,” the first letter of the Arabic word for Christian, “Nasrani” or Nazarene.

The Islamic State has been putting an “N” on Christian property marked out for seizure.

One of Zako’s deputies, Bishop Shlemon Wardooni, called for an international response. “The world must act, speak out, consider human rights,” he said, adding that the Iraqi state was weak and divided and Muslim leaders had remained silent.

“We haven’t heard from clerics from all sects or from the government,” he told Reuters on Sunday. “The Christians are sacrificed for Iraq.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki condemned the treatment of the Christians and what he described as attacks on churches in Mosul, saying it showed “the extreme criminality and terrorist nature of this group.”

He said he instructed a government

committee set up to support displaced people across Iraq to help the Christians who had been made homeless, but did not say when the army might try to win back control of Mosul.

Iraq’s security forces, which wilted under the weight of last month’s Islamic State-led offensive, have been reinforced by Shi’ite militia fighters and are trying to push back the Sunni militants further south. So far they have failed to take back significant territory from the insurgents.

Pope Francis said he was troubled by the Islamic State ultimatum in his weekly public prayers on Sunday. The Chaldeans are Eastern Rite Catholics in communion with Rome.

“I learned with great concern the news that came from the Christian communities in Mosul and other parts of the Middle East, where they have lived since the birth of Christianity and where they have made significant contributions to the good of their societies,” he said.

«Today they are persecuted. Our brothers are persecuted. They›ve been driven away. They must leave their homes without being able to take anything with them.»

UN Secretary General Ban condemned “in the strongest terms the systematic persecution of minority populations in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) and associated armed groups,” a statement by his spokesman said.

Any systematic attack on a civilian population because of their ethnic background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a crime against humanity, for which those responsible must be held accountable, he said. l

The United States (US) Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador James Dobbins visited Pakistan on Monday to discuss post-election scenario in Afghanistan.

Ambassador Dobbins also met the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif at the General Head Quarters (GHQ) and discussed post-presidential election situation and coordination on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement stated.

Dobbins also met Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

During his visit, Dobbins call on the Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, at the Foreign Office.

“The discussions covered Pakistan-US bilateral relations and developments in Afghanistan,” Foreign office spokesperson said in a statement.

The adviser took the opportunity to laud ambassador Dobbins’ efforts for the promotion of stable, cooperative and durable relations between Pakistan and the US during his term as SRAP. The two sides reiterated their resolve to further deepen the bilateral relationship and strengthen mutual consultations on post-2014 Afghanistan with a view of advancing the shared objectives of peace, stability and economic development in the region and beyond.

The adviser also highlighted Pakistan’s monumental effort to address the threat of terrorism and underscored that the military operation, Zarb-i-Azb, was addressing it without any discrimination or distinction. In the regional context, the adviser reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful, stable and united Afghanistan. He appreciated the efforts of Secretary John Kerry who had contributed to an amicable understanding on election-related issues. l

Xinhua: China death toll from super typhoon rises to 33

n Reuters, Beijing

The death toll from a super typhoon, the strongest to hit southern China in 40 years, has risen to 33, state media said on Monday, after leaving at least 77 dead in the Philippines last week.

Typhoon Rammasun struck the island province of Hainan on Friday and then tore through parts of the mainland, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua also said a mudslide on Monday killed 10 residents of a village in southern Yunnan province. Ten people were missing.

Rammasun hit the provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and Hainan, wiping out trees and power lines. It affected more than eight million people, Xinhua said.

Guangdong province, an export powerhouse known for its factories, suffered the worst economic losses of more than 12.7 billion yuan ($2 billion), the agency reported.

Typhoons occur regularly at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength from the warm waters and dissipating over land. Another typhoon, known as Matmo, is expected to strike Taiwan and eastern China later this week. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

No need for predictable disputes

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t a tripartite meeting involving factory owners, government and workers’ representatives, BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA leaders have promised to pay apparel workers partial wages for the current month along with a festival bonus by July 26.

Some worker groups had been agitating for payments of arrears and a festival bonus before July 19. We hope that the latest announcement will allow their grievances to be settled.

It is concerning that the payment of festival bonuses should be a recurring cause for dispute, not only in the RMG sector, but in many industries.

There is no reason in workplaces where such payments are contractually promised or regularly paid, for disputes to arise over Eid bonuses.

If employers are unable or unwilling to provide such bonuses, they have the right to make this clear at the start of the year. However, in many industries including RMG, while such payments are indeed regularly made or promised by employers, there are also regular disputes over the timing and making of such payments.

There is no sensible reason for Eid bonuses to be a perennial cause for unrest within any industry.

Eid is a regular landmark in the calendar. Either employers make clear that they do not pay festival bonuses, or they should pay them as a matter of routine.

RMG employers face enough major challenges as it is, for it to be in their interest to ensure that disputes over festival bonuses do not arise in the first place.

It is in everyone’s interest that disputes over Eid bonuses do not arise in the first place

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

Darkness under the lamp

July 17 some darkness is certain to persist under his Jay very nose.

The state of the education system of India that If the education sector is compared with a was portrayed in Chetan Bhagat’s Revolution river, the owners, teachers, and administrators 2020 is uncannily similar to our education in this sector are like fish not swimming but also sector. The coaching centres, thousands of having their sustenance and growth there. So, notes, corruption, misleading the students as Chankya said, they are certain to swallow into traps, extortion, and finally ruining the some water in the course of their journey of life future of thousands of young minds – all these in that river. have messed up both the public and private Besides, as according to Newton’s third law, educational institutions. every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

So whatever TIB has wanted us to believe, the SD education minister would want us to disbelieve If darkness under the lamp is a universal that with equal force. And he is doing exactly truism, then it must be admitted that we have that. There is nothing abnormal in it. Let them all no alternative to bear with some darkness, eat, drink, and be merry. Never expect to remove irrespective of the number of lamps we use. the darkness; it will persist so long as this world The education minister’s overreaction could be moves around the sun. interpreted in that light. If he represents a lamp,

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 12 represents U so fill U every time the figure 12 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.

Bring the tourists here July 16

Safeguard migrant workers’ rights

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ver 8 million Bangladeshis work abroad. Collectively they provide billions of dollars of invaluable remittance income.

Yet, except in rare cases which receive publicity such as the recent ordeal of the workers in Iraq who were held captive by militants for weeks, only limited official attention is paid to the plight of those migrant workers who suffer abuses abroad.

We need to emulate other labour exporting nations such as the Philippines which are much more effective in representing and protecting the rights of their expatriate workers.

It is commendable that the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has resolved to work with the International Organisation for Migration to formulate a better labour migration policy that guarantees the safety and security of our overseas workforce.

Recruiting agencies need to be strictly regulated by the government to safeguard worker interests. A major reason why workers often endure regular abuses of their rights is because they have incurred large debts to obtain employment abroad and will continue to take their chances in the absence of productive employment at home.

Expatriate workers are essential to our growth and development. More should be done to facilitate improved skills and language training to migrant workers generally. They also merit better representation from our country’s diplomatic services, who should be more pro-active in helping those lower wage groups who are most susceptible to abuse and exploitation by employers and labour agents.

We owe it to our citizens who work abroad to guarantee their rights are not encroached upon.

Emulate nations such as the Philippines, which are more effective in protecting expatriate workers

A secret kingdom

July 16 Paul Philip Lovely article! Does indeed rouse passion in a man to discover more about the “secret kingdom.”

PM flies to London on July 21 July 17

vihan All excuses seem good enough to go on holiday.

Priorities, priorities.

Some call it soccer

July 17 VHS The US has a lot of money and a lot of interest in sports. All they need to do is realise that soccer is indeed worth their time.

Chittagong Jamaat chief arrested again July 17

Tangled Abstract Fallacy Arrest and prosecute these terrorists, thugs, and killers as per the existing law of our nation. Every single savage who perpetrates atrocities and disrupts peace-loving Bangalees’ lives, must be legally dealt with.

The Middle East burns July 17 VK Thanks for this article! The means and objectives of these zealots look frighteningly similar to the goals of Hitler and the Nazis before and during World War II. Ideological or religious fascism is a real threat for Islam and world peace and should be stopped by all means possible!

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Fareed Wakil Oh, I forgot, corrupt cops flash grins when foreigners report theft. And belongings, once stolen from tourists are never found again.

Imagine life for a tourist here: Low levels of exposure to foreign cultures, no “fun” places, no alcohol, never able to get away from hordes of beggars and curious crowds, no decent restaurants outside Dhaka, “historic” sites that smell of urine, no hotels outside Dhaka that come anywhere near Western standards of hygiene, sanitation and service, dodgy food, dodgy hospitals, an extremely dangerous road system, launches that look as if they will sink any moment, and “resorts” that, again, have no standards, and I think one gets the real picture.

NMJ Fareed Wakil: Alcohol is served at foreign clubs, like American Club, BAGHA, Nordic Club, and even hotels like Westin. So, I don’t think that is a big concern.

Sangsad to get back power to impeach judges July 17

Dr Ahsan Habib While the government is studying the constitution of western democracies, I would request them to see how they hold elections, how they create and respect various institutions, and how they also impeach corrupt officers and politicians on top of judges.

Vikram Khan Promising when the government does not trust jurisdiction.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Cicatrix (4) 4 Worth (5) 8 Yachting station (6) 9 Stupefy (4) 11 Viper (5) 12 Singer (4) 14 Monkey (3) 15 Dissipate (6) 19 Missive (6) 21 Donkey (3) 22 Large brown seaweed (4) 24 Tracking system (5) 27 Narrow beams (4) 29 Leopard-like cat (6) 30 Precipitous (5) 31 Ooze (4)

DOWN 1 Distress call (3) 2 Talisman (6) 3 Talk wildly (4) 4 By way of (3) 5 S American mountains (5) 6 Boy (3) 7 Registers (6) 10 Ribbon (4) 13 Lyric poem (3) 14 Makes watchful (6) 16 Vex (3) 17 Roof of the mouth (6) 18 Catch sight of (4) 20 Vestige (5) 23 Love god (4) 25 Female deer (3) 26 Corded fabric (3)

28 Plant juice (3)

Shock, drama, heartbreak

July 16 Intish Seems to me the Brazilian footballers showed off their girlfriends before the tournament started, while the champions showed off theirs right after the tournament.

Spending time in school is not enough July 15 TJ Excellent points. There are many private initiators, like JAAGO and Teach For Bangladesh, who are trying to provide quality education for students who cannot afford it, namely the students from public schools. Such efforts should be made by the government as well to provide good education for students from all socio-economic backgrounds.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

BB asks ACC to take action against ex-board members of BASIC Bank July 16 deep purple blue Doesn’t the ACC claim to be independent?

So, why would they halt an investigation at the request of Bangladesh Bank? Now, the Bangladesh Bank is saying that there is no relationship between the MoU and the investigation!

I think the backbone of the banking sector is broken, with scams in Sonali, Basic, Premier and National banks. Needless to say, the scammers get away with their loot due to their political connections with the ruling party.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The time traveller n FS Aijazuddin

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Sometimes it is hard to remember why a war is being fought

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Great stage of fools

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n Ikhtisad Ahmed he Middle East has been in a constant state of war since World War I. It is a region that is the richest in resources in a world hopelessly dependant on fossil fuel. Control the resources, control the world. This may be an over-simplification of the reason behind the Middle East not knowing peace for a century, but it is closer to the truth than the binary perspective of the internet warriors and the masses. History, economics, politics, even common sense, collectively take a backseat to what they are certain they know, and since what they know is unquestionably right, facts provided by the innumerable disciplines of human knowledge should not get in the way by confusing or correcting them.

If the world cares so very much, and a casual glance at the feverish cacophony of self-assured bleating on social media about Israel and Palestine makes it seem that it does, one has to wonder why the atrocities being committed in Syria, Egypt, and Iraq without showing any signs of abating are being omitted by the conscientious masses.

Indeed, inhuman acts are effectuated by all sides – the two sides directly embroiled in the conflict, the wider community of the region, and international allies – every day in a

country that was forcibly created into a permanent state of war by an abortion rather than a solution, courtesy of the debacle of the British Mandate for Palestine. They happen in the blindspot of the world for the majority of the 365 days each year, a truth that has been repeated every year since the UK first burdened the world with the state of Israel.

misguided biases are passed off as liberal thought by the sanctimonious few who seek to justify their existence by continuously spouting their skewed views to a willing or forced audience.

Applying the laws and reasoning of peacetime to a war is illogical, futile.

An acceptance of war, however difficult that may be for the majority of the world that has never known conflict,

The decades-old Israel-Palestine crisis is not a cause celebre to be shone a light on by reactionaries when they want to bring attention to themselves

The US has indulged this British creation because it benefits both states and their carefully crafted narratives. The fertile and dominating chaos reigns, resources are controlled, and vitriolic rhetoric is used to conceal the truth. It is an oft-repeated trick that the world falls for without fail, every single time.

The outpouring of public grief and outrage is, thus, misdirected, and the problems persist and thrive.

The longer a war goes on for, the harder it is to remember why it is being fought, the easier it is to take sides and remain steadfast in the commitment to continue fighting it. In so doing,

allows a broader discussion about what caused it and how it can be ended, sans the asinine, black and white rhetoric and accusations.

It need not be a war between two equally matched and equally wronged sides – rarely do those battling others feel they have no grievances, and the advantage in such cases shifts rather than remaining a constant, further fuelling the flames – for it to be recognised as one. Solutions follow recognitions of problems. Keyboard warriors and the banner-wielding supposedly neutral common man on a soapbox should, therefore, expend

their energy better.

The alternative is the world being overrun by fools, who talk because they have to say something, rather than wise men, who talk because they have something to say. A perusal of social media makes a strong case for this already being true. The great mistake of equating words to action giving rise to the need to be seen saying something, anything, may already be this planet’s cross to bear, owing to the superficiality of its dominant species.

The decades-old Israel-Palestine crisis is not a cause celebre to be shone a light on by reactionaries when they want to bring attention to themselves.

It is one of the world’s original postWorld War sins that it lives with every day because the lives of people are not, and have never been, worth more than politics and power. Blood has become the smallest of prices to pay, preferable by the desensitised human race to any other inconvenience encountered on the road to attaining the desired.

Hence, an ever-worsening humanitarian situation, and violence in the name of self-defence and quashing threats to national security are accepted as the norm, to be justified by the end if and when it arrives. Through it all, the world is forever believing what is not true, and refusing to believe what is. l Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @ Ikhtisad.

f a Mughal Rip Van Winkle was to wake up in Pakistan today, he would not feel out of place. There would be much he would recognise.

He would find himself in a country consisting of satrapies – four provinces and the fifth, the Pakistan Army.

Each owes its allegiance to a different warlord – Punjab to the PML-N, Sindh to PPP and MQM, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the PTI, and so on.

Each offers only nominal allegiance to a tinsel president. Each is governed by impulse, not intuition, by reaction, not reason.

A civilian government has recurring nightmares about its army, while the army dreams occasionally about being a kingmaker again. The navy – as in Mughal times – is accorded a nominal role in the state’s security, for since the time of Muhammad bin Qasim, no one ever expects an invasion by sea.

The air force (a post-Mughal invention) passed judgment on itself during the night of May 2, 2011, when while the president of the United States and his aides in Washington watched live the attack by US SEALs on Abbottabad, our costly F-16s remained dormant and unresponsive.

That Mughal Rip Van Winkle would not be surprised to learn that the military attack on Miramshah on July 9 resulted in the escape of the targeted quarry of militant terrorists.

All that was left (it was reported) in a town “inhibited by more than 100,000 people” was nothing more dangerous than “a solitary donkey,” understandably oblivious that it was grazing in a warzone.

That time traveller would notice with satisfaction, how we have inherited a strain of Mughal arrogance, the pompous insularity that made the emperor Jahangir return a European map of the world as “incorrect” because it showed his empire as too small in relation to the rest of the world.

He would have enjoyed our Pakistani equivalent of the Mughal sport of elephant fighting, in which two mammoths collide head-on, each intent on emerging battered but supreme as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

This comparison between the Mughals and today’s rulers is droll, had it not been so cuttingly appropriate

He would not have been surprised to see how we – a nation that popularised and excelled at hockey – should not have qualified for the recent Hockey World Cup in The Hague. Or, how we – a nation that manufactures most of the footballs kicked about during the football World Cup in Brazil – should not be able to muster a respectable soccer team. Or, how our national airline which taught others to fly,

is itself grounded, like an ageing albatross.

He would have been gratified to see that in the selection of our leadership, we have maintained the Mughal concept of primogeniture and kinship.

The eldest is deemed the fittest, for isn’t blood thicker than grey matter?

States function on the same principle that whales keep afloat – if they do not keep swimming, they drown

This comparison between the Mughals and today’s rulers is droll, even laughable, had it not been so cuttingly appropriate. So much so, that we might as well turn the clock back and like Mughals without electricity, fan ourselves into somnolence, or better still, go into a hundred-year sleep and wake up after a century to find a new, improved world.

Instead, we have to reconcile ourselves to the reality that there is a perceptible vacuum in governance.

States function on the same principle that whales keep afloat – if they do not keep swimming, they would sink and drown. Every public expects its government to keep moving, to propel its country forward, and occasionally to take the country into confidence.

Lately, one suspects our government has concealed more than it revealed.

For example, while the Minister for Water and Power Mian Asif shed liquefied natural tears over power shortages, he has not thought fit to explain to the Pakistani public an intriguing proposal embedded in the Indian Budget 2014-15. It was reported in India that its Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has exempted liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from customs duty (presently 5%) if it is meant for onward sale to a neighbouring nation.

According to Indian media, this will set the stage for the state-run Gail India Ltd, which plans to build an Rs500cr pipeline to export five million units per day of regassified-LNG to Pakistan, to start work on the ground.

The MD of Gail, B Tripathi, went further: “Broad parameters have been agreed to and a contract will also be signed shortly between the two sides after which it will take one year to build it.”

And what happened to the much-vaunted Iran-Pakistan-India Rs10,000cr pipeline? The disingenuous response from India is that its “security experts felt that being dependent on gas coming via Pakistan could compromise India’s energy security.”

Would it be too much to ask why there was no mention, no counterpart reflection of this Indian pipeline in Pakistan’s Budget 2014-15? Or, has the Mughal bell of justice lost its ringer? l FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main Englishlanguage newspaper. This article was first published in Dawn.

The need of the hour n GM Quader

S

ocial business is a business method whose aim is not profit-seeking like any conventional business.

Social business is a business whose goal is to solve social problems by creating and selling products and services. The aim of social business is to do business for solving social problems and not for making profits to serve the self-interest of the owner/investor.

Social business is the need of the hour for Bangladesh – through it we can address innumerable social problems

Social business is run on a non-loss, non-dividend basis, devoted to solving social problems. It has owners/investors but they do not take any profit.

The profits are reinvested in expanding and improving the business.

But sometimes, when the investors/ owners are too poor and are facing poverty-related problems, then poverty alleviation, or any other poverty induced adversities, are considered

the social problem. Social business entities may be formed with the target of addressing those problems. Dividends or profits are allowed to be distributed among the owners/investors either directly or through a trust that is dedicated to a predefined social cause.

Bangladesh has lots of social problems that we have been facing every now and then in different ways. Government initiatives and efforts are too insignificant and too slow to address those effectively. Every day, we suffer from a lack of safe food, drinks, hygienic toilet facilities in public places, convenient transportation facilities, etc, to mention a few.

Grameen and a few other corporate bodies have shown quite a few examples of social business and demonstrated its effectiveness and sustainability.

It is a matter of pride for us in Bangladesh that this concept which originated from our country has been adopted, and is being successfully practiced by, many developed countries around the world that are creating new social business enterprises of their own.

But, it is depressing to see that the same is being misjudged and discouraged by the authorities in our own country. Social business has a very

Business as well as a helping hand fine but distinct difference from many entities with similar objectives. This could be one of the reasons for the above. Social awareness and proper understanding of the theme are necessary for overcoming said difficulties.

Hopefully, illogical and unnecessary impediments created against social business development can be gotten rid of in that way.

BIGSTOCK

Social business is the need of the hour for Bangladesh. Only through social business development can we address the innumerable social problems with the active participation of the ever-increasing number of unemployed potential entrepreneurs.

Public awareness leading to political will can guide us towards flourishing social business which can ultimately

ease many of our social evils. A social movement on creating awareness on social business as a whole and for its development, mentioning specific potential fields and probable entities, can be considered to make it popular and flourish. l GM Quader is a former Minister of Commerce, Bangladesh.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Riaz as miscreant, alcoholic, actor, lover this Eid

n Shadma Malik It seems, Riaz is occupied shooting for the small-screen and has been working in versatile roles. Dhaka Tribune caught up with the entertainer to know

about his Eid programmes: “I will be working in a telefilm 'Shubhogomon' which will be aired on the third day of Eid at 11:55pm on RTV. It is a story of an actor who goes to a small town for filming. However, he

gets injured and is taken to a hospital. A comedy based drama, he meets a Maulana who hates all things related to the media but starts liking the actor. There is a nice item song which will surely be enjoyed by all.”

“Another one of my drama is titled ‘Superstar’ where I acted as a film director. The plot shows a director who could not release a film for political issues. He goes to France and returns home after a decade. Back in his struggling period, the director had a crush on a heroine.

But as she was a drug addict, he tries to help her get over the habit. In this drama, I am pairing up with Nipun.”

“Don't Touch Me” is a weird story of a person who keeps on hurting people. But, in a series of incidents, he feels hurt by the behaviour of other's and realises his lifelong mistakes. In “Bhalobasha Ek Phota Jol” he plays a miscreant who finally understands the power of love. Riaz will be seen opposite to Rumana and the telefilm will be aired on the third day of Eid at 3:05pm on ATN Bangla.

“Ki Shundur Andhokaar” will see Riaz play an ugly role of exploiting his wife. “Working in the small screen gave me the opportunity to experiment with different images, a scope which is lacking in the film industry,” added the star.

About his Eid plans, Riaz said: “I will be celebrating Eid with my beloved wife Musfica Khan Teena and my family in Dhaka.” l

Close Up Hello 8920 stands by cancer victim n Entertainment Desk

Sabina Yasmin, Runa Laila records duet n Entertainment Desk There is nothing that gets music enthusiasts more excited than hearing that our legendary singers are back in the recording studio - especially when it is stars like Sabina Yasmin and Runa Laila. The singers recorded a duet titled “Dolchut Projapoti” for a drama serial’s opening sequence.

The song is written by Rabiul Islam Jeebon while Farid Ahmed tuned and composed the music.

“Dolchut Projapoti” is TV serial directed by Arif Khan who had made a programme earlier with Sabina Yasmin and Runa Laila which aired on NTV a few years ago.

In 1976, Sabina Yasmin and Runa Laila sung a duet for the first time for film “Protinidhi,” tuned by Satya Saha. In 2006, the duo again got together for another duet song for the TV programme titled “Ontor Toro Aj Gaaner Bhubon” which aired on NTV. l

“Hello 8920 – The Stories of our life,” is running its 116th episode on ABC radio Fm 89.2. This is where ordinary people are given the highest freedom to speak about their lives, problems, dangers and also tragedies. Maksud, from Hajipara, Lakshmipur, was one of the guests on July 16, 2014 and he was helped with Tk0.2m through Hello 8920 team.

In 2009, Maksud married his beloved Shuchi, leading their lives happily, with a moderate income from a private coaching center. They conceived their first child, Humayra, in 2012. At the beginning of this year, all of a sudden, Shuchi fell sick. She became a victim of the deadly disease – cancer.

Maksud had already lost all he had for Shuchi’s treatment, but still they needed a lot more. It was impossible for Maksud to raise anymore amount.

Shuchi’s father died when she was just a child. As a result, she shared her desire to raise her two years old daughter Humayra to Hello 8920.

The team of Hello 8920 looked into the matter, and broadcasted Shuchi’s story. As a result, the huge number of listeners of Hello 8920 responded with massive good wishes and an amount of Tk210,000 has already been handed over to Maksud.

ABC Radio authorities have expressed their gratitude to those who stood by Shuchi and Maksud, with whatever amount they could, and also wished Shuchi luck. l

Eid TVProgramme Real Murder Story on Channel 9

Echoes launch debut album Shohoj Golpo

n Entertainment Desk Telefilm “Real Murder Story” will be aired on Channel 9 on Eid day at 2:35 pm. Written by Pankaj Roni and directed by Matiya Banu Shukhu, the telefilm will star Tarin, Intekar Dinar and Shushma Sarkar.

The story is of a couple who live away from the hustle of the city.

Samir Arefin is a writer and his wife Meher is a school teacher. Samir wants to write a murder mystery, but is unable to do so. After Meher leaves for her mother’s house Samir settles down to write when Shuborna calls.

At one time he was in love with her, but she didn’t marry him due to his careless attitude.

Samir invites her over to discuss why she called him. She tells him that she needs Tk50 thousand and

n Shadma Malik Underground band Echoes will launch their debut album “Shohoj Golpo” today at the Incursion Headquarters.

The band created a buzz after releasing their single track “Moho” in a mixed album “Aguntuk-3” in 2004. The band currently consists of Hamza Ahmed (guitar), Tugril (guitar), Arsalan Mehboob (drums), Mofizul Haque Chowdhury (vocals) and Saadi Khan (bass).

Dhaka Tribune caught up with Hamza Ahmed to learn more about Echoes.

Tell us about the debut album? threatens him that if he doesn’t give her the money, she’ll send all their letters to Meher.

He tries to convince her against it.

When he returns from the kitchen, he finds her unconscious and takes this opportunity to strike her on the head, which ultimately kills her. l

There are seven different types of tracks in the album. The title song narrates some nostalgic moments of a grownup. We beleive that the lyrics of the songs are simple and catchy. Also there is a song “Ar Koto” which talks about the socio-political condition of our country.

Who writes the songs for you and what are they about?

The Patriot actor Skye McCole Bartusiak found dead

What does “Echoes” mean?

We take our inspiration from our favourite band Pink Floyd's song “Echoes.”

Who else influences your music?

Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd.

Overall, the members are very much influenced by 70’s and 80’s tracks.

How much do you enjoy performing in live concerts?

It is fun to perform and the crowd is always made up of true music lovers. We are very selective about our songs while performing live. In an open air concert, there is a mixed crowd, so we play according to the their choice. l

Manisha Koirala makes a comeback with Sitare

n Entertainment Desk On Saturday, Skye McCole Bartusiak was found dead in her Houston home by her boyfriend.

Bartusiak, 21, had been suffering from epileptic seizures since childhood. The reason of the death is unknown yet but it is believed that she died from an attack.

In the 2000 film “The Patriot,” Bartusiak was best-known for her role as the daughter of Mel Gibson character. “We lost our girl,” her mother Helen McCole Bartusiak said. “She was a kind and really beautiful girl.”

Epileptic seizures can take the patient’s life when the airway gets blocked, especially when the patient is alone. The investigation of her death is ongoing.

“We think she had a seizure and choked and nobody was there,” her mother said. “They were working on her for 45 minutes and could not get a heartbeat. I’ve done CPR on that kid more than one time and it just didn’t work this time.” Helen is now looking for the photos of her daughter for the funeral. l

Our lyricist is Rumman. Tofael and Saadi often contributes too. We also welcome guest lyricists. However, we never go for romantic songs. The lyrics talk about daily life and memories. We believe everybody has a dark past and narrate such feelings with our songs.

n Entertainment Desk

Science of street magic exposed n Entertainment Desk How does a magician crush a ten tonne oil tanker like it’s a drinks can?

Or drive a 4x4 across a swimming pool without sinking? Or make a man levitate six inches off the ground?

Find out the science behind street magic in the TV show “Magic of Science” which airs on the Discovery Channel today at 8:30pm.

Fusing the showmanship and mystery of street magic with the raw power of science, “Magic of Science” exposes the marvelous mechanics behind these seemingly miraculous feats. In each episode, rising stars from the world of magic wow the

unsuspecting public with a variety of amazing tricks, before culminating their dazzling display with one largescale and truly astounding stunt. Having floored their audience with this remarkable spectacle, the wily magicians then reveal the stunning science behind their incredible illusions. As well as this, the series will also test the boundaries of credulity by featuring undercover, hidden camera set pieces where the public have no idea they’re standing witness to some incredible magic - all of which is in fact pure science. Uncover the secrets of these confounding performances and examine the extraordinary science that makes the impossible possible. l

Manisha Koirala, who has recovered remarkably well from cancer and was last seen in Ram Gopal Varma’s “Bhoot Returns” last year, has now been finalised for a film titled “Sitare.”

The movie is based on the life of film stars in Bollywood. Kapil Sharma, who played one of the lead characters in “Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun,” will be making his directorial debut with the film.

In the last few years, Koirala was seen making a foray into Malayalam films with “Elektra” about four years ago.

She also did a Tamil film, “Mappillai.” The beautiful actor was also seen in Onir’s critically-acclaimed “I Am” with Juhi Chawla. l

Sport DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, July 22, 2014

13

Ashraful appeals against BPL Tribunal’s sanction n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Prominent lawyer Barrister Rafique-ul Huq (C) presents a crest to newly elected ICC President AHM Mustafa Kamal (CL) while BCB President Nazmul Hasan (CR) and others cheer at a local hotel yesterday

MUMIT M

Decision on Shakib’s appeal after Eid n Minhaz Uddin Khan National team all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s fate on the back of his appeal to BCB to review his suspension two days ago will be determined in a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) meeting after the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation.

Shakib was slapped with a six-month ban from all forms of cricket and barred from playing in overseas competitions until the end of 2015 as a punishment for his “serious misbehaviour” with Bangladesh’s new coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and for his bust-up with a spectator during last month’s first ODI against India in Mirpur. After maintain-

Siddikur out of Russian Open n Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh golf star Siddikur Rahman will not feature in the M2M Russian Open due to a back strain. The Russian Open is scheduled to start on July 24th at the picturesque Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club located on the outskirts of the Russian capital Moscow.

Siddik was actually taking preparation to participate in the meet but suffered a back strain in the gym and was advised a 15-day rest by the physician. “It is unfortunate. I was thoroughly focused to go to Russia and play there. But when I felt the pain, I went to my physician. Though it is not that serious, he prescribed 15 days total rest for a total recovery. So I can’t go to Russia this time,” said the ace golfer. l

ing silence on the issue for 13 days, the former national skipper appealed to the board on Sunday.

BCB president Nazmul Hasan, while speaking to the media yesterday on Shakib issue, informed that it was an imperative for the board to look into the issue now that Shakib has appealed against the punishment.

Nazmul, as the president of the board, does hold the right to take a decision regarding the Shakib issue on his own.

“I think this is a very important issue which should be placed in the board and a decision on this should come after thorough discussion with

the directors,” said Nazmul in the felicitation program of AHM Mostafa Kamal who became the ICC president.

A widespread rumour blowing in the air was that BCB might cut down Shakib’s suspension period. However, the BCB boss ruled out Shakib’s chances of being a part of the national team’s next assignment, tour of West Indies in August.

“I don’t see any scope of him being a part of the West Indies tour to be honest,” said Nazmul. “His letter of appeal was well worded and it seems that he has got our message, and learnt where he did things wrong. However, the time we have before the national team leaves for West Indies is very small.

So I believe it won’t be possible for the board to make a decision in such a small span of time,” he added.

Many members of the public opposed BCB’s decision on Shakib and termed termed it harsh. To some extent, it was also being said that the BCB took the decision on personal ground.

Nazmul, when queried if the board had taken these claims into account, Nazmul informed that Shakib’s punishment was decided unanimously in a board meeting and 90 percent of the board directors wanted to see the star cricketer get punished for his actions.

“The board is not against any cricketer,” said Nazmul. “We all want a star

Taskin not making his Test debut in WI n Mazhar Uddin

After enjoying a dream ODI debut against India, Taskin Ahmed, the new fast bowling sensation of Bangladesh was looking forward to making his Test debut against West Indies in the upcoming series. But seems like he will have to wait longer as according to the head physiotherapist of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Dr Debashish Chowdhury, the youngster must wait for his Test debut as he is still under the injury rehabilitation program.

“Taskin is still under the injury rehabilitation program of BCB and he is not in a condition to play longer version matches at this moment. We are working with him and we don’t want him to get injured as we are treating him very carefully,” said Debashish.

However, the physiotherapist of BCB informed that there are no other injury problems in the current squad at the moment and the other fast bowlers including Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain and Robiul Islam are all fit, and available for the WI series. Thankfully, Sohag Gazi has recovered from the minor ankle injury he sustained during the recent net practice sessions.

Taskin was impressive in his T20 debut against Australia in the World T20 this year when the youngster finished with figures of 1/24 and followed it up with a much better performance in his ODI debut in the second match of the three match home series against India last month where the teenager picked up 5 wickets for just 28 runs from eight overs.

The youngster is rated as the next big thing in Bangladesh’s pace bowling department as he became the first Bangladeshi bowler to bag a five wicket haul in an ODI on debut while his figures also found a place amongst the top five best bowling figures by a debutante in ODIs. Bangladesh will be touring West Indies next month where the Tigers will be playing two Tests, three ODIs and a T20 match during their month-long tour. l

cricketer like him [Shakib] to play for our country and it is a matter of pride for us. All we wanted was Shakib to realise his mistakes and that he rectifies them.

He was warned verbally several times, fined and suspended for three ODIs but these never brought him on track. We had no option but to take stern action against him,” said the BCB boss.

On the other hand, Nazmul made the following comment on Mostafa kamal becoming the first ICC president from Bangladesh, “This is very prestigious for the country and its cricket.

I believe, with Kamal bhai’s support, Bangladesh cricket will reach new heights.” l

Banned national cricketer Mohammad Ashraful has appealed against the sanction of the Bangladesh Premier League Tribunal yesterday.

The former Bangladesh captain was banned for eight years (three years suspended) by the BPL anti-corruption tribunal for his involvement in match and spot-fixing in the 2013 edition of Bangladesh Premier League.

Ashraful, while talking to Dhaka Tribune yesterday, informed that his lawyers have prepared the draft of the appeal addressed to the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board disciplinary committee.

“I talked to my lawyer and he has informed me that papers for the appeal are ready and that it has been delivered to the BCB disciplinary committee,” said Ashraful yesterday.

On the other hand, Shihab Chowdhury, managing director of BPL franchise Dhaka Gladiators, has also appealed to the sanctions made against him by the BPL anti-graft tribunal. The Dhaka Gladiators owner was found guilty of “being a party who tried to fix” a match in the second edition of the BPL. Shihab’s lawyer barrister Nawraz MR Chowdhury informed that a soft copy of the appeal has already been emailed and that a hard copy of the appeal will be delivered to the BCB disciplinary committee today.

“Tomorrow (today) is the last day to make the appeal. We have the papers ready to be delivered,” said Nazraz.

Meanwhile, it has been learned that Sri Lanka cricketer Kaushal Lokuarachchi, who was charged for corruption by the ICC and BCB, and later confessed to wrongdoing to the tribunal, has also appealed. Kaushal was slapped with an 18-month ban for failing to report an approach.

With appeals being made by those who were found guilty along with both the ICC and the BCB, the BCB disciplinary will now arrange fresh hearings.

Considering all the necessary procedures, a move on the issues is likely to take place in September this year. l

Chelsea set to re-sign Drogba on one-year contract n The Guardian Didier Drogba’s return to Chelsea on a one-year-contract could be confirmed this week, according to reports in France, with the Ivory Coast striker then set to be offered a coaching role at Stamford Bridge when he retires from playing.

Drogba is currently a free agent after his 18-month contract at Galatasaray came to an end at the conclusion of the Turkish Super Lig season.

Chelsea’s attacking options have been bolstered by the signing of Diego Costa from Atlético Madrid and the return of Romelu Lukaku from a season on loan at Everton, despite the Belgian’s future remaining uncertain,

but José Mourinho enjoys a strong relationship with Drogba having signed the 36-year-old from Marseille in 2004 during his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge and, according to L’Equipe, he is ready to bring him back to the club for a second spell, with the sale of Demba Ba to Besiktas last week for £4.7m having freed up a place in the squad.

Drogba won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League with Chelsea, scoring 157 goals during his eight-year spell in south-west London, culminating in scoring the equaliser and the winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League final. He had a brief spell in Shanghai before signing for Galatasaray in January 2013. l

Wasted opportunities force goalless draw for Mohammedan n Raihan Mahmood Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club squandered a host of scoring opportunities and consequently, had to be content with a goalless draw against Brothers Union in the third phase of the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Without seasoned forward Zahid Hasan Emily missing the match due to injury, Mohammedan’s goal scoring duties fell to Md. Wahed, Towhidul Alam Sabuz. The duo had ample support from the midfielder which was dominated by the trio of Emon Babu, Mejbabul Haque Manik and Arup Baidya Mohammedan, but all their efforts went in vain as they failed to find the elusive goal.

Brothers Union, on the other hand, were in the receiving end of a barrage of attacks throughout the match and came close to scoring only on two occa-

sions with both chances coming in the second half. Moreover, a heavy pitch caused due to rain meant the action could not be eye-catching and speedy.

A change of flank and Mohammedan’s right-back Arup Baidya initiated the first attack as early as the 8th minute when he managed to run down deep through the Brothers defense before goalie Md. Sujon came out of his position to thwart the impending danger. However, Arup still managed to chip the ball over Sujon’s head and it flew over the crosspiece. Mohammedan’s left back Topu Barman tried his luck in the 38th minute with a powerful left-footed drive but Sujon was in the right position to grip the ball.

In the 47th minute, Towhidul Alam Sabuz squandered an easy chance when he failed to get a touch to a cross from defender Ariful Islam which was curved in from the right flank which left an open goal was at Sobuj’s mercy with Sujon stranded in the far post.

Brothers’ counter attacking strategy almost paid off in the 54th minute after Nigerian attacking duo Simon Ezeodka and Kester Akon combined well to go

past the Mohammedan defense before Kester missed the line of the low cross from his compatriot which allowed Mohammedan goalie Titumir Chowdhury to intercept and collect the ball. Md. Sujon was at his best in the 58th minute as he dived to his left to fist away Mejbabul Haque Manik’s left footed placing shot after Arup Baidya paved the way for the unmarked Manik to slot home from inside the middle of the box.

Topu Barman came close to break the deadlock in the 70th minute when his right-footed chip from a long ball of Wahed beat Sujon in the air but missed the far post unfortunately. Then against the run of play, Brothers Union’s midfielder Shafikul Islam saw his 20 yard drive in the 87th minute blocked by a diving Mohammedan custodian Titumir.

So all these missed opportunities and impressive goal-keeping meant the match failed to see a winner and Mohammedan now have 42 points from 26 matches which places them fourth in the points table while Brothers took their tally to 38 points from the same number of matches as they remain in 5th position. l

Mohammedan defender Ariful Islam (L) shots towards Brothers’ goal at BNS yesterday

Mumit M

14

Sport DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, July 22, 2014

We tried, but we’re slipping: Brazil’s Neymar n AFP, Rio De Janeiro Sifting through the ruins of Brazil’s World Cup campaign, star player Neymar says his team strove hard for glory, but other countries have moved ahead and they must catch up.

While refusing to pin the blame on former handler Luiz Felipe Scolari, Neymar also warned young players to beware the damage some coaches could do to young players’ development.

In an exclusive interview with Globo television broadcast Sunday, the 22-year-old said Brazil deserved at best seven out of ten for a Cup showing which ended with a 7-1 semi-final mauling by champions Germany.

Asked why Brazil failed Neymar said there were simply things that could not be explained.

“We cried because it was our childhood dream (to win it) and had fought hard to get to where we were.”

He added he believed he would have chosen the same 23 players as Scolari

for the roster -- but insisted Brazil must realize it has fallen down the pecking order and has no automatic right to success.

“I think Brazilian football is behind.

It’s behind Germany and Spain. We’ve slipped behind and we have to be man enough to admit it.”

“There was no particular mistake made by the Selecao. I am not someone who understands a huge amount about tactics,” he said.

And he refused to blame Scolari, Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning coach who resigned after the tournament.

“I had a leader (who was) one of the best Brazilian coaches I’ve had,” he said.

Neymar insisted the team were sharp from training.

“We always trained,” he said. “We gave our all.”

He did indicate, however, that the intensity of training in Brazil could be lower than in Europe.

“You train more, but sometimes you train with less determination. That’s how Brazilians are.” l

Manchester United players Juan Mata (L) and Wayne Rooney posing for picture in Los Angeles on Monday

Arsenal close to deal for Nice keeper Ospina n AFP, Marseille

Celtic out to clear first Euro United prepare for LA Galaxy test hurdle at Scottish rugby HQ n

Arsenal are close to reaching an agreement to sign Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina from Nice for a reported four million euros (£3.2million, $5.4million), the French club’s president confirmed on Sunday.

“There isn’t an agreement yet but we’re not far away,” Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere told AFP. The two clubs are understood to have reached a verbal agreement over the transfer, according to a source close to the Ligue 1 outfit, but the move has yet to be finalised.

Ospina, 25, has spent the past six seasons with Nice and was part of the Colombia side that reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Brazil for the first time in the country’s history. l

Scottish champions Celtic will look to wrap up their Champions League second qualifying round tie against Icelandic side KR Reykjavik in the unfamiliar surroundings of Murrayfield on Tuesday.

Celtic hold a slender 1-0 advantage ahead of the return leg which will be played in Edinburgh at the home of Scottish rugby with Celtic Park out of commission due to the Commonwealth Games.

Debutant Callum McGregor struck an 84th-minute winner for the Hoops in the Icelandic capital a week ago as new boss Ronny Deila made a winning start to his tenure after replacing Neil Lennon last month.

Should Celtic progress the winner between St. Patrick’s Athletic and Legia Warsaw, who drew the first leg 1-1 in

Agencies

n AFP, Glasgow

Poland, would await Deila’s men in the third qualifying round.

Striker Anthony Stokes says qualifying for the Champions League group stage, which would require Celtic to also advance from a subsequent play-off round, is imperative for the Glasgow giants.

Celtic reached the round of 16 in 2012/13 but were eliminated in the group stage a year ago after finishing bottom of a pool that featured Barcelona, Milan and Ajax.

However, Stokes, who netted 20 goals as Celtic strolled to a third straight domestic league title last season, is hoping for another crack at Europe’s premier club competition. Captain Scott Brown is a long-term absentee while fellow midfielder Kris Commons was forced out of Saturday’s friendly against German third-tier side Dynamo Dresden. l

Manchester United players looked to be in a relaxed mood as they headed out for another pre-season training session in Los Angeles on Monday.

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Darren Fletcher were all smiles as Japan star Shinji Kagawa signed autographs for fans outside the team’s hotel.

Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata enjoyed a trip to the famous Beverly Hills sign as the attacking pair posed for photographs before chatting to MUTV. Ed Woodward has told United fans to expect new signings and several departures over the next few weeks.

Louis van Gaal has already spent upwards of £50million on Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera, but the new United boss looks set to add more faces before the season begins.

The Dutchman has been linked with

Arturo Vidal, Daley Blind, Kevin Strootman and Thomas Vermaelen since taking charge in May. Van Gaal is already making space for new acquisitions by off loading Patrice Evra, who may seal his transfer to Juventus on Monday.

Woodward says there is plenty of cash available to Van Gaal if he decides he needs to strengthen further.

‘There is no fixed budget. Financially we are extremely strong, we have funds available,’ United’s executive vice-chairman told MUTV in an interview filmed on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

‘Louis is the boss and is assessing what’s going on but we have been in dialogue for some time about targets so there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes... we’re continuing to move forward on some of those targets... so watch this space.

‘The time he (Van Gaal) spends here

Newcastle playing for MH17 victims: Pardew n AFP, Wellington

Tributes are seen outside Newcastle United’s St James’ stadium in Newcastle, northern England yesterday. The tributes were left for Newcastle fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney who were killed in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash REUTERS

Angry fans attack Flamengo player after defeat n Reuters, Sao Paulo Flamengo’s season went from bad to worse on Sunday when defender Andre Santos was punched and kicked by the club’s fans as he left the stadium after a 4-0 defeat by Internacional that left the Rio club bottom of the Brazilian first division.

Local media reported that the left back was hit in the face as he left Beira-rio stadium in Porto Alegre. Angry fans also kicked him as he sought refuge in the van that was picking him up outside the dressing rooms, according to the reports. The former Brazil and Arsenal defender has failed to impress since signing for Flamengo in July last year and has been a constant target of fans.

That anger boiled over on Sunday as Flamengo lost again to find themselves rooted to the bottom of the league. l

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew on Monday dedicated the club’s pre-season tour of New Zealand to two supporters who died on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Britons John Alder and Liam Sweeney were en route to New Zealand to watch the club in a pre-season tournament when their plane was apparently shot down by pro-Russian rebels over eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people.

“It’s an unbelievable event that’s happened. We feel for their families, in particular,” Pardew told reporters in Dunedin, where Newcastle will play Australian A-League side Sydney FC on Tuesday.

Pardew said his players were devastated that two dedicated fans had lost their lives travelling to a football match.

“None of us would be sitting here if it wasn’t for our fans,” he said.

“Owners and managers come and go as players do, but the fans are always there and these two guys in particular, the lengths they were going to come here has bought home just how important they are to us.”

Newcastle will wear black armbands and observe a minute’s silence before both matches of their New Zealand tour in memory of Sweeney, 28, and Alder, 63.

The English Premier League club said Alder had barely missed a single Newcastle game in almost 50 years.

Pardew said Newcastle aimed to put on a show in the four-team tournament, which also features West Ham and Wellington Phoenix.

“It’s important we represent ourselves in the right manner, especially in light of losing John and Liam,” he said. l

as well (in America) he’ll be able to assess more what he’s got and continue to tweak the decisions if we need to.

‘We want to do what it takes to win the title.’

United finished seventh under David Moyes last year, meaning they will be without European football this term for the first time in almost two decades.

Woodward does not believe that will put potential signings off a move to Old Trafford, though. He added: ‘I’ve experienced a lot of conversations with agents and players and we are still a huge attraction to top football stars around the world - there is no doubt about that.

‘We’ve already invested in two new fantastic players.’

As a consequence of the club’s failure to qualify for Europe, United will play a vastly reduced number of matches this season. l

Vietnam police detain players over match-fixing claims n Reuters, Hanoi Police have detained six Vietnamese soccer players on suspicion of throwing a domestic league game at the weekend, state-run media reported on Monday, the latest arrests in a country notorious for match-rigging and illicit sports gambling.

The six Dong Nai players were questioned by police investigators immediately after their 5-3 defeat by Quang Ninh in a top flight V.League match, Vietnam Television said in an online report (vtv.vn).,Match-fixing has long plagued Vietnamese soccer, with arrests of coaches, bookmakers and players commonplace. Soccer is the most popular sport and gambling is rampant, despite being strictly illegal.

Police made dozens of arrests during the World Cup and carried out raids on underground gangs that were handling at least 6.5 trillion dong ($307 million). l

Shakhtar ‘confident’ players will return to Ukraine n AFP, Kiev Shakhtar Donetsk president Rinat Akhmetov says he is confident a Brazilian forward Fred and five teammates who have refused to return to Ukraine after the Malaysia Airlines crash will be back soon.

“It’s true, six players have not come to Ukraine from France,” Shakhtar press service quoted Akhmetov as saying on Monday.

“But I believe that those players will come back to Shakhtar pretty soon.

“They are all under current contracts and in case they refuse to come back they will suffer from the penalties stipulated by their deals.”

The six have been named as Brazilians Fred, an attacking midfielder who has represented his country at Under

20 level, Alex Teixeira, Douglas Costa, Dentinho, Ismaily and Argentine Facundo Ferreyra.

They refused to board a flight back to Ukraine after their side’s 4-1 friendly loss to Lyon in the French town of Annecy.

Akhmetov says Shakhtar guarantees the players’ security.

“I hope that together we will overcome all of the existing misunderstandings especially....that they (players) need not to be afraid of anything here.

“We (Shakhtar) are ready to guarantee all of the club’s players complete security.

“We will never bring them to any kind of a dangerous place.”

As well as the Shakhtar six, Metalist Kharkiv’s Argentinian midfielder Sebastian Blanco has also refused to return to Ukraine from a training camp

in Austria.

“After the Malaysian plane’s crash I have no intention to return to Ukraine,” the 26-year-old was quoted as saying.

“The situation there is currently abnormal. I decided to stay in Buenos Aires.”

The Ukrainian Football Federation (FFU) is maintaining the start of the national championship for July 25 despite the troubles in the east of the country heightened by the apparent shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines jet on Thursday.

“The entire country mourns over the tragedy that happened. It’s terrible,” an FFU spokesman Pavel Ternovoi has said.

“But it will not influence the national championship kick off. We insist that football should stay out of politics.” l

Monaco’s Colombian forward Radamel Falcao (R) shakes hands with Colombian player Carlos Bacca before the start of the EuroAmerican Cup match between AS Monaco and Junior de Barranquilla at the Roberto Melendez Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday AFP

Sport DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Three down, Masters to go says McIlroy

QUICK BYTES

Negredo out for several months with broken foot Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo will miss the start of the new season and be sidelined for several months after breaking his foot in the Premier League champions’ 2-1 pre-season win over Hearts in Edinburgh on Friday. The 28-year-old Spain international, who did not go to the World Cup, said on Monday he had broken a metatarsal in his right foot. “I want to let you know that its going to be hard for the next few months, I fractured my fifth metatarsal and will be out a few months,” Negredo wrote on his Instagram account. He also posted a photo of himself wearing a protective boot. “I will be back stronger than ever. I will return with a vengeance,” he added.

– Reuters

n AFP, Hoylake

Button surprised by Hamilton move Jenson Button said he was surprised at his former McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s strange driving on Sunday after the pair survived a minor collision during the German Grand Prix. The two made contact when Hamilton thought that the 2009 champion had decided to give him room to pass at the hairpin.

Hamilton sustained damage to his front wing, but was able to continue and passed Button one lap later on lap 31 during his first charge through the field.

Hamilton, the 2008 champion, said: “I had a bit of collision with Jenson, but I thought he was letting me past -- my bad judgement there.”

–AFP

Johnson-Thompson limps out of Glasgow Games Katarina Johnson-Thompson, favourite to win gold in the women’s heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games, on Monday announced she was withdrawing after suffering a foot injury. The 21-year-old Briton said: “I’m absolutely devastated that I’m not going to be able to compete at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. “I was so looking forward to competing in another home games and this time as one of the favourites.”

Johnson-Thompson is still hoping to recover in time to compete in the long jump at the European Championships in Zurich next month. She added: “My season so far with a World Indoor medal in the long jump, winning at Gotzis and becoming World number one in heptathlon had really given me the confidence going in to the Games that I could post a big score and hopefully come away with that gold medal.

–AFP

Smith calls time on Surrey stint South Africa great Graeme Smith will not be returning to Surrey next season, the English county announced Sunday.

The former Proteas captain, who was the London club’s skipper, played just three matches for Surrey last season because of an ankle injury and was ruled out for the rest of the ongoing campaign after fracturing his knee in May, subsequently undergoing surgery.

Now doctors have told 33-year-old left-handed opener Smith, who retired from international cricket in March after 117 Tests, he will not be able to “fulfil the day-to-day duties of a full county season”, with both club and player agreeing to end his three-year stay at The Oval a year early.

–AFP

Honduran Palacios fails medical at Qatar Sports Club Wilson Palacios’s proposed transfer from Stoke City to Qatar Sports Club has collapsed after the Honduran international failed a medical, the Doha club said on Monday. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder, who was sent off in his country’s opening 3-0 World Cup defeat to France last month, is entering the final year of his contract with the English Premier League side. The former Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic player was mainly used from the bench last season and Stoke coach Mark Hughes has increased his midfield options in recent weeks by bringing in Fulham’s Steve Sidwell.

–Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 3 11:30PM Natwest T20 Blast Essex v Hampshire

15

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates as he holds the Claret Jug after winning the British Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, northern England on Sunday REUTERS

Rory McIlroy has three of the four majors safely in the bag and he is already thinking about adding the final piece of golfing’s crown jewels at Augusta National next April.

The 25-year-old Irishman won the British Open for the first time at Hoylake on Sunday by two strokes from Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.

It was less of a margin than the eight strokes he beat the field with to take the 2011 US Open crown and the 2012 US PGA Championship, but it was every bit as valuable to him.

He joined an elite group of players to win three out of the four majors, is the only the third - after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus - to do so by the age of 25 and is the first European to win three.

A lot to take in at one time, but McIlroy is a keen student of golfing greatness and he is aware of where he now stands in that aspect.

“Yeah, I’m immensely proud of myself. To sit here 25 years of age and win my third major Championship and be three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam,” he said minutes after raising

the Claret Jug in triumph above his head.

“I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.

“The Open Championship was the one you really wanted growing up, and the one you holed so many putts on the putting green to win, to beat Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, whatever.”

Sunday’s celebrations were in stark contrast to last year at Muirfield in Scotland when McIlroy was mired in the middle of a year-long slump that saw him miss the cut in the year’s third major.

It was, he said, the lowest point he reached before starting to recover his form and passion for golf towards the end of the year in Australia.

He has come close before, notably in 2011 when he led by four strokes going into the final round only to collapse with an 80, and McIlroy feels that his chance will come again.

“I am looking forward to next April and trying to complete the career Grand Slam,” he said.

“I’m getting more comfortable. The thing is I’ve always been comfortable from tee to green at Augusta. I’ll be going into Augusta next year pretty confident.” l

Nostalgia as Exeter take Cup in Brazil rematch n AFP, Rio De Janeiro Borne on a wave of footballing nostalgia, English minnows Exeter City lifted silverware in Rio on Sunday following an historic rematch of Brazil’s first ever international encounter.

Before a 900 crowd, including 180 of their own fans enjoying the most unusual of pre-season tours for a lower league outfit, the southwestern side held the under23 team of top flight Fluminense to a goalless draw at a stadium almost twice as old as the Maracana, The bijou Laranjeiras venue may no longer host league action, but it was where, on July 21, 1914, a Brazil select beat an Exeter side who had been touring Argentina and who accepted a duel in Rio on the way home.

Exeter skipper Scot Bennett lifted the purple-ribboned Marcos Carneiro de Mendonca Cup, named after Brazil’s first goalkeeper, who played for Fluminense.

But it was the symbolism of the occasion which won the day, which for the

traveling contingent was like winning the World Cup itself.

“It’s a shame this couldn’t have launched the World Cup,” said City fan Gary Nelson, wearing a Rebel Tour 14 shirt in Exeter red and white.

“I came the long way – via Texas, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Ascuncion and Foz de Iguacu getting to Rio yesterday. An adventure!”

Paul Garnham, 37, had been in Rio on World Cup final day a week earlier – but balked at ticket tout prices.

“One was going for $500 – I know someone paid $1000 -- but it was a fake!”

Steve Conabeer, 48, insisted the Exeter game experience meant more to him than the World Cup itself.

“As soon as it was announced I thought, ‘I’ve got to go or I’ll go to my grave regretting it’. But I do in a way wish we’d played this at the Maracana.”

Standing proudly pitchside before a mid-morning kickoff allowing time for the visitors to attend a Fluminense versus Santos league game outside Rio

later Sunday, was 58-year-old Martin McGahey.

“This is where it all began. A century ago, my great-grandfather, Michael John McGahey (then Exeter’s general manager), brought a ball across.”

- Links to 1914 Touching that selfsame ball, emerging from the club museum in the stadium bowels, McGahey told AFP: “This is the direct link to that game.”

Fluminense official Ricardo Calcado was quick to explain that fears of hooliganism were not the reason for seating the Exeter support in the ‘away’ end.

“We wanted to seat everybody together but we are worried about the security of the old stadium and fire regulations stipulated we can only have so many people on one side,” Calcado told AFP. “We are proud to welcome back Exeter after 100 years because the history of the Brazil team started here.

Pensioner Marcio Pernambuco proudly said his grandfather Mario had

Children pose for photographers before the Exeter City FC vs Brazil’s Fluminense FC U23 football match to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Brazil’s first international football match, at Laranjeiras stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday AFP been on that first Brazilian select XI, showing him in a picture of the side that went off to face and beat Argentina weeks later in Buenos Aires.

“I feel great emotion here today – the

hairs are rising on my arms and the back of my neck,” Pernambuco told AFP. “Sadly, my grandfather died early – I barely knew him. He was a defender, a left back.” l

Porter beats Olympic champion Pearson Mayer stuns Ferrer to win maiden title in Hamburg in Commonwealth Games warning n n

AFP, London

Britain’s Tiffany Porter stunned Australia’s Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson at the Anniversary Games on Sunday in a timely warning ahead of their Commonwealth Games duel.

The US-born Porter won the race, which was staged at London’s Horse Guards Parade, in 12.71sec despite Pearson enjoying the better start.

American Brianna Rollins, the world champion, was second, with Pearson

clocking 12.79 back in third.

Porter said: “I am really excited to come away with the win.

“It’s a confidence boost and things seem to be clicking at the right time, so hopefully I can go out and do my very best at the Commonwealths.

“You can’t ever count Sally out, she’s a great competitor, but I am going into it hoping to go away with the gold, We don’t train for second place.”

In the men’s 100m, Michael Rodgers of the United States won in 9.91sec with

2003 world champion Kim Collins, now 38, taking second place while Jamaica’s Nesta Carter was third.

Allyson Felix of the United States defeated double Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica in the women’s 100m at the meeting held to celebrate the second anniversary of the 2012 London Olympics.

Polevault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France took victory in 5.70m ahead of British duo, Luke Cutts and Steve Lewis. l

AFP, Hamburg

Argentina’s world number 46 Leonardo Mayer captured his first ATP title on Sunday when he fought back to defeat top seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) in the Hamburg final.

Mayer becomes the lowest-ranked winner of an ATP World Tour 500 tournament since number 54 Radek Stepanek clinched the Washington title in 2011.

The 27-year-old Mayer is enjoying one of the best spells of his career. Last month, the right-hander advanced to

Tomic hails ‘huge’ Bogota win over Karlovic n AFP, Bogota Australia’s Bernard Tomic described as “huge” Sunday’s 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) defeat of defending champion Ivo Karlovic in the Colombia Open final which secured his return to the world top 100.

The 21-year-old Tomic, whose rollercoaster career took another twist when he split with global management company IMG last week, defied the 39 aces of Karlovic to take victory in two hours and 13 minutes.

It was his second tour-level title, adding to a 2013 triumph at the Sydney International. Victory crowned a strong week in Bogota as he won consecutive matches for the first time since undergoing double hip surgery in late January.

Tomic said: “It’s my first tournament on hard courts since my surgeries in Australia.

“This title is huge and it’s one I will always remember.”

The world number 124 becomes the third player outside the top 100 to win a title this year, joining last week’s Swedish Open champion Pablo Cuevas and Munich winner Martin Klizan.

Tomic is also the first Australian champion in South America since Ken Rosewall triumphed in Buenos Aires in 1968.

Tomic added: “I kept trying and believing in myself. Against him, if you stop believing and trying he will beat you.”

For Karlovic, it was a second defeat in a final against an Australian opponent in the space of a week after the 6ft 11in Croatian giant had been defeated

by Lleyton Hewitt in the Newport decider last Sunday.

Karlovic said: “It is difficult when you lose like this.

“I had a lot of opportunities in the beginning. All in all it was a great week. I was in the final again and I can only be happy. I really like the conditions here and hopefully I will be back next year.” l

the fourth round at Wimbledon and made his first ATP World Tour final in Vina del Mar earlier this year.

“I can’t believe it,” said Mayer. “I was able to do it against Ferrer, who is one of the best players on this surface.

I’m really happy and it still hasn’t sunk in that I won.

“At the start of the match, I was a little tense. But I relaxed and started to play better. He also made some mistakes that got me back into the match.

I tried to enjoy it and that’s why I won, I think.” l

Wozniacki lifts Istanbul title n AFP, Istanbul

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark celebrates with the trophy after her victory against Roberta Vinci of Italy in their Istanbul Cup final in Istanbul on Sunday REUTERS

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her first title of the year and 22nd of her career on Sunday when she defeated second-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1 in the Istanbul WTA final.

The former world number one has now won a WTA title every year for the last seven years, winning her first three in 2008, three more in 2009, six in 2010, six in 2011, two in 2012, one in 2013 and now one in 2014.

“I’m happy to have won my 22nd WTA title -- it’s a great feeling. I’m happy how the final went today. I served well and pushed her around the court, and I really dictated the match,” said Wozniacki.

Vinci said, “I tried to play aggressively like always but made a lot of mistakes.

It’s tough to play like that against Caroline because she puts everything back in the court, and it was tough for me to stay in the rallies today. But I’m happy with my week and Caroline just played better than me.” l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, July 22, 2014 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 16, 2014

13 Decision on Shakib’s appeal after Eid

14 United prepare for LA Galaxy test

Sport

15 Exeter take Cup in Brazil rematch

SCORECARD, DAY 5 India 1st Innings 295 (A Rahane 103; J Anderson 4-60) England 1st Innings 319 (G Ballance 110, L Plunkett 55 no; B Kumar 6-82) India 2nd Innings 342 (M Vijay 95, R Jadeja 68, B Kumar 52; B Stokes 3-51, L Plunkett 3-65) England 2nd Innings (target: 319, overnight 105-4) J Root c Binny b Sharma 66 M Ali c Pujara b Sharma 39 M Prior c Vijay b Sharma 12 B Stokes c Pujara b Sharma 0 S Broad c Dhoni b Sharma 8 L Plunkett not out 7 J Anderson run out (Jadeja) 2 Extras (b13, lb16, w1, nb2) 32 Total (all out, 88.2 overs, 374 mins) 223 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-70, 3-71, 4-72, 5-173, 6-198, 7-201, 8-201, 9-216, 10-223 Bowling: Kumar 16-7-21-0; Shami 11-333-1; Sharma 23-6-74-7; Jadeja 32.2-753-1; Vijay 4-1-11-0; Dhawan 2-0-2-0 Result: India won by 95 runs.

INDIA’S TEST RECORD AT LORD’S

Indiaís Ishant Sharma (C) celebrates taking the wicket of Englandís Ben Stokes (L) on the fifth day of their second cricket Test match at Lord’s cricket ground in London yesterday

AFP

1936: LOST 9 WKTS 1946: LOST 10 WKTS 1952: LOST 8 WKTS 1959: LOST 8 WKTS 1967: LOST INNS AND 124 RUNS 1971: DRAWN 1974: LOST INNS AND 285 RUNS 1979: DRAWN 1982: LOST 7 WKTS 1986: WON 5 WKTS 1990: LOST 247 RUNS 1996: DRAWN 2002: LOST 170 RUNS 2007: DRAWN 2011: LOST 196 RUNS 2014: WON 95 RUNS

Ishant bowls India to historic victory n AFP, London

Ishant Sharma took seven wickets as India ended a run of 15 Tests without an away victory courtesy of a 95-run win over England at Lord’s on Monday.

This victory, only India’s second in 17 Tests at Lord’s, put the tourists 1-0 up in the five-match series ahead of the third Test in Southampton on Sunday after the first Test in Nottingham was drawn.

England, set 319 for victory, collapsed to 223 all out on Monday’s final day.

Sharma took four wickets for nine runs in 21 balls after lunch as a succession of England batsmen were undone by his bouncer.

In total, the 25-year-old finished with a Test-best seven for 74 to win the

man-of-the-match award.

“We are going to enjoy this, then we go to Southampton where we will aim to play the same cricket that we played at Lord’s and Nottingham,” Sharma said.

This result extended England’s run without a Test win to 10 successive matches.

However, under-pressure England captain Alastair Cook said he would not quit as skipper.

“It gets harder and harder the more we don’t win and of course that heaps on you at the end of the day,” Cook said.

“Until that bloke taps me on the shoulder and says ‘we don’t want you to captain’ I’m desperate to try to turn this around for England...I’m here as long as I’m wanted.”

Monday’s slump saw England, who

had been 173 for four, lose their last six wickets for 50 runs.

Sharma’s final figures surpassed the his previous Test-best six for 51 against New Zealand in Wellington earlier this year.

England resumed Monday on 105 for four, having only three times in their history made more than 300 in the fourth innings to win a Test.

And only once before had a side made more batting last to win a Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies piling up 344 for one against England back in 1984.

But on the stroke of lunch, England were 173 for four with Joe Root and Moeen Ali holding firm.

- England bounced out However, to the very last ball of the session, Ali turned his head away from

a Sharma bouncer and gloved a simple catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg.

It was the end of his painstaking, three-hour, 39 and a fifth-wicket stand of 101 with Root, then unbeaten on 52.

The resumption saw several England batsmen fall to bouncer traps so obvious they might as well as have been signposted.

Wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has been having a torrid season behind the stumps, decided to hook Sharma, with several men positioned for the shot deep on the legside, but didn’t get over the top of the ball and duly picked out Murali Vijay at mid-wicket.

Ben Stokes then fell for a duck when he miscued an intended pull to Pujara at wide mid-on.

England’s hopes of a draw now rested with Root but on 66 he too couldn’t

FACT BOX

Indian Bollywood film community members pose at a charity football match organized by Ira Khan, daughter of film actor Aamir Khan in Mumbai on Sunday AFP

The England captain, 34, is number three on the country’s most capped players behind Peter Shilton and David Beckham. He has played 114 times for England since 2000 and after being briefly captain in 2008 became full time team leader in 2010. He’s captained England 38 times, winning 20 of those games.

Gerrard scored the first of his 21 England goals in a famous 5-1 win over Germany in a World Cup qualifier in September 2001.

With his tireless running and vision, Gerrard is considered one of the best midfielders to be produced by England.

He has spent all of his club career at Liverpool, making 669 league, FA Cup, League Cup and European competition appearances for the side and scoring 173 goals.

Gerrard has a cousin, Anthony Gerrard, who plays for Huddersfield Town in the English league. Another cousin, JonPaul Gilhooley, was killed in the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster at the age of 10. Gerrard’s 2006 autobiography ends with the words “I play for Jon-Paul.

In a real life drama, Gerrard appeared in court in 2009 accused of affray after a fight outside a bar. He pleaded not guilty and was cleared. On the screen, he appeared in a 2011 movie, “Will”, about an 11-year-old boy and a Bosnian footballer who trek to Istanbul to see Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final.

resist a bouncer, hooking Sharma straight to Stuart Binny at deep backward square leg.

Stuart Broad also failed to cope with a rising delivery, gloving Sharma down the legside to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to leave England on the brink of defeat at 216 for nine.

The match ended when James Anderson was run out by Ravindra Jadeja’s direct hit, with the two players both facing a possible ban from matches in the rest of this series following their alleged confrontation at Trent Bridge.

Root and Ali had come together with England in dire straits at 72 for four after losing three wickets for two runs in 20 balls on Sunday.

England had collapsed on Sunday, with opener Cook out for just 22 to

make it 27 innings since the last of his England record 25 Test hundreds.

Fellow experienced batsman Ian Bell fared even worse, bowled for one, his run without a Test century now extending to 19 innings.

Cook elected to field on a ‘green top’ after winning the toss and saw India decline to 147 for seven.

But, not for the first time in recent matches, England failed to polish off the tail as India made 295 in their first innings, with Ajinkya Rahane scoring 103.

And they had India in trouble in the tourists’ second innings before opener Vijay’s patient 95 laid the foundation for a total of 342 that was bolstered by a dashing eighth-wicket stand of 99 in just 100 balls between the counter-attacking Jadeja (68) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (52). l

Captain Gerrard retires from England duty n AFP, Liverpool England captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football on Monday after making 114 appearances for his country.

Gerrard, 34, led the national team at the World Cup where England bowed out in the group stage and the Liverpool midfielder said he had “agonised” over the decision since returning from Brazil.

“This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career,” Gerrard told the Football Association’s FATV. “I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again.

“To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision,” he added.

Gerrard, who made his international debut against Ukraine in 2000, trails just Peter Shilton (125) and David

Beckham (115) on England’s all-time caps list.

He appeared at three World Cup finals as well as three European championships and scored 21 goals for the Three Lions. He captained England in Brazil and at Euro 2012.

England coach Roy Hodgson paid tribute to Gerrard, saying: “While I’m disappointed in the decision, I can entirely understand Steven’s situation and can have no complaints given the incredible service he has given to his country.” l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 Is Germany still the

B4 Wealth gaps lead inves-

champion?

tors to rethink risk in emerging markets

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Banks asked to cut lending rates

‘Interest rate on loans should go down to compete in the market as foreign loan inflow increased significantly due to lower interest rates’

n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has asked all the banks to reduce their lending rates to increase credit growth in the industrial sector as the money market awash with huge liquidity.

The central bank came up with the suggestion at a bankers' meeting held yesterday at its headquarters in the capital with Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair. Senior executives of Bangladesh Bank and, chief executive officers and managing directors of different banks were present at the meeting.

The country's banks have been advised to increase their respective credit growth by disbursing their loans progressively instead of aggressively.

The lending rate of some banks is still higher, which is not expected as the market has enough liquidity, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.

“Interest rate on loans should go down to compete in the market as foreign loan inflow increased significantly due to lower interest rates,” he said.

“We have allowed foreign loan in the local market to make the market more competitive so the country's banks reduce their lending rates,'' he said.

The central bank has warned all the banks to maintain the banking norms as spread of many banks went above 5% recently. It is not possible to solve the crisis just by issuing circulars, he added.

Monthly average interest rate spread for all banks crossed the desired level of 5% and stood at the highest of 16 months in May due to cut deposit rates more than interest rate, according

to Bangladesh Bank data.

The interest rate spread, measured as the difference between monthly weighted average rate of advances and deposits went up to 5.22% in May by increasing 0.23% from 4.99% in January.

The spread was 5.33% in December 2012 with high interest rate 13.8% and deposit rate 8.47%. Then, it remained between the range of 4.95% to 5.15% in last one and half years due to efforts made by Bangladesh Bank.

Banks have been asked to bring down their capital market exposure to 25% limit of the capital.

“Most of the banks, excluding 15 banks, comply with the new rules. We have asked rest of the banks to submit their time plan to reduce their excess exposure within July 21, 2016,”said SK Sur. He also said we had asked those banks to go with the investment in the capital market, who have already reduced their exposure below the limit.

The central bank strongly warned the Sonali Bank to settle the accepted bills with other banks relating Hallmark scam as the state-owned bank failed to fulfill its own commitment.

It also phased out time for Sonali Bank to settle the 1,756 bills within September 2016. The central bank will take legal action if the bank fails to settle the bills during the given period, he said.

As non-performing loans (NPL) management is the biggest challenge for the banking sector, we have requested all the bankers to keep the NPL under control in future and the central bank also assured us of giving support to reduce it, Ali Reza Iftekhar, president of Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB). l

A saleswoman charging bills with a credit card at a city shop. The card vendors offer lucrative disounts on payments if Eid shoppers use the plastic money

Outlets, banks in race to lure Eid shoppers n Kayes Sohel

With Eid taking place next week, the sales outlets from clothing to electronics are in race to lure shoppers by offering heavy discounts.

Some banks and financial institutions, including City Bank, Eastern Bank Ltd and bKash, joined in this race too by offering cashless buying with discounts from their specified shops.

Besides, various clothing and jewelry outlets, electronic goods outlets also offer considerable discounts on top brand of products like Singer, Samsung and Nokia.

The Muslim community usually spends on a lot of gifts, giveaways and

clothes on the eve of the festival that triggers sales in the later part of Ramadan.

More and more outlets and stores are putting up exclusive promotions to catch up with Eid shoppers, according to sellers.

Eid shoppers pick up a bargain in the capital's malls and stores as most outlets are offering discounts ranging from 10% to 100%, while others retained their old prices.

However, shop managers said the discounts did not cover their new collections.

Raihan, a 28-year-old store manager, said it was normal to have discounts in the run-up to the Eid.

“We started our sales a few days ago. It’s a long holiday season and we are trying to give people the chance to shop before Eid." Mohammd Faruqe, a seller at a top brand outlet, said: “It's normal this time of the year to give discounts. We hope it will encourage people to shop more.”

Shoppers, on the other hand, thought some of the shops though advertising sales did not have any goods on discount.

Saima Farzana, 21 from Khilgaon came at a city shopping mall, said she saw some shops saying they were having a sale with discounts. "But in fact there was no sale."

Export growth target poorest in 7 years BB sets FY15 farm loan n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Despite relative calmness in political situation and recovery of global recession, the government has set an export growth target which is lowest in the past seven years.

While the country earned $30.2bn from export sector in last fiscal year, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday approved $33.2bn target for the new fiscal with 10.02% growth.

According to an official, the government set a “conservative export target” to remain at a safe zone in case the target is failed in great extent. The previous year's target was $30.5bn with 12.85% growth.

However, the achievement was $30.2bn rising over 11% compared to the FY13. Officials said a number issues were taken into consideration in setting export target, which include success in expansion of markets, diversification of products, competitiveness in the global markets, recovery in the EU and US economies and fulfillment of buyers requirement related to safety in the RMG industry while the negative one is GSP suspension.

In last fiscal year, the country failed to achieve export target, for which the minister blamed political unrest.

Commenting on the matter Tofail Ahmed said: “The target could have been exceeded if there had no political turmoil in the country.”

In the sixth five-year plan, the gov-

target at Tk15,550 crore

EXPORT TARGET FOR FY2014-15 20

15

n Tribune Report 15.58

15.50 13.07

14.16

15.22 12.85

10

10.02

5

0

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

ernment has given priority on market diversification as well as products diversification to enlarge export basket.

However, the government has not taken any steps yet to diversify market.

The minister said special efforts will be taken to expand export market to South American countries like Argentina, Brazil and Chile in the current fiscal.

“We will also utilise the opportunity of duty-free access to the countries like Japan, China and Chile to reach the export target,” said Tofail Ahmed.

“The target set for the fiscal is tough but achievable,” President of Bangla-

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

desh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Considering all surrounding situations, the target is very much realistic and achievable,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh.

Private investment is a key factor for achieving export target as it helps to increase production, he said urging the government to offer package to attract investment. The export target for the RMG sector is set at $26.89bnfor the current fiscal year. l

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has launched its agricultural and rural credit policy for the current fiscal year, setting a target for disbursing Tk15,550 crore in farm loans.

The amount is 6.54% higher than the target of the previous fiscal year.

Of the targeted amount for fiscal year 2014-2015, the central bank also set disbursement target of Tk9,140 crore through the state-owned commercial banks and specialised banks while Tk6,410 crore by the private and foreign banks.

All banks including foreign banks should come forward to disburse the farm loans to bring financial stability by promoting cultivation, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman while launching the “Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy and Programme for the Fiscal Year 2014-2015” at a meeting held at the central bank headquarters yesterday.

Announcing the policy, he urged the banks to enhance their involvement in disbursing loans from the fund of Tk200 crore, which was introduced by the central bank under revolving refinance programme for the farmers.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury also requested the banks to reduce their interest rates on farm loan from existing 13% as market

has adequate liquidity, while addressing a press conference on the occasion of announcing the programme of agriculture and rural credit policy for the current fiscal year.

He also asked the banks to disburse farm loan through microfinance institutions so the rural people could get the loans.

“Agriculture loan has been set at 2.5% of the total loans for all the banks and 5% for new nine banks. The loan recovery was 70% during the last fiscal year, which was also satisfactory,'' he added.

He, however, advised the banks to focus on the significant sectors while disbursing farm loans.

In fiscal year 2013-14, banks disbursed about Tk16,037 crore, exceeding the target of Tk 14,595 crore.

Of the disbursed amount of agriculture and rural credit, Tk1612 crore had been disbursed among almost 33 lakh people, of which nearly six lakh were female.

During the period, 24.85 lakh small and marginal farmers got Tk10,648.88 crore while 23,976 farmers got Tk48.36 crore from different banks.

“We have always achieved the agriculture credit target set by the central bank and we are confident that schedule banks will be able to continue this trend this year too,” said Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) President Ali Reza Iftekhar. l

Four more border haats along Indo-Bangla border soon n Kayes Sohel

Four more border haats will be set up soon along the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya with an aim to further boost bilateral trade and living conditions of boarder areas, officials concerned said yesterday.

Of the haats, two will be in East Khasi Hills - Bholaganj and Ryngku – and two will be one in South West Khasi Hills (Nolikata near Ranikor) and South Garo Hills (Sibari).

“Bangladesh and India have already agreed to open four more border haats apart from the two already in operation

for the past three years,” said an official in the commerce ministry.

He said the agreement was reached in Dhaka during a recent meeting between top officials of Bangladesh's commerce ministry and India's external affairs ministry.

India's state government of Meghalaya had earlier proposed setting up of 22 such haats across the 443 kilometre-long Bangladesh-Meghalaya border after identifying traditional local markets existed prior to 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.

According to the officials, launching

DHAKA TRIBUNE

of four haats is now in the process as Indian side is working for mobilising funds to implement execute ground works.

After consultations with Border Guards of Bangladesh and district administrations concerned, the government has decided to allow only four market places along the border.

Bangladesh is now scrutinising Indian proposal to set up four new haats in the selected sites, said another official. “If everything is OK, the haats may be launched this year or early next year,” he said.

The border haats will be open once a week where several hundreds of people

from each part of the border will get access.

Currencies of both countries can be used in trading. The traders will exchange the currencies in the banks in the two border districts.

In 2011, India and Bangladesh opened their first border haat at Kalairchar in Kurigram and West Garo Hill district in Meghalaya, reviving the traditional border trade after nearly 40 years.

Later in the same year, the two countries opened another haat at Lauwaghar (Dalora) in Sunamganj and Balat in East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.

Mizoram and Assam states of India

also want Bangladesh open some haats in border areas. Bangladesh is, however, yet to take any decision on the issue.

The haat is 60 kilometres from Tura, the headquarters of Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district. Kurigram district of Bangladesh is located just across the river Jinjiram, which flows along the zero line of the border beyond the barbed wire fence on the Indian side.

“Both the countries have agreed to set up the four haats after a great success by launching two haats three years back,” said a high official of commerce ministry. l

"I went inside a shop that had a 60% discount sticker on the window to find one of the workers telling me the sale already ended weeks ago.”

She said: "I think it's a way to lure customers. It cannot be acceptable to the people."

Sadman Sakib, 23, student of a private university, said the shops those offer holiday discounts only applicable for old stocks only. “Most of the places having discount offers, don't give you discounts on their new collection of clothes,” he said.

"I know these shops offer discounts on last season's stock to get rid of it.

But if you search hard enough you will find a good buy." l

Action plan made for vegetable exports to EU n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has prepared an action plan for vegetable export to European Union market in a bid to satisfy the EU authorities who stopped Bangladeshi vegetables including betel leaf from entering the market after finding harmful bacteria.

Officials at agriculture ministry said they have sent this action plan which will be implemented by June 2015 to Bangladesh's Ambassador in Belgium Ismat Jahan to take immediate steps in this regard.

Under the action plan, steps will be taken to prevent export certificates fraudulence, launch contract farming under government monitoring, strengthen inspection and increase laboratory infrastructures. Amaranthus plants like betel leaf, brinjal and gourds will be cultivated in contract farming system under direct monitoring of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) to get back the $200m export market.

Ministry of Commerce, National Board of Revenue, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and the exporters' association will now jointly certify the products for export as there are allegations that some people were forging export certificates for sending vegetables like brinjal, gourds and betel leaf to the EU market.

Besides, the agriculture ministry will start checking every consignment of agricultural products going to the EU market at Hazrat Shajalal International Airport from next month. A three-member committee under the agricultural ministry headed by DAE director AZM Momtijul Karim prepared the action plan.

Under the action plan, a project titled “Strengthening Phytosanitnary Capacity in Bangladesh” has also been taken to train farmers, exporters, lab people and officials to ensure complying of EU quality requirements. The 15-day trainings will start from August 2014.

Besides, a total of 10 laboratories will be established under the project.

Agriculture ministry is now preparing a pest list and conducting pest risk analysis of citrus, cucurbits, brinjal, potato and mango. l

B2

Stocks post modest rally n Tribune Report

'Earnings improvements in some specific sectors prompted the return of some investors on trading floor.

Consequently, total turnover increased' 0.8% up to 992. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,605, rising 14 points or 1%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, rose 53 points to 8,345.

Turnover at DSE crossed Tk300 crore mark after three weeks. Total turnover has increased by more than 17% to Tk310 crore over the pervious session’s value.

All the large cap sectors closed positive except banks that dropped marginally on profit booking.

Telecommunications advanced by 3.4%, mainly driven by Grameen-

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Standard Insurance-A Savar Refractories-Z Phoenix Insur -A PragatiLife Insu. -A EBL NRB M.F.-A Matin Spinning-N Prime Bank-A N C C Bank -A Popular Life Insu. -A FAR Chemical-N

Closing (% change) -4.73 -4.38 -3.94 -3.55 -3.17 -3.02 -2.90 -2.78 -2.63 -2.61

CSE LOSERS Company Berger Paints-A Apex SpinningA Samorita Hospital -A Standard Ceramic -A Federal Insu.-A Mithun Knitting -A IFIL Islamic M.F.1-A Monno Ceramic -B SonarBangla Insu. -A Matin Spinning-N

Closing (% change) -6.24 -5.14 -4.19 -4.00 -3.19 -3.14 -2.86 -2.55 -2.35 -2.33

74,165,747

Number of Contract

75,131

Traded Issues

299

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

168

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

121

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

10

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,289.56

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.75

CSE key features Jujy 21, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

242.74

Turnover (Volume)

6,683,291

Number of Contract

11,213

Traded Issues

211

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

122

991.71004

(+) 0.76%

▲

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

79 9

1605.67183

(+) 0.67%

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

11195.74200

(+) 1.15%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,192.23

8345.11460

(+) 0.64%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.57

Average (% change) 4.72 -3.84 -3.85 -3.54 -3.17 -1.42 -1.83 -1.11 -2.70 -0.69 Average (% change) -6.01 -5.14 -4.23 -4.00 -2.57 -3.11 -2.72 -2.55 -2.35 -1.36

Closing average 26.18 61.54 31.75 122.19 6.10 42.20 23.64 10.69 166.39 48.91

Closing average 1,022.00 68.30 89.07 48.00 18.22 95.60 6.80 26.80 16.60 42.14

Weekly closing

DSE Million Taka 239.64 124.43 27.14 293.03 235.27 384.59 0.43 297.81 424.67 0.25 42.95 15.77 11.49 90.39 13.06 24.58 35.90 169.25 124.64 534.91 0.09

Weekly high

26.20 61.20 31.70 122.10 6.10 41.80 23.40 10.50 166.40 48.50

Weekly closing 1,022.00 68.30 89.10 48.00 18.20 95.60 6.80 26.80 16.60 42.00

27.50 64.00 32.00 124.00 6.30 42.90 24.10 11.50 172.00 53.40

Weekly high 1,022.00 68.30 89.10 48.00 18.60 95.60 6.80 26.80 16.60 42.60

Weekly low

Turnover in million

25.90 58.00 31.00 121.10 6.00 41.60 21.90 9.80 160.00 47.90

Weekly low 1,022.00 68.30 89.00 48.00 18.00 95.60 6.80 26.80 16.60 41.70

8.86 6.25 6.25 5.92 5.64 5.33 4.85 4.84 4.53 4.03

Company Marico BD Ltd-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Asia Insur. Ltd.-A BSC-A Anlima Yarn -A Union Capital -A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A Beximco Syn.-Z Fareast Finance-Z Grameenphone-A

Closing (% change) 6.44 6.21 5.46 5.29 4.09 4.06 3.94 3.88 3.64 3.33

Latest EPS 2.88 0.52 3.00 2.38 0.47 2.99 5.00 0.68 17.00 3.92

Latest EPS

0.051 0.014 0.134 0.120 0.183 2.581 0.007 0.004 0.008 0.750

57.68 2.24 2.20 1.32 1.36 2.69 1.07 0.28 1.52 2.99

Latest PE 9.1 118.3 10.6 51.3 13.0 14.1 4.7 15.7 9.8 12.5

Latest PE 17.7 30.5 40.5 36.4 13.4 35.5 6.4 95.7 10.9 14.1

Average (% change) 7.50 4.29 5.95 5.04 2.79 5.33 4.45 3.20 3.71 3.73 Average (% change) 6.44 4.88 2.73 3.32 4.09 3.81 3.98 2.43 4.58 2.12

Closing average 8.60 25.04 1,064.77 37.09 100.79 7.90 10.80 550.02 105.37 15.56

Closing average 1033.60 36.99 18.80 549.66 22.90 20.43 950.00 10.55 11.42 286.14

Weekly closing 8.60 25.50 1,067.80 37.60 103.10 7.90 10.80 557.75 106.10 15.50

Weekly closing 1033.60 37.60 19.30 557.50 22.90 20.50 950.00 10.70 11.40 288.80

Weekly high 8.60 25.90 1,067.80 39.00 104.00 7.90 11.20 560.00 106.90 15.90

Weekly high 1033.60 37.80 19.90 559.75 22.90 21.00 950.00 10.80 11.90 292.00

Weekly low 8.60 24.10 1,025.00 32.00 93.40 7.90 9.30 532.75 101.10 15.10

Weekly low 1033.60 31.90 17.00 535.00 22.90 19.00 950.00 10.50 11.00 275.10

Turnover in million 0.022 2.038 4.685 426.945 17.447 0.008 1.787 102.766 20.390 0.070

Turnover in million 0.052 56.904 0.012 9.963 0.011 0.228 0.285 0.154 1.017 6.638

Latest EPS 0.71 3.64 43.99 1.12 2.69 0.56 0.76 23.48 3.08 -0.92

Latest EPS 43.99 1.12 1.56 23.48 0.80 2.08 48.12 0.76 0.78 15.28

Latest PE 12.1 6.9 24.2 33.1 37.5 14.1 14.2 23.4 34.2 -ve

Latest PE 23.5 33.0 12.1 23.4 28.6 9.8 19.7 13.9 14.6 18.7

News, analysis and recent disclosers SUNLIFEINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 15.09.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Trust Milonayaton, 545, Old Airport Road, Tejgaon, Dhaka-1206. Record Date: 07.08.2014.

RUPALIBANK: Alpha Credit Rating Limited (AlphaRating) has rated the Company as "AAA" (Govt. Support) & "A" (without Govt. Support) in the long term and "AR1"(Govt. Support) & " AR-2" (without Govt.

Support) in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited financial information of the Company up to 31st December 2013 and relevant qualitative information up to April 30, 2014.

Unaudited Financials:

0.144 0.040 0.364 0.645 0.061 47.546 3.930 8.662 2.005 63.774

Turnover in million

EXIM Bank 1 MF-A Central Insur -A Marico BD Ltd-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Mithun Knitting -A BD Fixed Income MF-A Beximco Syn.-Z BSC-A Rangpur Foundry -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z

Closing (% change)

CSE GAINERS

(+) 0.47%

ISLAMIBANK: (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 974.06 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 0.61 as against Tk. 1,537.86 million and Tk. 0.96 respectively.* FAREASTFIN: (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 62.60 million with EPS of Tk. 0.39 as against Tk. 14.73 million and Tk. 0.09 respectively.* AZIZPIPES: (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 1.02 million with EPS of Tk. 0.21 as against Tk. 1.94 million and Tk. 0.40 respectively.* PRIMEFIN: (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 137.86 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 0.51 as against Tk. 76.29 million and Tk. 0.28 respectively.* SIBL: (H/Y): NPAT=Tk. 616.88 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 0.88 as against Tk. 240.96 million and Tk. 0.34 respectively.* IPDC: (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 53.19 million with EPS of Tk. 0.46 as against Tk. 53.59 million and Tk. 0.47 respectively.* ENVOYTEX: (Q3): NPAT=Tk. 214.54 million with EPS of Tk. 1.53 as against Tk.

346.46 million and Tk. 2.46 (restated) respectively.* * for the same period of the previous year.

Dividend Distribution: LEGACYFOOT on July 14, 2014, PARAMOUNT on July 13, 2014, CMCKAMAL on July 20, 2014, INTECH on July 20, 2014, WATACHEM on July 08, 2014 credited the bonus shares to the respective shareholders' BO Account.

RANFOUNDRY on July 21, 2014, CENTRALINS credited cash dividend to the respective shareholders' Bank Accounts mentioned in their BO Accounts.

MARICO: The Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on July 21, 2014 at 2:30 PM to consider the audited financial statements of the Company for the first quarter for the period ended on June 30, 2014.

SHAHJABANK: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to withdrawn the notice calling 12th EGM of the Company scheduled to be held on 11th August 2014 at 11:00 AM at the Ball Room of Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka as declared earlier due to unavoidable circumstance.

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 13-17 July 2014, NRB upto 26 July 2014. @ taka 40, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Ltd. subscription date 24-28 August 2014, NRB upto 06 September 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot

500. Western Marine Shipyard Limited subscription date 10-14 August 2014, NRB upto 23 August 2014. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 100.

Right Share: MIDASFIN: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 03.08.2014.

Dividend/AGM

SQURPHARMA: 30% cash and 15% stock, AGM: 25.09.2014, Record Date: 26.08.2014. NAV of Tk. 22,277.52 million, EPS of Tk. 8.36.

LINDEBD: 200% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 03.08.2014.

APEXSPINN: 20% cash, AGM: 28.09.2014, Record date: 07.08.2014. EPS Tk. 2.24, NAV per share of Tk. 49.75.

RUPALILIFE: 5% stock, AGM: 21.08.2014, Record Date: 04.08.2014.

SANDHANINS: 25.50% stock, EGM and AGM: 06.09.2014, Record Date for EGM and AGM: 16.07.2014.

RECKITTBEN: Interim cash @ 275% , Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 07.07.2014.

BDSERVICE: 15% stock, AGM: 25.08.2014, Record Date: 14.07.2014.

NATLIFEINS: 20% cash and 38% stock, AGM: 21.07.2014, Record Date: 03.07.2014.

MEGHNALIFE: 20% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 17.07.2014, Record Date: 30.06.2014.

DELTALIFE: 11% cash and 25% stock, AGM and EGM: 20.07.2014, Record date for AGM and EGM: 25.06.2014.

All the large cap sectors closed positive except banks that dropped marginally on profit booking

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY 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

3,090.27

4394.94792

ANALYST

Sector

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features Jujy 21, 2014

phone that gained 3.6%.

Following telcos, pharmaceuticals, non-banking financial institutions, power and food also moved up.

IDLC Investments said strong demand for large caps, triggered by earnings expectations kept market sentiment upbeat.

With the reaction to disclosed earnings and remaining earnings expectations, investors re-balanced their portfolio with injection of some fresh funds, too, it said.

“Earnings improvements in some specific sectors prompted the return of some investors on trading floor.

Consequently, total turnover increased.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said market has reverted with turnover value implying growing confidence among the investors as series of selling pressure has calm down following the flow of better than expected quarterly declaration of stocks, especially financial stocks.

On the economic data, remittance has started picking up with forex reserve of historic high of $21.24b on July 15 and portfolio investment shot up around 302% owing to the depressed share prices which translates into increased activity on the trading floor, it said.

Beximco continued to lead the chart for the fifth consecutive session with Tk42 crore changing hands, followed by Shahjibazar Power Company, Square Pharmaceuticals, Olympic Industries, Bangladesh Shipping corporation and Grameenphone. l

Stocks saw modest rally yesterday amid improved trading activities, as investors took positions on some issues, particularly large ones, just ahead of earning declarations.

The market opened on higher note and the momentum continued till close of the trade.

The benchmark DSEX gained 21 points or 0.5% to end at 4,395. The Shariah index inched 7 points or

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 7.75 4.03 0.88 9.48 7.61 12.45 0.01 9.64 13.74 1.39 0.51 0.37 2.92 0.42 0.80 1.16 5.48 4.03 17.31 0.00

Million Taka 13.77 12.41 1.19 16.14 27.96 30.69 36.57 30.07 40.20 1.23 41.11 0.67 5.60 2.02 0.57 2.13 10.99 22.74 67.27 0.01

CSE

% change 3.79 3.41 0.33 4.44 7.70 8.45 0.00 10.07 8.28 11.06 0.34 11.31 0.18 1.54 0.56 0.16 0.59 3.02 6.26 18.51 0.00

Million Taka 253.41 136.84 28.33 309.17 263.23 415.28 0.43 334.39 454.74 40.45 44.18 56.88 12.15 95.98 15.08 25.15 38.03 180.24 147.38 602.18 0.10

Total

% change 7.34 3.96 0.82 8.95 7.62 12.02 0.01 9.68 13.17 1.17 1.28 1.65 0.35 2.78 0.44 0.73 1.10 5.22 4.27 17.44 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Olympic Ind. -A Shahjibazar Power-N Square Pharma -A Grameenphone-A BSC-A The Peninsula CTG.-N Envoy Textiles Ltd-N FAR Chemical-N Padma Oil Co. -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A The Peninsula CTG.-N Square Pharma -A BSC-A UNITED AIR-A FAR Chemical-N Grameenphone-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Emerald Oil Ind. -N LankaBangla Fin. -A

Volume shares 11,509,813 744,793 2,762,600 530,021 454,800 186,840 2,447,800 1,470,030 1,304,000 196,354

Volume shares 1,538,551 420,200 52,625 18,125 630,194 142,500 23,200 233,400 23,033 118,362

Value in million 426.95 178.49 140.51 133.52 129.32 102.77 84.99 77.36 63.77 62.92

Value in million 56.90 14.62 13.24 9.96 7.70 6.90 6.64 6.58 5.52 5.08

% of total turnover 13.82 5.78 4.55 4.32 4.18 3.33 2.75 2.50 2.06 2.04

% of total turnover 25.56 6.57 5.95 4.47 3.46 3.10 2.98 2.96 2.48 2.28

Weekly closing 37.60 240.00 52.00 254.10 289.40 557.75 34.20 53.40 48.50 321.50

Weekly closing 37.60 34.40 252.10 557.50 12.20 48.40 288.80 28.10 43.70 43.00

Price change 5.92 1.48 0.58 0.59 3.62 4.84 -1.72 0.00 -2.61 2.23

Weekly opening 35.50 236.50 51.70 252.60 279.30 532.00 34.80 53.40 49.80 314.50

Weekly high 39.00 240.90 53.50 255.50 290.80 560.00 35.40 53.50 53.40 323.20

Weekly low 32.00 223.00 47.60 231.00 278.10 532.75 34.00 49.00 47.90 305.00

Weekly average 37.09 239.65 50.86 251.91 284.34 550.02 34.72 52.63 48.91 320.42

Price change 6.21 -1.15 -0.43 5.29 0.00 -1.22 3.33 -0.71 -81.60 3.12

Weekly opening 35.40 34.80 253.20 529.50 12.20 49.00 279.50 28.30 237.50 41.70

Weekly high 37.80 35.40 254.00 559.75 12.40 50.00 292.00 28.60 44.30 43.50

Weekly low 31.90 34.20 250.00 535.00 11.00 47.70 275.10 28.00 43.70 40.00

Weekly average 36.99 34.79 251.62 549.66 12.23 48.41 286.14 28.21 239.73 42.91

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Is Germany still the champion? n Reuters, Brussels A week on from its World Cup soccer victory, Germany may return to center stage, though this time not with fan celebrations but concerns over the health of Europe's economic motor.

Investors saw dark clouds building on Friday after a Malaysian airlines jet was shot down at the Ukraine-Russia border and Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza. That depressed shares and other risk assets, but the events are yet to disturb economic forecasts.

"We've seen a delayed impact of China and the Ukraine crisis," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski. "This is an explosive cocktail, but right now with limited impact on growth. The Ukraine/ Russia issue was already there."

In a week relatively light on US indicators, economists are looking for further signs that Europe's recovery and even German growth may be stalling, putting more pressure on the European Central Bank to act.

Across the Channel, minutes from the Bank of England may be the last to show unanimous backing for a stable bank rate of 0.5%. The case for tightening may then be reinforced by second quarter GDP estimates likely to show solid growth.

For Germany, the views of purchasing managers (PMIs) on Thursday and of company chiefs surveyed for Friday's influential Ifo report should show whether a slowdown of Europe's largest economy detected in the second quarter has spread to the third.

Weakness in German industrial output and both domestic and foreign orders have pointed to a poor April-June period after 0.8% expansion in the first three months of the year, the fastest rate in three years.

Last week's ZEW index of analyst and investor morale for July, which dropped this month to its lowest level since December 2012, suggested that the third quarter had also started shakily.

Forecasts for German manufacturing and services PMIs are broadly stable this month from last, with a third consecutive decline expected for Ifo's business sentiment index, albeit only a slight dip following a sharper than expected fall in June.

"Latest data have been on the soft side and it has really raised people's attention," said Reinhard Cluse, chief European economist at UBS. "But we believe the German economy is still very solid and healthy and we believe this is a breather, not the first signs of a clear

deceleration." The Bank of England publishes minutes of its July meeting on Wednesday which will be scrutinized for any signs of growing unease among policymakers at the prospect of keeping interest rates at a record low while Britain's economy recovers quickly.

The bank last month expressed surprise at some financial market prices it said implied a relatively low probability of a rate increase this year.

Many economists expect some members of the Monetary Policy Committee to break ranks and vote for a rate hike, especially if a jump in inflation in June proves not to have been a blip.

British inflation surged to a fivemonth high of 1.9% in June and house prices rose at their fastest pace in a year, prompting investors to increase bets on a rate rise before the end of 2014. The consensus is for a first hike in November.

Gross domestic product data due on

'But we believe the German economy is still very solid and healthy and we believe this is a breather, not the first signs of a clear deceleration' Friday is expected to show that Britain's economy finally regained its precrisis size in the second quarter of this year, much later than the United States and other big European economies.

A Reuters poll of 25 economists forecasts a repeat of the 0.8% quarterly expansion of the first three months of 2014, though some economists have said growth may fail to match that level after some weaker than expected data in recent weeks. Across the Atlantic,

consumer price inflation is seen pulling back to 0.3% month-on-month in June from 0.4% in May. May's price rises, the largest in more than a year, may have reassured Fed officials who had expressed concerns that inflation was too low.

However, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told the Senate last week that early signs of a pickup in inflation were not enough for the Fed to accelerate its plans to raise interest rates, a move currently expected in mid-2015.

While data on economic activity and jobs have been broadly positive, there are mixed signs from the housing market, struggling since a rise in mortgage rates caused it to stall in late 2013.

New home starts fell in June to a nine-month low, but permits are running ahead of starts, which suggests building activity will pick up in the months ahead.

Housing price figures for May are due on Tuesday after declines of an-

nual home price inflation for eight of the nine months to April.

In China, the first round of monthly PMIs, due on Thursday, should show whether the world's second largest economy is stabilizing thanks to Beijing's measures to shore up growth.

The preliminary HSBC PMI survey showed in June that factory activity expanded for the first time in six months.

The July index will come a week after data showing China's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the second quarter while new home prices fell in June for a second straight month, prompting speculation about further state stimulus.

For actual central bank action, New Zealand offers the best hope. Its Reserve Bank increased rates in March for the first time since 2010 and is seen carrying out a 0.25 percentage point hike on Thursday, although a dip in inflation could make it a close call. l

China's rich look abroad Seoul plans to flag down Uber taxi app n as home prices fall AFP, Seoul

n Reuters, Beijing Rattled by falling home prices, some of the wealthiest Chinese are paring their property investments and turning to private equity or overseas holiday homes, a sign of fading hopes that the once red-hot market can bounce back any time soon.

"Smart money" checking the exit is a bad omen for any market, especially one considered frothy after a five-year record-breaking bull run, but wealth managers, brokers and analysts say there is no reason for alarm yet.

First, the rich are not in a full retreat mode but rather looking to spread the risks more evenly, money managers say.

"There are indeed clients choosing to reduce their exposure to the property sector, but it's not a common phenomenon," said an investment strategist at a private banking arm of a large state-owned bank. The banker declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Bankers also don't expect investors to simply dump their real estate because the market cools.

"Unless someone has an especially big portion of their assets invested in property, he or she would not be in a hurry to sell," said Wang Jing, a deputy general manager at China Merchants Bank's private banking arm. "They would choose to rent their houses to deal with their cash-flow problems."

Furthermore, millions of middleclass Chinese, not rich enough to invest abroad and frustrated by official limits on bank deposit rates that barely beat inflation continue to see buying a second or third home as the best investment.

Confronted with talk of more price cuts by developers to revive ebbing sales, those investors either hold on to cash and wait or focus more on megacities like Shanghai or Beijing and avoid smaller markets that struggle with oversupply.

"The choice of the rich is the view of a minority. We do not think it repre-

sents a trend for the masses in future," said Zhao Dazhen, a property analyst at CEBM Group, an investment research firm in Shanghai.

"Market uncertainty is keeping most people on the sidelines. Potential buyers will be back once there are signs of a recovery."

Data appear to confirm that analysis, with new yuan deposits nearly tripling in June to 3.8 trillion, the biggest jump in at least 12 months. The central bank's second-quarter consumer survey also showed property has not lost its appeal: 14% of households said they wanted to buy a new home, roughly the same as a year ago.

By contrast, the rich, investment advisers at their side, increasingly choose to shift their money elsewhere in search for better returns rather than wait for prices to level off.

China's wealthy have dabbled in foreign real estate in the past and fears that the market has gone too are also not exactly new.

What is new is a growing sense that despite a pick-up in home sales volumes last month, the second monthly decline in prices in June might be the beginning of a longer slide.

Well-heeled investors are also shifting funds abroad faster than ever. Realtors in New York, Sydney or London all report how over the past year Chinese buyers became top foreign investors in their markets, snapping up high-end prestige properties.

Data from the National Association of Realtors, a US trade association, showed that the Chinese accounted for about 16 percent of foreign home buyers in the United States in the year ending March 2014, up from 12% in 2013 and 2012.

Compared with the size of the domestic property market - 8.1tn yuan ($1.3tn) in sales last year - outflows are still relatively small and a central bank probe into an offshore investment scheme offered by one of China's major banks might curb investor appetite for foreign assets. l

South Korea's capital Seoul said Monday it planned to ban the smartphone car-hailing service Uber, saying it raised passenger safety issues and threatened the livelihood of licensed taxi drivers.

The Uber app which allows clients to connect directly with "black car" services was launched in Seoul in August last year.

But the city council said it bypassed strict controls imposed on licensed taxi drivers, including background checks, insurance and vehicle upkeep and safety.

"We are looking into related laws to block Uber and similar apps that arrange such illegal transportation activities," the council said in a statement.

"Uber users should be aware that it's hard to be covered by insurance even if a car accident occurs, let alone the issues of potential mechanical problems and background of drivers," it said.

The council said it would roll out its own mobile app for hailing existing, licensed taxis in December.

"Uber is charging customers while avoiding the regulatory process, which creates unfair competition for taxi drivers and encroaches on their business,"

it said.

California-based Uber is the most prominent of the apps that are shaking up the traditional taxi landscape in cities around the world.

It has already faced significant resistance from regulators in several countries, who accuse it of unfair competition and lack of standards.

The firm also sparked angry protests by cab drivers in nations including France, the US and Germany who fear it is chipping away at their client base.

Uber operates in 41 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. l

B3 Yen advances in Asian trade n AFP, Singapore The yen strengthened in Asia yesterday as investors sought out lower-risk investments as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainty fuelled by the MH17 tragedy and Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, analysts said.

The dollar bought 101.20 yen in midafternoon trade against 101.36 yen on Friday in New York, while the euro fetched 137.06 yen compared with 137.12 yen.

The single currency was also at $1.3544 compared with $1.3525.

Trading was quiet with Japanese financial markets closed for a holiday.

"Whatever favourable signals are coming from second-quarter earnings reports... a sentiment of uncertainty has returned to the markets recently," French bank Credit Agricole said in a market commentary.

"Military attacks within the Gaza strip, and growing tensions at the Ukraine/Russia border are contributing to this sense of unease," it said.

The United States has accused Moscow of involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine Thursday with the loss of almost 300 lives.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has promised to cooperate in an investigation into the tragedy but there are fears that if he does not do enough the West will impose further sanctions on the country. Moscow is already subject to punitive restrictions over its support of anti-government rebels in Ukraine.

Separately on Sunday, US President Barack Obama called for an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas after a bloody day of fighting in Gaza raised the number of Palestinians killed to 476. l

Oil prices turn mixed in Asian trade n AFP, Singapore Oil turned mixed in Asian trade yesterday, with analysts saying prices are supported by fears about an escalation of the Ukraine crisis after the downing of a Malaysian airliner.

Investors were also eyeing developments in the Middle East after Israel launched a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, fuelling worries about the oil-rich region.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was down 21 cents at $102.92 in afternoon trade, a day before the contract expires. Brent crude for September rose six cents to $107.30.

Desmond Chua, an analyst with CMC Markets in Singapore, said investors are awaiting further news on whether the shooting down of the plane over Ukraine's airspace last week was carried out by separatist rebels supported by Russia.

He said proof of involvement by the pro-Moscow separatists would likely trigger stronger US and European sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's government, threatening to widen the crisis.

Russia is the world's second biggest crude producer, and there are concerns its standoff with the West over Ukraine could affect supplies. Ukraine is also a major conduit for Russian gas exports to Europe. l

Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd (STBL), an ICT peripheral distributor has recently launched its branded notebook named Smart at ceremony held in Dhaka. General manager of STBL, Zafor Ahmed attended the ceremony as chief guest Standard Bank Ltd recently held its 225th board meeting at the boardroom in its head office. The bank’s chairperson Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed presided over the meeting

Walton, an electronics brand has recently opened an outlet named Mobile Smart Zone at Kazipara in Mirpur. The company’s executive director and film actor, Ilias Kanchan inaugurated the showroom

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently given copies of Holy Quran to Dhaka Central Jail as gift. The bank’s managing director Md Shafiqur Rahman handed over the gift to Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin, inspector general of prisons

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Wealth gaps lead investors to rethink risk in emerging markets n Reuters, London Middle-class anger at not seeing enough of the fruits of economic growth is growing in developing economies, and that anger is forcing the world's biggest investors to rethink how they rank emerging markets.

Political risk has always been a fact of life for investors focused on the developing world, but many money managers are now assessing which countries have institutions and governments robust enough to stop the kind of anger boiling over into the chaos seen after the Arab Spring uprisings.

The emergence of what one investor called 'the Facebook Middle Class' - aspirational but frustrated as elites soak up the gains from economic growth - is creating a potentially explosive environment in key economies such as Brazil and China, they say.

"This middle class is waking up to the fact that the government does not offer you the schools, the roads, healthcare system, the housing that the middle class around the world gets," said Jorge Mariscal, UBS Wealth Management's chief investment officer of emerging markets. "It is this phenomenon that is creating enormous amounts of resentment."

The insurance market is showing clear signs that companies with international operations are becoming more and more anxious about social discontent in particular.

Insurers are seeing a spike in demand from companies looking for policies to cover "soft" political risks - such as heavy handed policy responses to civil disorder that damage business prospects - as opposed to hard political risks like war, said Andrew van den Born, the executive director in the political and trade credit risk practice at insurance broker Willis.

"We're seeing growth in soft risks income disparity, poverty, food prices," van den Born. "There's been an upward trajectory in demand for this product since the Arab Spring."

Credit insurer Coface, which covers companies against default by their clients, has placed its ratings of Turkey and Venezuela on 'negative watch' reflecting "political fragility". Both have seen civil unrest.

Global managers of stocks and

Shoppers walk in a mall in Refice, northeast Brazil, May 5, 2010. Heavy government and private investment, including from multinationals including U.S.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc, is creating opportunities for people who in previous years might have joined the exodus to big southern cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, whose slums are crowded by northeasterners and their offspring. The boom is visible in the dozens of luxury condominiums being erected along Recife's main beach front, soaring sales of household appliances and an unprecedented expansion of credit that is pulling millions into a home- and car-owning middle class REUTERS bonds are also growing more aware of the roots and results of such social tension. They see the extent to which it depresses economic growth over time and undercuts long-term returns.

Some of them are increasingly looking at which governments are capable of reforming fast enough to defuse political tensions. Among them is Andrew Milligan, head of strategy at Standard Life Investments (SLI), the Edinburghbased asset manager.

He reckons Mexican bonds remain highly investable. But SLI has a 'zero weight' on credit from Brazil, the scene

of street protests, where the results of an upcoming election are difficult to call.

"Political unrest is another reason for us to be cautious... These issues often lead to outflows, or insufficient inflows. They often are associated with currency problems and that's not very helpful," he said.

Rapid growth in the developing world has drawn millions out of poverty and created a new middle class, but inequality has simultaneously increased in countries such as China and India, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a

report published earlier in July.

The resulting social tensions threaten to "hamper growth and lead to instability," the OECD said.

Carl Dahlman, the head of global research at the OECD's Development Centre, warns the rising tensions endanger the flow of foreign investment, jeopardising economic growth further still.

"When (investors) begin to see social tensions rising you do see a fallback in investment ... There's a lot of animal spirit in these things," he told Reuters.

Investors also note that qualitative

China shuts meat factory supplying McDonald's, KFC n AFP, Shanghai

A Fox-Time Warner deal would give Murdoch new heft in China

Shanghai has shut a factory of US food provider OSI Group for selling out-ofdate meat to restaurant giants including McDonald's and KFC, authorities said yesterday in China's latest food safety scandal.

Shanghai television, which reported the original allegations, said that workers at the OSI China plant mixed expired meat with the fresh product and deliberately misled quality inspectors from McDonald's.

Other customers included Burger King, Papa John's Pizza, coffee chain Starbucks and sandwich maker Subway, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported Monday.

Rupert Murdoch's plan to buy Time Warner would help the Twenty-First Century Fox chairman make larger inroads in China, a fast-growing market that media moguls are finding hard to crack.

Time Warner's board rejected Murdoch's $80bn offer, but the Fox chairman is expected to continue the chase.

A deal would create a giant with more than $37bn a year in revenues in the United States and Canada. It would also nearly double the revenues Fox generates from the emerging media markets in Latin America and Asia/Pacific.

"He sees 3 billion new consumers coming into the market and a rising middle class in China and India, and mobile devices and strong demand for content," said Mario Gabelli, the CEO of GAMCO Investors, in an interview with Reuters Insider, "He's going to be able to create Netflixes of his own."

Police were investigating, it said, threatening 'severe punishment' in future City officials closed the factory on Sunday and seized products which allegedly used expired meat, the Shanghai food and drug administration said in a statement.

Police were investigating, it said, threatening "severe punishment" in future.

McDonald's said in a statement it had "immediately" stopped using the factory's products while Yum separately said its KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants had also halted use of its meat.

China has been rocked by a series of food and product safety problems, due to lax enforcement of regulations and corner-cutting by producers.

One of the worst occurred in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

Retail giant Walmart of the United States said early this year that it would tighten inspections of its suppliers in China after it was forced to recall donkey meat products that had been found to contain fox.

Last year, China detained hundreds of people for food safety crimes, including selling rat and fox meat disguised as beef and mutton, following a three-month crackdown, police said. l

n Reuters

Gabelli owns shares of both Fox and Time Warner.

Last year, Fox generated 42% of its revenue outside the United States and Canada. The company's Asian revenues, including those in Japan and China, grew by 40 percent, to $2.1bn, over two years.

Time Warner's collection of cable channels would compliment Fox's programming in key territories.

In Latin America, where Fox faces off against large local players, Time Warner's Turner unit operates Chilevision, a large broadcaster in Chile, and also shows its TNT entertainment channel, Cartoon Network and locally tailored regional channels such as the kids channel Tooncast.

Turner offers three well-regarded channels in India, POGO, Cartoonito and Toonami, which could help Murdoch's Indian programming behemoth Star India, which broadcasts 44 channels in seven languages.

HBO would likely be Fox's big draw

in foreign markets. The pay channel, with a history of hit programs such as "The Sopranos," has around 84 million subscribers outside the United States, beaming its shows into more than 70 countries, and sells programming from HBO and Cinemax into 150 countries.

In China, with Time Warner in the fold, Murdoch would be able to focus more squarely on profiting from what movies and TV shows the government allows.

In January, he sold Fox's 47% stake in Star China TV, which owns three 24-hour Mandarin channels, and in October sold off Fox's remaining stake in Chinese TV company Phoenix Satellite Television. These move come in the face of restrictions on foreign ownership of China media assets.

"Murdoch is not unique. The Chinese government says, 'We cannot let these people control our media,'" said William Yu, an economist at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, who focuses on emerging Asian economies. l

factors such as institutional or government stability must be taken into account. Quantitative measures of inequality are not enough in isolation.

The most closely watched measure of equality used by economists - the Gini Coefficient used by bodies such as the World Bank and OECD - show income inequality is wider in Nigeria than in France, for example. But it also shows Belarus and Japan have among the most even distributions of income in the world, although they offer very different investment prospects.

"It is a part of the mosaic, certainly...

Tough Indian stance taking global trade pact down to the wire n Reuters, Sydney Efforts to assuage Indian concerns about a landmark global trade pact appear to have failed, sources involved in the discussions said yesterday, setting off a frantic rush to win its support before a Thursday deadline.

India is the most prominent of a group of developing nations angry with rich countries for failing to address their concerns about a deal on trade facilitation struck by WTO member states in Bali, Indonesia, last year.

Proponents believe the deal could add $1tn to global gross domestic product and 21 million jobs by slashing red tape and streamlining customs, eliminating delays at the border that can often cost more than tariffs themselves.

A failure could prove disastrous for the moribund World Trade Organization (WTO) and the system of global free trade deals it underpins.

As late as Sunday, hopes were high that publicly addressing Indian concerns during a G20 Trade Ministers meeting in Sydney this past weekend would give it a face-saving path towards reaffirming its assent before the July 31 deadline.

India stockpiles food for its poor, citing the need for food security, but doing so puts it at risk of breaking the rules of the WTO which worries that the stockpiling of subsidised food can distort trade.

Officials told Reuters that India had not supplied any clear indication of concessions it wanted, so attempts were made at the meeting to reassure it that its concerns, whatever they may be, were being heard.

"India clearly and forcefully ex-

DILBERT

Japan's electronics giant Sony unveils the prototype model of the new smart card (right) which has a LCD display enabling to check account balance, electronic coupon and other electronic informations and a wrist watch shaped device in Tokyo on July AFP

But there are a lot of factors at play here," said Morgan Harting, portfolio manager for emerging markets at AllianceBernstein.

The world's biggest asset manager, Blackrock, produces a Sovereign Credit Risk Index for investors, 30% of which is made up of the category 'willingness to pay' - an assessment of a government's effectiveness and stability - alongside conventional quantitative measures.

Alastair Newton, a senior political analyst at Nomura, identifies civil unrest seen over the past year in a long list of countries, including Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Thailand and Turkey as "a quasi-systemic threat," and places it high on a list of "issues which keep me awake at night."

"You know that something bad could happen in any number of countries, but you don't know what and you don't know when," he told Reuters.

"And even if you did, you'd probably struggle to price it in."

Not all investors are so gloomy Some argue that this middle class agitation in Turkey, Brazil or Chile should be seen as growing pains associated with a process that is overwhelmingly positive.

Masha Gordon, London-based Head of Emerging Market Equities at PIMCO, argues investors should also be heartened by events in India, where the election in May of a reform-minded government, has shows the new middle classes can spur change for the better.

"This should give hope. Places stuck in a middle-income transition need to do structural, difficult reforms ... The externality of a so-called demographic dividend is a generation that is looking to vote out policy makers who failed to deliver the benefits from economic expansion."

May's election result has driven sharp rises in Indian asset prices. Mumbai's benchmark BSE equities index reached record highs this month, after rising more than 15% since the election.

The resentment that UBS Wealth Management's Mariscal saw also represents an opportunity, he said - an opportunity to invest in the infrastructure projects, hospitals and healthcare facilities protesters are demanding.

"It's an interesting theme for us ... a medium-term investment theme that needs to be explored," he said. l

pressed its concern that work proceed on all fronts, including food stockpiling, and received assurances that all G20 members are committed to the full implementation of all Bali agreements on the agreed timetables," US Trade Representative Michael Froman told Reuters on Monday.

A confidential "Summary of Discussion" circulated to G20 participants by Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb obtained by Reuters details what one official said was an example of India winning acknowledgment of its concerns.

The document notes that specific Indian concerns about the deal were raised by the members and pledges to work constructively this week to address those issues.

In principle, the WTO could pass the agreement on the basis of a qualified majority, but experts say that would be unprecedented and virtually impossible in an organisation that operates on consensus.

"India is quite influential, so let's hope that they're going to back down in some way," Peter Gallagher, an expert on free trade and the WTO at the University of Adelaide, told Reuters.

But despite reassurances it received at the meeting and in public afterwards, Indian officials again said on Sunday they had not been convinced.

"The way things are moving, there is no way we can agree to the trade facilitation agreement being pushed by the developed nations at WTO within the prescribed deadline. Food security has always been India's main concern and this time we are not going to concede," an Indian official told Business Standard. l