07 aug, 2014

Shraban 23, 1421 Shawal 10, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 125

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7 | JURIS

11 | OP-ED

13 | SPORT

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

FROM THE BEDROOM TO THE COURTROOM

JOY BANGLA, JOY PALESTINE

INDIA DRAW FIRST BLOOD

17 more bodies found in Padma and Meghna At least 123 passengers still missing; launch yet to be traced after day 3 Islam Shaon with n Ashif Our Correspondent, Munshiganj Bodies of passengers from Pinak 6 launch that sank on Monday have started to float near the spot while some others got drifted away as far as the Bay of Bengal with the strong current.

Three days after the tragic incident, as many as 15 bodies were found – until midnight – floating on rivers in Shariatpur, Chandpur, Barisal and Bhola districts, while two others near the accident spot which is close to Mawa ghat, according to the Munshiganj deputy commissioner’s office.

Authorities would conduct a survey on August 14 to check fitness of launches in Mawa-Kawrakandi route Until Tuesday night, bodies of four passengers were found in the Padma River.

Twelve passengers have so far been identified while eight of them handed over to the victims’ relatives. According to the control room set up by local administration, 123 ill-fated passengers are still missing.

Relatives of the missing people kept waiting on the river bank yesterday too.

On the other hand, rescuers from different government agencies failed to trace the sunken vessel until midnight.

It is assumed that many passengers were stuck inside it.

BIWTA Chairman M Shamsuddoha Bhuiyan said none of the passengers could be rescued alive now. “Locals

rescued some passengers just after the incident. Others may have died.”

Most of the bodies drifted to downstream towards the sea through the Meghna River, which connects the Padma in Chandpur, and were found within a radius of more than 150 kilometres.

Some of the bodies were stuck in shoals.

Of the bodies recovered yesterday, four were found in the Meghna River at Haimchar of Chandpur – some 65km from Mawa, while four in Bhola’s Ilsha area which is 100km from Mawa.

Noria, Polash and Jajira of Shariatpur, where five bodies were found floating, is more than 40km downstream from the spot where the double-decker launch capsized with more than 270 passengers on board on Monday morning.

The relatives suspect that many bodies have drifted to the sea. Many fear that the launch too has already been washed away from the spot.

However, an official supervising the rescue efforts of the Fire Service and Civil Defence told the Dhaka Tribune in the evening that the launch might not be washed away too far.

“We saw oil floating on the water last night [Tuesday]. Moreover, two bodies were found floating just 5km off the spot. It means the launch is still somewhere around here,” Bharat Chandra Biswas, the deputy director (operation) of fire service, said.

The combined operation of the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Fire Service and the BIWTA launched Tuesday night could not trace the launch, he said.

“We followed ladder search system.

But now I am thinking that we can use eight boats on a line for the salvage operation so that we can cover more than 1,200 feet. It will be effective,” he said.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Laboni Akter, whose cousin and aunt are missing after the deadly launch capsize in the Padma River, has nothing else to do but shed tears

Launch owners do not give a damn about laws n Mohammad Jamil Khan Even after recurrent tragic launch accidents involving deaths of hundreds of innocent lives, launch owners continue to pay no attention to the security and safety of passengers.

In most such passenger-carrying water vessel accidents, owners have always been able to escape through the loopholes of legal provisions, much to the frustration of the victims.

After each accident the gun is pointed at the masters (drivers) and the supervisors whereas the money generated at the cost of hundreds of innocent lives go to the pockets of the owners.

As per the marine law of Inland

Shipping Ordinance (ISO) 1976, if direct involvement of the launch owners are found in accidents, the punishment will be only five years of imprisonment, Tk1 lakh penalty and a payment of Tk5 lakh as compensation.

However, following most such accidents, owners have always evaded strict punitive measures and had been able to get off easily by only paying the fine, sources at marine court said.

As there is no strict provision for penalising the owners, they have always defied the laws, sources in Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) alleged.

They also said such defiance of law by the owners has claimed lives of

around 4,500 people over the last 38 years.

The BIWTA sources said around 1,600 small and large-scale marine accidents had happened since 2001. At least 1,000 launches sank during this period killing over thousands while the estimated loss in those accidents have crossed the Tk400 crore mark.

In the last two decades, 392 of such accidents have happened which claimed 3,567 lives while the bodies of 401 others have not been found during all these years, according to information provided by the Department of Shipping.

As per Inland Shipping Ordinance, the marine court mainly conducts the trial based on probe report submitted

Tuba owner Delowar’s freedom was Many Tuba workers not necessary to pay workers accept BGMEA’s offer n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

n Tribune Report

The five factories of Tuba Group worked on sub-contracts and generally received payments in cash, so the management’s claim that banks were not giving them funds because the owner was in jail, does not stand, agitating workers have said.

Workers claimed that Tuba Group had enough money to clear their dues because all the clients had made payments in July.

The Dhaka Tribune managed to contact the owner of one of Tuba’s clients who said he had made a payment in early July.

“I made some of my products at Tuba Group on the basis of a sub-contract...I could not get the entire order completed because the workers were protesting and abstaining from work demanding their dues...So I paid Tk8.9 lakh to the management of Tuba in the beginning of July for the partial work they had done,” AKM Ansarul Alam, managing director of Azra Enterprise Limited, told the Dhaka Tribune.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

At least 583 workers of Tuba Group drew two months’ wages from the BGMEA office yesterday, the association claimed; while another section of workers continued their fast-untodeath for the 10th consecutive day.

RMG exporters’ association BGMEA, which, after being pressured by the government, is giving the wages on behalf of Tuba Group by managing a temporary crisis fund with contribution from its well-off members, has said the workers will be able to collect their wages until 9pm today as well.

Out of Tk4.13 crore dues, Tk98 lakh was paid to the workers on the first day.

On July 28, around 1,200 workers from five factories, who did not get wages and overtime for April-June and Eid bonuses, went on a hunger strike at the Hossain Market in the capital’s Badda area. The market houses three factories of the Tuba Group.

Labour leaders, who are spearheading the protest, said they would not accept any partial payment and an-

Local influentials have illegally taken possession of more than 5,000sq-ft of a canal in Char Lawrence area under Komolnagor upazila in Lakshmipur,

Israel and Hamas began indirect talks on a new border deal for the blockaded Gaza Strip as a cease-fire ending their month-long war finished its second day yesterday.

“The owner is in jail for the last eight months but the crisis started only three months ago. This proves that they can manage fund for wages without the MD,” Shafiqul Islam, packing supervisor of Tuba Textiles, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Md Anwar Hossain, admin manager of Taif Design, a sister concern of Tuba Group, whose workers are also fasting, said: “The payment of workers was regular until April, although the MD

nounced strikes in all industrial areas of the country for Saturday. The newly formed “Tuba Group Workers Movement Committee” will stage demonstrations around the country today and tomorrow.

A number of protesters alleged that some of their colleagues had been forced to go and collect two months’ wages from the BGMEA.

4 | News

3 | News

5 | News

Bangladesh Bank has banned the mobile financial service of Prime Bank with immediate effect as it found gross irregularities into the service.

The government has been planning to destroy the BNP by preparing false charge sheets against its leaders and activists, said Mirza Fakhrul. ‘After 2008, the government has filed a huge number of cases against BNP leaders to keep BNP away from election.’

6 | Nation

8 | World

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

HALL-MARK SCAM

Ministry ‘helpless’ in arresting ‘accomplice’ n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

However, labour leader Moshrefa Mishu, who is coordinating the committee, said those who went to take the wages were not workers; they were the security guards and employees of the factories.

She alleged that a few workers, who came out of the market for various reasons, were forcibly taken to the BGMEA building.

Contrary to the workers’ claim, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam alleged that many workers had been beaten and barred from coming out of Hossain Market.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

P3

DAYLONG UNREST

More than a generation after the Liberation War was fought and won, the government has set itself the task of defining just who counts as a freedom fighter.

Massive countrywide operations are set to be launched by the government in September for controlling the use of formalin and chemical in fruits and food items. The Home Ministry has already drawn a complete strategy which was approved by State Minister for Home.

by the Department of Shipping.

The launch owners try to manipulate the probe report by influencing the probe officials, sources added.

Due to the manipulation, most probe reports blame bad weather, heavy wave in river and natural disaster as the reasons of such accident rather than identifying the culprits.

When the owners fail to escape through the loopholes, the responsibility gets handed to the launch staff, though the number is very few, sources added.

Meanwhile, absence of witnesses has been a key role in helping the owners escape justice.

Former managing director of Sonali Bank Humayun Kabir, one of the key alleged accomplices of the HallMark scandal, considered as the biggest financial scam in the country’s banking sector, was celebrating Eid in Dhaka’s Uttara while the police refrain from arresting him, showing him “absconding.”

While discussing the scandals in the banking sector, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry yesterday expressed anger for not arresting Humayun against whom a warrant order prevailed.

The finance secretary and top officials at the meeting of the standing committee said they had nothing to do with the arrest as the matter had been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Commission and the police.

The 10-member watchdog at its meeting recommended immediate arrest of all Sonali Bank officials aiding the financial scam involving around

INSIDE B1 | Business

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

15 | Sport

Mahela Jayawardene, who is retiring from the Test cricket, walked out to field amid bursting firecrackers as school children gave him a guard of honour with raised bats.

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, August 7, 2014

A list of missing passengers of the capsized Pinak 6 is being prepared under the supervision of district administration and police. The photo was taken at the control room of Mawa ferry terminal yesterday. Reckless passengers cross an agitated Padma in rough weather on trawlers, despite the fact that the overcrowded Pinak 6 capsized in the same river a few days ago. The photo was taken at Mawa Point yesterday. A vessel of the Fire Service continues its search for the missing launch in the waters of the Padma River, Relatives of the missing people gather at a classroom of the Pachchar Government Primary School in Shibchar to identify a woman's body that was found floating on the waters yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN/RAJIB DHAR

Many Tuba workers accept BGMEA’s offer

Ministry ‘helpless’ in arresting ‘accomplice’

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 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Papiya, a worker of Tuba Textiles who took payment yesterday, said she was nearly broke and was left with no other option but to accept BGMEA’s offer.

Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, police entered the market and expelled around 20-25 protesters, terming them “outsiders.” They were mainly leaders and activists of a few left parties that had expressed solidarity with the ongoing labour movement.

Workers alleged that police had bolted the main entrance of Hossain Market early in the morning so that nobody could enter; but police claimed that the workers themselves put the lock in order to prevent workers from coming out and taking the payments.

Around 1pm, police broke the lock

and took up positions in front of the entrance with a water cannon and armoured car. Witnesses said they were not letting anyone in but allowing people to come out.

Badruddoza Nizam, member secretary of the Garments Workers Coordination Council and the leader of a section of workers who are in favour of accepting BGMEA’s partial payment offer, said: “We have reached a compromise with the BGMEA and worked to ensure its implementation. We also tried to make sure that the workers went and collected the payments without any hassle.

“Although presence was thin in the morning, many workers came and collected their money in the second half of the day. We hope that the rest of the

workers will collect their money tomorrow and Moshrefa Mishu will not have anyone beside her.”

When the workers began their hunger strike, the management of Tuba Group said they could not manage the funds for paying the dues as the banks had refused to lend the fund because their managing director was in jail.

Tuba Group MD Delowar Hossain, released on bail yesterday, was arrested last year over “negligence” leading to the deadly factory fire in Tazreen Fashions in which more than 100 people were killed in November 2012.

Until being pressured by the government on Sunday, the BGMEA has also been echoing the Tuba management that paying its members’ dues was not its job. l

Tk3,500 crore given to a little known company, Hall-Mark, in violation of all financial rules.

“The loan receivers were arrested, but the Sonali Bank officials, including former managing director, have been spared. He [Humayun Kabir] is celebrating Eid in Uttara, but the police do not get him,” Abdur Razzaq, the standing committee chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.

“Warrant order is against him. He must be arrested and handed down due punishment for causing greatest harm to the banking sector. We have expressed severe anger for not arresting him,” he said, referring that the watchdog recommended punishment

for all corrupt officials of the stateowned Sonali Bank.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith and other members of the committee Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury, Md Abdul Wadud, Nazmul Hasan, Forhad Hossain, Shawkat Chowdhury and Akhter Jahan attended the meeting.

M Aslam Alam, secretary to the banking division of the Finance Ministry, told the meeting that the Hall-Mark scandal case was referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission and the police.

“He [Humayun] is one of the officials the investigations have detected.

But we have nothing to do; we have pushed our best for his arrest. Now it is up to the police and the Anti-Corruption Commission,” the chairman quoted Aslam as saying.

Tanvir Mahmud, the chairman of Hall-Mark Group, attended a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on finance of last 9th Jatiya Sangsad, said he got the money, no matter illegally or illegally as the bank had given him.

He had relations with an adviser to the prime minister. The Hotel Sheraton branch of Sonali Bank gave Hall-Mark the loan in violation of the banking rules after Hall-Mark authorities submitted false documents in support.

The Hall-Mark chairman and his general manger had been in jail.

A previous inquiry of the parliamentary standing committee on finance in its observation said the whole board of directors of Sonali Bank and the local branch management were ‘managed’ to give the loan. l

17 more bodies found in Padma and Meghna

Tuba owner Delowar’s freedom

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[Delowar] was in jail. But the crisis was created only to free the MD.” “Even in July, there were enough subcontracting orders and the factory was kept operational,” Anwar said.

A worker of Tuba Group told the Dhaka Tribune: “We got the wage for March in April. We were still working.

But we did not get any payment in May and June. By the beginning of July, workers were getting restless.

“The authorities of the factories who gave subcontracts to our factories sensed the probable unrest. So, they stopped the orders, took the partially finished work and cleared the payments for the work that we had done till that date. That happened before July 10 when we stopped working,” he said.

“This means that the Tuba management had enough money to pay our wages, overtime allowances and Eid bonuses. But they did not do it. Instead they held back our payments and forced us to take to the streets only to get the owner freed,” another worker alleged.

Tuba Group’s management and garments exporters’ association BGMEA have been saying that the dues for May, June and July and the Eid bonuses could not be paid as the banks would not give them the fund unless their owner was freed.

However, the group paid all the dues to the workers of two of its factories before Eid. The fact that the managing director was in jail did not prevent them from getting the funds out of banks.

Not surprisingly, there is no unrest among the workers of those factories who got all their dues cleared.

“The bank provided funds for the wages of Tuba Garments because it had an LC [letter of credit],” said Joynal Abedin, uncle-in-law of Delowar.

“The problem arose when the banks refused to provide funds as the other five factories, who worked on the basis of sub-contracts, did not have LCs,” Joynal claimed.

Mohammad Hatem, president of the knitwear manufacturers’ association BKMEA, told the Dhaka Tribune that factories which worked on the basis of sub-contracts usually get cash pay-

ments right after they finish a consignment.

“They do not generally need to borrow from banks to pay the wages and allowances of their workers,” Hatem said.

The five units of Tuba Group, whose workers have not got their dues, are Tuba Fashion, Tuba Textile, Mita Design, Taif Design and Bughsan Garments.

The group requires around Tk4.13 crore to fully clear all the workers’ dues.

On July 24, the High Court granted two month’s ad interim bail to Delowar – also owner of Tazreen Fashion where a fire killed 112 workers in November 2012.

Delowar’s counsel sought bail capitalising the mounting crisis surrounding the unpaid dues of some 1,600 workers in five factories.

More than a year after the fatal November 2012 factory fire in Tazreen Fashion, Delwar surrendered before a Dhaka court on February 9, 2014. Since then he had been behind the bar until Tuesday. l

ing a five-year punishment as per a recommendation made by the Ministry of Law,” Fakrul added.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Director General of Department of Shipping Zakiur Rahman Bhuiyan said the launch owners definitely hold the responsibility for the accidents.

However, the launch owners association has refused to accept such allegation.

Sahabuddin Milon, former vice-president of Bangladesh Inland

Waterways (passenger carrier’s) Association, told the Dhaka Tribune that the owners were responsible for accidents as it was them who were to ensure life safety equipment inside the vessel.

“A water vessel owner gets operational permission only after completing the requirements,” he said.

“If the launch owner takes the responsibility to count passengers at the ports, what would be the duty of the port officials?” Milon questioned.

He also claimed that the investigation officials from the probe bodies harass the owners illegally after all such accidents.

Echoing Milon’s statement, the association President Mahabub Uddin Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that the owners were not responsible for overseeing all the activities as they get certificates after fulfilling all the requirements made by the relevant authorities. l

“We have been working round the clock, but there is no progress [regarding the launch],” he added.

A diver of the fire service, Abdul Matin, who went under the water four times to search the launch, said: “Five vessels took part in the search early Tuesday. Three boats of the Navy and the BIWTA used Sonar machines during the search and we followed them with two boats.

“Our two boats were tied with ropes with one another,” he said. The ropes had stuck with something under the water four times. “Eight of our divers went under the water but found nothing,” he said.

Capt Nazrul Islam of Bangladesh Navy said they had conducted a pattern search on the route with Sonar and then started a random search. “But the result was zero. We covered almost 10km so far.”

He suspected that the launch might have gone under the cover of sand of the riverbed.

Meanwhile, rescue vessel Kandari 2 reached the spot around midnight.

The authorities said it would join the

salvage operation immediately.

Starting from Chittagong port on Tuesday night, the vessel came near Chandpur around 3pm. It is carrying some modern equipment to identify objects covered under sand of the riverbed.

About the delay, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan at a press meet said its anchor stuck in sand when it had stopped near Chandpur. “We have called another vessel having Multi-beam Echo Sounder machine. It can detect metal objects under the sand.”

He also said the government had asked the DCs of Chandpur, Bhola, Barisal and Shariatpur to be on alert about the floating bodies.

Government to monitor Mawa-Kawrakandi route

Asked what measures the government had taken to monitor the accident-porn ferry route, the minister said a joint team of the BIWTA and the Department of Shipping would conduct a survey on August 14 to check fitness of launches.

“We will scrap route permits of launches which lack fitness to ply on the mighty Padma River. The BIWTC will

provide 4-5 sea trucks to fill the gap if some launches are withdrawn from the route following the drive,” he added.

The minister admitted that there had been mismanagement in monitoring of the launches after Eid. “A special monitoring cell worked in this route until the fifth day after Eid. The accident took place when the monitoring became slack,” he said.

Relatives agitate

Aggrieved family members of the missing passengers yesterday attacked the sub-control room of the upazila administration and the camp of Red Crescent Society protesting delay in rescue operation. They also vandalised a vehicle of a private TV channel and assaulted two journalists.

Some relatives alleged that the authorities had already located the launch but they would not disclose the information. “It cannot happen that eight vessels could not trace a small launch. The rescuers fear that many bodies are stuck in the launch and if they recover the bodies together, there will be an outrage among the relatives and locals,” said Shahidul Islam, whose sister is missing. l

Launch owners do not give a damn about laws  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

“Even the owners sometimes threaten to go for strike if punitive actions are handed to them,” an official of the court said.

The Marine Court sources said around 308 cases were filed with the court between 1990 and 2014. These cases were mainly filed for violation of rule, carrying excess passengers, and repairing launch without following proper design.

At present, 46 cases are under trial and the accused were released from charges in 49 other cases. In the rest of the cases, the court has given imprisonment or penalty to guilty persons.

Verdicts were given only on the cases filed before 2006 while only 38 cases filed after 2006 were settled and the rest are now under trial.

Parvin Sultana, prosecutor of marine court, told the Dhaka Tribune that the owners will only be punished if they are

found directly involved in the incidents.

“If their direct involvement is not proved, they will not be liable under the legal sections,” she said.

Fakrul Islam, chief engineer of the Department of Shipping, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had proposed a 10-year imprisonment to create awareness among the owners and the drivers of water vessels, but the owners have opposed the move.

“Later, the ISO was amended keep-

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Clockwise from left: Garment workers risk their lives as they climb down the side of the building after the gates of Hossain Market were locked yesterday.

Demonstrating workers look on helplessly from behind a collapsible gate as they had no way of getting out of the building after locks were put on all exit points. Nupur, a garment worker who had been on a hunger strike since July 28, is brought out on a stretcher after her condition deteriorated. Abdul Sattar, the father of a demonstrating worker, is beaten up allegedly by ruling party-backed men yesterday when he came to the building to check on his daughter

Daylong unrest at Tuba Garments Police allegedly lock gates, charge truncheons on demonstrators n Tribune Report A tensed situation prevailed throughout the day in and around the Tuba Garments yesterday, as the police allegedly tried to disrupt demonstrations by the workers who had been on a hunger strike since July 28.

In the early hours of the day, the police allegedly locked the main entrances to Tuba Garments – located at the multi-storey building of Hossain Market in Uttar Badda. The move to lock the gates came allegedly after a meeting was held between ruling-party-backed labour leaders and the police.

Md Monjur Moin, organiser of Garments Shramik Trade Union, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have seen that Sub-Inspector Shahjahan of Badda police station put the locks at the main gate around 3am, keeping over 950 workers confined inside.”

Sabnam Hafiz, secretary of Garments Sramik Mukti Andalan, also claimed: “Police locked the main gate after holding a meeting with the leaders of Sramik League in the early hours of Wednesday to stop the ongoing demonstration.”

As the gates remained locked, the trapped workers – who continued their

hunger strike demanding outstanding wages and Eid bonuses – were forced to collect their medicine and saline with the help of ropes.

However, later in the day, the police themselves broke the locks on the gates and entered the building at around 1:30pm. At the time, police personnel also allegedly drove some workers away from the building.

The police also charged truncheons on leaders from left-leaning parties when they protested the locking of the gates and tried to enter the building.

Witnesses said police used truncheons on Gano Sanghati Andolon Coordinator Jonayed Saki when he tried to enter the building with around eight more leaders. Labour leaders from ruling party-backed organisations were also seen to assist the police in the assault, witnesses told the Dhaka Tribune.

Saydia Gulrukh, a member of Activist Anthropologists, a group working with the lists of missing garments workers, told the Dhaka Tribune: “In the morning, six others and I went to the [Tuba] factory for supplying medicine, but the police did not allow us to go inside. Police charged truncheons and detained two of us. The detainees

are Kamrul Hassan, a freelance photographer, and Sabnam Hafiz, a political worker.

“Later, we stood outside the Holland Centre near the factory, where labour leaders from Sramik League suddenly assaulted us. Police observed everything from across the road but took no action,” she said.

On the other hand, Babul, a worker of the Tuba Garments, alleged that a garment staff seized the workers identity cards when they were coming out of the building on Tuesday night.

“Meherul, a staff of the quality maintenance department of the garments, seized my identity card so that I cannot take my due wages,” Babul claimed.

Meanwhile, the workers also threatened to stage countrywide demonstrations on Thursday and Friday to press home their demands. Although the workers were supposed to hold a press conference at around 5pm, the media was barred from entering the building by the law enforcers at the site.

As an alternative method, the workers used loudspeakers from the sixth floor of the building to make their announcement. They also dropped notes carrying a message signed by Moshrefa Mishu, president of Garment Workers Unity.

When the announcement was being made with loudspeakers, the police also turned on their sirens on high volume, in an attempt to drown out the sound of the statement being made from the factory floor.

The workers warned of sterner protests from August 9 unless their demands were met by Thursday, adding that their hunger strike would continue. They also demanded that they would take their outstanding wages only if given by the Tuba Group owner Delowar Hossain, who was released from jail on Tuesday.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Gulshan division Mahabubur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “We did not allow anyone inside the factory in order to avoid any untoward situation. It is, however, not true that police barred the workers from coming out of the building.”

Responding to the allegation of putting the main entrance under lock and key, he said: “Police did not lock the main gate. Rather, they broke the lock.”

Meanwhile, Ain O Salish Kendra issued a statement condemning the police for locking the main gate of the factory and the alleged beating of the workers by hired goons. l

MEHEDI HASAN

Delowar’s counsel allegedly suppressed info in bail petition n Ahmed Zayeef

Tuba Group owner Delowar Hossain allegedly concealed some information in his petition for bail, which the High Court granted on July 24.

Several lawyers yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that before submitting the petition before the bench of Justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq and Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder, Delowar’s counsel had submitted the same petition to three other benches.

Musharrof Hossain Sardar, a deputy attorney general (DAG), said: “Delowar applied for bail in my court where I was assigned as law officer. Judges turned it down as being not pressed.

“If Delowar’s lawyer again files a petition for bail before another bench, he needs to mention that a petition of similar nature was rejected earlier by a court.”

DAG Khurshedul Alam said Delowar had applied for bail in his court too, but the judges returned the petition without hearing it.

Md Selim, another DAG, said: “Delowar applied for bail in my court long ago, but the judges gave it back, saying they had a lot of other cases to deal with and hence did not have the time to hear it.”

However, DAG Shafiul Bashar Bhandary, who was the state counsel in the High Court bench granting the bail or-

der, said: “Delowar’s lawyer did not mention anything in his application regarding the previous attempts at obtaining bail. I have a copy of the application and it has no such information.”

On condition of anonymity, a law official said if any court rejects any petition as being not pressed, this information has to be mentioned if similar petition is filed with another bench.

“If the counsel did not mention this in the petition, it means he suppressed the fact,” the official said.

Bhandary also said Delowar’s latest bail petition filed by his counsel “was not proper.”

Despite repeated attempts over phone, Delowar’s counsel M Aminuddin could not be reached for comments.

The General Rules for Applications and Affidavits of the High Court Division says: “When an application is made to the court or to the registrar in any matter in which any previous application was made to the court or to the registrar to the same effect or with the same object or with a similar object, the fact of such application having been made and the order passed thereon shall be clearly stated in the application.”

Surprisingly enough, the government did not appeal with the Supreme Court against the bail order of Delowar. He walked out of jail on Tuesday evening. l

Fakhrul: False cases meant Freedom fighter blames Subhan for over 100 murders n for destroying BNP Udisa Islam

n

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The government has been planning to destroy the BNP by preparing false charge sheets against its leaders and activists, party spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said.

“After 2008, the government has filed a huge number of cases against BNP leaders with a view to keeping the BNP away from election,” Fakhrul, the acting secretary general of the party, said yesterday.

He made the remark after placing a wreath at party founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave in the capital on the occasion of the 25th founding anniversary of proBNP doctors’ organisation DAB. Detective police on Tuesday pressed charges against 41 BNP leaders, including Fakhrul, Moudud Ahmed and Mirza Abbas, in connection with a bomb explosion, assaulting police and torching vehicles last year.

One of the charge sheets accuses the politicians of attacking police and vandalism during a protest on March 2 last year and the other charges under the Explosives Act. In March 2013, during BNP’s movement for election under caretaker government, a procession of the party went berserk in the capital’s Mouchak, Malibagh and Shantinagar areas.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, a Comilla

court sent the general secretary of BNP’s Muradnagar upazila unit and 80 other party activists to jail. Police filed three cases against the BNP leaders and activists for vandalism during the party’s movement on November 13-14 last year.

Fakhrul also alleged that the government had taken many strategies to repress opposition parties and their views.

“False cases were filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman. Standing Committee Member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain was detained without any reason although he secured bail from the High Court,” he said.

Bashing the new broadcast policy, Fakhrul said the cabinet approved it in order to gag people’s views and snatch their freedom of speech.

Asked about the party’s ongoing movement, he said movement was a continuous process. “We are waging a movement to ensure people’s voting rights. We are in the movement and we will be in the movement.”

Fakhrul said movement programmes would be finalised soon after holding meetings of the party’s Standing Committee and with the alliance partners.

Insiders said the Standing Committee meeting is likely to be held on August 10 and the BNP-led 20-party alliance partners may sit in a meeting the next day. l

Senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Abdus Subhan had led the killing of over 100 unarmed civilians, mostly Hindus, at Satbaria union of Pabna in a single day during the 1971 Liberation War, said a freedom fighter yesterday.

SM Shamsul Alam, 65, told the International Crimes Tribunal 2 that the war crimes accused had also been present during the atrocities in Fokitpur, Sujanagar, Momrazpur areas under Pabna sadar.

After the end of his deposition, the witness alleged that Subhan’s goons had cut his vein in 2001 and he had to receive

treatment in India for three years. “My brother filed a case against Subhan at that time, but the BNP-Jamaat alliance government withdrew [stopped] the case after coming to power. Shamsul pleaded with the tribunal to reopen the case for justice.

The witness was a college student during the war. He passed his SSC from Ataikula School.

Testifying against the Peace Committee leader, the freedom fighter said he had witnessed the atrocities of Subhan and his gang by hiding himself in a bush near the Satbaria Union Parishad office.

“Around 6am on May 12, 1971, Subhan came to Sujanagar with the Pakistani

occupation forces. The villagers were frightened since the anti-liberation forces started firing indiscriminately. Subhan got out of his white car and had a discussion with the Pakistani Army officers. A few minutes later, the army men shot dead four civilians, Cheton, Roton, Ghugri and Modon.”

The witness said he had also seen smoke rising from the nearby Tarabaria, Fakitpur and Satbaria areas.

“When the Pakistani Army men left Sujanagar for Sindurpur, I came out of the bush and went to Kadua – some three kilometres from Satbaria – and later to Sindurpur. On the way I saw signs of brutality by the occupation forces,

Subhan and his cohorts,” he stated.

Shamsul said he had seen scattered bodies of around 100 people on the banks of the Padma River in Satbaria.

He also said he had seen many bodies lying abandoned in front of Jhoru Halder’s house in Gandharvpur area.

“I buried at least 18 bodies in a single grave,” he recalled.

He said when he had gone to his village, Tarabaria, he saw each and every house had been burnt to ashes.

After his deposition, defence counsel Shahjahan Ali asked him one question and then sought time to conclude the cross-examination. The tribunal then adjourned the trial until August 13. l

Prosecution arguments in Qaisar case may end today n Udisa Islam The International Crimes Tribunal 2 yesterday heard the prosecution’s factual arguments in the case against former Jatiya Party state minister Syed Mohammad Qaisar and asked them to complete their arguments on legal points by today.

It also told the defence side to be prepared to place their closing arguments after the end of the prosecution’s arguments.

Today, the prosecution will have to respond to two queries raised by the tribunal. They will also place arguments on superior responsibility and joint crim-

inal enterprise, said prosecutor Rana Dasgupta. The legal part might be placed by prosecutor Tureen Afroz.

Prosecutor Rana submitted on the closing arguments for the fifth day, yesterday. He concluded the factual arguments in the first half of the proceedings. Since the tribunal asked them to start arguing on the legal part in the second session, the prosecution pleaded for an adjournment and sought one and a half hours today to conclude legal argument part. The tribunal allowed the plea.

The three-member tribunal raised two questions and asked prosecutor

Rana to answer those. One of them was about the testimony of an accomplice of the accused, Tajul Islam, who was presented to the tribunal as a prosecution witness. The tribunal wanted to know why he had not been charged for crimes against humanity too.

The second question was about charge 16 in which Qaisar is accused of killing 108 unarmed civilians from 22 villages. The tribunal enquired about the legal grounds as to why Qaisar had been charged for both genocide and extermination.

The tribunal also questioned why there was only one hearsay witness for

charge 15 who, in his deposition, had given different statements about the place of abduction of victim Nazim Uddin.

Rana said it might have happened since the witness had to recall incidents from 42 years ago. l

Corrigendum

In a report published yesterday titled “Over 6,000 doctors to join health sector today,” we mistakenly mentioned the joining date as Wednesday. Actually, they join today. We regret the error. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, August 7, 2014

A generation later, government Review of verdict decides to define who is a demanded freedom fighter n

Hajj flights begin on August 27 n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

SHOOTING IN GREECE

Rabiul Islam

n Mohosinul Karim More than a generation after the Liberation War was fought and won, the government has set itself the task of defining just who counts as a freedom fighter.

The ruling Awami League-led government admitted it was beleaguered by a spate of applications for freedom fighter status amid allegations that some who made it to the list made by the liberation war affairs ministry and Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad were fakes.

Forty-three years after the liberation war, the government has formed the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) which decided at its first meeting that it would set out to define exactly who could be considered a freedom fighter.

Enlisted freedom fighters are entitled to an allowance of Tk5,000 per month,

quotas in government jobs and an extra year of service before retirement.

A sub-committee led by parliament member Motaher Hossain, former state minister for primary education, was formed at the meeting to prepare a draft definition of freedom fighter.

The sub-committee was given until September 14 to work out the definition and submit its report to Jamuka.

Jamuka will finalise the definition at its September 14 meeting, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mojammel Haque told reporters after yesterday’s meeting.

According to the ministry, there were currently around 102,500 enlisted freedom fighters in the country. More than 187,000 new applications were pending.

Between FY 2000-2001 and FY 20102011 the Department of Social Services fund for freedom fighters’ honorari-

ums rose from Tk150m to Tk3600m, according to the department’s website.

Mojammel Haque said Jamuka had decided to run a two month drive to re-examine and scrutinize applications for freedom fighter status. The drive will commence after the September 14 meeting.

Alleged fake freedom fighters and new applicants would be scrutinized during the drive, he said.

The meeting yesterday also formed a committee led by former chief whip and parliament member Abdus Shahid to prepare a draft amendment to the existing Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) Act. It was decided that Jamuka would be upgraded into a department and shift its office from its current location in Moghbazar to a more suitable place, he said. l

The National Alliance for Migrants’ Rights, Bangladesh yesterday demanded review of a Greek court’s recent verdict acquitting local farmers of the charges of shooting 28 Bangladeshi migrants in Greece last year.

Leaders of the alliance urged the Bangladesh government to provide legal protection for the Bangladeshi migrants there.

A Greek court acquitted local farmers of the charges despite their admitting that they had shot the 28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers who had asked for arrears of their wages for six months, according to media reports.

Two others, accused of aggravated assault and illegal firearms possession, were handed prison sentences but were freed pending appeal.

The Bangladeshis were shot at in April last year when they demanded

remuneration for six months of unpaid work at a farm in Manolada in southern Peloponnese. Greek politicians, trade unions and anti-racist groups condemned the verdict.

At a press conference at the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, the alliance leaders demanded that the Greek Supreme Court review the verdict with a view to ensuring justice for the affected workers.

Ain O Salish Kendra Director Nur Khan, Ovibashi Karmi Kalyan Foundation Chairman Syed Mahbub Elahi, SHISUK Executive Director Sakiul Millat Morshed, Dhaka Ahsania Mission Project Director Modasser Hossain and Manusher Jonno Foundation Program Manager Sarwat Binte Islam, among others, addressed the press conference.

Sheepa Hafiz, BRAC director for gender justice and diversity migration, chaired the function. l

Dhaka Urban Cooperative Bank under ACC scanner n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission launched an inquiry yesterday against the officials of Dhaka Urban Cooperative Bank, including its owner, for their alleged involvement in embezzling Tk1.69 crore of public money.

The commission recently received allegations against the bank’s owner Maj (retd) Selim and some other officials for embezzling the amount by luring the depositors with offers of high interest rates, said an ACC official. Analysing the allegation, a regular meeting of the commission approved the launching of the inquiry.

The official also said an officer would soon be appointed to look into the matter.

Meanwhile, the ACC also approved an inquiry yesterday against Shakil Ahmed, the owner of Orion Air Services Limited, for embezzling around Tk35 lakh from Hajj passengers.

Allegations say 18 Hajj passengers who had paid the money to perform Hajj failed to do so as the company embezzled the money.

ACC Deputy Assistant Director Azizul Haque has been appointed as the inquiry officer while Deputy Director Benjir Ahmed will supervise the inquiry. l

2 more bureaucrats transferred n Mohosinul Karim The Public Administration Ministry reshuffled the offices of two senior bureaucrats yesterday.

Of the two, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Secretary Humayun Khalid was transferred to the Planning Commission as its acting member.

Humayun, who was discharging duties as the director general of the Department of Youth Development, was made the acting secretary of the ACC on July 20.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Tourism Corporation Chairman Maksudul Hassan Khan was posted as the secretary of the ACC, with the status of acting secretary. Since last Sunday, the ministry has reshuffled the offices of 53 top officials. l

Former BCB president passes away n Tribune Report M Akmal Husain, ex-president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) died at 6:30am Tuesday at the capital’s Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital, said

his family members.

He will be buried at Gobindaganj village in Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj beside his mother’s grave as per his last wish.

His kulkhani will be held on August 8 after Asr prayers at the Gulshan Azad Mosque.

Akmal was born in Sylhet. He served as the information secretary and the energy secretary, as well as having been a lecturer of the Chemistry department of DU. Afterwards, he became the president of the BCB. l

The Hajj flights that will carry Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia will begin on August 27, the government has announced.

Religious Affairs Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hasan made the disclosure yesterday, saying three Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircrafts will be used for the special Hajj service this year.

A total of 98,762 hajis will make the pilgrimage this year, he said, adding, the government would make arrangements for 1,600 of those people and the rest would go through 835 Hajj agencies.

Babul made the comments in a press conference following an inter-ministerial meeting regarding Hajj preparations at the seminar room of the Religious Affairs Ministry.

He said: “We have already finished all the preparations for Hajj. The first Hajj flight will start on August 27 and the flights will continue until September 28.”

The return flights will start from October 9 and continue until November 7, he said.

The secretary said the hajis are scheduled to arrive at the Ashkona Hajj camp on August 24, while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the camp on August 26.

When asked about the initiative to create awareness among the hajis regarding the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV), Babul said the Health Ministry has been conducting mass awareness regarding this disease.

When questioned about the 141 people who could not go to Saudi Arabia last year because of their agents’ negligence, the secretary said the money of 124 of those pilgrims had been recovered and attempts are on to send them on Hajj this year. l

Abdul Wahab’s 43rd death anniversary today n Tribune Report

Observing the Hiroshima Day, Dhaka University’s Japan Study Centre and the Green Belt Trust bring out a procession yesterday, demanding an immediate stop to the genocide in Gaza NASHIRUL ISLAM

Dhaka-Kathmandu energy cooperation in the offing n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The Nepalese government has welcomed Bangladesh’s initiatives to establish a tripartite cooperation involving Bangladesh, Nepal and India and sought cooperation in the energy sector under a regional or sub-regional framework.

“We look forward to participating in the next round of meetings to move the sub-regional approach forward,” Nepalese Energy Minister Radha Kumari Gyawali said at a joint press conference at a hotel in the capital yesterday.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, who was present at the event, said Bangladesh and Nepal had agreed to cooperate with each other in the energy sector for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The ministers held bilateral discussions prior to the press conference.

“Discussions have begun, opening up a new horizon,” Nasrul said.

JUBO LEAGUE LEADER MILKY MURDER CASE

One accused on 4-day remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The issues of importing power from Nepal, signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation, scheduling a follow-up meeting at the ministerial level and various power connectivity issues were discussed at the meeting, the state minister said.

He said Nepal had no objection to Bangladesh buying electricity from the GMR, an Indian company that will invest in a hydroelectricity project in Nepal.

He said they were in the process of signing an MoU on energy cooperation in the future.

“They have asked us to send a draft copy of the MoU which we hope to finalise soon,” Nasrul Hamid said.

The state minister, however, had earlier said the two countries would sign the agreement during the Nepalese minister’s visit to Bangladesh.

He said Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran had met with him and assured him of New Delhi’s support for any sort of power connectivity. l

A Dhaka court yesterday remanded Abul Monayem Md Aminul Ehsan alias Dish Babu for four days on the charge of involvement in the killing of Jubo League leader Riazul Haque Khan Milky last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan passed the order after a 10-day remand plea had been submitted by CID Assistant Commissioner ABM Siddiquer Rahman, also the in-

vestigating officer in the case.

Police arrested Babu on Tuesday in connection with the murder.

Abdullah Al Mansur Ripon, counsel for the prosecution, told the Dhaka Tribune that police arrested Babu acting on information provided by the accused in the case.

Milky, 43, organising secretary of the Dhaka city (south) unit of Jubo League, was gunned down on the street in the Gulshan area of the capital on July 30.

On April 15, Md Kajemur Rashid, as-

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar in a case filed for evading Tk2.65 crore in income taxes from fiscal years 1999-2000 till 2008-09.

Judge of Dhaka Special Court 5 Md Rezaul Islam framed the charges against him after rejecting the time petition filed by his lawyer TM Akbar.

During the hearing of the case, Babar claimed himself to be innocent and sought justice before the court.

After the hearing, the court fixed September 21 for the next hearing. The charge framing hearing of the case has been deferred 49 times.

On June 29, the court fixed August 6 for passing the indictment order against the BNP leader after concluding the charge framing hearing in the case.

sistant superintendent of police of RAB 1, submitted a charge sheet before the court accusing 12 people, including 11 Jubo League men, in the murder case.

In view of a no-confidence petition, a Dhaka court on June 17 ordered the CID to re-investigate the case and submit a report by August 10.

Later, Milky’s brother Rashidul Haque Khan registered a murder case with Gulshan police station accusing 11 people, including Chanchal and Zahid Siddiki Tarek. l

Ershad asks PM to protest Gaza killing n Tribune Report Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad called upon Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday to take to the streets and stage movements protesting the Israeli attacks in Gaza.

The JaPa chairman said: “I urge the government to take to the streets. We, the Jatiya Party, have proved that we love Islam and we have always stood beside the oppressed people.”

The former dictator made the statement while addressing a human chain organised by the party in front of the National Press Club, protesting the killings in Gaza.

The country has many Islamic parties but they were not staging any sort of movement to protest the Israeli attack on Gaza, he said, adding, “What is the fear? We are bearing Islam.

“I am calling upon the prime minister to protest the Israeli attacks by taking to

Babar indicted in tax-evasion case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The 43rd death anniversary of martyred intellectual Abdul Wahab Talukder will be observed today.

On this day in 1971, Wahab was killed

by Pakistani occupation forces while he was the camp in-charge at Bamonhat Jubo Shibir camp under sector 6.

He was buried in the Kalamati mosque premises across the border in India.

Marking the day, his family urged the government to take steps to have his body brought back to Bangladesh.

In addition to family observances, a doa-mahfil and discussion will be held at Shaheed Wahab student hostel at Kurigram Government College, Singhjhar Shaheed Wahab Adarsha Juba Sangha, and Shaheed Wahab Kindergarten School to commemorate the occasion. l

On February 14, 2010, Deputy Commissioner of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Syed Zakir Hossain filed the case with Dhaka senior special judge court against Babar for dodging his income tax.

According to the case statement, Babar, director of Master Electronics Industries, evaded Tk2.65 crore of income tax on his Tk8.06 crore income from his firm over the fiscal years between 1999 till 2009.

Babar repeatedly provided

false information about his actual income and expenditure, even though he was an influential person and a leading businessman, said the case statement.

Earlier, on January 30, Lutfozzaman Babar was sentenced death penalty in the sensational Chittagong 10 trucks arms haul case.

Though Babar was granted bail in the NBR case, but he is still in jail on various criminal charges, including for the August 21, 2004 grenade attack case. l

the streets and protesting strongly.”

Ershad said: “We always hear about ‘human rights’ but now we see that the rights are of two kinds.

“One is for the western people and another is for us.”

Referring to the killing of labour leader, he said: “You [USA] have cancelled GSP opportunity for the labour leader death, but why you are silent now when hundreds of people are now being killed.

What are you [USA] doing now?” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, August 7, 2014

5

Massive anti-formalin drives to begin in September

During the drive import of formalin will be controlled and laws will be enforced to check use of the chemical The official said the policy and all phase, the import of formalin will be n Rabiul Islam controlled and laws will be enforced. related activities would be completed

within August, while committees on three levels would be formed for implementing the decision.

A committee headed by an additional secretary of the Home Ministry would be formed for monitoring the activities and assessing the performance of the deputy commissioners in implementing the decisions. The committee would place its assessment at the meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order, as well as at the coordination meeting of divisional commissioners.

Meanwhile, district-level committees, headed by the respective DC, would be formed with ministers and lawmakers as committee advisers; and upazila-level committees, headed by the respective upazila nirbahi officer, would also be formed to enforce the plans. l

Massive countrywide operations are set to be launched by the government this September for controlling the use of formalin and chemical in fruits and food items.

The Home Ministry has already drawn a complete strategy which was approved by State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan on Tuesday.

“We have finalised our strategies which will be implemented in four phases,” Home Ministry Additional Secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday.

In the first phase, drives will be launched to apprehend the offenders including the people in the remote areas who use chemicals in fruits, Kamal said.

He added that during the second

In the third phase, research will be conducted and information will be analysed and in the fourth phase, mass awareness will be created regarding the menace of formalin and chemicals.

The activities will be formally inaugurated at all districts in September this year, with the ministers of the respective districts set to attend the inauguration programmes as chief guests.

Seeking anonymity, a senior official at the Home Ministry said magistrates would be appointed to conduct special mobile court drives. If any magistrate was to be transferred, the vacant spot would be filled up immediately, he said, adding that the superintendent of police in the district concerned would also provide sufficient support for operating the mobile courts.

BCL men vandalise estate office at CU

ETHNIC UP MEMBER RAPE

n CU Correspondent

A group of Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders vandalised the estate department office at the registrar building of Chittagong University yesterday.

According to witnesses, the vandalism was triggered after an altercation ensued between Deputy Registrar Zaker Hossain of CU estate department and Md Nazim, a Master’s student of the Anthropology Department and a BCL activist, regarding a rented house of one late Nasir, who had worked at CU College at the campus.

The deputy registrar told Dhaka Tribune that a group of three Chhatra League men, led by Mamun Hossain, former athletics affairs secretary of CU unit, entered the estate office around 12pm and asked them to evict the inhabitants of the house, claiming that the house was a secured shelter of Shibir men.

“At one point of the altercation, they started to vandalise the tables, chairs and computers of the office and threatened us of dire consequences,” Zaker said.

Being informed, the proctor and pro-vice chancellor came to the office but the Chhatra League men had managed to fled the scene, he added.

Zaker said following the vandalism, he had lodged a written complaint with the registrar’s office accusing the three BCL men. He said he would file another complaint with Hathazari police station regarding the incident.

Professor Siraj Uddowla, proctor of CU, said he had received a verbal complaint from the deputy registrar in this regard, adding that they would sit in a meeting today with the authorities concerned and the BCL men to solve the matter. l

People continue protests in Chapainawabganj Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj Indigenous people from Chapainawabganj gathered yesterday, demanding the arrest and punishment of the culprits who raped a female UP member, who is also a local leader for the indigenous people.

Jatiya Adivasi Parishad and Adivasi Chhatra Parishad organised the rally programme where protesters gathered in front of Shahid Satu Hall around 12pm and marched to the office of the district commissioner.

At the programme, the speakers criticised the government for its failure to protect the rights of the indigenous people in the country.

They also spoke of waging stronger movements if the administration failed

to punish the culprits properly.

Later, a memorandum was sent to the district commissioner and to the superintendent of police in the district.

Firoz Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Gomostapur police station, told this reporter that, on Tuesday night, they had arrested two more men, Azizur Rahman, 50, and Anisur Rahman, 48, in connection with the rape. Both the arrested are from Zinarpur village under Parvatipur union in Gomostapur upazila.

Earlier, police arrested Ziaul Karim, a local Awami League leader, in connection with the incident.

The female UP member was raped on Monday by miscreants, who were trying to grab a piece of land which she was cultivating rice on. l

Rampant garbage dumping by imprudent people turns the capital’s Pragati Sarani into a sorry state. The photo was taken after yesterday's rain MEHEDI HASAN

IPCC panel: World’s ecosystems are in high danger

Wasa to provide water connections to Sattola slum

n Tribune Report

n Tribune Desk

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the world’s ecosystems are in high danger from the effects of global warming, drought, flood and cyclones.

This observation came from the IPCC’s 5th assessment report discussed yesterday at the city’s National Press Club auditorium.

The press conference, titled “IPCC’s AR5: how Bangladesh translates climate change and its vulnerabilities,” was jointly organized by IPCC, Climate and Development Knowledge

Network (CDKN), Nature Conservation Movement (NACOM), Prokiti O Jibon Foundation and Lead, a worldwide non-profit organization.

The panel suggested that the government incorporate adaptation action into national development planning for the sustainable development outcomes.

It also stressed the need to include of all kinds of development activities including disaster management.

Earlier, on March 31, the IPCC published the final draft report-II which made a suggestion for policy makers.

Regarding the negative impacts of

climate change, Bangladesh will mostly face disruption in agriculture and water sector caused by flood, drought and salinity, according to several earlier reports of the IPCC. The country has formulated a detailed policy titled Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) in 2009.

Under the policy, the government formed two funds named Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) with its own resources and Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BBCRF) with the contributions from development partners. l

WEATHER

Human chain for basic rights of indigenous people

THUNDERSHOWER

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7

n DU Correspondent

DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:38PM SUN RISES 5:31AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

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28

Chittagong

31

26

Rajshahi

34

27

Rangpur

33

27

Khulna

32

26

Barisal

32

26

Sylhet

34

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Cox’s Bazar

30

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.7ºC Srimongal

25.0ºC Hatiya

A human chain is formed in front of the Nationa Museum in the city yesterday, demanding measures to ensure all basic rights of indigenous people NASHIRUL ISLAM

Source: Accuweather/UNB

Join efforts to combat injustice stressed PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:09am 5:30am 12:05am 4:44pm 6:39pm 8:00pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Dhaka Wasa yesterday signed a deal with four NGOs to provide water connections to Sattola Slum dwellers in the city’s Mohakhali area.

Engineer Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, and representatives from Dustha Shasthya Kendra (DSK), Nagar Sheba, NDBUS and Bangladesh Association for Social Advancement (BASA) signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides at Dhaka Wasa’s conference room.

Under the deal, around 8,000 families will be benefited by legal water

connections, reports UNB. Taqsem Khan said Dhaka Wasa is committed to providing legal water connections to all the slums of Dhaka city by December 2015.

Dhaka Wasa has received the Water Leaders Award-2013 at the Global Water Summit held in Seville, Spain last year for its success in providing legal water to low-income group in the capital, he said.

Taqsem said an amount of US$ 11,000 Dhaka Wasa received with the award is being spent on providing legal water to the low income community of the Sattola Slum. l

n Tribune Report Representatives from about 50 development organisations have underscored the need for combined efforts to combat inequality and injustice in society through better coordination among stakeholders at all levels.

Officials from grassroots organisations working with ActionAid Bangladesh in 26 districts across the country

made the observation at a meeting in the capital on Wednesday when sharing their successes and challenges, says a media release.

The participants discussed a number of challenges that are affecting the quality of overall development interventions. The challenges include poor governance at different levels of the public administration, corruption of government officials, inadequate

resources, lack of capacity of the duty-bearers, lack of transparency within the organisations and integration within the working organizations as well as poor monitoring and impact assessment systems.

Later, the representatives met with ActionAid Bangladesh’s Executive Board and also former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin Khan, among others. l

Bangladesh Adivasi Chhatra Sangram Parishad (BACSP) yesterday voiced their demands for basic rights, constitutional recognition and an immediate end to repression.

They made the demands yesterday while participating in a human chain in front of the National Museum in the capital’s Shahbagh area at 11am.

At least a hundred indigenous people took part in the demonstration under several banners supporting the cause.

They also asked for cultural harmony between the indigenous people and Bangalis and the immediate implementation of the recommendations adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) for the development of indigenous communities.

Speaking at the event, the BACSP members expressed dissatisfaction over the present condition of the indigenous communities in Bangladesh and urged the government to take effective measures to resolve these issues.

Sanjib Drong, general secretary of Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, said: “We have been deprived of our basic rights and facilities since the birth of Bangladesh. The indigenous females are raped frequently and we are repressed by the people in this country, while the government remains si-

lent and does not take any stern action against it.

“The state has failed to provide basic rights and safety to the indigenous people.”

Sanjib urged both the government and the UN to take measures to protect the rights of the indigenous people.

Sujon Majong, general secretary of BACSP, said though the incumbent government had promised to ensure all the rights of the indigenous people and implement the peace agreement in their election manifesto, they had yet to make any fruitful development in these issues.

Harendranath Singh, president of Adivasi Jubo Parishad, said: “According to our Constitution, our country is non-communal, but we are frequently subjected to torture and castigation for being indigenous.

“Many indigenous people have sacrificed their lives and contributed greatly in the Liberation War of 1971, but they were not given proper recognition and honour,” he said.

Shantipada Tripura, organising secretary of Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, also voiced that they would continue their movement until their demands were met.

Ananta Dhamai, president of BACSP, Chanchala Chakma, president of the Hill Women’s Federation was present at the event. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Matlab bridge yet to see light In absence of a bridge, hundreds of vehicles with thousands of people cross river by a ferry

n Ibrahim Roni It has been almost 43 years since the inhabitants of Matlab Uttar and Matlab Dakkhin upazilas of Chandpur were assured that a bridge would be constructed over the Dhonagoda River, a tributary of the Meghna River, but locals continue to be frustrated as they have yet to see such a bridge.

Taking advantage of the issue, many political leaders became Members of Parliament as well as ministers, yet the local people’s demand for a bridge over the river still remains unfulfilled.

Locals said in absence of a bridge, hundreds of vehicles and thousands of people have to cross the river using a ferry. Sometimes, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority ferry stops working in the middle of the river, causing immense suffering of the local people.

They said ahead of every election, candidates from different parties assure locals that he/she would take measures to build the bridge, but after election, they do not keep their commitments.

It is quite strange that two MPs have separately already laid foundation stones for the bridge, without the approval of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Eenec).

Local people said if the bridge was constructed over the river, the sufferings of Chandpur, Shariatpur, Lakshmipur and Noakhali would be eased to a great extent as distance from the district to Dhaka would be reduced by about 40km.

Hedayet Ullah, a resident of Uttar

70-year-old man arrested for raping minor in Gaibandha n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha Police arrested a 70 year old man on Tuesday night at Dhanghora village of Gaibandha for allegedly raping a minor girl. The culprit, Aijuddin Mistry, allegedly raped his 12 year old neighbour who is now four months pregnant.

Four months ago, Aijuddin allegedly took advantage of the absence of the girl’s parents and raped her. Later on, Aijuddin, through coercion, continued raping the minor girl regularly. When the girl became pregnant, her mother became alert and found out about the abuse.

Raziur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gaibandha police station, said the NGO SKF Foundation and the district women’s committee informed the police about the incident.

The police admitted the victim at Gaibandha Modern Hospital on Tuesday night. The mother of the victim filed a case at the Gaibandha police station, added the OC. l

Motlab, said he had to visit Comilla every day for business purposes and faced various hassles, including the need to change his mode of transport several times while heading to the neighbouring district.

“For the last couple of decades, residents of the two upazilas have been demanding the construction of the bridge, but no fruitful measures have been taken to fulfill the long-desired demand of people,” he said.

Centering construction of the bridge political leaders have been playing with the sentiment of local residents Minara Akter, a resident of Homna upazila in Comilla, said the traffic pressure on the Comilla-Dhaka Highway would be reduced if the bridge was constructed.

“Centering construction of the bridge, political leaders have been playing with the sentiment of local residents,” she said.

Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, a minister of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first pledged the construction of the bridge.

Shamsul Haque, a minister of Ershad’s government, also promised to construct the bridge, but obviously he failed to do so as well.

In 1991, Nurul Haque became a minister of the locality from the BNP-led four party alliance, but did not make

any attempt to construct the bridge.

In 1996, Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Bir Bikram, became a member of the parliament and afterwards a minister, and laid the foundation stones for the bridge without approval from Ecnec.

The 304-meter-long and eight meter wide bridge project, estimated to cost Tk15.47 lakh, was placed with Ecnec by Chandpur Roads and Highway Department in the fiscal year 2005-2006, but Ecnec did not approve the work.

Later, in 2009, when the Awami League-led government assumed office, they showed interest in the project.

After becoming Disaster Management and Relief Minister, Mofaazel Hossain Chowdhury Maya assured locals that he would take immediate initiatives so that the higher authority would take steps to build the bridge.

Sources at Roads and Highway Department said a development project proposal was submitted to the Planning Commission in 2012.

The sources also said after scrutiny, the project proposal would be placed before an Ecnec meeting this month.

If the financial watchdog gave their nod, the foundation stones for the bridge would be laid down very soon, the sources hoped.

Sub-Divisional Engineer of Roads and Highway Department Shahrul Amin told the Dhaka Tribune that the project, costing Tk84 crore, would start in September this year.

He expressed hopes that the bridge construction work would be complete

by June, 2017. l

Risky travel home continues on waterways n Our Correspondent, Bhola People returning to the capital from Bhola and Barisal after Eid-ul-Fitr holidays using water routes are at risk as they are travelling on overloaded launches to cross the Meghna River in bad weather.

The speed boat service between Bhola to Barisal at Bheduria launch terminal in Barisal was suspended on Monday morning due to the weather.

Md Nasim, traffic officer at the Bhola zone of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), confirmed this and said the decision was put into effect at 11am, and the service would remain suspended until further notice.

The sea truck service between Bhola and Lakshmipur was also hampered as ST Khijir 7, the sea truck, broke down on Sunday.

Md Shihabuddin, manager of BI-

WTC ferry service, said they had urged the Dhaka-bound passengers to use the ferry service to cross Meghna.

He said the number of ferries had been doubled to tackle the pressure.

All the Dhaka-bound launches leaving from Bhola were overcrowded on the seventh day after Eid. The launches did not maintain the schedule and left for Dhaka only after their crews had admitted passengers well beyond the vessels’ capacity.

Alhaj Golam Nabi Alamgir, the owner of two launches that commute between Dhaka and Bhola, said all the launches that operated on the route had been pulled out of the rotation system and were being used to carry passengers to Dhaka.

Ajit Deb, executive magistrate of Bhola, said they were monitoring the situation to prevent the overcrowding of the launches. l

Locals block Dhaka-Mawa Highway protesting couple’s death n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj Locals blocked the Dhaka-Mawa Highway for hours yesterday, following the death of a couple in a road accident at Bezgaon in Munshiganj on Tuesday.

SI Arfan said Sreenagar upazila unit Shweccha Shebak League Secretary Aminul Islam Tulu, 45, and his wife

Riva Akter, 35, were killed when a speeding bus ran over them while they were heading to Riva’s village home on a motorcycle.

They were buried at Sreepur graveyard in the morning where local AL leader Sukumer Ranjan Ghosh, Abu Kaosar Molla, Pankaj Bebnath, Tofazzal Hossain and BNP leader Alhaz Momin

Ali were present, among others.

When the burial was completed, they urged the people to block the road, protesting the deaths.

The agitated people put a blockaded on the highway for hours and vandalised vehicles. A 10km long tailback had been created on the highway during the blockade. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Schoolgirl commits suicide in Natore A schoolgirl committed suicide on Tuesday night at Dhola village under Kodimchilan union of Lalpur upazila, Natore. The deceased was Mini Khatun, 14, the daughter of Mostak Ahmed. Mini ingested insecticide after she was rebuked by her mother for failing to complete some chores. The family members rushed with her to the upazila health complex where the attending doctors declared her dead. Abdul Hai Talukder, officer-in-charge of Lalpur police station, said nobody was arrested for the girl’s unnatural death. – Our Correspondent, Natore

Counterfeit medicines destroyed in Joypurhat A mobile court destroyed counterfeit medicines, worth around Tk2 lakh, yesterday at BISIC Shilpo Nagarai area of Joypurhat.

Sources said Executuve Magistrate Masud Kamal, NDC Abu Rayhan and Superinten-

dent of Drugs Sukorno Ahmed conducted a drive in that area and found 32,160 packets of fake tasty saline, 2,400 pieces of vitamin C tablets and some other fake medicines in Tamim Agrovate’s warehouse. The seized medicines were later burned. The court also fined Golam Azam Sarkar, the owner of the company, Tk15,000. Sukorno said Azam was marketing those drugs without any permission from the administration.

– Our Correspondent, Joypurhat

Human chain protesting Israel’s attack on Palestine The Joypurhat unit of the Jatiyo Party formed a human chain protesting Israel’s attack on the Palestinian people. Party leaders and activists gathered in front of the Central Mosque in the city around 12pm yesterday. Convener of the district unit of the party Helal Uddin, joint convener Titas Mostafa, and Shafiqul Islam spoke at the program. – Our Correspondent, Joypurhat

Week long tree fair begins in Narail A week-long tree fair was launched at Narail Victoria College’s Sultan Mancha premises on Wednesday, jointly organised by the District Administration, Forest Department and Department of Agriculture Extention (DAE). A colourful rally was led from the press club till the Sultan Mancha premises. Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, MP, inaugurated the fair as the chief guest while Additional Deputy Commissioner (general) Ananda Kumar Biswas presided over the inauguration ceremony. Professor Sheikh Anwar Hossain, principal of Narail Victoria College, Vice-Principal Professor Barun Kumar, ASP Masum Ahmed Bhuyan, DAE Deputy Director Sheikh Aminul Haque, Forest Officer Anita Mandol, and Nursery Owners Association President Sharif Munir Hossen spoke at the session, among others. A total of 20 stalls have been set up the in tree fair. – Our Correspondent,Narail

A structure being constructed on a canal in Char Lawrence area under Komolnagor upazila, Lakshmipur. The photo was taken on Tuesday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Illegal construction on Lakshmipur canal ruins harvest n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur Local influentials have illegally taken possession of more than 5,000sq-ft of a canal in Char Lawrence area under Komolnagor upazila, Lakshmipur, to construct 30 buildings, causing damage to the harvest of several thousand acres of agricultural land around the canal.

Local farmers claimed the illegal construction created a waterlog in the area, which was causing harm to their harvest.

They also accused the local Water Development Board (WDB) officials of leasing out the canal and assisting in the illegal land grabbing.

Investigation revealed that 32 local influential people, including alleged land grabber Abdur Rob Patowari, Jahir

Uddin Titu, Shahin Alam, Borhan Uddin and Shofi, took conditional lease of 456 sq-ft of the canal.

However, they took possession of more than 5,000sq-ft instead and started construction of 30 buildings, around 60% of which have been completed.

This has created a waterlog, as a large part of the canal is filled up.

Some of the locals, who requested anonymity, claimed several complaints had been placed before the WDB officials in this regard, but to no avail.

Sirajul Islam, a local farmer, complained that their harvest was getting damaged due to the waterlog, especially during the monsoon, as there is no way to drain the excess water.

On the other hand, Shahin Alam and other alleged grabbers claimed that

they were constructing the building only on the part of the canal leased out to them.

However, when asked whether they had overlooked any condition of the lease, they could not give an answer.

Jashim Uddin, surveyor of WDB in Lakshmipur, said the conditions of the five-year lease clearly stated that permanent construction was not allowed on the canal, and the lessees were allowed to build only tin-shed houses.

Denying the accusation of assisting the illegal possession, ATM Khalequzzaman, executive engineer of WDB in Lakshmipur, said he had found the allegation of illegal possession to be true, and had written to the district administration to take strict action against the grabbers. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Juris

7

Thursday, August 7, 2014

From the bedroom to the courtroom The plight of tea

plantation workers

Time to criminalise ‘marital rape’

n Mir Raisa Rakiba

M

BIGSTOCK

R

n Farzana Hussain

ape is not only a serious offence against the body of a woman, but also a crime against her basic human rights, and a violation of the victim’s most cherished fundamental rights, namely, the right to life.

In Bangladesh, the definition of “rape” is found in the Penal Code of 1860. Under Section 375 of the Penal Code, a man is said to have committed “rape” if he has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will or where her consent is obtained by threatening to kill or hurt her. Now an important question may come up: what if the perpetrator is the victim’s lawful husband?

Does rape exist in marriage?

No, our national law doesn’t recognise rape in marriage. Section 375 of the Penal Code of 1860, specifically creates an “exception” in the following terms: “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape.” A similar exception is created by Section 9 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000.

The exclusion of marital rape from the ambit of rape law is a reflection of deep rooted attitudes in our society about the role of a woman and the “wifely duties” she has to her husband. Denying sex, according to traditional beliefs, goes against the duties of an ideal wife. Moreover, major religions like Islam, Hinduism and Christianity emphasises on the idea that when a woman marries, she gives her husband complete authority over her, including her body.

As the idea of marital rape is still taboo in our culture, most people do not have any clear concept of what the term “marital rape” stands for. According to RK Bergen (1999) “marital rape can be defined as any unwanted inter-

course or penetration (vaginal, anal, or oral) obtained by force, threat of force, or when the wife is unable to consent.”

According to a research by Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), marital rape often results in more damage to victims than rape by strangers, such as: Longer recovery from trauma; Higher likelihood of repeated assaults; Pressure to stay with perpetrator; Negative effects on children in the household; Difficulty in identifying what happened as a crime given the victim’s relations of love and care with the accused.

countries to “promote gender equality and empower women.”

According to a 2011 UN Report, as of April 2011, only 52 countries had amended their legislation to explicitly make marital rape a criminal offence; 127 countries have not yet taken the step.

Historically, English law provided that, when a woman marries, she is deemed to have given herself to her husband, and is his property. But in Britain, spousal exemption was abolished by the House of Lords (In the case of R v R, 1992 and Criminal

The exclusion of marital rape from the ambit of rape law is a reflection of deep rooted attitudes in our society about the role of a woman and the ‘wifely duties’ she has to her husband

When a woman is denied the right to free choice, she is denied the right to good health, and is often condemned to a lifetime of ill-health and death that arises as a consequence of such denial.

International law has labelled marital rape as rape. It’s not only a part of domestic violence, also a severe violation of women’s basic human rights. Article 29 (a) of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women includes marital rape explicitly in its definition of violence against women. The UN Millennium development goals also includes, as goal no 3, the intention and aim of the United Nations and its signatory

Justice and Public Order Act 1994). In the US, it is now illegal in every state to rape one’s spouse since July 1993.

Even in those countries and states where rape in marriage is recognised as crime, it is often the case that the prosecution of offenders and the success of these prosecutions are greatly reduced in comparison with strangerrape, because socially it is not fully accepted as a crime. For instance, in recent years, Malaysia and Nepal have been the two countries of Asia to acknowledge marital rape as a criminal offence, but with a lesser punishment.

In Malaysia, five years is the maximum punishment a husband can be sentenced to whereas the maximum

sentencing for a stranger-rape is 20 years. On top of it, the Malaysian law specified no minimum sentencing for marital rape so as to leave a loophole for the rapist husband to be imprisoned as less as one day. In Nepal, a rapist husband can be sentenced for three to six months.

There may be some arguments that marital rape is difficult to prove.

Rebuttal of this argument is not too difficult. The mere fact that marital rape would be very difficult to prove is no reason for not recognising it as a crime.

In India, even after the social wake created by Delhi bus gang rape in December, 2012, and the recommendation made by the “Verma Commission” in 2013 that the spousal exemption in rape be abolished, Indian MPs however, decided against recognition of marital rape. The reason given by them was that criminalising marital rape would weaken traditional family values in India, and that marriage presumes consent. To this rationale, it may be argued that marital rape is destructive because it betrays the basis of the matrimonial relationship.

A marriage in which a husband rapes his wife is already destroyed.

In Bangladesh, marital rape exists de facto but not de jure. It is a common but under-reported crime because the law does recognise the offence.

To conclude, the 150 year-old definition of rape in Bangladeshi law is grossly insufficient to give proper legal support to victims of marital rape.

Therefore, it is high time to accept that a rape is a rape whether it is a marital rape or a stranger rape or a force-only rape. It is a heinous criminal offence and must be criminalised. l Barrister Farzana Hussain is a Senior Lecturer at Northern University. Bangladesh and Advocate, Dhaka Judges’ Court.

JURIS QUOTE And although I broke a lot of laws as a teenager, I straightened out immediately upon turning eighteen, when I realised the state had a legal right to execute me.

George Carlin

American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and philosopher May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008

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ost of the 163 tea estates in Bangladesh are located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh-Maulvi Bazar, Hobiganj, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria districts, etc.

Tea plantation workers lead a life of hard labour, erosion of cultural identity and captivity. Illiterate, they are unaware of their rights, and this entails a life full of suffering for them and for their children.

Their poor housing conditions, low wages, long working hours, social discrimination, and de facto restriction on free movement deprives them of many basic human needs and rights.

Deprived, exploited and alienated the tea workers live an inhumane life. The tea workers are so much cornered that they depend solely on the companies for food, medicine, accommodation, education, etc. Their conditions violate the maximum provisions of the Bangladesh Constitution, different human rights instruments, laws and rules that commit social, economic and human dignity.

It is important to be aware of how the workers struggle in their life in order to earn their daily basic necessities, and to what extent they are being exploited by their owners. At the end of the day, whether proper measures of law are being taken against those being oppressed is a matter of concern at this stage.

Today Bangladesh has almost 156 tea gardens apart from the ones in North Bengal, with approximately 118,000 workers in this sector. During the 1850s and 60s the tea garden workers were brought by the British colonial companies from different parts of India. Unfortunately, these workers were treated much like slaves since they had to give up their right of sovereignty as it was reinstated with the tea estate proprietors.

Still today these deprived workers are being treated like those in British days as they have a different style of living. Even today, the minimum expected standard of living is very poor.

sole victim of the tea estate owners.

It appears that their social standing falls outside the scope of Bangladesh.

Many attempts have been made so far to bring the poor condition of the workers in control but much has not been done yet.

The Labour Act was introduced in 2006, which when it came into force negated the other existing laws such as the Tea Plantation Ordinance, 1962 and The Tea Plantation Labour Rules, 1977. Unfortunately, the Law is not satisfactory since there was a huge cry from the tea plantation workers that the minimum wage rate was not sufficient.

The Labour Act, 2006 also contains special provisions that have been adapted regarding the female workers during and after their pregnancy. A female worker, after her pregnancy, may perform light work provided it has been approved by a medical practitioner. Moreover, she would be entitled to regular payments along with the maternity benefits. Adequate recreational and educational facilities, housing facilities, daily necessities have been duly enacted in the Labour Act. However, prime concern is, to what extent these laws are being implemented and whether the tea plantation workers are genuinely benefiting from these laws.

Involvement of various NGOs may prove to be very helpful in providing support to the tea plantation workers in regards to their health care, education, special support for the female workers

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

One commitment that the Saarc Social Charter sets for the South Asian States is to enable its citizens to “satisfy basic human needs and to realise his or her personal dignity, safety, and creativity.” The Social Charter also specifies the “access to basic education, adequate housing, safe drinking water and sanitation, and primary health care,” which should be guaranteed in legislation, executive, and administrative provisions, in addition to ensuring “adequate standard of living, including adequate shelter, food, and clothing.”

These people are basically trapped into the social stigma which they inherited from their ancestors and living an inhumane life which is no less than an animal. Even their basic necessities are not properly ensured although they are living within the territory of Bangladesh. Very sadly, these poor people lack their basic rights.

These people do not receive proper medical treatment and the payment is miserably lower than the minimum standard. Since they belong to different ethnic communities, it is unlikely that they intend to interact with other people and end up facing social discrimination. These people are purely illiterate and the trend has been passing from generation to generation.

So the children of these workers tend to become the same as their parents. They depend entirely on the tea estate owners, and have nowhere else to go or either to shift from their profession, thus they became the

It is indeed true that many of these rights are legally recognised, but their implementation remains a big factor. Most of the government officials do not even bother to monitor the compliance properly as they very simply abide their legal duties and deprive the innocent workers of their rights which is assured under the said law.

Thousands of cases have been seen so far about the poor tea plantation workers who are not even aware of these laws and are being deprived out. The current wage rate of the tea plantation worker in Bangladesh is considerably lower than the neighbouring countries India, Sri Lanka.

Since there is an urgent need to improve the social condition for tea plantation workers, the NGOs should be invited to work among the tea plantation workers. Involvement of various NGOs may prove to be very helpful in providing support to the tea plantation workers with regard to healthcare, education and special support for the female workers.

It is strongly suggested that the NGOs should fully cooperate with the trade union. Additionally, it is of paramount importance that lawmakers and policy strategists come together to protect the basic rights of Bangladesh’s tea plantation workers, since they are largely responsible for a major source of export in Bangladesh. l Mir Raisa Rakiba is Junior Associate at Legacy Legal Corporate and can be reached at info@legacylegalcorporate.com.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Peace talks underway in Cairo

Israel-Palestine conflict: Basic facts

n AP, Cairo

n Tribune Desk

Israel and Hamas began indirect talks on a new border deal for the blockaded Gaza Strip as a cease-fire ending their month-long war finished its second day yesterday.

Israel has said it wants the Islamic militant Hamas to disarm, or at least ensure it cannot re-arm, before considering the group’s demand that the territory’s borders be opened. Israel and Egypt imposed a closure after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007.

The indirect talks are being held in Cairo, with Egyptian mediators shuttling between the delegations.

Disarming Hamas tops the list of Israeli demands presented in a meeting with Egyptian mediators late Tuesday, said an Egyptian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Israeli delegation has since left for Israel but was to return to Cairo later yesterday, the official added.

The Palestinian delegation is composed of negotiators from all major factions, including Hamas and was to meet with Egyptian officials later Wednesday to be briefed on Israel’s demands, said Bassam Salhi, a Palestinian delegate,.

“The most important thing to us is removing the blockade and start reconstructing Gaza,” he said. “There can be no deal without that.”

He said the cease-fire, set to expire at 8am Friday (0500 GMT), would likely be extended if more time for talks is needed.

Talks are still in the early stages, but the outlines of a possible solution have emerged, including internationally funded reconstruction of Gaza overseen by a Palestinian unity government led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Western-backed Abbas lost control of Gaza in the Hamas takeover of 2007.

In a step toward reconstruction, Norway is organizing a donor conference, tentatively set for the beginning of September.

Regarding easing the blockade, a

In case you find yourself less clear on the hows and the whys of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, here are some basic facts presented by Vox Magazine. This is not a definitive account of Israel-Palestine’s history or the present-day conflict. Today goes the third part:

Why is Israel occupying the Palestinian territories?

A girl holds a candle with the Palestinian flag during a rally calling for an end to Israel’s air strikes on Gaza, in Managua REUTERS statement by Egyptian intelligence indicated it would not agree to major changes at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, and the onus of lifting the border closure would fall on Israel.

The cease-fire is the longest lull in a war that has killed nearly 1,900 Palestinians — 75% of them civilians according to the United Nations. Israel has lost 67 people, including three civilians.

The war broke out on July 8, when the Israeli military began bombarding targets in Gaza in an attempt to stop Hamas from launching rockets at Israel and then nine days later it sent in ground troops to destroy underground tunnels it said were built to attack Israel.

But in the weeks leading up to the war, Israeli-Palestinian tensions had already been rising following the June killings of three Israeli teenagers, whose bodies were discovered two weeks after

Nato: Russia poised to invade Ukraine n Reuters, Brussels Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and could use the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission to invade, Nato said yesterday.

Stating the conflict in Ukraine was fueled by Russia, Nato said in a statement that the troop build-up had further escalated “a dangerous situation.”

“We’re not going to guess what’s on Russia’s mind, but we can see what Russia is doing on the ground – and that is of great concern. Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border,” Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in an emailed statement.

Nato was concerned that Moscow could use “the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse to send troops into Eastern Ukraine,” she said.

Moscow denies Western accusations that it has armed and supported rebels who are fighting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. It announced new military exercises to take place all this

week, involving bombers and warplanes on Monday in a show of strength near the border with Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday the threat of a direct intervention by Russia’s military in Ukraine has risen over the last couple of days. Nato said early this year that Russia had amassed some 40,000 troops close to the Ukraine border. By June, the number had dropped to less than 1,000, but then Russia started building the force up again.

A Nato military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that early this month Russia had significantly increased the number of troops near the Russian border.

The roughly 20,000-strong troop presence included tanks, infantry, artillery, air defense systems, as well as logistics troops, special forces, and various aircraft, the officer said.

Previously, Russia has used military exercises as cover for intervention, military analysts say. The European Union and the United States last week agreed tough new sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine. l

they disappeared in the West Bank.

Israel accused Hamas of being behind the abductions, and subsequently carried out a massive ground operation in the West Bank, arresting hundreds of Hamas operatives as part of a manhunt.

And in early July, an Arab teenager was abducted and burned alive by Israeli extremists in an apparent revenge attack. Six Jewish Israelis were arrested in that killing.

In Gaza, people took advantage on Wednesday of the calm to return to their devastated homes and inspect the damage. People trickled back to their homes making their way over buckled roads, through dangling power lines and overturned trees to inspect their neighborhoods. Along the way, rows of flattened buildings alternated with moderately damaged structures — and rare buildings with no damage. l

n BBC, Africa

Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram is accused of unleashing a new weapon of war - the female suicide bomber, fuelling concern that its insurgency has entered a more ruthless phase.

Four of them - all teenage girls - carried out attacks in the biggest northern city, Kano, last week, leading to social media sites going viral with speculation - dismissed as unfounded by the government - that Boko Haram had turned some of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April into human bombs.

At the same time, government spokesman Mike Omeri said the security forces had arrested three people in neighbouring Katsina state - including two girls aged 10 and 18 - with explosive belts strapped around them.

Nigeria’s first female bomber - a middle-aged woman - struck in June: Riding a motorcycle, she went to a military barracks in the north-eastern city of Gombe, where she detonated her explosives while being searched at a checkpoint, killing one soldier.

“To use female suicide bombers is the most dramatic strategy that an organisation can use. It becomes easier to penetrate targets because we are less suspicious about women,” Martin Ewi,

n Reuters, Frankfurt

shape that has been likened to a duck.

Scientists hope data the probe gathers on the surface of the comet will allow them to peek into a kind of astronomical time capsule that has preserved for millions of years clues about what the world looked like when our solar system was born.

It has taken Rosetta 10 years, five months and four days to reach the comet, a roughly

by forcing the Israeli government to guard them with walls or soldiers that further constrain Palestinians. In the long term, the settlers create what are sometimes called “facts on the ground”: Israeli communities that blur the borders and expand land that Israel could claim for itself in any eventual peace deal. The Israeli occupation of the

West Bank is all-consuming for the Palestinians who live there, constrained by Israeli checkpoints and 20-foot walls, subject to an Israeli military justice system in which on average two children are arrested every day, stuck with an economy stifled by strict Israeli border control, and countless other indignities large and small. l

Nigeria: Boko Haram’s female bombers strike

Spacecraft Rosetta catches up to comet after 10-year chase European spacecraft Rosetta became the first ever to catch up with a comet yesterday, a landmark stage in a decade-long space mission that scientists hope will help unlock some of the secrets of the solar system.

Rosetta, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, will accompany comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on its trip around the sun and land a probe on it later this year in an unprecedented manoeuvre.

Scientists are now on a tight schedule to learn enough about the comet using data from Rosetta to safely land the spacecraft’s probe on it in November. “We know what the comet’s shape is. But we haven’t really measured its gravity, we don’t know yet where the centre of mass is,” Rosetta Flight Director Andrea Accomazzo told Reuters.

As it neared 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko this year, Rosetta took pictures revealing that it is not shaped, as had been assumed, like a rugby or American football, but rather comprises two segments connected by a neck, giving it an asymmetrical

This is a hugely important part of the conflict today, especially for Palestinians.

Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza began in 1967. Up to that point, Gaza had been (more or less) controlled by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan. But in 1967 there was another war between Israel and its Arab neighbors, during which Israel occupied the two Palestinian territories. (Israel also took control of Syria’s Golan Heights, which it annexed in 1981, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which it returned to Egypt in 1982.)

Israeli forces have occupied and controlled the West Bank ever since. It withdrew its occupying troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but maintains a full blockade of the territory, which has turned Gaza into what human rights organizations sometimes call an “open-air prison” and has pushed the unemployment rate up to 40%.

Israel says the occupation is necessary for security given its tiny size: to protect Israelis from Palestinian attacks and to provide a buffer from foreign invasions. But that does not explain the settlers.

Settlers are Israelis who move into the West Bank. They are widely considered to violate international law, which forbids an occupying force from moving its citizens into occupied territory. Many of the 500,000 settlers are just looking for cheap housing; most live within a few miles of the Israeli border, often in areas surrounding Jerusalem.

Others move deep into the West Bank to claim land for Jews, out of religious fervor and/or a desire to see more or all of the West Bank absorbed into Israel. While Israel officially forbids this and often evicts these settlers, many are still able to take root.

In the short term, settlers of all forms make life for Palestinians even more difficult,

3-by-5 km rock discovered in 1969. On its way, the spacecraft circled the sun on a widening spiral course, swinging past Earth and Mars to pick up speed and adjust its trajectory. The mission performs several historical firsts, including the first time a spacecraft orbits a comet rather than just whizzing past to snap some fly-by pictures, and the first time a probe has landed on a comet. l

The military alleges that Hafsat Usman Bako is a recruiting sergeant for Boko Haram BBC a researcher with South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told the BBC. “It also shows desperation - and tends to be the last card that an organisation plays. But we don’t know whether Boko Haram has reached that stage, or whether it has decided to play the card early,” he adds.

Either way, Boko Haram has sent a chilling warning to the Nigerian government over its refusal to negotiate a prisoner swap by releasing some of the group’s jailed commanders in exchange for the freedom of the

abducted schoolgirls.

“It may be a way of saying that if there is no prisoner exchange, then you might see some of the girls coming back with bombs,” Mr Ewi says.

Nigeria-based security analyst Bawa Abdullahi Wase says Boko Haram has now carried out 11 suicide bombings by men and women - since launching its insurgency in 2009, suggesting that it is copying the tactics of jihadi groups in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

But he rules out the possibility that the group’s suicide squads are receiv-

ing training abroad, saying: “You will be chasing shadows if you think that.”

Mr Bawa argues that Boko Haram is not made up only of “illiterates,” but also boasts many young Nigerians with degrees in chemistry, physics and engineering who have turned into bomb-makers.

“These are people who come from respectable families, and most are in the 18 to 40 age group,” the security analyst told the BBC. “They have failed to get jobs, their parents have failed to get their gratuities and pensions after 35 years in the civil service and they struggle to put food on the table. They see no hope under this government and out of desperation they have joined Boko Haram.”

Expressing a similar view, Mr Ewi says many Boko Haram recruits - including suicide bombers - are not only motivated by religious ideology, but also money. He claims that Boko Haram paid Nigeria’s first suicide bomber - who attacked the police headquarters in the capital Abuja in 2011 - four million naira ($24,870, £14,750), to carry out the operation.

Boko Haram boasted after this first suicide bomb that it had about 300 other people trained and willing to carry out such attacks, he said. l

An insight into US terror database n Agencies

“If everything is terrorism, then nothing is terrorism.” This eloquent quote by former senior FBI special agent David Gomez speaks to what is now emerging as an “out of control” surveillance program initiated by the Obama administration in its overarching effort to monitor terrorist links.

That the US government is engaged in unprecedented snooping worldwide matchless in its scale is known for some time now, thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden. But fresh disclosures from a new source, based on classified government documents leaked to the website Intercept, suggests that Washington may be running amuck, putting under surveillance hundreds of thousands of people merely on suspicion, and possibly on account of their religious or ethnic affiliation.

The new disclosures, which could cause a fresh round of consternation in world capitals that have not signed on to the program, also reveal that the CIA uses a previously unknown program, code-named Hydra, to “secretly access databases maintained by foreign coun-

tries and extract data to add to the US watchlists.”

The numbers are just staggering. According to the latest disclosures, there are around 700,000 people caught up in the US government’s Terrorist Screening Database (TSD) — a watchlist of “known or suspected terrorists” that is shared with local law enforcement agencies, private contractors, and foreign governments. Of them, more than 40% — 280,000 — are described by the government as having “no recognized terrorist group affiliation,” dwarfing the number of watchlisted people suspected of ties to al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah combined.

According to the documents, the Obama administration has also boosted the number of people on the no-fly list more than ten-fold, to an all-time high of 47,000 — surpassing the number of people barred from flying under George Bush. The government also adds names to its databases, or adds information on existing subjects, at a rate of 900 records each day The second-highest concentration of people designated as “known or suspected terrorists” by the government is

in Dearborn, Michigan, a city of 96,000 that has the largest percentage of Muslims in the country.

According to the government’s watchlisting guidelines, published

by The Intercept last month, officials don’t need “concrete facts” or “irrefutable evidence” to secretly place someone on the terrorist watch list — only a vague and elastic standard of “reasonable suspicion.” “You need some fact-basis to say a guy is a terrorist, that you know to a probable-cause standard that he is a terrorist,” it quoted Gomez, the former FBI agent, as saying. “Then I say, ‘Build as big a file as you can on him.’ But if you just suspect that somebody is a terrorist? Not so much.”

Most people placed on the government’s watchlist begin in a larger, classified system known as the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE). According to the Intercept, in the summer of 2013, U.S officials actually celebrated what the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) referred to as “a milestone” — boosting the number of people in the TIDE database to a total of one million, up from half a million four years earlier. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

China earthquake toll nears 600 The 6.1-magnitude quake struck China’s Yunnan province on Sunday

n AFP, Longtoushan, China The death toll from an earthquake that devastated a remote region of China jumped to nearly 600 people yesterday, authorities said, as volunteer rescuers were warned away. Rescue efforts in the southwestern province of Yunnan, where the 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sunday, were heavily hampered by traffic delays and landslides blocking roads.

At least 589 people had been confirmed killed as of yesterday morning, China’s ministry of civil affairs said on its website, marking a sharp increase in the death toll.

The ministry added that 2,401 people were injured and 230,000 had been evacuated, while more than 80,000 homes had fully or partially collapsed.

No explanation was given for the sudden increase from a toll of 410 given on Tuesday, though rescuers have steadily been pulling corpses from the

wreckage. In Longtoushan, at the epicentre of the quake, the body of a young child was pulled out in front of relatives wailing in grief late Tuesday night.

Hundreds of survivors gathered in dozens of blue tents Wednesday, with some quietly sobbing as staff distributed wheat buns, an AFP photographer saw.

Search efforts in Longtoushan were being concentrated in a 600-metre swathe of hillside in the township’s central urban area.

Residents in the area told AFP that school dormitories had collapsed in the quake, echoing a 2008 disaster in Sichuan which killed more than 80,000 people, thousands of them children who died as their cheaply built schools crumbled.

‘Unfit for use’

China called for civilian volunteers to stay away from the disaster zone as traffic blocked supply routes and “sub-

standard” relief goods flooded into the area. More than 18,000 professional rescuers have headed to the disaster zone, state media said, most of them military and police.

But huge tailbacks have developed around the worst-hit areas, mainly consisting of cars driven by members of the public bringing in supplies or offering help.

Workers have also been halting traffic to set off explosions on the mountainsides to dislodge huge boulders perched precariously over roads.

Pang Chenmin, head of the ministry’s disaster relief bureau, urged the public to avoid the disaster zone as the 72-hour “golden period” for rescue drew to a close.

“In order to ensure the best chances of rescuing survivors, we advise non-professional groups and volunteers against entering the quake zone by themselves so as not to cause traf-

fic and communication difficulties,” he said, according to the official news agency Xinhua.

Many volunteers who walked or hitchhiked to Longtoushan have slept out in the open, or entered tents used by survivors. Some brought their own vehicles into the worst-hit areas, carrying in goods such as fizzy drinks.

“Some relief materials are unfit for use in disaster areas, some are substandard products, some are overly abundant and take up precious space and traffic resources,” added Pang.

Some civilian volunteers, who had arrived with little or no equipment, were already leaving the zone.

The 2008 Sichuan disaster – China’s worst quake since 1976 – sparked a wave of public sympathy and a huge volunteer rescue effort. Subsequent earthquakes have seen problems with volunteers, who have sometimes been labelled “disaster gawkers” by Chinese media. l

M A R K I N G H I R O S H I M A D AY

Clockwise from top left: Paper lanterns float in the Motoyasu River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome (background) at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, as the Japanese western city marked the 69th anniversary of the world’s first atomic attack that killed up to 140,000 people. Schoolgirls pray for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, at the Peace Memorial Park. An indian student with painted face participates in a peace rally on the occasion in Mumbai, India. An Indian youth activist takes part in another rally in Mumbai AFP/AP

Pakistan braces for wave of protests, army secures capital

China bans beards, veils from Xinjiang city’s buses in security bid n Reuters, Islamabad n Reuters, Beijing Pakistan’s civilian government is bracA city in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang has banned people with head scarves, veils and long beards from boarding buses, as the government battles unrest with a policy that critics said discriminates against Muslims.

Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language, has been beset for years by violence that the government blames on Islamist militants or separatists.

Authorities will prohibit five types of passengers - those who wear veils, head scarves, a loose-fitting garment called a jilbab, clothing with the crescent moon and star, and those with long beards from boarding buses in the northwestern city of Karamay, state media said.

The crescent moon and star symbol of Islam features on many national flags, besides being used by groups China says want to set up an independent state called East Turkestan.

The rules were intended to help strengthen security through August 20 during an athletics event and would be enforced by security teams, the ruling Communist Party-run Karamay Daily said on Monday. “Those who do not comply, especially those five types of passengers, will be reported to the police,” the paper said.

In July, authorities in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi banned bus passengers from carrying items ranging from cigarette lighters to yogurt and water, in a bid to prevent violent attacks.

Exiled Uighur groups and human rights activists say the government’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, including controls on Islam, have provoked unrest. l

ing for a wave of protests this month, days after the military took responsibility for securing the capital amid the threat of militant attacks and the spectre of a political showdown.

Some Pakistanis fear that the country’s traditionally powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half of its history, may use the protests to buttress its position at the expense of the fledgling civilian government.

“It’s not something that the military has choreographed, it is just benefiting from the civilian government’s weakness,” said columnist Ejaz Haider.

Activist and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, known for his passionate monologues,

will hold a protest on Aug. 10. He has vowed to topple and jail government ministers by month-end.

Charismatic cricketer turned opposition politician Imran Khan has also announced that his supporters will hold a sit-in in the capital on Aug. 14.

He wants the government to resign and new elections to be held.

“This will be the biggest demonstration in the history of Pakistan,” Khan told a news conference late on Tuesday.

Both Qadri and Khan have at times been seen by some Pakistanis as close to the military, or even as being used by the military to pressure the government.

Both of them deny that and the military denies such meddling in politics.

Pakistan has weathered such protest marches before. Last year tens of thou-

sands of Qadri supporters camped out along the main road in the capital for four days. Yet the upcoming protests have sent ripples of unease through the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million because of its history of coups, corruption and militancy.

Both Khan and Qadri are protesting over issues with relatively narrow national appeal. Khan is urging electoral reforms and investigations into last year’s poll. Qadri is protesting after police killed fourteen of his supporters in clashes in June.

“If police enter your home, barge into their houses in a mob and crack down on them,” Qadri urged supporters at a news conference on Sunday. “We will take revenge for all our martyrs.” l

Indonesian court opens hearing on election dispute n AP, Jakarta Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday began hearing a challenge of the result of the country’s July 9 presidential election, in which Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo was declared victor.

Losing candidate Prabowo Subianto filed a complaint with the court last month, alleging that “structural, systematic and massive fraud” by the Election Commission had destroyed his chances of leading Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

On July 22, the commission declared Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, the

winner with 53% of the votes, more than 8 million more than Subianto, a former general under longtime dictator Suharto.

Subianto’s representatives walked out before the final tally was completed. The former general did not concede and called on supporters to reject the results, saying they were flawed and violated the principles of democracy.

Lawyer Makdir Ismail told the court Wednesday that millions of votes cast across the archipelago were invalid due to irregularities at more than 55,000 polling stations in eight provinces, including Jakarta, East Java, Papua Barat

9

Thursday, August 7, 2014

and all 14 districts in Papua. He alleged that poll officials inflated Widodo’s results, voters used improper registration cards and recounts were performed inconsistently.

Subianto’s initial court documents showed his camp’s own count putting him narrowly ahead with more than 67 million votes, or 50.25%, and Widodo with nearly 66.5 million, or 49.74%. It questioned the validity of 2.7 million votes.

“We feel very, very hurt by irregular, dishonest and unjust practices that have been shown by the election organizers,” Subianto told the court. l

US general killed in Afghanistan: How big is threat of insider attacks? n Agencies The news that a two-star general was shot in Afghanistan Tuesday – the first US general to be killed in action during America’s wars in Iraq or Afghanistan – will inevitably renew questions about the threat of insider attacks on US troops, and whether a change in the US game plan might be in order to mitigate those risks.

More than a dozen troops, including other Americans and a German brigadier general, were wounded in the attack by a gunman who is believed to have been an Afghan soldier.

The shooting took place at a military training center in Kabul – a pointed setting for the attack, given that it is now mission No. 1 for American troops to train their Afghan counterparts in preparation for the departure of US combat forces at the end of this year.

Top Pentagon officials insist there is no reason why the death of the highest-ranking US officer in America’s post9/11 war effort will change US strategy.

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) “continue to perform at a very strong level of competence and confidence – and warfare capability,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, said during a briefing with reporters Tuesday, adding that the Pentagon is withholding the general officer’s name pending the notification of his family.

That said, he acknowledged the ever-present danger of insider attacks, calling them “a pernicious threat.”

It is a threat that reached peak levels in 2012, when Afghans who were posing as soldiers – or who actually were soldiers – killed 62 troops, according to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) figures. These attacks accounted for nearly a quarter of all coalition forces killed in action that year.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai suggested at the time that the killings were the result of Pakistani intelligence services brainwashing Afghan recruits. US commanders took issue with that explanation. “I’m looking forward to Afghanistan providing us with the intelligence that permits them to come to that conclusion,” said Gen. John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan at the time.

The Pentagon undertook its own study of the problem and found that while many killings were the result of Taliban infiltration, the majority were committed by disgruntled Afghan troops who felt disrespected by coalition forces or disillusioned with the war effort. The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

In the wake of the attacks in 2012, Nato began implementing cultural

training programs for coalition troops.

It also hired contractors to tutor coalition forces on body language clues that might indicate an Afghan counterpart was about to open fire. And it put “guardian angel” programs into place, which involved having an armed coalition guard present in all interactions between Afghan and coalition forces.

The challenge, commanders said at the time, was putting these security measures in place without insulting their Afghan counterparts.

“You know, whoever’s got the responsibility to keep an eye on their mates while they’re taking exercise or playing sport or relaxing in between operations – whoever has that task just tactfully stays on one side,” said Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, then the No. 2 commander in Afghanistan, in 2012. “Clearly they have a weapon and they’re ready to use it if necessary, but they’re not constantly in people’s faces.”

Top Pentagon officials insist there is no reason why the death of the highest-ranking US officer in America’s post-9/11 war effort will change US strategy Insider attacks have declined markedly since 2012, with two insider attacks against ISAF troops in the first quarter of 2014. Even so, the point of the attacks is to create a wedge of mistrust between US and Afghan troops.

Each attack succeeds in doing just this, according to the Pentagon report, released in 2013. “Despite their sharp decline,” it noted, “these attacks may still have strategic effects on the campaign and could jeopardize the relationship between coalition and ANSF personnel.”

The news that a US general officer was killed Tuesday “just points out the risks that all of these soldiers and Marines share,” says retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, commander of US forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. “It’s a tragic day, no question about it, but I actually don’t think the rank is as important as the fact that there is still obviously a risk of insider attacks on Americans who continue to work closely with Afghan National Security Forces,” he says. “You go to meetings with your counterparts in Afghan security. We can mitigate the risk, but we can’t eliminate it.” l

Delhi gang rape: India outrage over fashion shoot

The photo shoot features a model being groped by a group of men on a bus

n BBC, India An Indian fashion shoot showing a woman being groped on a bus has caused anger, with social media users saying it glamorises the 2012 Delhi gang rape. Photographer Raj Shetye’s images show a model fighting off men on a bus, in a scene reminiscent of the rape and murder that shocked India.

Many social media users said they found the photos “disgusting” and “horrible”.

Mr Shetye said the shoot was “just a depiction of the situation of women in our country” and not based on the rape.

The photos were taken down from the Behance site after angry reactions on Twitter and Facebook.

The gang rape and murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student - dubbed Nirbhaya (fearless) by the media - led to days of protests and forced the authorities to introduce tough new anti-rape laws.

Four men were sentenced to death. A

BBC

fifth, a juvenile at the time of the crime, is serving a three-year sentence.

‘Disgusting, insensitive’ Mr Shetye, a Mumbai-based photographer, published his photofeature The Wrong Turn last week, prompting widespread criticism on social media. “Did I just see a fashion-spread depicting the Delhi gang rape of Nirbhaya? Disgusting! I hope all associated, die of shame! Insensitive swine!,” Bollywood music director Vishal Dadlani tweeted. “Whoever you are... I hope you go to jail for this,” he added.

Actor Amrita Puri tweeted: “Rape is not inspiration for a fashion shoot. I don’t know what the photographer was thinking doing an editorial shoot inspired by Nirbhaya.” “Raj Shetye, photographer, came up with a bus-rape inspired shoot. How much lower before we hit hell?” wrote Ceteris Paritosh on Twitter: Myra called it “beyond disgusting” and said the photo shoot “Trivialises Sexual Assault Through ‘The Wrong Turn’. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Thursday, August 7, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Make launch probe reports public

T

he government’s complete failure to punish guilty launch operators or hold any officials accountable for the re-occurring catastrophic loss of life on our waterways is shameful.

We sympathise with the families of victims and express abhorrence that the authorities responsible for our launches and ferries are stuck in a cycle of denial and neglect.

Preventable ferry disasters occur like clockwork year after year. There is no excuse for allowing this vital transport industry to continually get away with the equivalent of mass murder.

Why is it that our legal system is unable to anticipate or punish those responsible for the numerous capsizes that result in high fatality numbers every year?

In order to make a show of judicial procedure, the government does form probe committees every time there is a ferry disaster. However, only four of the 500 probe reports filed in the past few decades, have been make public so far with punitive action taken against the owners.

The public needs greater transparency.

Concealment of these reports is not merely a matter of bureaucratic mishandling, but amounts to complicity that protects unscrupulous launch owners from having to face the law. As long as this pattern of protecting the culprits continues, we cannot realistically hope to break out of this horrible cycle of loss of life in our waters. The government and the BIWTA must come together to remove corrupt practices that protect wrongdoers, and publish all probe reports so that the guilty are brought to book.

Concealment of reports amounts to complicity. Publish reports so that the guilty are brought to book

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

Legal notice seeks ban on Indian TV channels August 4

Shahriar Khan I agree with the author.

Palash Lashkar The idiotic episode of Indian TV infestation in Bangladeshi living rooms must be stopped. No other country allows a foreign channel’s free broadcast within its boundaries. If one loves Zee TV, then one must buy that as a foreign TV channel at a premium rate (+ import tax).

Jon Byron An absurd move. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

It is wrong of the petitioner to assert that India’s

August 4

Long-term thinking needed for jute

I

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

refusal to Bangladeshi channels somehow makes it logical for Bangladesh to ban Indian channels.

Yes, it’s sad that two teens committed suicide, but to blame television – and foreign television channels, which nobody is forced to watch – for the “moral degradation” of an entire society is ludicrous. What next? The BBC? Facebook?

Sajid Ahmed I would be soooo happy if they are actually blocked.

It’s simple: Indians don’t allow our channel to be aired in India. So should we allow theirs?

SUDOKU Tagore memorabilia found in Bogra

t is unfortunate that the government has failed to implement the mandatory Jute Packaging Act, which was first enacted four years ago.

The law which came into force this year, requires key staples such as rice, wheat, fertiliser and sugar to be packaged in jute sacks, with mobile courts empowered to issue fines to violators.

It was hoped that the act would help jute processors catch up with China and India, where similar regulations already exist to promote the use of jute sacks.

Failure to implement this legislation amounts to a huge opportunity cost, both for our economy and the environment.

Many jute mills are now making losses because of low demand; if this law is not implemented, jute sacking will continue to be replaced by synthetic sacking. It remains the case then that most rice at kitchen markets is still being sold in synthetic bags.

The government must speed up moves to enforce the law in order to stimulate demand.

Just as important, the government should privatize its loss-making state-owned jute mills.

At a time when the jute industry is shrinking, it is not fair that private jute mills are forced compete with state-owned jute mills on an uneven playing field. State owned mills make continuous losses, but are bailed out with taxpayers money while privately owned mills which make losses are forced to close.

This is not fair to either the entrepreneurs who have set up the privately owned jute mills, or consumers who would like to make more use of jute products.

If the act is to achieve its aim, the government needs to support private enterprise in meeting the extra demand, which state jute mills have proved themselves unable to deliver.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents T so fill T every time the figure 1 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.

Humaira Chowdhury Amazing! Wow! I’m mesmerised!

SK Oh my God! This is awesome.

Launch sinks in Padma, at least 100 missing August 4

Stimulate demand and allow privately owned jute mills to compete on a level playing field

On Dhaka traffic jams

August 2 Engr SA Mansoor An article on this subject was published on August 2. Our authorities concerned must give more consideration to this. What was written was based on Seoul’s traffic management, is also practiced in Bangkok, where traffic is quite heavy.

The idea of multistory parking in shopping centers and markets should be considered.

However, instead of lifts or any electromechanical devices, we should go for two-way ramps, so that vehicles can drive up and down from parking locations. This is preferred, given our unreliable power supply and sudden power shut downs, as well as poor upkeep of electromechanical equipment that, which could lead to frequent major problems in Bangladesh.

The idea of having a remote camera setup, that monitors the parking facility, can be effective, if it also heavily fines any prospective violators of rules; otherwise such an idea is pointless. This should be implemented, given our more or less regular practice of going across closed railway level crossings by driving into them from the wrong side, an unfortunate way of driving for many motorists!

BASIC Bank now fears mass withdrawal of deposits

Roktakto Prantor Actually, more than 350 people are missing.

LH This has become ridiculous!

Sufina S Ali A disaster waiting to happen. I mean, look how ridiculously overclouded it is, and check the condition of the ferry. Really!??

Ashique Anwar Scary! Such a tragedy.

Shohel Rana Rony Sooooo pathetic.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

August 4 Asif Reza Akash The bank shouldn’t be bailed out by the government. Some failures are necessary. The whole management should be fired and face prosecution.

This bank is an epitome of complete failure.

The audacity of hope August 4

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

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Quick (4) 5 Water grasses (5) 9 Deprive of cover (6) 10 Neckwear (3) 11 Seabird (4) 12 Fashion (5) 14 Snow hut (5) 16 Specialised skills (4) 19 Classify (4) 21 Buffalo (5) 24 Dark brown (5) 27 Sagacious (4) 29 Respectful fear (3) 30 Rudder lever (6) 31 Undesired escapes (5) 32 Cult (4)

DOWN 1 Festivity (4) 2 Tool (3) 3 Small branches (6) 4 Chinese criminal group (4) 5 Holiday destinations (7) 6 Greek letter (3) 7 Immerse (3) 8 Prophets (5) 13 Pungent (3) 15 Mustering ropes (7) 17 Showing decay of old age (6) 18 Of the nose (5) 20 Kimono sash (3) 22 Night birds (4) 23 Saucy (4) 25 Female sheep (3) 26 Vegetable (3) 28 Dry, of champagne (3)

Riaz Osmani Thank you for this well-balanced article. The Bangladeshi media is completely ignoring the role Hamas has played to bring about Israeli retaliation and the colossal loss of Palestinian lives. Of course, Israel has no moral high ground, when it comes to this, but neither does Hamas.

All Palestinian supporters around the world, particularly in Bangladesh, are unaware of the damage that Hamas has done to Palestinians.

ISIS detonate shrine of Prophet’s granddaughter in Iraq August 4

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD PB How horrible!! Banish #ISIS!

PEANUTS

PSC plans to introduce detailed syllabus for BCS August 4

Md Junayed Thanks for publishing this article.

Section 144 imposed August 1

Ariful Rigan The news of Section 144 is not yet true because the reference of the officer-incharge of Kurigram Sadar police station has been fully refused by the officer.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Joy Bangla, Joy Palestine

A

n Murad Qureshi s a child, I can well remember being bombed by Pakistan Air Force during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The bombardment of the Gaza strip by Israel reminded me of those events in my life after over 40 years, but at least l was able to flee across the border to India with my family.

Sadly, Palestinians do not have this option, as the Egyptian army have kept the Rafah crossing firmly closed whilst the Israelis have complete control of air, sea, and land access into the Gaza strip, effectively making it an open prison (I trust the Egyptian people will hold their leaders to account someday on this betrayal).

So, it is easy to relate to what’s happening as a Bengali, to the events in the Gaza strip over the pounding it has received over the past month, with more than 1,800 civilians killed, and thousands injured, including many

Defence Force (IDF) then admitted that he was probably killed in action, which is what Hamas have said all along. The additional killings in Rafah included bombing UN school sites, one of the last places of refuge for many Palestinians, even after the UN had informed that there was nothing untoward at the schools.

So, it was not surprising to hear of the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s moral outrage at the attacks, calling them “murderous acts and a war crime.” But the reality from the outset of this military action by Israel was that an attack on Gaza was really about breaking up the unity between the Palestinians and their two political entities amongst them, Fatah and Hamas, across both the West Bank and Gaza strip which l saw first-hand in a trip to the West Bank a month before the appalling action by Israel.

The brutal killing of the three Israelis in Hebron under suspicious circumstances was just the pretext for launching the assault. More recently,

It is easy to relate to what’s happening as a Bengali, to the events in the Gaza strip Palestinians have a harder task in achieving freedom children over the month of Ramadan.

In Rafah, this last weekend, we saw one of the worst accelerations of the killings based on half-truths peddled by the Israel government media service. We were told that one of their soldiers had been taken captive by Hamas, and they will take all measures possible to retrieve him, including the widespread destruction of Rafah.

After two days of bombing in Rafah, killing over 150 Palestinians, the Israel

a British aid worker called Kadir Islam from Rochdale representing Muslim Aid was killed in Rafah handing out medical supplies to a hospital when he was struck down by a missile.

I too have been to Rafah with medical supplies and ambulances, going over land via Egypt after the last war in Gaza. I can well understand his motives, but he had done it under fire during the war when my party and myself were more cautious.

As a citizen of the UK, I also have to acknowledge how complicit the British state has been from the outset in the plight of the Palestinian. During the original British mandate in the 1940s, it was governing the lands when the “nakba” occurred with land being stolen from Palestinians and the ethnic cleansing from their own lands.

More recently, I have seen firsthand how British colonial laws like administrative detention were being used in the West Bank to detain polit-

ical prisons and young boys and the shameful supplying of military arms and equipment to the IDF. Such arms sales must stop immediately, as the British public are shell shocked to see daily images of the death and destruction in Gaza on TV for the past month. Once they realise we are supplying them to the tune of £8bn worth of sales, the coalition government will have to be seen to be doing something about it.

The historical responsibility has to

REUTERS

be taken on-board, and maybe we can start doing that by accepting Palestine as a member of the Commonwealth, given it was a part of the British Empire.

Whilst this will not change things on the ground, it would be a diplomatic victory similar to recognition by the UN. It should aid and assist the Palestinian pursuit of war crimes through the International Criminal Courts (ICC).

I remember well the first political slogan that l’d learnt on the laps of my

grandparents: Joy Bangla. We were very fortunate to at least see the land of Bengalis; Bangladesh actually emerged from a nine-month battle. I hope in my lifetime to hear Joy Palestine as well, but it will be a much harder task and has already been running for over 70 years. I know many Bangladeshis will be working towards that goal. So Joy Bangla, Joy Palestine. l Murad Qureshi is a member of the London Assembly.

In the forests of the night n Enayetullah Khan

E

very year, July 29 is celebrated worldwide as Global Tiger Day. In 2010, at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit, tiger range countries declared their aim to double the wild tiger numbers by 2022 and declared July 29 as the Global Tiger Day. Bangladesh, being one of the 13 tiger range countries, is observing the day on the August 7 this year (as we celebrated Eid holiday on July 29) in a befitting manner with due importance. This day is an opportunity to raise voices and mobilise resources worldwide for wild tiger conservation and more importantly, to build awareness on the issues affecting their survival.

The Sundarbans and the Bengal tiger

The Sundarbans, as its Bangla meaning suggests, is indeed a forest of adorable beauty. Beautiful spotted deer run wild and free through hundreds of creeks flowing through the lush greenery of the Sundarbans. A world heritage site – this is also the biggest mangrove forest in the world.

The Sundarbans means most to us

as the home of the Bengal tiger. The rare and exclusive images of the tigers roaming majestically inside the Sundarbans amaze and marvel us; it’s an image that represents Bangladesh to the world. However, like in other parts of the world, the tigers in Bangladesh and the Sundarbans are also in great peril.

Global threats and the Bangladesh situation

Just a century back, more than 100,000 wild tigers lived in the world but right at the moment, only an estimated 3,200 remain. Wild tigers now survive in the 13 tiger range countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and North Korea. Globally, tigers are marked as endangered, three subspecies have become extinct within the last 50 years. Major threats to tigers are described below:

Wildlife crime

Demand for tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine is one of the biggest drivers of the international

illegal trade. As tiger numbers reduce globally, tiger parts become more and more exclusive to its consumers. As a result, the demands for these commodities increase. Tiger skins and heads are considered as a symbol of aristocracy. Organised criminal groups are systematically poaching tigers to meet these demands.

It is suspected that trade routes for tigers not only share the Bangladesh-Indian Sundarbans border, but also the border with Myanmar. Consequentially, in Bangladesh, wildlife crime has become a severe threat for tigers. Inadequate coordination among law enforcement agencies at the local and national levels as well as a lack of regional and international collaboration magnifies this problem further.

Prey consumption by human

Along with tiger poaching, poaching and consumption of deer, tigers’ primary prey is also a significant threat in Bangladesh. A research, conducted

by WildTeam, a national NGO in the biodiversity conservation area, shows that 10,000 deer are likely poached in a year that is eventually reducing the

capacity of the Sundarbans to support tigers.

Research also shows that this is driven by domestic demand for consumption of deer meat as a luxury food or Raj Mangsho. Deer poachers consist of both organised poachers, often the same criminals who are involved in tiger poaching and opportunistic poaching, and the forest resource users.

Human-tiger conflict

Wherever people and large carnivores live in a close neighbourhood, conflicts are usually inevitable. Several tiger range countries including Russia, India, and Bangladesh are having significant losses due to human-tiger conflict. Bangladesh is experiencing the highest number of human fatalities annually from tiger attacks in the Sundarbans.

The loss of human life leads to the deepest human suffering, increased hardship for ultra poor people, and negative attitudes towards wildlife.

Every year about 30 people die in tiger attacks in the forest, 70 livestock fall prey to hungry tigers. Whenever a tiger strays into a village, usually it is attacked by village people and beaten to death. To manage the stray tigers, WildTeam, a national NGO, together with the Forest Department, facilitated the formation of specialised teams termed as Village Tiger Response Team (VTRT).

It is our sacred duty to ensure that this magnificent species can continue to roam

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Today, a total of 49 such voluntary teams are guarding Sundarbans periphery villages and sending the stray tigers back to forest safely, protecting the invaluable lives of humans and tigers. An awareness campaign titled Sundarban Mayer Moton (Mother-like Sundarbans) has also been launched in 2012 to inform people in the Sundarbans neighbourhood to motivate them to become protectors of tigers.

Habitat destruction

Forests around the world are under threat from deforestation. Deforestation comes in many forms, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. Some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year—equivalent to 36 football fields every minute, threatening the species dependant on those landscapes.

In Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, almost a million people are dependent on the Sundarbans for their livelihood, creating immense pressure on the forest. We hope Sundarbans will continue to stand strong for us through the continued efforts of the government, and the people who love this beautiful forest.

Taking Bagh forward

Just a hundred years back, Bengal tigers roamed in many parts of Bangladesh. Although the numbers have reduced significantly, the Sundarbans is still home to the largest single population of tigers in the world and a global stronghold for biodiversity.

Under the leadership of the Forest Department, development partners, donors along with international and national NGOs have been implementing different programs to conserve the biodiversity and ecosystems.

To that end, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has also joined resources with the Government of Bangladesh to protect wild tigers in the country through the Bengal tiger Conservation Activity (Bagh Project). Up to 2018, ‘Bagh’ will work on making the relationship between the Sundarbans and its adjacent people stronger and safer – empowering communities and institutions so that they can take ownership of protecting this magnificent forest home of tigers.

In undertaking the Bagh Project, USAID and the Government have recognised the important role that charismatic species like the tiger can play in conservation, socio-economic empowerment and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The way forward

However, alarming the situation is, with orchestrated and timely actions,

TIGERS IN BANGLADESH In the 1930s, there were Bengal tigers in 17 districts across Bangladesh, now they only remain in the 6,017sq-km of the Sundarbans According to a survey conducted by the Forest Department in 2004, there were 440 wild tigers in Bangladesh the Bengal tigers can still be saved from doom. The Forest Department needs to be equipped with proper tools and training to be more vigilant in their patrolling activities in order to control poaching of tigers and its prey.

A wildlife crime reporting and intelligence service needs to be functional and effective to respond to wildlife crime. The wildlife act has been updated recently, with increased penalties for tiger and deer poaching, consumption and trade – these welcome changes should be implemented rigorously.

Tigers have no national borders, a cross border taskforce can be set up between Bangladesh and Indian Sundarbans to combat poaching and illegal trades in tigers. In addition, it is an urgent need to set up a National Environmental Security Task Force/Bureau (NEST) in the country for developing government capacity.

The existing World Bank funded project includes funds for the development of a wildlife crime unit which can be upgraded to a NEST. INTERPOL is also offering training for NEST staff via their Project Predator.

Both the government and NGOs working in relevant fields should conduct awareness campaigns to tackle the social motivators behind poaching and consumption of tiger and its’ prey.

Tigers have survived in the wild for millions of years – it is our sacred duty as human beings to ensure that this magnificent species can continue to roam royally through the Sundarbans. The Global Tiger Day, once again reminds us to come together and do our part to protect the national pride of Bangladesh. l Enayetullah Khan is Chairman, WildTeam and Editor-in-Chief, UNB and Dhaka Courier.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Most Welcome 2: Big fish in a little pond n Mosabber Rahman With “Most Welcome 2,” claiming to be the most expensive film ever made here, actor-producer-director Ananta Jalil has left the local sex-ischeaper-than-violence film industry far behind. It is amazing that in just a few years an outsider has been able to create a market for himself in an extremely close knit community. Just like the film producers of the Indian subcontinent, we (Dhallywood) too feel an urgent need to protect our

AJ single handedly beats up the bad guys and women drop at his feet, begging for his attention, but being a man of supreme morality he has no time for chicks “good culture” from the “bad culture” of Hindi films commonly referred to as Bollywood Masala films. Paradoxically, we have all chosen to play it safe and invest in inferior versions of that same “bad culture,” after all the demand for Bollywood films is undeniably huge. Now Dhallywood has a new threat to reckon with – we need to coin a new word for it – Jollywood.

Proud as I am to have watched every film of Ananta Jalil at the theatres, and proud as I am to have stood in line for hours to get the tickets. There is no shame in admitting the general consensus on his films- that they usually fall in three category: bad, very bad, very very bad. His first film “Khoj: The Search” curled up the hair on the top of my head and straitened it everywhere else. Never before have I seen a person of my gender act like that or talk like that. But he is a fast learner. His best film to date is “Most

Welcome” which kicked off this “Jollywood-craze.” It is now easier to find tickets for “Mission Impossible” than it is for “Most Welcome.”

“Most Welcome 2” is a strange sequel as it has no connection with the first film, it is a completely new story.

AJ is a police officer acting as the bodyguard of a scientist who had just found the cure for cancer. His love interest is the scientist’s granddaughter. Barsha, AJ’s wife in real life, is the lead again, and it is good to see her in a positive role. She was the femme fatale in the previous film. Like all of his films, this is a “dream film” where AJ lives out his fantasies – he single handedly beats up the bad guys and women drop at his feet, begging for his attention, but being a man of supreme morality he has no time for chicks. When AJ finally shows some attention to Barsha it is all smiley face and happy songs. But the main problem of “Most Welcome 2”

is the script, the film seemed to jump from one set piece to another, focusing primarily on the action and forgetting about the story. The action was not impressive at all. The special effects were quite poor too- the animated bullets and the “cartoonish” explosions looked downright silly. How can the audience be impressed if “X-Men” is running in the next theater? Moreover, the image quality kept changing from scene to scene, as if different cameramen worked on the film. But I have to admit I have never heard a Bangla film sound so good. “Most Welcome 2” really sounded like a big action extravaganza.

Clearly, we now have a cultural necessity to watch AJ’s next film. We have to watch it. What happened?

How did we come to this stage? Well, first of all, the “golden age” of TV ended with Humayun Ahmed’s dramas and the others are busy making commercials for multinational corpo-

rations, and then, there are the local producers focusing on what we have come to call the “garam masala” films.

These movies are way behind in terms of catching up with the technological innovations at hand. Television? Alas, poor television. As we witnessed the media’s lip lock with the advertisers, we felt alienated, and gradually “news” took the place of “entertainment.” In comes Ananta Jalil “the messiah.” That is how we have chosen to vent our anger, by embracing the only person thinking about providing public entertainment, he is our superstar, and we love him for what he is.

Now the question is: For how long can AJ sustain our curiosity?

AJ is an oxymoron. On one hand, he is an intelligent businessman, a philanthropist, a big shot of the garments industry with 8000 employees working for him; on the other hand, he is the “Super Hero” of exhibitionistic films, and the darling of the social media. Just how big is he? According to Canadian journalist Mark Kelley the owner of a local garments factory with about 2000 workers can earn over TK1.15bn per year, now you can do the math. Does that mean AJ has unlimited resources and can take Bollywood and Hollywood by the horn? I seriously doubt it.

There is a lot of mystery regarding the budget of our films and more so regarding the box office. No one really has any clear idea how big is a big film and how does it compare to other film markets. I did a little research and my guess is “Most Welcome 2” has a budget of about TK80m which is half the amount of a low budget offbeat Hindi film.

Our primary responsibility is to support our families and to educate our children – why is it that the bread and butter for one is poison for another? Is it too much to expect a meaningful film culture with no strings attached? When will we tell the world that we too live, that we too love, that we too cry, when will we tell the world – that we too exist? It is about time, don’t you think? l

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Hollywood films to watch out for in 2014 second half n Entertainment Desk Hollywood continues to maintain its adventure streak throughout the year with several action flicks keeping the moviegoers on the edge. Promising more romance, comedy, science fiction and action, the best Hollywood movies are lined up in the second half of the year. Check out the best Hollywood flicks for the rest of 2014.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

The most awaited sequel of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes is directed

by Matt Reeves and has Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Keri Russell in the lead role. The science fiction film will show Caesar (the leader of the apes) taking a journey and finding a group of human survivors after an epidemic wiped out the human race a decade ago.

SIN CITY 2: A DAME TO KILL FOR

If you love watching intense drama surrounding romance, cheating, relationships and revenge, “Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For” is worth waiting for. Starring Josh Brolin, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Dennis Haysbert, Jaime King, Bruce Willis and many others, the film revolves around Josh Brolin who struggles with his inner turmoil but the strange turn of events have something else in store for him.

HERCULES

Left impatient after the 300 sequel, Hercules has all it takes to quench the thirst of a war film. With Dwayne Johnson stepping into the shoes of Hercules and supermodel Irina Shayk playing Megara, the film is loaded with high on energy scenes and special effects.

THE INTERVIEW

“The Interview” is expected to be a fun watch as it boasts of an engaging plot which revolves around two celebrity journalists who get a ripe opportunity of taking the interview of Kim Jong-un.

Demonstrating woman’s resilience through saris n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

I am not ready for motherhood yet: Kareena n Entertainment Desk It seems the 34-year-old Bollywood diva, Kareena Kapoor Khan, is not yet mature enough to embrace motherhood. In a recent interview to the Times of India, the actor said: “I do want a child. But bringing up one is a big responsibility. I am not ready for motherhood yet.”

When asked about Saif Ali Khan’s opinion in this matter, she replied: “Saif and I have decided not to have a baby for the next two years. Right now, we are completely focused on our careers and doing up our new house. The child, whenever it comes, will be my life.”

However, speculations about Kareena’s pregnancy were getting strong as she refused a number of films in a short span time. “I don’t understand why people immediately jump to such conclusions when a married actress refuses a film. Accepting or refusing a film is an actor’s prerogative. No one should intrude on his/her privacy,” said the sizzling beauty.

Kareena’s latest flick “Singham 2” opposite Ajay Devgn is releasing on August 15. “In ‘Singham 2,’ for the first time I play a Maharashtrian girl (smiles). Besides, I love working with Ajay, Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh. I would leave any film to work with them. They have given me my biggest hits,” said Kareena. l

Monica Jahan Bose’s exhibition “Her Words: Storytelling with Saris” has both a compelling message and a striking aesthetic impact.

Monica’s installation of draping saris, shimmering video projections, and handwritten journals at the EMK Center effectively merges beauty with a cause.

She has created the artworks in collaboration with 12 underprivileged women from her ancestral village Katakhali of Patuakhali district. “These women are fighters. They have survived cyclones and learned to read and write, rebuilding their lives despite the great physical hardship and discrimination,” said Monica to the Dhaka Tribune.

The handloom cotton saris contain block-printed and hand-painted words and images created by the 12 women together with Monica. These women represent the hard working females of the natural calamity stricken land who run their families by designing sari. The show also projects videos narrating the struggles of the women.

Monica was assisted by Nandita Ahmed, a New York-based Bangladeshi filmmaker, who helped to document the project using photography and video while Monica interviewed and worked with them.

Another interesting feature of the exhibition is the display of the notebooks of these individuals who wrote the stories of their daily life for the last 18 months as part of the project. All the women learned to read and write or

22 JUMP STREET

The film has already released overseas and has been followed by good reviews. Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in lead roles, the film begins as the two officers look for drug dealers on an online college with only key words as their weapons. The two finally spot their destination at 22 Jump Street and have to enter it undercover.

improved their writing skill through adult literary classes provided by Samhati, a US-based non-profit organisation that funds an eco-empowerment program in Katakhali.

Regarding the future of the project, Monica said to the Dhaka Tribune: “This is only the first stage. I have a vision to continue the project for 20 years and observe how the lives of these 12 women evolve and how they respond and adapt to the climate change. I want their stories to draw-in media attention so that the issue of climate change and its impact is addressed seriously.”

The show is closing this evening. l

AB Kitchen presents Acoustica Live n Shadma Malik

Young musicians who will perform in Acoustica Live

A musical evening “Acoustica Live” will be held today at the Spitfire restaurant from 7:30pm. The event has been organised by AB Kitchen, founded by Ayub Bachchu. The performers of the show are young musicians who will be presenting English cover songs for the audience.

About the initiative, Ayub Bachchu said: “Acoustica is an open platform for all the fresh talents out there. Upcoming musicians are invited to join the group and showcase their talent in front of the masses. “We have started the journey with four good musicians namely Xefer, Wahida, Junaid and Amid.”

When asked about promoting these young talents, Bachchu said: “These four are passionate about music.

They sing from their soul and want to establish themselves as musicians. I am hopeful about their performance today and it is a pleasure to promote talented musicians. AB Kitchen has a plan to expand this group and arrange for the musicians to perform at various lounges.

“We always say that we should promote new musicians but most of the time they remain as words only. It is a pity that many young talents are wasted due to the lack of a platform. AB Kitchen has taken the initiative to guide these people and give them a platform to prove their talents.” l

THE JUDGE

The Judge is a comedy-drama starring Robert Downey Jr and Billy Bob Thornton in lead roles. The film will be a light-hearted watch as lawyer Robert Downey Jr returns to his hometown in Indiana for his mother’s funeral. However, the strange turn of events make the loss a complicated one as he discovers that his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (played by Robert Duvall) who is also the town’s judge, is suspected of her murder.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE

For all those who have grown up watching Ninja Turtles on television, the upcoming film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” will be a delightful treat. The four teenage anthropomorphic turtles trained by rat sensei will be seen doing much more than what they do best – battling petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated animals, and alien invaders while remaining away from the limelight.

THE EXPENDABLES 3

“The Expendables 3” is the third in The Expendables series. It’s the battle within as the gang led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is forced to fight the team’s co-founder Conrad Stonebanks. Ross decides to make a new younger team of The Expendables to wage a war against Conrad with full vengeance.

FURY

Entering the war zone again, Brad Pitt returns with a second one in war series, “Fury,” after his last year’s “World War Z.” Also starring Shia La Beouf and Logan Lerman, “Fury” boasts of a gripping plot set during the last months of World War II.

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS

Loaded with war action, extensive cinematography and fantastic performances, “Exodus” will be worth waiting for till December. Starring Christian Bale, Ben Kingsley, Joel Edgerton, and Sigourney Weaver, it is the story of the massive migration of the Israelites from Egypt as led by Moses and described in the Old Testament Book of Exodus. l

Did you know?

Younis Khan now has 24 Test centuries, joint-second most for Pakistan with Mohammad Yousuf.

Inzamam has 25 and Javed Miandad 23

Sport

Thursday, August 7, 2014

14 Top English

referee Webb retires

15 Ton-up Younis

rescues Pakistan on first day

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 England seek

repeat win, India ponder options

Primary hearing against BPL verdict held n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Farhad Ahmed Shitul (5) of Bangladesh A tries to shield the ball from the opposition during a friendly hockey game against the Indian A team at BKSP yesterday

India draw first blood

The visitors come from behind to win 2-1 in opening match ners in total and both the goals came here in this regard that the allotted n Raihan Mahmood courtesy of two penalty corners. Ban- time of the first half was already up as Bangladesh’s valiant effort went in vain as India came from behind to win 2-1 in the first of the three match hockey series at BKSP yesterday. After taking the lead in the dying moments of the first half, Bangladesh conceded two goals in quick succession at the start of the second half and the scoreline remained unchanged till the final whistle.

It was also the first time Bangladesh played in the newly introduced system of three intervals during the match, the first one after 15 minutes for two minutes, the second break was for 10 minutes after the 30 minutes and the final one for two minutes after the first 15 minutes of the second half.

With both the team finding the proceedings a little bit hard due to the slippery nature of the turf, Bangladesh opted for a counter attacking strategy while India adopted a slow but steady approach and tried to control the game from the midfield. The Indians, however, did not exert their full pressure till they conceded the goal and then scored two goals in two minutes to put themselves into ascendancy.

The visitors earned six penalty cor-

gladesh defense stood firm against the hardworking Indians as goalie Ashim Gope made two cracking saves. Bangladesh’s front line comprising Pushkor Khisha Mimo, Krishna Kumar, Moinul Islam Koushik and Hasan Jubaer Niloy came close on a number of occasions but lacked the cutting edge to find the back of the net.

Ashim Gope saved Bangladesh in the 14th minute when he kicked the ball to safety denying Yuvraj Walmicki who pushed reverse. A few minutes later Ashim dived to his right sending the ball to safety after Harbir cracked a penalty corner. Bangladesh defender Farhad Ahmed Shitul produced a brilliant touch in the 28th minute to deny India’s Talwinder Singh who was in an advantageous position to score.

The hosts earned their first penalty corner in the 29th minute. After Mimo’s push and Sarwar’s stop, Chayan dragged it and the ball rebounded off the gloves of Indian goalie Harjot Singh before midfielder Belal Hossain took control of the ball and passed it square to Shitul who hit the ball between the legs of Harjot. It is worth mentioning

Bangladesh were awarded the penalty corner but as per the rule, match had to be continued till it became dead.

However, India came back strongly after resumption which saw them score in the very second minute of the second half. Gurjinder Singh equalized for India with a typical drag after Gurmail Singh and skipper Vikram Kanth’s push and stop respectively. Even before the hosts could recover from conceding the first goal, Harjeet Singh put India ahead from a goalmouth melee following a penalty corner to compound Bangladesh’s misery. Harjeet unleashed a low hit past Ashim which was just too hot to handle for him. Chances dried up for Bangladesh as the match neared its end as Niloy and Mimo’s hit missed the target closely.

Besides the defeat, Bangladesh suffered another big blow during the first half of the match when midfielder Sabbir Rana was taken to the hospital after a collision with Harbir Singh Sandhu of India left him with his collar dislocated. The extent of the injury will be known today.

The next match will take place tomorrow at the same venue. l

MUMIT M

The preliminary hearing of the appeals filed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit against individuals alleged to be involved with match-fixing in the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 was held yesterday. The appeals were made to the chairman of the BCB’s disciplinary panel.

The BCB and designated officials of the ICC’s anti-graft team appealed against the acquittals of Dhaka Gladiators chairman Salim Chowdhury, Gladiators’ Indian CEO Gaurav Rawat and coach Mohammad Rafique. Appeals were also made against the acquitted Dhaka Gladiators cricketers Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbubul Alam and English cricketer Darren Stevens. The BCB and the ICC also appealed for the imposition of a life-ban on Gladiators’ managing director Shihab Jishan Chowdhury.

The BPL tribunal in its full sanctions held on June 18 this year found Mohammad Ashraful, Shihab and Sri Lanka cricketer Kaushal Lokuarachchi guilty of corruption in BPL 2.

Disgraced national cricketer Ashraful was slapped with an eight-year ban for his involvement in match-fixing.

The tribunal also fined him Tk1m.

Shihab was slammed with a ban for ten years and fined Tk2m while Lokuarachchi was banned for 18 months.

According to the media briefing of the BCB’s disciplinary panel, Ashraful

ASIAN GAMES

Strong Bangladesh squad prepare for title-defence n Mazhar Uddin In the absence of regular captain Mushfiqur Rahim whose marriage ceremony is scheduled for October 8, Mashrafe bin Mortaza will lead a star-studded Twenty20 squad in the forthcoming 17th Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea. Defending champions Bangladesh will send the strongest possible squad for the Asian meet slated to get underway from September 19.

The Tigers clinched their first ever Asian Games gold medal in the men’s T20 cricket competition at Guangzhou four years ago. Led by Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in the final.

Chief selector Faruk Ahmed informed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is willing to send the best possible side and there is absolutely no chance of resting any player as it will be a big challenge for them to defend their title.

“As we are the defending champions, this will be a big challenge for us and taking that into consideration we will be sending the best possible team,” said Faruk.

National skipper Mushfiq has already asked for leave from the board as the 25-year old is engaged to cricketer Mahmudullah’s sister-in-law, Jannatul Kifayet Mondi. It was learned that veteran paceman Mashrafe will be leading the Bangladesh side in all likelihood.

The deadline for drafting the 30-man Asian Games squad expired on April 31.

Faruk informed that they have already selected the members of the squad and submitted it to the board. And according to sources BCB president Nazmul Hasan will sign the final squad by today.

“We will announce the team very soon as you know there is a deadline of announcing the squad and most probably the board will announce the squad by this week. We have already submitted the squad to the board,” said the chief selector.

Meanwhile, the Tigers are already practising for the upcoming tour of the West Indies with the first of two practice matches to be held today between the national cricketers. There will be a longer-version match which will be a sixty-overs-per-side affair. The second match is a one-day match which will be a day-night game. l

Kruif to pick three senior players for Asian Games n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh national football team’s head coach Lodewijk de Kruif has announced he will field three senior players in Bangladesh team for the Asian Games with the players being midfielder Mamunul Islam, defender Atikur Rahman Mishu and midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan.

The Dutch coach was talking to the press at BKSP yesterday. With ace forward Zahid Hasan Emily withdrawing himself from the squad due to injury, only the three aforesaid senior players remained in the squad. “Emily told me frankly that he would not be able to produce his best as he is yet to regain his full fitness. I also realized that it is not possible for me to get the fully fit Emily in the next three weeks. So I accepted his request after thinking a lot.

Mithun Chowdhury is also out as he is suffering from jaundice. So Mamunul, Mishu and Jamal remain the only three

senior players. I may not call anyone more,” said de Kruif.

However, De Kruif was surprised to see the players getting overweight. “I am surprised to see many players developing belly fat after four months. I had clear idea of the players’ weight, but in the last four months since the India match, many players have become overweight. This has to be stopped. I had to cut my plans to get the players fit,” said the Dutchman.

The coach further added he would play a practice match four or five days later with a select XI at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. “The players are responding well and they need the practice match. I will go step by step, Sajib, Wahed and Rubel are working hard in the forward line and they will be efficient in due time,” hoped de Kruif.

Meanwhile, Assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu informed the players are having technical and tactical sessions and the workouts are well planned. l

made the appeal citing his punishment as excessive.

Lokuarachchi on the other hand appealed for lessening his punishment.

The BCB’s disciplinary panel has decided that the appeals will be heard and disposed one after another. Chairman of the BCB’s disciplinary panel and retired Supreme Court Justice, Mohammad Abdur Rashid, is scheduled to hear the concerned parties or their legal representatives on merits of their respective appeals. The hearing session will be held from September 8-11 and then he will issue his decisions on the appeal at the earliest.

In May 2013, ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit visited Dhaka to investigate dubious on-field incidents from a couple of games in the BPL 2 held in February last year. At that time, Ashraful confessed to wrongdoing and named several others who he claimed were involved in fixing, both in the BPL and in the international arena.

On August 14, 2013 the ICC charged nine individuals with fixing related offences. The charges were related to spot and match-fixing by players and officials of two-time BPL champions, Gladiators and the failure in reporting the corrupt approaches.

Three months later, the BCB formed a three-member tribunal headed by Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury, a former Judge of the Supreme Court, to look through all the objections, allegations and applications made by Acsu and the accused. l

Bangladesh striker Wahed Ahmed (C) takes a temporary break from a gym session while forward Toklis Ahmed Tonmoy (R) and captain Mamunul Islam (L) work out at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan yesterday MUMIT M

Gurjinder takes 100 drags each day n Raihan Mahmood Gurjinder Singh, the 22-year old defender of the Indian hockey team long aspired to become the next penalty corner specialist and bring glory for his country. The player was awarded a purse of $162972 as the highest scorer of the Hockey India League for Chandigarh Comets a few months ago.

The player from Punjab was adjudged the man-of-the-match in the 2-1 win over Bangladesh and it was him who dragged in the equaliser after resumption. The cool customer said he has devoted himself to hockey and wants to go higher. “I have already around 25 matches for India and I dream to play more and establish myself at the top. I have a passion for the penalty corners from the childhood and day-by-day I am getting the skills perfected,” said Gurjinder.

“I take more than hundred drags and flicks everyday in practice. [At] the moment Raghunath is the number one choice of the Indian team. I want to be there,” said the muscular defender. He is influenced by Pakistan’s Sohail Abbas. “His style was unique and he was a super penalty corner taker,” added the Indian player. .

Gurjinder enjoyed the proceedings and said he was happy to see the Bangladesh national football team watching the game from the stands. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, August 7, 2014

(L to R) Real Madrid’s Portuguese defender Pepe, Colombian forward James Rodriguez, Brazilian defender Marcelo, Welsh forward Gareth Bale, Spanish defender Sergio Ramos and German midfielders Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos warm up during a training session at the Valdebebas training ground in Madrid on Tuesday AFP

a genius, gushes ‘United believe in the Van Gaal way’ Guardiola’s Bayern boss Rummenigge n Reuters, Miami

physically and mentally while trying to adapt to the new system,” Mata told ManUtd.com. “Obviously, we didn’t lose a game which is good for the confidence but the most important thing is that we believe in what we are doing.

United played in front of huge crowds in the United States with 86,000 watching them beat L.A. Galaxy in California and a massive 109,000 in Michigan for a 3-1 win over Real Madrid as the club proved once again their global popularity.

“We take home a lot of love from the supporters. It was amazing from the first day until the last - in every stadium, in every training camp and in every hotel. I think (the highlights were)

the support and obviously the new ideas that the manager has brought,” said Mata.

Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation has seen Mata, who scored a well-taken goal against Liverpool, employed in an advanced playmaker role and that appears to suit him well.

“I feel good and I feel comfortable in this position. I have to do what the manager wants me to do, both offensively and defensively, and I am trying to do that. It can be a good position for me to try to perform to my best,” he said.

After a disappointing seventh place finish in the Premier League last year under David Moyes, United will be ex-

Lille through to Champions League play-offs

Top English referee Webb retires n AFP, London

n AFP, Paris

England’s leading referee Howard Webb announced on Wednesday that he was retiring to become the technical director of the organisation that oversees professional officials in English football.

The 43-year-old from the northern English town of Rotherham was a referee for 25 years and took charge of the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

The Premier League revealed that he will now take over as technical director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which provides officials for games in the English top flight.

“I am very excited to start this new chapter in my career after a wonderfully rewarding 25 years on the pitch,” Webb said in a statement. I have spent over a decade with the best seat in the house for Barclays Premier League matches, been lucky enough to be involved in nine major international tournaments, and taken charge of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup finals. l

Manchester United’s Spanish midfielder Juan Mata says the team have shown during their pre-season tour of the United States that they believe in the new system introduced by Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.

United wrapped up their U.S. tour with a 3-1 win over rivals Liverpool in the International Champions Cup final in Miami on Monday and after defeating Real Madrid on Saturday the mood among Van Gaal’s squad is buoyant ahead of their Aug. 16 Premier League opener against Swansea.

“It was a good tour for us, a good two or three weeks trying to get ready

French side Lille moved to within a step of this season’s Champions League group stage despite being held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Grasshoppers of Switzerland on Tuesday in the third qualifying round.

Lille held a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Zurich and stretched their lead on 19 minutes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy as Florent Balmont fired in a spectacular 25-yard strike.

Grasshoppers midfielder Amir Abrashi responded with a fine longrange effort of his own just past the half-hour to give the visitors hope before Kahraba volleyed against the base of the post as the Swiss side mounted a spirited challenge.

However, any hopes of a remarkable turnaround were effectively extin-

guished when Daniel Pavlovic was dismissed with 20 minutes left for a poor challenge on Sebastien Corchia as Lille ultimately advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Elsewhere Belgian side Standard Liege knocked out Panathinaikos after

RESULTS BATE Borisov

3 1

Debrecen

2 2

Maribor

1 1

Standard Liege

1 1

Grasshoppers

BATE qualify 3-2 on aggregate

Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Maribor qualify 3-2 on aggregate

Panathinaikos

Standard Liege qualify 2-1 on aggregate

Lille (FRA)

Lille qualify 3-1 on aggregate

a 2-1 win in Greece against the 1971 European Cup finalists.

BATE Borisov of Belarus and Slovenians Maribor also moved through to the play-off round, for which the draw will be made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Friday. l

Tearful Valbuena defends Russia move n AFP, Marseille France international playmaker Mathieu Valbuena broke down in tears as he bade farewell to Marseille on Tuesday but said he had not agreed to go to Dynamo Moscow “by default”.

Valbuena said that he had been seduced by the desire Dynamo showed to recruit the 29-year-old.

“It was a carefully thought-out decision. I liked what they had to say.

They have a genuine sporting project,” said Valbuena, who has signed a threeyear deal with Dynamo which will earn him a reported 10 million euros (£7.9m, $13.4m) altogether.

“I am ambitious and I want to help them progress. I did not choose to come here by default,” added the

Former Marseille midfielder Mathieu Valbuena breaks down in tears during a press conference announcing his transfer from the French club to Russian side Dynamo Moscow on Tuesday in Marseille, southern France AFP

player who had no offers on the table from any of Europe’s leading leagues with the reported exception of Premier League sides Queen’s Park Rangers and West Ham United.

“It was a great offer, financially too, but also for the sporting challenge.”

“What makes me most proud is that I succeeded at OM,” said the little 29-year-old, who joined Marseille in 2006 and helped the south-coast side win the Ligue 1 title in 2010.

“He has carried the team single-handedly in recent years,” said Marseille president Vincent Labrune.

Labrune added that Valbuena’s number 28 shirt would soon be retired in honour of the achievements of a player who also won the League Cup three times during his spell at the Stade Velodrome.

Meanwhile, Valbuena said that helping Les Bleus reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Brazil last month was among “the best moments of my career”.

“We were like 23 brothers. To be together for 47 days is not easy, especially when you are 23 guys, but there were never any problems, not one angry word.

“I think we have a squad that can go very far. We can do well at Euro 2016,” which France will host, he added. l

pected to be back in the title hunt and, at the very least, ensure a return to the Champions League with a top four finish.

“We are all excited to start the new season,” said Mata, “Everybody wants to do better, we want to fight for the trophies and this club deserves that.

We will try our best.”

Forward Wayne Rooney, who also scored against Liverpool, gave his backing to Van Gaal’s approach.

“He is a tough but fair manager. He has been great since he has come in and he has given us all a different way of looking at football that we didn’t have before. So it’s been great for us and hopefully that will continue,” he said.l

n AFP, Berlin Pepe Guardiola is a genius of a coach, Bayern Munich boss Karl Heinz Rummenigge gushed in an interview for Wednesday’s Sport Bild.

“This man is a genius. I’ve seen a lot of coaches but this one is extraordinary, this coach is a gift from above,” Rummenigge said.

Guardiola arrived in Munich in June 2013 from Barcelona, with a contract running until June 30, 2016.

The 43-year-old led Bayern to victory in the European Supercup, the Club World Cup and then the German Cup/ league double, before crashing out of

the Champions League in the semi-final.

“Pep is not a long-contract man,” Rummenigge said.

“What I understand is that in southern Europe, they like to live for the now. But if Pep feels good, then he will stay. And that includes after 2016.

“But there’s no sense in talking about a contract extension this season.

I think the soonest we do that will be a year before his current contract comes to an end.”

Bayern play Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup on August 13 before lining up against Wolfsburg at home in their opening Bundesliga match on August 22. l

FC Barcelona forward Neymar exercises in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. Neymar, who trained with their colleagues on Tuesday returned to the club for their medical tests AP

Bayern close to signing Reina from Liverpool n Reuters, Berlin

Lampard excited by Man City loan switch

Bayern Munich are poised to sign Spain goalkeeper Pepe Reina from English Premier League club Liverpool, the Bundesliga champions said on Tuesday.

“The player is due to come to Munich in the next few days for a medical and to sign his contract,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on the team’s website (www.fcbayern.de).

An agreement had been struck both with Liverpool and Reina.

“Reina is an established and very experienced player that meets the management’s requirements,” Rummenigge added.

Reina, 31, who has made 33 appearances for Spain and joined Liverpool from Villarreal in 2005, spent last season on loan at Italian Serie A side Napoli.

A product of the Barcelona academy, he would join up with former Barca coach Pep Guardiola at Bayern and provide cover for first-choice keeper and German international Manuel Neuer.

The goalkeeper lost his place at Liverpool after manager Brendan Rodgers signed Simon Mignolet last year. l

Frank Lampard on Wednesday expressed his gratitude to Manchester City after joining the Premier League champions from new club New York City on a short-term loan deal.

Lampard, 36, signed for New York City last month and will play with their sister club Manchester City until January in order to maintain his fitness prior to the start of the 2015 Major League Soccer season in March.

“Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition for New York City,” the England midfielder told the City website.

“It has been an amazing few days for me since the unveiling in Brooklyn and everyone connected with both clubs has been fantastic to me. This is a new chapter of my career and I’m really excited about the experience.

“I met Manuel (Pellegrini, the City manager) and some of the players in New York and I’m looking forward to getting into training and making a

n AFP, London

contribution for Manchester City ahead of my move over to New York.”

Lampard was due to train with City for the first time on Wednesday and Pellegrini said he was excited about working with the former Chelsea midfielder, who will wear the number 18 shirt.

“Frank is a world-class midfielder and this is an opportunity which works perfectly for everyone: the player, Manchester City, and New York City,” said the Chilean.

“I’m looking forward to working with him and integrating him into our squad. New York have made a fantastic signing by recruiting Frank, and I’m really pleased that we’ll be able to have him with us for the first half of our season and help prepare him for his new challenge.”

New York City sporting director Claudio Reyna said: “This is the perfect opportunity for Frank.

“He is in great shape following the World Cup, and training and playing with our colleagues in Manchester will enable Frank to be fit and ready for our inaugural training camp.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, August 7, 2014

15

QUICK BYTES

Atletico’s Manquillo joins Liverpool on loan Liverpool have signed right back Javier Manquillo on loan from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, the Premier league club said on Wednesday. The Madrid-born 20-year-old, who has played for Spain at various youth levels, began his career at the Real Madrid academy before moving to Atletico in 2007. He is Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ seventh signing in the close season following Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren and Divock Origi. “I’m very happy to have signed for a club like Liverpool. I think it’s one of the biggest in Europe. Any footballer would want to come and play here,” Manquillo told Liverpoolfc.com.

–Reuters

Phelps, Lochte set for duel at US nationals Olympic swim king Michael Phelps and reigning Swimmer of the Year Ryan Lochte will wage a series of duels at this week’s star-studded U.S. national championships in Irvine, California.

Phelps, who has competed in four meets since coming out of retirement in April, will face the toughest test of his comeback as he is entered in the 100-metre freestyle, 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley. The national championships will serve as a qualifier for the Aug. 2124 Pan Pac Championships at the Gold Coast in Australia which will be used to determine the US squad for next year’s world championships in Russia.

–Reuters

Federer, Wawrinka advance in Toronto Two-time champion Roger Federer turned on the style but Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka had to work much harder to advance Tuesday at the ATP Toronto Masters. Second seed Federer showed no mercy against Canadian Peter Polansky in a 6-2, 6-0 second-round thrashing which took just 52 minutes.

Federer converted on six of seven break points as he played for the first time since his Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic. “I was happy, I started well, and that’s always helpful to play more freely,” said the winner of his 41st match this season. “I could have served better at times, but I felt I was moving well.

–AFP

Sri Lanka cricketer Mahela Jayawardene arrives during the first day of the opening Test against Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle yesterday. Jayawardene, 37, is due to retire and will play his last Test match against Pakistan on his home ground, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on August 14, 2014 AFP

Ton-up Younis rescues Pakistan n AFP, Galle Veteran batsman Younis Khan hit an unbeaten 133 to steer Pakistan out of trouble on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday.

The tourists, electing to bat in overcast conditions, slumped to 56-3 before Khan’s rescue act helped them recover to 261-4 when bad light ended play two overs early at the Galle International Stadium.

The 36-year-old middle-order batsman, who came to bat in his 90th Test

at 19-2, hit 11 boundaries and a six in his 24th century. Only Inzamam-ul Haq (25) has more Test hundreds for Pakistan.

Skipper Misbah-ul Haq, making a typically dour but determined 31, put on 100 for the fourth wicket with Khan before he was caught behind off leftarm spinner Rangana Herath.

Asad Shafiq ensured the effort did not go waste as he saw off the second new ball to help Khan add 105 for the fifth wicket, himself returning unbeaten at close on 55.

Khan was given a reprieve by the

Ecclestone relieved at bribery trial deal Bernie Ecclestone says he is relieved to be back running Formula One but feels “a bit of an idiot” after settling his bribery trial in Germany on Tuesday. The 83-year-old F1 supremo was back at his desk in London hours after walking out of the court in Munich, his case brought to a premature end after the British billionaire arranged to make a $100 million (75-million-euro) payment. In an interview with Britain’s Press Association he said: “The bottom line is it’s been three-and-a-half years of aggravation, travelling, meeting lawyers, and God knows what else, so it is good it is out of the way. “This trial has been going on for two days a week and it was going to go on until October.

–AFP

QPR announce Mutch capture English attacking midfielder Jordon Mutch has joined Queens Park Rangers on a four-year contract from Cardiff City, the promoted Premier League club announced on Tuesday. QPR paid an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £6 million ($10.1 million, 7.6 million euros) to secure the 22-year-old’s services. “Jordon’s a fine young player, with a big, big future,” said QPR manager Harry Redknapp. “He’s already shown what he can do at this level with Cardiff last season with a decent goals return, and this move will provide him with a great platform to take his game on to the next level.”

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Ten Cricket 9:30AM Pakistan Tour of Sri Lanka 2014 1st Test Day 2 Star Sports 1, 3, HD1 3:00PM India tour of England 4th Test, Day 1 Star Sports 4 9:00PM Tennis: Rogers Cup Star Sports 2 Pro Kabaddi League 8:15PM Patna v Pune

Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (2R) and Pakistan’s Younis Khan (2L) shake hands at the end of the first day’s play of their opening Test in Galle yesterday AFP

Decision Review System (DRS) when he was on 59 after umpire Bruce Oxenford had declared him leg-before to off-spinner Dilruwan Perera.

Television replays showed the ball pass over the stumps.

The partnership between Khan and 40-year-old Misbah came after Sri Lanka dominated the morning session with three quick wickets.

Ali, who hit five boundaries in his fluent 30, failed to last till lunch as he fell to a good delivery from Herath, which turned and clipped the offstump.

The start was delayed by 30 minutes due to a wet outfield caused by overnight rain. Bad weather has been forecast on all five days of the Test.

Both teams went in with two spinners -- Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman for Pakistan, and Herath and Perera for the hosts - hoping the grassless pitch provides some turn later in the match.

Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is retiring from the longer format after the two-Test series, walked out to field amid bursting firecrackers as school children gave him a guard of honour with raised bats. l

SCORECARD, DAY 1 Pakistan 1st innings Khurram Manzoor lbw b Prasad 3 Ahmed Shehzad b Prasad 4 Azhar Ali b Herath 30 Younis Khan not out 133 Misbah-ul Haq c Dickwella b Herath 31 Asad Shafiq not out 55 Extras: (lb4, nb1) 5 Total (for four wickets, 88 overs) 261 Fall of wickets 1-4 (Shehzad), 2-19 (Manzoor), 3-56 (Ali), 4-156 (Misbah).

Bowling Eranga 19-11-30-0 (nb1), Prasad 16-1-542, Mathews 11-4-22-0, Herath 26-6-682, Perera 15-1-73-0, Vithanage 1-0-10-0.

Bad day for Bangladesh in World Chess Olympiad

ICC decides against Anderson appeal n AFP, London

n Tribune Desk

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday that it will not appeal against the decision to clear England’s Anderson over claims he pushed and abused India’s Ravindra Jadeja.

Judiciary commissioner Gordon Lewis last week cleared Anderson of breaching the ICC’s code of conduct after he clashed with Jadeja during the drawn first Test at Trent Bridge.

Following a complaint from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the ICC said on Tuesday that it would review Lewis’s decision, but it has decided to accept his findings.

“This outcome is the result of two exhaustive and thorough disciplinary processes and, after considering the written decision, the ICC is satisfied with the manner in which the decisions have been reached,” said ICC chief executive Dave Richardson in a statement.l

The Bangladesh open team conceded their first defeat while the women’s side lost again in their fourth round games in the 41st World Chess Olympiad on Tuesday which is being held in Tromso, Norway.

Following two wins and a draw, Bangladesh lost to former Olympiad champions and ninth seeded the Ukraine by 1-3 points in the fourth round games of the open category.

Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman (Rating-2523) drew with former world runners-up GM Vassily Ivanchuk (Rating-2744) and GM Abdullah Al Rakib (Rating-2522) drew with former world chess champion GM Ruslan Ponomariov (Rating-2717) of the Ukraine.

GM Enamul Hossain Razib lost to GM Pavel Eljanov (Rating-2723) and

Niaz Murshed (Rating-2453) lost to GM Alexander Moiseenko (Rating-2707) of Ukraine.

Meanwhile in the women’s section, Bangladesh lost to Switzerland by 3.50.5 points in the fourth round. WIM Shamima Akter Liza (Rating-2147) lost to WIM Seps Monika (Rating-2236), WFM Nazrana Khan (Rating2001) lost to WGM Hund Barbara (Rating-2153) and WIM Rani Hamid (Rating-1995) lost to WIM Heinatz Gundula (Rating-2169). Only Sharmin Sultana Shirin (Rating-1984) managed a draw against WFM Stoeri Laura (Rating-2123).

The Bangladesh open team have earned five match points and nine game points following the conclusion of the fourth round while the women’s side garnered four match points and 7.5 game points. l

England seek repeat win as India ponder options n AFP, Manchester England face the welcome problem of dealing with the consequences of winning ahead of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford starting on Thursday.

Victory by the huge margin of 266 runs in the third Test at Southampton last week saw England level the fivematch series at 1-1.

It also ended a run of 10 Tests without a win for Alastair Cook’s side and saw the captain himself return to form with two fifties, although it could all have been so different had he been caught in the slips on 15 in the first innings.

“Now everyone knows what it’s like (to win), the challenge is ‘can we repeat that at Old Trafford, and try to win the series?’”, said Cook.

England had another ‘victory’ less than a day after their Southampton success. James Anderson escaped a ban after International Cricket Council

code of conduct commissioner Gordon Lewis dismissed disciplinary charges brought against him by India following his alleged confrontation with Ravindra Jadeja during the drawn first Test in Nottingham.

Given the fast-medium bowler, man-of-the-match in Southampton with a return of seven for 77, is the series’ leading wicket-taker with 16, England’s relief was understandable.

Nevertheless, Anderson -- now just 12 shy of equalling Ian Botham’s England Test record of 383 wickets -- remains free to play at Old Trafford, his Lancashire home ground.

The pitch at Old Trafford is known for being ‘lively’ and all-rounder Chris Jordan, with England having no need of his batting in Southampton after Cook declared twice, could lose his place to Finn after a poor bowling display last time out.

For India, the need to match Ali’s threat could see off-spinner Ravichan-

dran Ashwin play his first Test this year in a bid to bolster an attack that looked a bowler ‘light’ at the Ageas Bowl.

In the absence of injured Lord’s star Ishant Sharma, also ruled out of the fourth Test, India lacked pace and a physical threat.

Jharkand fast bowler Varun Aaron, who played his only Test two years ago, could come into the side although it would be tough on Pankaj Singh were he the bowler to make way.

Singh recorded the worst wicketless figures by a Test debutant -- none for 179 -- in Southampton but was unlucky with both dropped catches and lbw appeals.

Someone with far less cause for complaint were he to be omitted is opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has scored just 122 runs in six innings this series with a top score of 37.

Fellow left-hander Gautam Gambhir, who played the last of his 54 Tests against England in December 2012, is waiting in the wings. l

England’s (L-R) James Anderson, Alastair Cook and Steven Finn look on during a training session at the Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester on Tuesday REUTERS

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, August 7, 2014

7 killed, 50 injured in Narsingdi bus accident n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi

A road crash, involving the head-on collision between two buses in Narsingdi yesterday, killed seven people and injured another 50.

The district administration, however, confirmed six deaths, and five of them could be identified – Shahnaj Begum, 26, Chan Mia, 45, and Nurjahan Begum, 40, Majlu Mia, 35, and Nadira Begum, 10.

The accident happened at Kararchar Bscic industrial area in Shibpur upazila near Dhaka-Sylhet highway around 4:30pm.

A Dhaka-bound bus of Sohag Paribahan from Sylhet rammed into a bus of Meghaloy Paribahan travelling to Monohardi, causing the gas cylinder of one of the two vehicles to explode, said police and witnesses.

Both the vehicles caught fire following the blast, and three people were burnt to death on the spot. The remaining four died while being taken to hospital.

The bodies were handed over to the families without performing autopsy.

The 50 people who received injuries were admitted to Narsingdi District Hospital. Of them, 15 were sent to DMCH in critical condition.

Local firefighters rushed to the scene

following the accident and doused the flame after trying for nearly an hour.

The accident, meanwhile, led to suspension of vehicular movement on Dhaka-Sylhet highway, leading to a 15km tailback and long-route passengers’ woes.

Traffic movement resumed around 6pm when the two buses were displaced.

Narsingdi Police Superintendent Sheikh Rafiqul Islam visited the scene of accident while Deputy Commissioner Abe Hena Morshed visited the injured at the local 100-bed hospital.

Morshed told reporters at the hospital that the accident claimed six lives.

“The hospital authorities have been asked to ensure highest care for the injured,” said Rafiqul.

Majeda Begum, 40, a passenger of Meghaloy Paribahan said she could not sense initially that there had been an accident.

“I touched my face and there was blood all over. I can remember nothing,” she added.

Ruhul Amin, an official of Narsingdi Fire Service, said they faced no shortage of water as there was a ditch beside the highway.

“However, we arrived late on the scene. We also had to struggle to put out the fire as it originated from the explosion of gas cylinder,” he said. l

2 Bangladeshis killed in missile attack in Libya n Tribune Report

Bystanders look on as two buses are engulfed in flames after colliding head-on in Munshiganj

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two Bangladeshi nationals were killed in Libya last Tuesday after being caught amid clashes in Serraj area of Tripoli.

The deceased were identified as Jahangir Manir of Narsingdi and Milon of Jessore, said a press release of the foreign ministry. Bangladesh embassy officials visited the hospital they were in and confirmed the deaths. Their dead bodies will be brought to Bangladesh as soon as possible.

Another Bangladeshi was also injured in the incident.

Earlier on July 30, two other Bangladeshis were also killed in a similar incident in Benghazi. Benghazi is around 1100 kilometers east of Tripoli and presently there is no air connectivity between the two cities. Due to the difficulties in communication, their names and other particulars could not yet be obtained.

The foreign ministry had said they were closely monitoring “the evolving situation” in Libya. Many Bangladesh nationals had been moved to safer areas earlier and all had been advised “to remain alert and avoid conflict zones.” l

Saudi men cannot marry Govt to fix tuition fees for private med schools women from Bangladesh n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

n

Agencies

Saudi Arabia has banned its male citizens from marrying women from four countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad and Myanmar - a police officer said.

The announcement comes as a part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to prohibit Saudi men from marrying expatriates, a subject widely debated in the Gulf nation.

There is an estimated 500,000 women from the four countries, residing in Saudi Arabia. Mecca Police Director Assaf Al-Qurashi said additional formalities have been placed before issuing the permission for marriage with foreigners, Dawnonline reported citing a local daily yesterday.

Tougher regulations have been introduced for such marriages, including obtaining consent from the authorities and submitting marriage applications through official channels, the report said.

Applicants should be over 25 and attach identification documents signed by the local district mayor as well as all other identity papers, including a copy of his family card.

“If the applicant is already married, he should attach a report from a hospital proving that his wife is either disabled, suffering from a chronic disease or is sterile,” Al-Qurashi said.

However, no official announcement has been released by the Saudi Arabian government as of yesterday evening. l

The government has taken the initiative to fix the tuition fees for MBBS and BDS courses at all private medical and dental colleges.

The Health Ministry recently formed a four-member committee, headed by Additional Secretary (medical education and manpower) Aiyubur Rahman, to make a decision in this regard.

In its first meeting last month, most committee members reportedly proposed that the private colleges should set their tuition fees at Tk8-10 lakh for their five-year courses.

However, committee member Dr Moazzem Hossain, also the president of Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA), opposed the proposal.

He claimed that public medical

colleges spent Tk22-24 lakh of public money for each of its students during their complete five years of studies, adding that it would not be wise to fix the fees without doing proper groundwork at both home and abroad.

Following the meeting, the Health Ministry issued a circular on July 22 to all private medical and dental colleges to submit a series of information within 3 days. The health directorate also issued a separate circular regarding the same issue. However, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt that all of the private medical and dental college have yet to submit the information including their audit reports before the ministry.

Aiyubur Rahman, head of the committee, told the Dhaka Tribune they have asked the colleges for audit reports of three consecutive years and

other necessary information, in a bid to know the actual income and expenditure of the colleges.

Aiyubur said he has given directives to issue another letter to remind the colleges to submit the information.

The committee would fix the rate before the upcoming 2014-15 academic session, he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Moazzem Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that it would be unwise to fix the same tuition fee for each college, adding that the college’s location, infrastructure, hospital facilities, teachers and educational facilities should also be taken into consideration. He proposed that the fees be set at Tk15-20 lakh for different private medical and dental colleges.

The medical and dental colleges have been requested to provide the

following information: amount of land, infrastructural development, machineries, numbers of manpower (teachers, officials and employees), manpower at hospital (doctors, nurses, technicians, paramedics and other staff ), beds at the hospitals, transportation, license renewals and inspection fees, expenses for conduct board, detailed audit reports from three consecutive years (2012, 2013 and 2014), sector-wise charges of different fees, salary of teachers and other staffs and the deposit slip of money which is charged from foreign students in the government treasury.

The other two members of the committee are Dr M Iqbal Arslan, secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and Dr MA Hannan, director (medical education and manpower) of the health directorate. l

Bangladesh Bank moves to check hundi system Reza Chowdhury and n Kamran Asif Showkat

All roads leading to the Mayor Hanif flyover, which connects Gulistan and Jatrabari, were opened recently for public use. The photo was taken yesterday

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Envoy in Greece accused of sexual harassment n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Another Bangladesh ambassador is facing allegations of serious misconduct as a Bangladesh-born Greek citizen alleged that she was sexually harassed by Ambassador Golam Mohammad several times.

“The government has received the allegation and is going to send a team to Greece very soon to investigate the matter,” said an official of the Foreign Ministry yesterday.

The team, led by Maritime Unit Affairs Secretary Md Khurshed Alam, is set to visit Greece this month. In the recent years, at least four ambassadors were recalled following allegations of massive financial irregularities and sexual

misconduct. Last month, the Foreign Ministry recalled Bangladesh Ambassador to Lebanon AFM Gousul Azam Sarker for failing to run the mission properly.

The Bangladesh-born Greek woman, who works with the International Organisation for Migration mission in Greece, alleged that Golam Mohammad made indecent proposal on several occasions when her husband was out of Greece, said the Foreign Ministry official.

She also alleged that the ambassador had harassed her sexually when she had visited his residence on invitation. Golam Mohammad’s wife was not in Greece at that time.

“The victim sent a letter, elaborating the ordeals, to her IOM mission chief. It was forwarded to the Foreign Ministry,

seeking proper action,” the official said.

In the letter, the victim says when she repeatedly rejected the indecent proposals of the ambassador, he threatened her with dire consequences.

When contacted, Golam Mohammad refuted all the allegations and said: “Let the investigation team come and unearth what the truth is.” The ambassador said he had faced similar allegations earlier but nothing against him had been proved. Earlier, ambassador AKM Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan was recalled from Japan over allegations of sexually harassing a Japanese woman working at Bangladesh’s Tokyo mission.

Former ambassador to Uzbekistan Hasib Aziz was sent on forced retirement as he had married a foreigner

without the consent of the president of Bangladesh as per the law.

Former Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines Majeda Rafiq Unnesa was recalled as the government had found massive financial irregularities in the Manila mission. She has been made OSD (officer on special duty) while the Anti-Corruption Commission has filed a case against her.

Md Shamsul Haque was involved in financial irregularities while serving as the Bangladesh consul general in New York. He is also facing ACC charges.

“Hundreds of good officers are working in the Foreign Ministry but only because of a few the image of the ministry and the country has been tarnished,” said a senior official of the ministry. l

Officials of the financial intelligence unit (BFUI) under the central bank is likely to visit Malaysia, Singapore, Canada and other developed countries where many politicians and businessmen send money illegally from Bangladesh through different informal channels, including hundi.

Different estimates by the bankers suggest that hundi is being used to facilitate transactions of over $250m annually.

Bangladesh Bank officials attending yesterday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Finance Ministry said it was difficult to stop hundi, which is considered one of the ways of money laundering and money transfer from overseas, as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2012 and other related laws lack proper definition for hundi.

The central bank governor, Atiur Rahman, and other officials working to stop illegal money transfers from Bangladesh said the Act could not completely stop money laundering because of a lack of coordination among the 25 government agencies tasked to implement the comprehensive law.

The Act has referred to hundi as a way of money laundering – an illicit way of making legal the illegally-earned money in the financial system on the pretext of investment and business.

The central bank set up the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit in line with a section of the Act. But the tough law has no definition for hundi, which is very popular among the common people for quick handovers of funds, and with better exchange rates.

“Many of the businessmen, politicians and industrialists have been maintaining offices in Singapore, Malaysia and other countries. They have pumped the money out of Bangladesh, but not through banking channels; it was mainly done through hundi,” Abdur Razzaq, the standing committee chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune after yesterday’s meeting.

Earlier, the government enacted the Money Laundering Prevention Act in

2002, the UN convention Against Corruption in 2007 and promulgated the Anti-Money Laundering Prevention Ordinance in 2008.

Huge numbers of people had set up business establishments and bought houses in eight to 10 countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Dubai, the US and Switzerland.

“They [BFIU] have agreed to go abroad and mark some of the big fish maintaining businesses and houses abroad,” said the chairman.

One official of the BFIU told the meeting that a building in Chittagong was commonly known as “hundi building,” but no action could be taken due to a lack of coordination between the government agencies.

Hundi is very common among the expatriates who send their remittances back home. Thus, the money comes to Bangladesh, bypassing the banking channel that collects charges for money transfers and deposits to the public exchequer. Again, hundi deprives Bangladesh of foreign currencies as receivers get local currency.

The risk of hundi is that the money can easily go to the wrong hands for terrorism and other subversive activities.

In its special report on money laundering prepared for yesterday’s meeting, the Banking Division under the Finance Ministry stated that under-invoicing, over-invoicing and hundi are increasingly being used as tools to launder money from Bangladesh even though the Foreign Currency Regulation Act contains many restrictive measures.

“Despite putting in place many mechanisms, hundi cannot be stopped as the laws have not defined hundi,” says the report, which was obtained by the Dhaka Tribune.

But experts disagree.

Economist Zayed Bakht does not think defining hundi could stop such a practice.

“Basically, we have kept the exchange rates higher. This is why hundi is so popular. We have to think about that as far as reducing hundi is concerned,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. l

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B3 Low prices, erratic

B4 Obama to unveil $14bn

monsoon boost cotton imports

in US corporate investments in Africa

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Prime Bank’s mobile banking banned

Easy Cash is the first to face Bangladesh Bank’s restriction on continuing with the fast growing business SMG Infocom had shut down its opn Tribune Report eration immediately after the recruitBangladesh Bank (BB) has banned the mobile financial service of Prime Bank with immediate effect as it found gross irregularities into the service.

“The bank will no more be able to continue its mobile financial service as the central bank has canceled licence after digging out its fraudulence in the name of the service,” a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank said yesterday.

The central bank earlier issued a show-cause notice to the managing director of Prime Bank after detecting huge anomalies in recruiting manpower for the service – Easy Cash.

“But the bank failed to give satisfactory answer, prompting BB to cancel the licence of its mobile financial service,” said another executive.

Five banks, including Islami Bank Bangladesh and Dutch-Bangla Bank, have agreement with GP for Mobicash service The BB has also asked stopping mobile financial service-related advertisement “Mobicash” of Grameenphone (GP), as the mobile operator was giving the service violating the agent banking guideline.

Five banks, including Islami Bank Bangladesh and Dutch-Bangla Bank, have agreement with GP for Mobicash service.

This is for the first time the central bank has canceled licence for mobile phone banking of a private commercial bank and an advertisement after introducing mobile banking in the country.

According to the BB inspection report, SMG Infocom as appointed by the Prime Bank to operate its mobile banking Easy Cash received Tk25 crore as undertaking money from 2,500 jobseekers using the Prime Bank’s logo.

EU extends suspension on betel leaf import from Bangladesh n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The government’s initiative to regain betel leaf market in the European Union countries goes in vein as the bloc has extended the suspension of import of the agriculture product till June 30 next year.

In a letter from the office of the Health and Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission on July 30 informed the government that the recommendations put forward by the office was not implemented by Bangladesh.

The suspension of imports of betel leaves was put in place since February this year as Salmonella strains were detected in the import items.

“The European Commission is aware that the action plan submitted in April 2013 by the Bangladesh industry to tackle the issue will take some years to be implemented and that the self-ban at export put in place by your authorities is not delivering the desired results,” the EC letter reads.

The letter, however, said if Bangladesh provides adequate guarantees on products to be exported to the EU, the European Commission could lift the suspension at an earlier date.

The government has decided to provide necessary training to the local betel leaf cultivators on how to prevent betel leaf production from Salmonella infection under a Bangladesh Agriculture University project.

An owner of an acre land of betel leaf garden is incurring a loss worth Tk5 lakh for not being able to export the leaf. l

ment, but it had not refunded the undertaking money to the appointed ones as the solution provider had assured the jobseekers they would refund the undertaking money after recruitment.

A BB official said SMG Infocom had received between Tk50,000 and Tk2.5 lakh from each person as undertaking money.

Detective Branch of Police also informed Prime Bank about the SMG Infocom’s fraudulent act, said a BB letter sent to the bank. Prime Bank could prevent the fraudulent act if it had taken immediate measures by taking help from the central bank and law enforcement agencies, the letter observed.

On April 7 this year, the BB issued a show-cause notice to Prime Bank to explain in five working days why the central bank would not cancel no-objection certificate it provided the private commercial bank to run mobile financial services for misappropriating a huge amount of money.

In reply to the show-cause notice, Prime Bank denied involvement with the fraudulent act. Prime Bank Managing Director Md Ehsan Khasru could not be reached for comment.

About Mobicash, BB found that agents of Mobicash opened accounts of mobile financial services on behalf of the banks violating the central bank’s agent banking guideline.

According to the central bank approval, Mobicash was providing three types of services – ticket purchasing for cricket match, ticket buying for train and payment of utility bills on behalf of the clients.

The central bank earlier faced huge criticism from various corners about the mobile financial services as it approved bKash, a subsidiary company of BRAC Bank, to operate mobile banking.

Mobile financial services got momentum in the country after BB had brought amendment to the guidelines on the service for the commercial banks in December, 2011. l

Tuba Group workers are seen receiving outstanding salaries at the BGMEA office in Dhaka yesterday. On behalf of Tuba Group, BGMEA arranged salaries for two months against dues for three months DHAKA TRIBUNE

Capital machinery import rises 17% in FY14 n Jebun Nesa Alo Recovering 15% negative growth of previous fiscal year, capital machinery import rose by 17% in the fiscal year 201314, despite sluggish investment climate.

Growing demand for readymade garment export and power sector expansion mainly contributed to increase capital machinery import, which also led the country’s overall import growth to a higher level, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

The value of LCs (letter of credits) settlement against capital machinery import stood at US$2.4bn in the last fiscal year compared to $2.1bn in the previous fiscal year 2012-13, according to the central bank data.

However, LCs opened for import of capital machinery increased by 33% to $3.8bn in the fiscal year 2013-14 compared to $2.8bn in the previous fiscal year. The country’s overall import expenditures rose by 14% during the last fiscal year compared to 15% growth in the previous fiscal year.

Business activities of the country got stuck in the last fiscal year amid political unrest over 5 January national polls, but the garment export and energy sector expansion continued to grow amid foreign fund inflow, said a senior executive of private bank.

As a result, capital machinery import in garment industry and energy sector increased significantly, which pushed the total capital machinery import to a higher growth, he added.

Capital machinery import witnessed a significant rise despite sluggish investment climate mainly due to growing demand for garment exports and power plant projects, said Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Ahsan Ullah.

“We did not find any clue of money laundering cases although there had been such a rumor against the capital machinery import.”

The central bank had earlier sent some documents on capital machinery import a few months ago to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to inquire about money laundering alle-

SME foundation wants single digit interest rate on loan n

Tribune Report

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Foundation has urged the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to take necessary steps for providing SME loans at a single digit interest rate to combat financial crisis being faced by the new entrepreneurs.

KM Habibullah, chairman of SME Foundation, made the plea at a meeting with the central bank governor Atiur Rahman held at the BB headquarters in the capital on Tuesday.

The financial crisis has appeared as the major obstacle to building new entrepreneurship at the grassroots lev-

el as it is difficult for them to do their business well only because of higher interest rate on loans, Habibullah apprised the governor.

Urging the governor to take immediate initiatives to cut the interest rate on SME loans for all the entrepreneurs, he said: “Bangladesh Bank could solve the existing financial problem by providing loans at a single digit interest rate from the funds allocated for SMEs.” In this regard, he also said SME foundation has been providing loans among the entrepreneurs at a single digit interest rate to solve their financial problem in a limited-scale, which is not suffi-

cient enough for boosting the SME entrepreneurship across the country.

In reply, BB governor Atiur Rahman assured the SME foundation chief of paving the way for the central bank to provide SME loans from its own fund at a lower interest rate.

He, however, said it would be better if the government could allocate a certain fund for the SMEs in the annual budget on regular basis.

“Apart from that, the central bank won’t be able to provide loans beyond the bank’s interest rate to comply with the donor’s condition in disbursing loans in the market,” he also added. l

$100m ADB loan to improve railway system n Tribune Report

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $100m loan to help improve the capacity, efficiency and safety of railway systems in Bangladesh.

Secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) Mohammad Mejbahuddin and Country Director for ADB’s Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi signed an agreement on the assistance at ERD in Dhaka yesterday, said a press release.

The loan is the third tranche of the $430m multi-tranche financing facility agreed between ADB and Bangladesh in 2006 to revamp the entire railways system through the Railway Sector Investment Programme.

ADB has already provided $130m and $150m as first and second tranches respectively for double-tracking the Tongi–Bhairab Bazar section, implementing reforms, rehabilitating yards, extending loops at different stations in

the Darsana–Ishurdi–Sirajganj section, and upgrading the signaling system at 11 stations between Ishurdi and Darsana.

The last tranche will help finance commissioning of 50 broad gauge passenger carriages and 100-meter gauge passenger carriages for the railway’s main line network.

Upgrading the railway network will reduce transport costs for Bangladesh’s major exports The new carriages will be added to Bangladesh Railway’s (BR) fleet of rolling stock and increase the transport capacity provided by BR. The new carriages will use the increased line capacity created with ADB assistance provided earlier, and thus improve BR’s position

in the passenger market.

The assistance will help increase the number of annual railway passengers by 10% by 2017 from 66m in 2011. By 2019, BR is also expected to operate an additional 916m passenger kilometers per year versus 8,787m passenger kilometers in 2011.

The loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of five years and an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s London interbank offered rate-based lending facility.

Upgrading the railway network will reduce transport costs for Bangladesh’s major exports, especially ready-made garments.

The improved railway system will ease the pressure on the road network, which is congested, and thus benefit the transport sector as a whole. It will also help promote regional trade and investment by improving a cost-effective communication network. l

gations against the import, but it is yet to inform us about any progress of the investigation, he added.

The value of LCs settlement against garment machinery import rose by 8% in July-May of the fiscal year 2013-14 while opening value rose by 31% compared to the growth of 3% and 29% respectively in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the latest data of the central bank.

The LCs value of settlement and opening of garment industrial machinery import stood at $357m and $511m respectively during July to May period in the last fiscal year compared to $331m and $390m in the same period of the previous year.

The value of LCs settlement against power plant machinery import increased by 46% to $477m during the same period compared to the growth of 2.7% to $327m.

Textile and wearing sector received highest foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $412.43m in the fiscal year 201213, out of the last four fiscal years.

The amount of FDI in the power sector stood at around $71m during the year compared to $64m in the previous fiscal year, according to the central bank data.

Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) had undertaken a move in the last year to investigate into the causes behind the significant rise in LC opening.

ACC officials are skeptical about the money laundering through import as a huge amount of money was reportedly smuggled out abroad in the name of capital machinery import.

Bangladesh Bank sent suspicious information about five banks on capital machinery import to ACC in January this year to check whether there was any attempt to siphon off money abroad through over-invoicing.

The central bank had provided information of 10 months from July 2012 to April 2013 as per the ACC requirement when LCs (letter of credits) opened against capital machinery import increased 31.57% amidst sluggish investment climate and political turmoil. l

IMF mission due next month n Asif Showkat Kallol An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will visit Bangladesh next month to review the progress of the condition imposed under the fifth tranches of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

The conditions include implementation of VAT and Supplementary Duty Act, which is scheduled to be effective

by July next year.

A five member IMF mission headed by South Asian executive director Rodrigo Cubero will visit Dhaka from September 17 to 30.

The IMF mission will meet the finance minister, planning minister, finance secretary, banking secretary, Bangladesh Bank governor, other senior government officials and also the development partners.

Meanwhile, newly appointed local IMF country representative Stella Kaendera sent a letter to the finance secretary Mahbub Ahmed last week, seeking appointments for the IMF mission, said a senior official said yesterday.

Local businessmen are, however, strongly opposing implementation of

the VAT law as they have alleged that the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act was enacted without seeking any opinion from them.

An official of the finance division said the existing IMF ECF program would come to an end at the middle of the next year as the fifth tranches ECF was released in the middle of June, this year.

The official also said the IMF mission would also review the efforts undertaken by Bangladesh Bank to strengthen financial supervision and balance sheets of the state-owned banks.

Earlier, the IMF had expressed its dissatisfaction over the capacity of the National Board Revenue (NBR) for executing the VAT law.

Meanwhile, local business community has intensified its lobbying with the government high-ups to repeal Value-Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act-2012, arguing that the law was formulated ignoring stakeholders’ opinion.

In this connection, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the apex trade body, recently wrote separate letters to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Finance Minister AMA Muhith to repeal the VAT act. l

B2

Turnover hits 5-month high n Tribune Report

Mobil Jamuna Bangladesh was the turnover leader with shares worth Tk76 crore changing hands, making up 11.7% of the total turnover The Shariah index however witnessed fractional fall of 0.2 points to 1,020. The comprising blue chips DS30 also witnessed fractional drop of 0.9 points to 1,649.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, gained 11 points to 8,493.

Trading activities remained upbeat as DSE turnover value stood at Tk651 crore, which is more than 32% higher over the previous session and highest since February 9 this year.

Fuel and power accounted for almost 21% of the total turnover.

4484.90168

DSE - 30 Index :

1649.67395

CSE All Share Index:

13797.30190

CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

SummitAlliancePort.-A 7th ICB M F-A Apex Foods -A Ambee Pharma -A H.R. Textile -A The Peninsula CTG.-N S Purbanchol Power-N Argon Denims Limited-A Stylecraft -A Mithun Knitting -A

Closing (% change) -5.48 -4.56 -3.97 -3.95 -3.39 -3.28 -3.16 -3.04 -2.89 -2.57

CSE LOSERS Company Prime Islami Life -A Aziz PipesZ SummitAlliancePort.-A Rahima Food -Z Paramount Insur-A Premier Leasing-Z Eastern Cables-A Islamic Finance-A Apex Tannery -A S Purbanchol Power-N

Closing (% change) -5.91 -5.33 -4.83 -4.78 -4.32 -3.95 -3.88 -3.08 -3.06 -2.98

(+) 0.28% (-) 0.06% (+) 0.14%

396

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

168

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

122

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,349.22

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.48

CSE key features August 6, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

12,111,276

Number of Contract

229

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

138

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

85

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5 2,249.62 27.27

8493.33010

(+) 0.13%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

Average (% change) -5.89 -5.33 -1.13 -4.89 -4.07 -6.42 -4.26 -0.86 -3.23 -1.75

28.36 94.50 103.09 268.54 29.08 36.24 46.88 51.84 907.50 103.72

Closing average 84.42 14.20 28.11 43.75 17.70 7.14 123.50 12.66 137.13 46.62

Closing

DSE Million Taka 407.51 107.18 90.29 748.32 263.32 1364.33 1.06 713.94 979.29 1.63 83.31 37.24 14.96 186.69 44.41 74.37 126.83 662.08 237.57 373.14 0.60

Daily high

27.60 94.20 101.70 265.20 28.50 35.40 45.90 51.00 908.00 102.50

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

30.00 98.00 106.90 279.60 29.70 37.40 49.00 53.60 925.10 106.30

84.40 14.20 27.60 43.80 17.70 7.30 124.00 12.60 136.30 45.60

16,624

Traded Issues

▼

Closing average

448.19

Turnover (Volume)

(-) 0.07%

Average (% change) -1.18 -4.55 -2.53 -2.35 -1.16 -2.05 -1.06 -0.38 -2.94 -2.44

124,574

Traded Issues

11321.27360

27.40 93.00 101.00 262.00 28.50 35.00 42.70 48.00 885.20 102.10

92.50 14.30 29.10 44.50 17.70 7.30 124.00 12.80 142.00 48.00

34.520 0.189 2.773 5.583 2.345 130.953 32.573 96.212 0.726 21.898

Turnover in million

Daily low 82.00 14.10 27.40 43.00 17.70 7.30 123.00 12.00 134.60 45.10

Latest EPS 0.96 12.01 3.01 3.18 1.75 1.32 4.52 3.86 26.16 2.69

Latest EPS

0.431 0.003 3.646 0.044 0.009 0.006 0.025 0.440 3.181 2.497

4.95 0.42 0.96 -1.01 1.18 0.10 2.03 1.50 4.35 4.52

Latest PE 29.5 7.9 34.2 84.4 16.6 27.5 10.4 13.4 34.7 38.6

Latest PE 17.1 33.8 29.3 -ve 15.0 71.4 60.8 8.4 31.5 10.3

Meghna Life Ins. -A Padma Islami Life*-N Rupali Life Insur.-A PragatiLife Insu. -A Sun Life Insurance-N Progressive Life-A Renwick Jajneswar-A Fareast Islami Life -A IFIL Islamic M.F.1-A MJL BD Ltd.-A

Closing (% change) 9.85 9.85 9.84 9.29 9.26 9.16 8.71 7.72 7.46 7.13

CSE GAINERS Company Phoenix Insur -A Midas Financing-Z Rupali Life Insur.-A Meghna Life Ins. -A Prime Insur -A Padma Islami Life*-N Fareast Islami Life -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Sun Life Insurance-N Sandhani Life -A

Closing (% change) 10.00 10.00 9.80 9.69 9.63 8.81 8.54 8.48 8.18 7.93

Average (% change) 7.88 6.55 9.13 11.66 8.23 9.12 7.01 7.15 4.55 3.54 Average (% change) 13.67 10.00 9.71 7.26 9.63 8.67 4.86 5.97 6.53 6.51

Closing average 99.71 58.69 54.50 137.48 52.48 116.86 254.32 86.87 7.12 89.86

Closing average 34.10 17.60 55.95 99.61 20.50 60.31 85.42 90.99 51.70 63.18

Closing 102.60 60.20 55.80 137.60 53.10 116.80 259.50 87.90 7.20 93.20

Closing 34.10 17.60 56.00 101.90 20.50 60.50 87.70 93.40 52.90 64.00

Daily high 102.70 60.20 55.80 138.40 53.40 117.70 259.50 89.30 7.30 95.00

Daily high 34.10 17.60 56.10 99.00 20.50 61.10 88.80 94.30 53.00 64.00

Daily low 90.00 56.00 51.80 125.90 47.50 115.00 242.60 80.00 6.80 78.30

Daily low 34.10 17.60 54.00 100.00 20.50 57.40 83.70 87.20 50.10 62.50

Turnover in million 13.371 5.777 4.943 10.544 8.376 0.409 16.162 6.274 8.935 761.741

Turnover in million 0.007 0.035 0.671 0.257 0.015 0.495 0.279 7.939 0.853 0.145

Latest EPS

Latest PE

6.45 1.10 5.33 2.38 0.00 2.30 3.92 4.60 1.07 5.04

15.5 53.4 10.2 57.8 50.8 64.9 18.9 6.7 17.8

Latest EPS

Latest PE

4.30 -6.91 5.33 6.45 1.28 1.10 4.60 5.04 0.00 2.12

7.9 -ve 10.5 15.4 16.0 54.8 18.6 18.1 29.8

News, analysis and recent disclosers From TradeServers: STANDBANKL Standard Bank Ltd. has informed that as per permission from Bangladesh Bank vide their letter dated July 28, 2013, the Bank has purchased 8,000 sft (approx.) premises with 3 car parking @ Tk.18,000/- per sft and 100 sft (approx.) floor space for ATM booth @ Tk. 50,000/- per sft totaling Tk.14,90,00,000/- at Mans Trade Centre, Holding-94, Ramjoy Mohajan Lane, Word No.35, Chitagong City Corporation, Kotwali, Chittagong for shifting of its Khatungong Branch, Chittagong and as well as use of ATM Booth.: ICBISLAMIC, ICB1STNRB, ICB2NDNRB, ICBAMCL2ND, ICBEPMF1S1, PRIME1ICBA, PF1STMF, ICB3RDNRB, IFILISLMF1, ICBSONALI1: As per regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, ICB Asset Management Company Limited has informed that a Trustee meeting of the Fund will be held on August 07, 2014 at 2:30 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the fund for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

Primary Status of IPO: Ratanpur Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd.: All concerned are hereby informed that the primary status of the IPO of Ratanpur Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd.: Total amount of subscription (excluding NRB) is Tk. 5,468,640,000.

Total amount received from NRB is Tk. 124,000,000 up to 24 July 2014.

IPO Subscription: 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.

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.

Dividend/AGM DELTASPINN: 10% cash, AGM: 30.08.2014, Record date: 14.08.2014.

ICB MF Dividend: 8THICB: 120% cash, 7THICB: 130% cash, 12.08.2014, 6THICB: 110% cash, 5THICB: 225% cash , 4THICB: 250% cash, 3RDICB: 250% cash, 2NDICB: 400% cash, 1STICB: 800% cash. Record date: 12.08.2014.

SANDHANINS: 25.50% stock, EGM and AGM: 06.09.2014, Record Date for EGM and AGM: 16.07.2014.

NAVANACNG: 15% cash, AGM: 25.09.2014, Record Date: 10.08.2014.

GP: 95% interim cash, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 05.08.2014.

MARICO: 150% interim cash, Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 07.08.2014.

ISLAMIINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.07.2014, RD: 12.05.2014.

SUNLIFEINS: 5% stock, AGM: 15.09.2014, Record Date: 07.08.2014.

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.

BDSERVICE: 15% stock, AGM: 25.08.2014, Record Date: 14.07.2014.

SALVOCHEM: 10% stock, AGM: 27.08.2014, Record date: 25.06.2014.

JMISMDL: 15% cash, AGM: 24.07.2014, RD: 22.05.2014.

MARICO: 50% final cash, AGM: 19.08.2014, RD: 02.07.2014.

ASIAPACINS: 12% cash, AGM: 14.08.2014, RD: 08.05.2014.

GHCL: 10% cash dividend for the shareholders except Directors, AGM: 09.07.2014, RD: 15.05.2014.

Market continued its positive momentum and gained strong ground.

Market continued to see buying interest mostly supported by financial and manufacturing stocks

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

141,288,069

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

ANALYST

Sector

6,518.05

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features August 6, 2014

Lanka Bangla Securities said market continued its positive momentum and gained strong ground. Market continued to see buying interest mostly supported by financial and manufacturing stocks, it said.

It said turnover value crossed Tk600 crore mark, which indicates that second quarter earnings of companies have given impetus to investors’ confidence.

Zenith Investments said stocks faced strong resistance with their initial upward move due to investors profit taking steps, and ended somewhat flat in the late afternoon. However, the main index did manage to remain positive due to high turnover volume, opposing the trend of other two indices.

Bullishness in life insurance extended the session rising over 4% with seven scrips emerging at top ten gainers’ list.

Besides, non-life insurance also performed well with a rally of 2.9%.

Majority of banks (14 out of 30 scrips) sustained in positive territory with the spread improvements through lower deposit rates offered by banks and lucrative pricing level in recent times.

Mobil Jamuna Bangladesh was the turnover leader with shares worth Tk76 crore changing hands, making up 11.7% of the total turnover.

It was followed by Grameenphone, Beximco Limited, ACI, Golden Son, Bangladesh Building, Peninsula Hotel and Shahjibazar Power Company Ltd. l

Stocks ended flat for the second straight day yesterday with turnover crossing Tk600 crore mark after five months due to strong buying and selling pressure.

Initial rise on stock prices subdued as days passing with profit booking mainly on engineering issues.

After rising more than 35 points in the morning, the benchmark DSEX gained 13 points or 0.2% to 4,484.

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 6.25 1.64 1.39 11.48 4.04 20.93 0.02 10.95 15.02 1.28 0.57 0.23 2.86 0.68 1.14 1.95 10.16 3.64 5.72 0.01

Million Taka 29.85 9.48 5.26 46.88 31.70 49.13 70.73 55.28 31.13 5.23 38.03 1.83 21.66 7.25 2.22 9.27 46.77 41.50 38.05 0.00

CSE

% change 5.52 1.75 0.97 8.66 5.86 9.08 0.00 13.07 10.21 5.75 0.97 7.03 0.34 4.00 1.34 0.41 1.71 8.64 7.67 7.03 0.00

Million Taka 437.36 116.66 95.56 795.20 295.02 1413.46 1.06 784.67 1034.57 32.76 88.54 75.27 16.79 208.34 51.66 76.59 136.10 708.85 279.07 411.19 0.60

Total

% change 6.20 1.65 1.35 11.26 4.18 20.02 0.02 11.12 14.66 0.46 1.25 1.07 0.24 2.95 0.73 1.08 1.93 10.04 3.95 5.82 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company MJL BD Ltd.-A Grameenphone-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A ACI Limited- A Golden Son -A BD Building Systems -A The Peninsula CTG.-N Shahjibazar Power-N Appollo Ispat CL -N Square Pharma -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Grameenphone-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A The Peninsula CTG.-N Appollo Ispat CL -N Square Pharma -A LafargeS Cement-Z Argon Denims Limited-A FAR Chemical-N UNITED AIR-A Golden Son -A

Volume shares 8,477,296 1,911,015 7,382,982 743,293 3,404,418 2,246,225 3,613,600 1,770,600 4,327,600 423,112

Volume shares 129,800 898,200 774,800 444,400 44,513 129,500 223,250 180,000 837,162 181,696

Value in million 761.74 592.46 263.77 228.79 164.93 134.56 130.95 129.79 124.05 113.18

Value in million 40.46 32.18 28.24 12.76 11.90 11.66 11.61 10.38 10.27 8.77

% of total turnover 11.69 9.09 4.05 3.51 2.53 2.06 2.01 1.99 1.90 1.74

% of total turnover 9.35 7.44 6.53 2.95 2.75 2.70 2.68 2.40 2.37 2.03

Daily closing 93.20 307.90 35.20 312.20 47.40 59.60 35.40 73.80 28.40 268.00

Daily closing 307.40 35.30 35.60 28.50 267.20 90.30 51.20 57.20 12.20 47.40

Price change 7.13 -0.93 -2.49 4.77 -2.27 3.83 -3.28 3.36 -0.70 1.25

Daily opening 87.00 310.80 36.10 298.00 48.50 57.40 36.60 71.40 28.60 264.70

Daily high 95.00 315.50 39.00 316.70 49.50 61.40 37.40 75.80 29.30 272.00

Daily low 78.30 295.00 32.50 275.00 43.70 54.00 35.00 70.10 28.40 260.00

Daily average 89.86 310.02 35.73 307.80 48.45 59.91 36.24 73.30 28.66 267.50

Price change -1.19 -1.94 -2.73 -1.04 1.02 0.33 -2.85 3.62 1.67 -2.47

Daily opening 311.10 36.00 36.60 28.80 264.50 90.00 52.70 55.20 12.00 48.60

Daily high 318.00 36.80 37.60 29.30 268.40 91.00 53.80 59.70 12.50 49.50

Daily low 300.00 35.00 35.20 28.40 266.10 89.30 50.50 56.00 12.00 47.20

Daily average 311.69 35.82 36.44 28.70 267.36 90.06 52.02 57.66 12.26 48.28

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Low prices, erratic monsoon boost cotton imports n Reuters, Mumbai A sharp drop in cotton prices overseas and a weak monsoon have raised India’s imports in recent weeks, which could lift shipments more than 25% above the official forecast for this season ending September and help support cotton futures.

Cotton sowing in India, the world’s second-largest producer and exporter of the fibre, has been delayed this year due to erratic monsoon rains, raising concerns about production.

Mills in the coastal textile hubs of southern India buy cotton from Africa due to lower freight costs and are bringing in shiploads now as benchmark prices fell to a five-year low on Aug. 1 because of the prospect of ample global supply.

Worldwide inventories could swell to a record of nearly 106 million 480-lb bales by the end of the U.S. crop year ending July 2015, helped by a surge in output in the United States, according

to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This is also depressing spot prices in some countries, with rates in Tanzania as much as 10% lower than the 86 cent per pound quoted in India.

“Imports of cotton mainly from West Africa have increased because their prices are much cheaper than India’s and the quality is also good,” said M.B. Lal, managing director of Shail Exports and former chairman of the Cotton Corp of India.

The pick-up in shipments could take India’s total imports for the season ending Sept. 30 to more than 1 million bales, traders said, above the forecast of 800,000 bales from the state-run Cotton Advisory Board on July 2.

However, imports will still be below last season’s 1.4 million as China is buying less yarn that uses cotton. India’s cotton output in 2013/14 is estimated to be 39 million bales.

“Imports in this season are going to be more than 1 million bales. West

Africa and Tanzania are the most preferred destinations because availability is sufficient and quality is good,” said S. Dinakaran, joint managing director at Sambandam Spinning Mills in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

A delay in the arrival of the new crop next season due to delayed sowing could also force Indian buyers to sign extended import contracts.

“Imports may rise (further) if new season supplies get delayed or prices increase in the absence of supply,” said Arun Kumar Dalal, a trader in the main cotton growing state of Gujarat.

More than half of India’s farmland relies on rainfall, with a heavy dependence on the June-September monsoon season.

This year’s monsoon had one of its slowest starts in a century but a late revival shrank the shortfall in rain to about 10% below average in July, a sharp improvement from the 43% deficit in the first month of the season. l

A worker carries a sack filled with cotton at a wholesale cotton market in Agartala, capital of Tripura

Gold rises on safe-haven bids as Ukraine tensions hurt equities

Oil prices up ahead of US stockpiles report n AFP, Singapore n Reuters, Singapore Oil prices edged higher in Asia Wednesday on bargain-hunting, but gains were capped by concerns about tepid demand in the United States, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery rose 10 cents to $97.48 while Brent crude gained 25 cents to $104.86 in afternoon trade.

WTI prices closed lower in New York for the sixth time in seven days Tuesday as traders looked ahead to Wednesday’s weekly US energy inventory report.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said the report is likely to paint a less than rosy picture of demand in the world’s top crude consumer.

Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal said crude stockpiles are expected to have fallen 1.7 million barrels on average in the week to August 1.

Gasoline stockpiles are expected to rise by 100,000 barrels while stocks of distillates, including heating oil and and diesel, are also expected to have increased by 600,000 barrels.

Refinery use is expected to have fallen by 0.5 percentage points to 93% of capacity.

Market watchers believe refineries will soon scale back output ahead of the end of the summer driving season in early September, reducing demand for crude oil.

Investors are also continuing to keep a close watch on conflicts in Middle East crude producers. Escalating violence in Libya, a member of the OPEC oil-producing cartel, is threatening efforts to restore production that had been disrupted last year by rebels.

Fighting is also raging in Iraq, where jihadists have overrun much of the country’s Sunni heartland after launching an offensive from neighbouring Syria on June 10.

Iraq is the second biggest producer in the 12-nation OPEC, pumping 3.4 million barrels a day and possessing more than 11% of the world’s proven reserves. l

Gold ticked up slightly yesterday and could benefit from a bout of market risk aversion as fears of increasing military action along the Ukraine border put global equities under pressure.

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday while the US dollar held near a 11-month high, after Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russia has gathered military forces at the border with Ukraine to either put pressure on the neighbouring country or to enter it.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,291.80 an ounce by 0623 GMT, after closing flat in the previous session. US gold was up about $7 to $1,292.70.

“Gold could face difficulty breaking

through $1,300 because the dollar is doing really well,” said Chen Min, a precious metals analyst at Jinrui Futures in Shenzhen.

“The only supporting factor is geopolitical tensions, and unless tensions escalate drastically over Ukraine, gold won’t be able to gain much,” she said.

Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East have largely been responsible for gold’s 7% gain this year.

Gold, often seen as alternative investment to riskier assets such as equities, could gain if stocks fall further.

Bullion investors continued to keep an eye on economic data, after a Tuesday report showed new orders for US factory goods rose more than expected in June.

Recent US data pointing to strength-

REUTERS

Euro stays near eightmonth low in Asia

ening economic activity has weighed on gold’s appeal on fears that monetary policy could soon be tightened.

The physical markets have failed to provide support to prices recently due to the seasonally quiet summer period.

Premiums in top buyer China have been stuck at $2-$3 an ounce and demand is much weaker than last year, dealers said.

Chinese gold jewellery demand fell for the first time in eight years in the second quarter and could drop as much as 20% in the full year, a leading precious metals consultancy said last week.

Among other precious metals, silver ticked up after dropping to a sevenweek low in the previous session on strong US data and a higher dollar. l

n AFP, Tokyo The euro was hovering near an eightmonth low against the dollar in Asia yesterday on speculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) would hint at further stimulus after a policy meeting.

The euro bought $1.3367 and 137.08 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade against $1.3369 and 137.20 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar was changing hands at 102.59 yen in Tokyo trade compared with 102.62 yen in New York trade Tuesday.

The common European currency hit $1.3358 in US trade earlier Tuesday, its lowest level against the dollar since November 11, 2013, before recovering somewhat.

While the ECB is not expected to change interest rate policy at a meeting on Thursday, traders say the central bank could suggest it will enact further stimulus in light of weak economic growth in the region.

National Australia Bank noted European retail sales and other data released Tuesday were weak.

“Coupled with a rise in Russian

troops lining the Ukraine border and raising speculation of an imminent flare-up in tensions, this has allowed the euro to underperform,” it said in a note.

On the other hand, the dollar picked up support from better-than-expected US economic data that analysts say could accelerate the Federal Reserve’s plans to lift its benchmark interest rate.

“US rate rises are coming; that’s the message from equities and the US dollar overnight,” the Australian bank said after New York sessions Tuesday that saw lower stock prices and a higher dollar.

The dollar was higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It rose to 32.17 Thai baht from 32.11 baht on Tuesday, to Sg$1.2485 from Sg$1.2454, to 1,034.55 South Korean won from 1,031.75 won and to 11,760.00 Indonesian rupiah from 11,727.50 rupiah.

The dollar also climbed to 61.35 Indian rupees from 60.91 rupees and to 43.74 Philippine pesos from 43.54 pesos, and to Tw$30.01 from Tw$29.99.

The Australian dollar eased to 93.03 US cents from 93.24 cents, while the Chinese yuan was unchanged at 16.60 yen. l

Canada, EU wrap up free trade negotiations n AFP, Ottawa

Gold bars are stacked at a safe deposit room of the ProAurum gold house in Munich

NCC Bank Ltd has recently organised a workshop on internal control and compliance for its executives and officers of ICC Division at the bank’s training institute. Md Amirul Islam, chair of the bank’s audit committee attended the workshop as chief guest

REUTERS

Canada and the European Union have settled on the final text of a landmark free trade deal, which is expected to come into force mid-2016, Canadian officials said yesterday.

The 1,500 page document - which will eliminate 98% of tariffs on goods and services, increase cross-Atlantic worker mobility and harmonize professional qualifications - must still be translated into 23 languages and be reviewed by lawyers, trade officials in Ottawa said.

That could take up to two years, and

then lawmakers must still ratify the agreement - which has not yet been made public.

More details of the deal are expected to be revealed in September when Ottawa will host a Canada-EU summit to mark the official end of negotiations that started in 2009.

The accord, which Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has hailed as “the biggest (trade) deal our country has ever made,” was reached last October.

But it took until last week to resolve several outstanding technical issues, involving investor protections, banking and other areas. l

Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, head of PR and communication at Banglalink has recently been given the Brand Leadership Award under Global Brand Excellence Awards programme by the World Brand Congress. The award was handed over at the 23rd World Brand Congress held in Singapore on July 31, 2014 Mutual Trust Bank Limited has recently opened an ATM booth at Dagoanbhuiyan in Feni.

The bank’s deputy managing director, Md Hashem Chowdhury inaugurating the booth

Md Habibur Rahman has recently been promoted as the deputy managing director of Jamuna Bank Ltd. Prior his promotion, he was the senior executive vice president and head of credit risk management division at the bank. He started his career as a probationary officer at Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd in 1989

Managing Director and CEO of EXIM Bank, Mohammed Haider Ali Miah has recently been given the Most Talented Islamic Banking Professional (CEO) award by CMO Asia. He is a banker with 30 years of dimensional experience in bankin

Standard Chartered Bank has recently launched its global FX E-Commerce System S2BX in Bangladesh

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Leaders walk the talk n Sigve Brekke Actions speak louder than words. Sayings stating that leaders must “walk the talk,” “put their money where their mouth is,” and “live their brands” have been reiterated to the point of ridicule, but these rules remain unavoidable. Leaders must do what they say they’ll do.

People look to their leaders for guidance and recognition. People respect leaders who live what they preach, and they doubt the integrity of leaders who are not true to the company ideals. Some call this “living the brand,” to be “storydoers,” or to “be the crazy ones.” I don’t think it’s particularly special or particularly crazy. It just makes business sense, and that’s why I encourage everyone to do it: Walk the talk.

In the early 2000s, I served as co-CEO of dtac, our Thai business unit, along with K Vichai. dtac was a traditional Thai company that had experienced success in building and operating a mobile network, but was then struggling in the market.

While embarking on a massive turnaround exercise, changing everything from the product offerings and services to the company culture, Vichai and I were determined to lead from the front. So we set out to build a more informal, youthful, and empowered culture in the company.

A few years later I became CEO of dtac, and I continued to work towards a culture of openness, transparency, and willingness to take calculated risks. I wanted to build a ”no-blame” workplace where people could be confident in their choices, but also learn from their mistakes. As it turned out, I had to experience learning myself. Before Songkran, one of the major Thai holidays, we were discussing an idea to offer limited extra credit recharge to dtac customers for one day as a promotion to boost recharge sales. I thought: I like this idea, it is aligned with our marketing plan and it’s a nice gesture that could build our brand and customer focus. We didn’t have time to do a comprehensive analysis, but the team agreed that this was a good holiday promotion with a limited downside.

On the day itself, when we launched the promotion, we were anticipating some increased traffic in the stores due to the promotion, but I still remember seeing the lines outside dtac stores in the country.

People were actually queuing up to get the free promotion. The idea of giving away talktime for free, even for a very limited period, had caught on – in a way that none of us had expected. The promotion became very popular, but the flipside of this was that we lost potential revenues. But I had taken the decision, and there was nobody else to blame but me and my decision.

So when I got into office after the holidays, I wrote an email to everyone in the company, telling them that I underestimated the popularity of this offer. I had been wrong. I ended my note by telling them that I wanted dtac to be a place where you can make mistakes, as long as you learn from them. If I wanted to build a no-blame culture, I had to be open about my mistake and apologise. This is the most important part of this rule: Do what you say you are going to do.

Another key feature of the Telenor culture is focus on customers. Getting ahead in the hyper-competitive telecoms markets in Asia, you really have to offer customers something more: Convenience, affordability, services, value, or a combination of all. The foundation of this is really about relationships. We must treat our partners and our customers with respect.

We must give them attention. We must care about them, their grievances and their needs. We can’t keep ourselves at a distance from the customers, but rather we must engage, listen, and act.

I expect CEOs and other senior executives to spend time in the market, talking to shopkeepers, distributors, partners, and customers. That expectation is worth little if I myself do not prioritise market visits and interaction with people.

That’s why I visit our markets almost every week, often with the local CEO and other colleagues. Meeting people who are passionate about what they do is always stimulating, and every interaction teaches us something – about what customers need, what competitors do, and how our companies and our people are actually perceived.

Our customer focus means that people, regardless of their function, are well-informed about our business performance. You’ll see our engineers and marketing people talking to each other to solve problems. You’ll see leaders at every level of our organisation taking time to give people feedback. Telenor leaders in all our Asian markets, from Malaysia to Myanmar, from Pakistan to Bangladesh, share a common attitude: Everyone’s important. Everyone plays a role in our success. For anyone to believe that, leaders must show that it’s true.

An organisation acts on values and culture. As a leader, you are embodying those values and that culture. If you believe in the strategy and the targets you’ve set, the people and resources you have, and the direction you are on, the only rational thing to do is really to embrace them and live the story. You’d be crazy not to. l Sigve Brekke is Head of Telenor Asia

Indian Fiat Chrysler President and Managing Director Nagesh Basavanhalli (L) and Indian-German actress and model Evelyn Sharma pose in front of Fiat Punto Evo car during a launch in New Delhi on August 5. Fiat has launched a new Punto Evo targetting the Indian market AFP

Corporate America’s ‘ABC’ policy – Anything But Capex n Reuters, London The US economy continues to recover from the depths of the Great Recession, although its speed, trajectory and cruising altitude remain the subject of fierce debate.

What’s indisputable, however, is that one of the economy’s engines has persistently failed to ignite, despite record fuel levels in the tank.

Corporate America has never been more flush with cash. But business investment or capital expenditure - “capex” - has remained depressed, puzzling economists and strategists who have long predicted its resurgence and attendant impact on growth.

Instead, companies have chosen to dip into their collective $1.8 trillion pile of cash to re-hire workers, fund merger and acquisitions activity or buy back their own shares. Boosting growth and returns through long-term investment in their business hasn’t registered nearly as highly.

This suggests underlying demand for goods and services is weak - certainly weaker than it should be, given that the economy is five years into a recovery - and not strong enough to sustain a

potential growth rate of around 2.5-3%.

The problem then becomes circular: weak demand holds back capex, which drags on growth, which depresses demand.

“Waiting for business investment to accelerate has been a painful and thankless exercise,” wrote Morgan Stanley in a recent 14-page report on capex. “A close examination of this underinvestment paints a grim picture of productivity rates and the economy’s trend growth potential.”

Since the 2008-09 economic and financial meltdown, US capex has fallen short of the trend seen over 1990-2007 by more than 15%. That’s an annual $400 billion gap today, never mind the shortfall accumulated over the previous five years.

On some levels, this reluctance from firms to invest is puzzling.

Productivity growth in the United States - the rate of growth in the level of output per worker - is near its lowest in 30 years, according to Bridgewater Associates. Spending on research, development and technology, would surely improve this trend.

The need for capex spending is also pressing because firms are reaching

the point where they simply have to replace aging equipment. According to Morgan Stanley, the average age of industrial equipment is now almost 10.5 years, the highest since 1938.

M&A boom

But just replacing old equipment will not be enough to have a notable impact on economic growth. That will require businesses to spend over and above simple replacement rates, and so far that hasn’t happened.

If company executives can be convinced demand can hold up, the conditions for splashing the capex cash are certainly there. Firms have nearly $2 trillion cash, they’ve reduced their leverage and indebtedness, and funding remains cheap and easy.

The positive impact of capex spending would be felt both in the long- and short-term, according to Bridgewater.

The effect of boosting productivity helps the economy’s longer-term growth potential, while corporate profits and margins are “front-loaded” because outlays are amortized over time, yet related sales are booked instantly.

But executives have instead preferred to hoard cash in record amounts.

And even when it has been spent it has been diverted to pretty much anywhere but capex.

The global year-to-date dollar volume of M&A deals stands at $2.5tn, or an increase of 70% on the previous year, led by North America ($1.2tn, up 83%) and Europe ($773bn, up 85%), according to Deutsche Bank.

This year is almost certain to be the best year for M&A since the crisis.

There has also been a drive to increase dividend payments to shareholders and a resurgence of high-profile share buybacks.

Oil services company Halliburton has just increased its buyback authorization to $6bn, oil major Exxon Mobil spent $3bn in the second quarter alone, and consumer goods giant Johnson & Johnson announced a $5bn repurchase program last month.

Buybacks and dividends may not be giving the US economy any discernible boost, but they’ve done the stock market no harm at all, as Wall Street roared to a record high late last month.

Despite the numerous false dawns since the Great Recession, analysts still expect capex to pick up. If it does, then the broader economy should benefit. l

Obama to unveil $14bn in US corporate Samsung Electronics, Apple call end investments in Africa to patents war outside US n Reuters, Washington

n Reuters, Seoul

US companies pledged new investment in Africa on Tuesday as part of $14 billion in construction, clean energy, banking, and information technology projects to be unveiled by US President Barack Obama at an event showcasing US economic interest in the fast-growing region.

Business leaders told the US-Africa Business Forum they wanted to seize opportunities in the region, home to six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, although some said they may have been late to the party.

“We gave it to the Europeans first and to the Chinese later but today it’s wide open for us,” said General Electric chief executive Jeff Immelt, who on Monday announced a $2bn investment in infrastructure and worker skills.

The forum, part of a three-day Africa summit in Washington, will allow dozens of African heads of state to mingle with US and African executives and spotlight projects to improve infrastructure, finance, supply chains and energy security.

Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote, announcing plans to invest $5bn in energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa jointly with Blackstone Group funds, said nothing worked if there was no power.

The group counts cement making, flour milling and sugar refining among its activities. Dangote called for US export credit agency, the Export Import Bank, to remain open, praising its support for African companies buying US goods.

The World Bank forecasts Africa’s economic growth will accelerate to more than 5% in 2015 and 2016 but estimates one in three Africans, or 600 million people, need electricity.

World Bank President Jim Kim announced $5bn in financing and invest-

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc said they had agreed to drop all patent litigation outside the United States, scaling down a protracted legal battle between the smartphone rivals.

The iPhone and Galaxy handset makers issued nearly identical statements announcing the global ceasefire while vowing to pursue ongoing litigation in the United States, which analysts say involves much bigger amounts of potential damages.

The stand-down is likely to enable Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone maker, to shift its focus to its Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi rather than fighting a costly and prolonged legal war with Apple around the world, analysts said.

“It appears that Samsung and Apple, the market leaders, made a strategic alliance as China’s Xiaomi is emerging as a formidable rival,” said Cho Changhoon, a business professor at Sogang University in Seoul.

Last week, Samsung Electronics posted its weakest earnings since the second quarter of 2012, partly hit by rising competition from Chinese smartphone makers.

Xiaomi took China’s smartphone crown in the second quarter after replacing Samsung Electronics as China’s largest smartphone vendor, data from Canalys shows.

The legal battle between Samsung Electronics and Apple began in the United States in 2011 when Apple first filed a suit alleging that Samsung “slavishly” copied elements of its iPhones, the device which launched the industry.

Days after the initial Apple suit was launched in the United States, Samsung Electronics sued its Cupertino, California-based rival in South Korea,

Former US President Bill Clinton leads a panel discussion as part of the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington REUTERS ment guarantees for Power Africa, a privately funded program to install 10,000 megawatts of new generation capacity and connect 20 million new customers across Africa by 2018.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the retailer had faith that regional governments would work to ensure a secure business environment and rule of law.

Walmart’s $2.6bn investment in the region in 2011, when it bought a majority stake in local Massmart Holdings Ltd, was “just the beginning,” he said.

Walmart believes “the whole region, not just South Africa, but sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Kenya and so many countries around the continent, are going to do the right things to create the right rules, create transparency, some of those infrastructure investments so that the whole thing works.”

More than 90 US companies are slated to participate including Chevron Corp, Citigroup Inc, Ford Motor Co, Lockheed Martin Corp, Marriott International Inc and Morgan Stanley. Many already have a foothold in Africa.

Obama will take part in a discussion with corporate chief executives and government leaders at the event, and will unveil the total pledged in new investment.

“These investments will deepen US economic engagement in Africa, fueling growth that will support broader African prosperity and emerging markets for US businesses, which will support jobs in both the United States and Africa,” a White House official said on Monday, in a preview of Obama’s remarks.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton also attended the event. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker welcomed financial commitments by US firms.

“These deals and investments demonstrate that the time is ripe to work together as partners, in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect – to raise living standards in all of our nations and to address the challenges that impede our ability to develop closer economic bonds,” she said. l

Japan and Germany, kicking off a series of tit-for-tat cases that spread around the world.

The latest agreement ends patent disputes in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom, countries where the smartphone market leaders had engaged armies of lawyers for what analysts said were questionable gains.

The South Korean and US tech giants declined to disclose the terms of the deal, but said it did not involve “any licensing arrangements and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts.”

The litigation raged on even as business flourished between the two companies, with Apple depending heavily on Samsung Electronics for components such as chips and liquid crystal displays.

Apple and Samsung Electronics together dominate the global smartphone market with a combined market share of 37.1% in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

“They now see little need to wage a war around the world, which will only fatten the bills of lawyers,” said Young Park, a Hyundai Securities technology analyst in Hong Kong, adding that the deal raised the possibility of a final license agreement settling how the companies

DILBERT

use each other’s patented technology.

He and three other analysts whom Reuters talked to said they do not have estimates for the legal costs that Samsung Electronics and Apple are facing.

A Samsung Electronics spokeswoman declined to comment.

No merit

The agreement comes about a month after Jay Y Lee, vice chairman and heirapparent of Samsung Electronics, met Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, during the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, according to media reports. Last week, Lee again made a business trip to the United States, reports said.

Samsung Electronics did not immediately comment on the reports.

The two companies “decided that there was no merit in dragging on these lawsuits”, an industry source familiar with the matter told Reuters, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Nicholas Rodelli, an attorney and adviser to institutional investors for CFRA Research in Maryland, said there had been a “trend towards gradual deescalation of patent hostilities between Apple and Samsung”.

“It’s not yet clear whether this is signal or noise, in terms of prospects for global settlement,” he said. l