07 Sep, 2014

Bhadro 23, 1421 Zilqad 11, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 156

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages plus 8-page monthly Arts & Letters supplement | Price: Tk12

ARTS & LETTERS

8 | WORLD

11 | OP-ED

13 | SPORT

PUNCHY OPENING LINES

HOW BIG A THREAT DOES ISIS POSE TO THE US HOMELAND?

COME ON OVER

ATLETICO SIGNS MAMUNUL ON LOAN

New dimension in Dhaka-Tokyo ties Bay of Bengal growth belt at the centre of development strategy for the region n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh and Japan aim to widen their relationship, centred on the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B), under the framework of a Comprehensive Partnership that stresses flows of technology and capital between the countries.

“The two prime ministers welcomed that the two countries shared a view on the direction of economic cooperation to be pursued under the initiative of the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B),” said a 25-point joint statement signed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in the city yesterday.

The Japanese prime minister arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day visit on the invitation of Hasina, who visited Japan in May. Japan has launched the BIG-B for Bangladesh to help the South Asian country to achieve economic development through the improvement of its investment climate and infrastructure, Hasina said.

However, although the BIG-B issue was discussed at official talks in May, it was not included in the joint statement issued at the time.

Japan, Bangladesh’s largest development partner, has provided $12 billion in assistance since 1972 and an additional $6 billion is in the pipeline for the next four or five years, Hasina said.

“However, we understand the Japanese commitment would not be limited to that amount,” Hasina said.

Sohel and n Kayes Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh has withdrawn its candidature for the UN Security Council non-permanent seat for 2016-17 term in favour of Japan.

“It is my pleasure to declare that Bangladesh will support Japan’s candidature from the Asia-Pacific Group for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the term 2016-17,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced in presence of her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the PMO yesterday.

Hasina said Japan had actively supported Bangladesh during the 1971 Lib-

AK Khandakar revises his book n Tribune Report Former Awami League minister Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandaker has made a correction in his new book that describes Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic March 7, 1971 speech, apparently in the face of widespread controversies that he had given misleading information.

In the preamble of second edition, dated September 5, the deputy chief of army during the 1971 Liberation War says on page 32 he wrote: “The last word of the speech was ‘Joy Pakistan.’” But actually it would be: “The last words of the speech were ‘Joy Bangla, Joy Pakistan.’”

Khandaker said the second edition of his book “1971: Bhitore Baire” (1971: Ins and Outs) was being published. It was first published on September 2 by Prothoma.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

The Japanese prime minister said in May that he and Hasina announced the Japan-Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership.

“Today, we agreed to develop the comprehensive partnership further,” he said.

He reiterated his commitment that Japan would extend economic cooperation amounting to about $6 billion including a Yen loan package worth US $1.2 billion which has already been provided.

“The central concept of this coop-

eration War, and after the independence, “it has become the largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh.”

Dhaka has withdrawn its candidature as it considers “Japan’s continued and strong support in Bangladesh’s development process and in the interest of solidarity and unity of the Asia-Pacific Group at the UN,” she said.

The Japanese prime minister, who arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a twoday visit, expressed deep appreciation.

“I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Hasina for the decision that Bangladesh will withdraw its candidature for non-permanent seat in the UN Se-

curity Council and instead support Japan’s candidature.”

Shinzo Abe said Japan highly appreciated the decision and “it is instrumental in further strengthening bilateral relations that is just about to enter into a new dimension.”

He hoped that it would further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the international arena.

The Bangladesh premier during her visit to Tokyo in May said the Japanese people would hear a good news about the UN Security Council membership when their prime minister visits Dhaka.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

NARAYANGANJ SEVEN MURDERS

RAB member attempts suicide, another held n Ahmed Zayeef A detained RAB nayek, who was arrested for alleged his involvement in the sensational seven murders, reportedly tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat in Narayanganj jail yesterday.

Soon after the incident, Billal Hossain was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

“The condition of Billal is now out of danger,” Narayanganj Additional Police Super Mohammad Zakaria said quoting doctors at the hospital.

Dr Asaduzzaman of Narayanganj General Hospital said the jail authorities brought Billal to the hospital around 11:30pm on Friday night.

“There were injuries on his throat and belly. Billal told us that he used a onetime blade to injure himself.”

A hospital staff, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that when the jail authorities brought in Billal to the hospital, he was shouting “do not save my life. I am a killer, I have involvement with seven murders, let me die.”

On Friday, Narayanganj police arrested another member of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 11) for his alleged involvement with the gruesome seven murders that took place in April this year.

Mamunur Rashid, investigation officer and OC of district Detective Branch of Police, arrested Purnendu  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

INSIDE B1 | Business

International Monetary Fund is closely watching Bangladesh Bank’s actions in handling the country’s big loan scams in state-run banks, said Bank Division officials.

3 | News

The trial of the case filed over the devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions in 2012 that killed 112 workers is yet to begin as execution reports on four fugitive accused are yet to reach the court.

held early next year to promote cooperation.

About economic cooperation, he said the first joint Bangladesh-Japan public private economic dialogue was held in Dhaka in August.

Japan is looking for businesses opportunities in Bangladesh in the fields of infrastructure development and energy – an interest that the visiting delegation made here yesterday.

During a meeting with between the businessmen of the two countries, local business leaders have urged the government to do what is necessary to attract Japanese investment.

They stressed the need for developing infrastructure as well as removing regulatory bottlenecks to facilitate the investment from Japan.

It would encourage them to come here while promoting local investment, viewed the local businessmen who attended the Bangladesh-Japan Economic Forum at a city hotel.

They welcomed the Japanese investment proposals, but put importance on ensuring fast-track service by the government agencies to tap the foreign investment.

They said land crisis and other infrastructure constraints faced by the local business people should also be removed by setting up planned economic zones as early as possible.

The forum was arranged jointly by the Board of Investment, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina welcomes her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe upon his arrival at the Shahjalal airport in the capital yesterday

A goodwill gesture, Bangladesh pulls out from UNSC race for Japan n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Simpler access key to tapping Japanese investment

12 | Entertainment

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has entered the Guinness Book of World Records after becoming cinema’s most successful heroine following her role as Katniss Everdeen in the hugely popular ‘Hunger Games’ franchise.

4 | News

The government has failed to achieve the procurement target of Boro rice within the stipulated time because of a huge difference in the price between local market and the government’s fixed price.

5 | News

Chinese firm Max-Renken JV is set to get the contract for building the Muradpur-Lalkhan Bazar flyover, which is part of an initiative to boost the port city’s transit network that is already crippled by traffic congestion.

eration is the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt or the so-called BIG-B,” the Japanese premier said.

Abe said the countries would hold an expert level meeting this year for the peaceful use of nuclear power while foreign secretary level talks would be

COURTESY

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Shinzo Abe discusses issues with Khaleda and Rawshan Al-Masum Molla and n Mohammad Manik Miazee Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe `and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia agreed yesterday that a democratic political system was essential for the socio-economic development of the country, a top BNP leader said.

“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Khaleda Zia agreed that a democratic system, human rights and the rule of law were essential for the socio-economic development of Bangladesh,” said Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, vice-chairman of the party.

The Japanese prime minister, in Dhaka on a two-day visit, met for 30-minutes with the BNP chairperson at a city hotel.

“The Japanese government knows that in the January 5 election, large polit-

ical parties did not participate. He [Abe] hoped for an acceptable solution through talks which would be accepted by the Bangladeshi people and the international community,” Mobin said with reference to Abe’s remarks at the meeting.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Vice-Chairman M Morshed Khan, and advisers to the BNP chairperson, Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed, were also present at the meeting.

Talks with Rawshan

At a meeting with Leader of the Opposition in parliament Rawshan Ershad the Japanese prime minister discussed economic relations between the two countries.

The senior Jatiya Party leader called upon Abe to continue his country’s support in developing the country’s econo-

my, particularly in the RMG sector and in improving maternal and child healthcare, Rawshan’s Political Secretary Ghulam Mochi told the Dhaka Tribune.

Rawshan asked the Japanese premier to import knitwear from Bangladesh to bolster the relationship between the two countries. In response, Abe said Japan would look into the matter.

The two leaders held the hour-long meeting at a city hotel.

On Rawshan’s request to increase support for maternal and child healthcare, Abe said Japan would fortify its cooperation in the field at the end of the year and construct hospitals to provide health services.

Rawshan thanked Abe for Japan’s continuous support for the development of the country since its independence in 1971. l

The streets of Dhaka festooned with flags of Bangladesh and Japan, and posters of the two leaders yesterday

Retrial in Felani murder likely this month Eight students sued for n chead in DU exam Tribune Report

The Indian government is likely to hold a fresh trial soon in the murder of Felani Khatun, a teenager who was shot dead by the Border Security Force of India on January 7, 2011 for crossing the border without valid documents.

The trial is likely to commence this month as the Indian authorities through an invitation in late August had asked the BSF whether Felani’s father and maternal uncle could be produced before court for deposition.

After the verdict of a special court acquitting the lone accused last year, the BSF headquarters said they were not happy with the trial and announced retrial. However, no date was set.

During the DG-level meeting in Delhi last month, the BSF authorities told the Border Guard Bangladesh delegation that they were further investigating the incident.

“Following Indian invitation, we gave them names of four persons and they have approved the list. The trial is likely to begin on any day this month,” Kurigram public prosecutor Abraham Linkon told the Dhaka Tribune.

Pandit Ramkanai cremated n BSS Folk and classical music maestro Pandit Ramkanai Das was cremated yesterday at his village Perua under Derai upazila of Sunmganj.

“He was cremated around 5 pm in our village crematorium,” said Chandan Das, his nephew and local UP member. His body was kept at Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar and Derai Shaheed Minar for all to pay their last respect to the legendary singer.

An Ekushey Padak recipient, Ramkanai breathed his last at the capital’s Metropolitan Hospital on Friday night. l

AK Khandakar revises his book  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Khandaker also thanked Prof Anisuzzaman for identifying another mistake.

“I mistakenly mentioned ‘MLA’ instead of ‘MPA,’” he wrote welcoming more suggestions from the readers.

Soon after launching of the book, senior lawmakers in parliament, mainly from the ruling Awami League, criticised the former planning minister for distorting facts. They also demanded ban on the book and bringing sedition charges against him.

The book also criticises the role of Awami League leadership during the war saying that the political leadership had failed to play its due role because of their clashes and lack of visionary thoughts.

However, the BNP says the book is a true document against the Awami League’s long-drawn false campaign.

Meanwhile, Sector Commanders Forum and Liberation War ‘71 yesterday expressed deep concern over the book.

In a joint statement yesterday, they said Forum chairman had presented “misleading” information in his book in many ways on the declaration of independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 26, 1971.

“His such misleading information is unfortunate and also baseless,” the statement said.

The Forum also claimed that this book might be used by miscreants at home and abroad as a new weapon to “mislead” the people.

They demanded immediate modification and revision of the book. l

The four are Linkon, Felani’s father Nurul Islam, her maternal uncle Abu Hanif and BGB 45 battalion Commanding Officer Mozammel Hossain Akand.

“We already applied online today [Saturday] and will appear before the Indian High Commission office physically tomorrow [Sunday] for finalising the visa procedures,” he said yesterday.

During the DG-level meeting in Delhi last month, the BSF authorities told the Border Guard Bangladesh delegation that they were further investigating the incident Felani’s father Nurul Islam said they were informed that there would be a fresh trial, but were yet to know about the date.

Felani was shot dead by the BSF at Anantapur border point in Kurigram’s Phulbarhi upazila while she was trying

to climb over the barbed wire fence.

She was on her way to Bangladesh with her father from Delhi where she used to work as a doemstic help.

When her clothes entangled in the barbed wire, the BSF fired at her. Her body was left there for several hours.

A photo showing Felani hanging from the fence was widely circulated by the media, sparking protests among people and prompting international rights groups to demand justice.

Amidst protest and criticism, the BSF probed the incident and found one of its members to be involved.

On September 5 last year, the General Security Forces Court of the Indian BSF in West Bengal acquitted 181 battalion Constable Amiya Ghosh, the self-confessed killer, because of “inconclusive and insufficient” evidence against him, the court said in its verdict.

Confirming the matter, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are informed about it. The government is taking necessary preparations. A team from Bangladesh will be there for deposition.” l

n DU Correspondent The Dhaka University authorities have filed cases against eight students for allegedly cheating in examination halls during the “C” (Ga) unit admission exam on Friday.

Chief Security Officer Kamrul Ahsan filed the cases with New Market and Lalbagh police stations, acting proctor Amzad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune.

The accused – Ahadur Rahman, Mehadi Hasan Sumon, Ershad Kabir Khan, Nurul Bashar Payel, Ariful Islam, Sanjana Binte Bashir and Faisal Kabir – were caught during the exam with mobile

New OC for Khilgaon n Tribune Report The DMP authorities yesterday appointed Mustafizur Rahman as the new officer-in-charge of Khilgaon police.

The former OC, Sirajul Islam Sheikh,

Simpler access key to tapping Japanese investment  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Abe, who arrived in Dhaka yesterday for a two-day visit to Bangladesh, delivered his speech at the meeting, which was also attended by a number of ministers and high officials from the two countries.

The Dhaka Tribune talked to some businessmen, who were present at the meeting, over phone.

Mir Nasir Hossain said Japan is keen to invest here, which was a positive sign.

To retain their investment, the government needed to step up efforts to remove some hurdles, including land problem and infrastructure bottlenecks, he said.

He said Japan was looking for businesses opportunities in Bangladesh, mainly in the fields of infrastructure development and power generation. “I think they also want to relocate some industries here in the economic zones.”

Another ex-FBCCI president Annisul Huq said the Japanese prime minister, accompanied by a big business team, had come in Bangladesh, which was a

big boost.

The Japanese premier clearly said they wanted to invest in transport, infrastructure, power and energy and garment sectors, mainly to increase bilateral trade with Bangladesh, he said.

In accordance with a joint statement signed by Abe and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, he stressed the need for improving services rendered by Bangladesh’s foreign investment regulatory authorities and making serious effort to ensure stable supply of primary energy and power to the industries.

In an instant response, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed relevant authorities to address these issues as soon as possible.

“This is positive deliberation, but we have to set the smooth and hassle-free business environment first for wooing investment,” said Annisul Huq. “The Japanese are mostly interested to invest in infrastructure which is a crying need for Bangladesh right at this moment.”

He said apart from infrastructure,

phones allegedly containing SMS relating to the exam.

Sagor Hossain was caught by on-duty teachers when he tried to flee the exam hall, leaving his papers and certificates. Ariful Islam, Faisal Kabir and Sanjana Binte Bashir, daughter of a Supreme Court judge, were released.

The acting proctor said: “Being a female student Sanjana was released, but we do not know yet how the other two got released.”

Cases would also be filed against a fraud gang, who were caught at Azimpur with electronic devices to help students cheat in the exam, he added. l

the Japanese mission cited various concerns related to banking and customs.

Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Mohammad Shahjahan Khan said the Japanese were here to explore business opportunities and to see the business environment.

The delegation has put importance on power generation and infrastructure development, he said. “Geographically, Bangladesh is an important business spot to the businesses of Japan as they can grab the South Asian market by setting up industries here availing low cost labour,” he said.

He said in the meeting, there were no specific topic in the discussion but they had talked overall business and its prospects in Bangladesh.

Speaking at the Forum, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman assured the Japanese investors to provide allout support to facilitate their business activities in Bangladesh, the central bank said in a statement.

“From the central bank, I promise wholehearted proactive collaboration

was withdrawn for his negligence in duty hat led to the death of a youth and injuries to his father on Thursday.

A group of muggers shot them and looted Tk48 lakh from them in Tilpa Para area in Khilgaon. l

with the BoI, the Prime Minister’s Office and other government authorities towards further facilitation and support for Japanese investments in Bangladesh, addressing and resolving issues promptly as they arise,” he said.

Earlier, the Japanese investment promotion body had asked Bangladesh to bring all the agencies, which deal with foreign investors, under the umbrella of the Board of Investment (BoI) so that they could start business quickly without facing any hassle.

Bangladesh also plans to allocate 500 acres of land for a special economic zone for Japanese investors. Moreover, 40 plots and two factory buildings have already been designated for them in the five existing Export Processing Zones.

To facilitate the investment, Japan government has earlier indicated that it would provide loan facilities to local entrepreneurs entering into joint ventures with Japanese investors, and for the infrastructure development of the special economic zone to be designated for Japan. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

RAB member attempts suicide, another held  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Bala in connection with the case.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Narayanganj Superintendent of Police Khandkar Mohid Uddin said the law enforcers arrested Purnendu after gathering concrete evidence against him in connection with the seven murders.

SP Mohid, however, declined to disclose from where Purnendu was arrested. “So far, we have arrested around 22 people regarding the murder,” he added.

Following the arrest, police placed him before a court and filed a 10-day remand petition. However, the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate of Narayanganj Saiduzzaman Sharif granted the police eight days to grill Purnendu.

Meanwhile, RAB 11 Commanding Officer Anowar Latif Khan said: “The investigation officer of the seven murder case asked us to give Purnendu for interrogation and we handed him over to the police.”

With the arrest of Purnendu, 10 RAB members have been so far arrested regarding the Narayanganj seven murders. Currently, 15 people, including the previously arrested three senior RAB officials, are behind the bars, while six more members of RAB 11 have given confessional statements in court as witnesses to the abduction and killing.

Sources said the investigators have found clues regarding direct or indirect involvement of at least 35 people, including around 23-29 RAB members, with the murders.

So far, the name of a top RAB official came up from the statements of the sacked RAB officials – Lt Col Tareq Sayed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and MM Rana.

However, the involvement of the respective RAB official is yet to be confirmed by the investigators.

On April 27, Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam and noted lawyer Chandan Sarker, along with five others, were abducted from the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.

Their bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya River two days later.

Selina Islam Beauty, wife of Nazrul, filed a case in this regard while Chandan’s son-in-law Dr Bijoy Kumar Pal filed another case with Fatullah model police station. l

New dimension in Dhaka-Tokyo ties, focus on Bay of Bengal growth belt  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

“Japan will try further for strengthening investment, trade and other economic ties,” he said. The visiting Japanese premier was accompanied by a 50-strong contingent of business leaders including top executives of Japanese majors Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Toshiba and a number of top companies.

UN Security Council candidature

The Japanese prime minister expressed his deep gratitude to Bangladesh’s decision to withdraw its candidature for the UN Security Council non-permanent member seat for the term 2016-17 and to support Japan’s bid for the position.

“Thank you very much,” he said.

The Bangladesh prime minister said Japan provided strong support during its War of Liberation and in its development process after independence. Japan was the first developed country to recognise the newly independent state in February 1972. She said: “Bangladesh would support Japan’s candidature from the Asia Pacific Group for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the term 2016-17.

BIG-B initiative

The two prime ministers lauded the joint initiative of the BIG-B scheme and recalled the need for strengthening collaboration and cooperation in project formulation and implementation through policy dialogue, said a joint statement issued by the two countries.

They also shared the expectation that the BIG-B initiative, with maximum use of Japan’s advanced technologies, such as high efficient coal-fired power generation, would contribute to the mutual benefit and prosperity of both countries.

The BIG-B initiative has three pillars – developing economic infrastructure, improving investment environment, and fostering connectivity.

Political relations

Bangladesh and Japan has developed a strong and mutually beneficial partnership, working closely to foster greater regional cooperation for socio-economic development, peace and stability in South Asia, said the joint statement.

“The two prime ministers shared the view on the importance of promoting democratic principles globally,” the document said.

Abe reaffirmed that Japan would remain a trusted friend and partner of

Bangladesh.

Economic cooperation

The Japanese prime minister in official talks said that relevant ministries started reviewing the existing rules of origin of Japanese General System of Preferences (GSP) scheme for knitwear products.

Shinzo Abe in official talks emphasised that location, competitive incentives, improvement of infrastructure and labour supply were critical factors for special economic zones for Japanese investors.

He urged the Bangladesh side to improve services rendered by Bangladesh’s foreign investment regulatory authorities and make serious effort to ensure stable supply of primary energy and power to the industries.

Hasina directed relevant authorities to address these issues as soon as possible.

The two prime ministers shared their intention to carry out cooperation in the areas of transport network improvement, stable power supply, urban development, and private sector development.

Blue Economy

The two prime ministers have expressed their intention to work together for promoting the Blue Economy.They

shared their views that marine resources should be utilised in a sustainable manner based on scientific evidence.

Bangladesh, after resolving maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar, has adopted the Blue Economy outlook to tap ocean resources in the Bay of Bengal.

Peace and Security

Prime Minister Hasina said her government maintains a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to all forms of terrorism, financing of terrorism and violent extremism.

She expressed her intention to add further depth and dimension to Bangladesh’s cooperation with Japan to combat the scourge of terrorism and financing of terrorism as well as to work on future cooperation about transnational crime issues. Prime Minister Abe appreciated Bangladesh’s hosting of a large number of refugees from Myanmar over a long period.

He expressed his expectations for further progress of dialogue between the two countries, while expressing Japan’s willingness of continuing support to Bangladesh in keeping with the spirit of international burden sharing.

Abe’s itinerary in Dhaka

Abe visited the Savar National Memorial Monument and Bangabandhu Memorial Museum. He also attended the Bangladesh-Japan Business Forum organised by the Japan External Trade Organization, the Board of Investment and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, at a city hotel.

He has called on President Abdul Hamid, BNP chief Khaleda Zia and leader of the opposition Rawshan Ershad.

He is scheduled to visit Dhaka University today. l

A goodwill gesture  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Dhaka was elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council twice – in 1979-80 and 1999-2000 – with overwhelming support from its friends.

For the 1979-80 term, Bangladesh defeated Japan when Tokyo was also an aspirant for the non-permanent membership.

Bangladesh in 2002 expressed desire to become the UNSC non-permanent member for 2016-17 term while Japan launched its candidature for the same term from the Asia-Pacific Group in 2011. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Delay in execution reports stalls Tazreen trial

News

3

Sunday, September 7, 2014

FLOOD NOT A PROBLEM

Public prosecutor says police need to be more cooperative and responsible police need too much time to n Mohammad Jamil Khan and Md think provide the execution reports. They Sanaul Islam Tipu

The trial of the case filed over the devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions in 2012 that killed 112 workers is yet to begin as execution reports on four fugitive accused are yet to reach the court.

Police, however, said they had already sent the reports.

Washim Sheikh, senior judicial magistrate of Dhaka, issued arrest warrants against the fugitive accused on December 31 last year and asked police to submit execution reports.

Earlier on December 22, 2012, investigating officer KM Mohosinuzzaman Khan submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court accusing the Tazreen chairman, the managing director and 11 others.

Soon after the incident, four chargesheeted accused – engineer M Mahbubul Morshed, Production Manager Mobarak Hossain Manju, Factory Manager Abdur Razzak and Quality Manager Sahiduzzaman - went into hiding and their whereabouts still remain unknown.

Anowar Kabir Babul, public prosecutor of the court, told the Dhaka Tribune the court was awaiting the execution reports.

The trial will begin soon after the reports arrive, he said.

“The charge sheet of the case has already been submitted and I do not

just need to be more cooperative and responsible,” he added.

Of the four fugitives, Morshed’s permanent address in Naogaon is under Bodolgashi police station. Its officer-in-charge Azizul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune the execution report had been sent and should reach soon.

Razzak’s permanent residence in Jamalpur is under Melamandha police station, and officer-in-charge of the police station Nashimul Islam said the report had been sent.

“I do not know why it is yet to be received,” he said.

S Alam, officer-in-charge of Isharganj police station in Mymensingh where Manju’s village home is located, said: “We have sent the report but if the court has not received it then we can resend it, provided the court orders another copy.”

Fazlul Karim, officer-in-charge of Mymensingh sadar police station, said the same about the report on Shahiduzzman.

Mohammad Sohel, general recording officer and sub-inspector at Dhaka Metropolitan Court, said the trial would begin after the reports were received.

On November 24, 2012, a fire broke out at Tazreen Fashions at Nischintapur of Ashulia, leaving 112 workers dead.

Khairul Islam, sub-inspector of Ashulia police station, filed a case against some unidentified people the following day. l

Children walk across a ramshackle bamboo bridge in a single-file line as they leave Number 18 Ekdala Government Primary School in Natore because the ground floor of their school building has been submerged by flooding. The school is located in Haloti Beel a wetland area susceptible to flooding during the monsoon season AZAHAR UDDIN

Mitford doctor suspended for assaulting nurse n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The authorities of Mitford Hospital have suspended Rafiqul Islam Sujon, an intern doctor, for allegedly physically assaulting a nurse.

Director of the hospital Brig Gen Zakir Hasan confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune.

The injured nurse was admitted to casualty ward of the hospital.

Jasim, general secretary of Bangla-

desh Diploma Nurses’ Association, said around 1:30pm, Dr Sujon and senior nurse Bakul Rani Das engaged in an altercation at the labour ward. Rafiqul ordered her a task which she refused to carry out saying that she had other work at hand.

At one point, Sujon started beating up Rani mercilessly, said Jasim.

Hearing the news, nurses of the hospital brought out a procession on the premises.

Nurses Movement Committee at Mitford Hospital yesterday gave a three-day ultimatum to the hospital authorities demanding cancellation of Sujon’s registration, bringing him to book and taking departmental action against him.

They also threatened work abstention for the next three days and go for tougher movement if the demands were not met by then.

A three-member committee led by child department head Lutful Kabir

was formed to investigate the incident, said the director.

Denying the allegation to beating Rani, Dr Sujon said Rani had engaged in a quarrel with Dr Ferdous while they were sitting in the doctor’s room.

“She came with a few of her colleagues and started scolding Dr Ferdous. At one stage, we tried to get her out of the room but she fell down and broke her glasses and got injured,” he claimed. l

Law on marital rape is imperative n Mohammad Zakaria

Panelists speak at a discussion on marital rape, at the auditorium of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh in the capital yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Over 70,000 Bangladeshis receive Hajj visa n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

More than 70 thousand Bangladeshi pilgrims have received Hajj visa from the Saudi Arabian embassy in Dhaka at per the last count yesterday.

This year, out of a total number of 98,799 applicant, the Hajj office at the Ministry of Religious Affair (MoRA) has already submitted 93,500 applications.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, MoRA Director (Hajj) Md Mizanur Rahman said that the ministry hopes in getting 90% of the applications approved by this week.

Meanwhile, a total of 23,182 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia till 5th September. Among them, 21,769 came through private arrangements while the rest were under government arrangement.

One female pilgrim, Masuda Khatun, 82, from Chapainababgonj, died after arriving in Macca on 1st September. Her Hajj agent was Ahsan Air Travels.

Apart from that, more than 100 pilgrims lodged complaints of lost luggage. Of them, 31 luggage were recovered and 21 of them were handed over to their respective owners. l

Speakers at a meeting yesterday underscored the need for specific laws for protecting marital rape victims as there is no law on this at present.

They also said the government had formulated laws on violence against women and children but the victims did not get the justice due to them because of loopholes in the law.

They were addressing a discussion organised by banglatribune at the auditorium of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh in the capital.

Fifty-two countries have formulated laws on marital rape including England and the US, the speakers noted.

They identified the prevalence of pornography and the growth of social media as one of the key reasons of rape, including marital rape, and said the media should play a vital role in creating awareness among people across the country.

Speakers said the people in the country receive no sex education before getting married but this should be provided by the family and is necessary for all, especially the poor.

The government should introduce

sex education in the national curriculum for both boys and girls which would help them prepare for conjugal life.

Advocate Salma Ali said marital rape is a very sensitive issue and a few of such incidents are taken to court from the bedroom.

“The government has formulated laws but due to the lack of proper implementation, the rapists can escape conviction using the loopholes of the laws,” she said.

Lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said the existing have various complexities, adding that preventing marital rape only through formulating laws is not possible.

“The government added a new provision in the women and children repression act in 2010 which has the option for compromise in crimes like rape. So how can it be a strong law?” he said.

The lawyer underscored the need for social awareness in the matter.

Online activist Supriti Dhar said most of the girls have no idea what sex education is and many do not know that marital rape is an offense. She said the press and the social media should cover

these issues to make people more aware of the subject.

Dr Salauddin Kausar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University said sex education is needed for solving the problem of marital rape in the country.

“Sexual problems arise when a couple do not communicate with each other and when they have no sex education,” he said.

Rights activist Elina Khan said marital rape is the result of child marriage and lack of counseling.

“Sex education must be included in the national curriculum and parents should counsel the children on this before marrying them off,” she said.

Academic and columnist Salimullah Khan said there are two types of violence - executive violence and law preserving violence.

“The dominant one puts pressure on the one who is weak. It has been like this since the period of slavery and rape bears resemblance to that,” he said.

Pro-VC of ULAB AHM Zahirul Haque, editor of Saptahik Kagoj Jabbar Hossain and Ruchira Tabassum Naved, a researcher at the Centre for Equity and Health Systems, addressed the discussion among others. l

Fakhrul: Militancy flourishing because of Awami League

Double tragedy for Bihar camp fire survivor

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

n Tribune Report

The BNP has alleged that the Awami League government did not believe in democracy and that is why an environment existed across the country for militancy to flourish.

“After al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri’s video message, it is clear that militancy is flourishing during the Awami League government. They [the Awami League] have created the atmosphere because Awami League does not believe in democracy,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of the BNP, said yesterday.

“Militancy flourishes when democracy does not prevail in the country.

We think that militancy has flourished now in the country due to the Awami League,” he said after visiting ailing BNP Standing Committee member RA Gani at Birdem Hospital in the capital.

A video spotted last Wednesday featuring a speech by 63-year-old al-Qaeda commander, Ayman al Zawahiri, is the second call to holy war issued by the militant group to Bangladeshis. An audio message from the group was released in January this year.

The video announced the creation of “Qaedat al Jihad in the Indian subcontinent” which it said would carry out jihad in defence of those Zawahiri described as: “Vulnerable in the Indian subcontinent, in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir...”

When asked about BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman’s recent statement that political parties should not be based on religion, the party spokesperson said: “Tarique Rahman’s speech was distorted and his speech was aired inaccurately. The BNP believes in democracy and Tarique Rahman also believes in democracy. In a democracy, there will be differences of opinions and everyone has the right to do politics.”

Tarique, at a recent programme in London, said Ziaur Rahman always said religion could not be the ideology of politics. Religion can have its contribution over politics but it cannot be the basis of politics.

“We have learned from experience that politics of that kind does not work, it did not during Pakistan era,” Tarique quoted BNP founder Zia as having said

to a workshop in September, 1980.

Regarding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s two-day visit to Dhaka, Fakhrul said: “The people of Bangladesh see the visit as a positive step for the country. From different newspapers we have seen that he has come with different investment proposals.

We think these proposals will play a positive role in the socio-economic development of the country.”

In the meantime, BNP Standing Committee member MK Anwar said the government would face a tough situation if it did not hold elections soon.

“From newspaper reports, it seems that a chaotic situation prevails across the country. It seems that there is no government in the country, rather a criminal party in office,” Anwar told a programme at the National Press Club.

The former minister asked the government to take note of the national mood or they would have to face a tough situation in the future.

“The people of the country are waiting for Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman’s call. To overcome the situation, all have to be united to establish the people’s right to vote,” Anwar said. l

One of the two survivors from the family that lost nine members in Mirpur Bihari camp fire incident this year, died in a road accident yesterday leaving a 16-year-old daughter behind.

The dead is Yasin Ali, 55, son of Ismail Hossain hailing from Choklokman area of Bogra district.

Farzana lost her father while still mourning for family members killed in the arson attack Eye-witnesses said he was rammed between two buses in front of the Purobi Cinema Hall in Pallabi area around 10am.

Critically injured, Yasin was taken to the Dhaka Medical Collage Hospital (DMCH) where the doctors declared him dead around 2pm. He was a resident of house no 31 in Purbo Kurmitola Camp in Kalshi in Mirpur.

In June this year, a series of clashes among Bihari people of old Kurmitola

camp in Kalshi, police and outsiders, centring explosion of firecrackers, left nine members of a family dead in Mirpur.

Md Yasin’s wife Baby, 40, son Ashik, 27, Ashik’s wife Shikha, three daughters – Shahana, 26, Afsana, 19, and Roksana, 16, twins Lalu and Bhulu, 14, and Shahana’s two-year-old son Maruf died in the arson attack.

Yasin and his daughter Farzana Akhter survived the attack.

Farzana who was admitted at DMCH burn unit came back to home a week ago. Two days before, she was informed about the death of her nine family members. Yesterday evening she came to know about her father’s death.

Yasin’s cousin Sonu told the Dhaka Tribune: “Farzana has become restless as she has to bear the shock. She got to know about her father’s death before she could overcome the grief of the deaths of other family members in camp fire incident.”

Yasin went out to bring medicines for his daughter, she said.

His body was taken to Bihari camp after postmortem. Pallabi police station Sub-Inspector Farooq said no case was filed in this connection yet. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Government fails to achieve Boro procurement target n

Sunday, September 7, 2014

DMCH ward boys, ayas to get ID cards

Authorities blame millers for not supplying as per commitment

n Mohosinul Karim The government has failed to achieve the procurement target of Boro rice within the stipulated time because of a huge difference in the price between local market and the government’s fixed price.

Despite the time of purchasing Boro rice was extended for a month, the officials of the Directorate General of Food expressed their concern over achieving the target.

The Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) under the Food Ministry on March 20 this year set up the target of procuring 10 lakh tonnes of Boro rice and 1.5 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy from local markets.

The procurement drive started on May 1 this year and the drive was supposed to end August 31. As the Food Ministry could not achieve its target within the fixed time frame, the government extended the time to September 30.

The price of procuring rice was set at Tk31 per kg while paddy price was Tk20 per kg. The price was fixed following the calculation of the

BORO PROCUREMENT 2014 TARGET COLLECTED

IN LAKH TONNES (MAY 1-AUGUST 30) Boro rice 10 8.35 Boro paddy 1.5 .098

78% of the target is achieved

PROCUREMENT PRODUCTION PRICE COST Rice Paddy

Tk31/kg Tk20/kg

Tk26.50/kg Tk17.50 /kg

Enlisted rice suppliers 15,062 (Paddy was bought from the local farmers directly) SOURCE: MINISTRY OF FOOD

agriculture ministry which said production cost of per kg paddy was Tk17.50 while the same amount of rice cost Tk26.50.

The ministry could buy only 835,525 tonnes of rice and 9,823 tonnes of paddy from local markets.

The paddy was bought from the local farmers directly while the rice was supplied by 15,062 enlisted rice mill owners across the country. Of

them, 14,444 rice mill owners supplied boiled rice and rest of the owners supplied non-boiled rice to the food department.

According to the directorate, around 774,622 tonnes boiled rice was bought during the period while 60,903 tonnes non-boiled rice was procured. It was 78% of the target.

Former director general of the DG Food Ahammad Hossain Khan, who was made officer on special duty last week, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had failed to achieve the target as rice millers failed to supply rice as per their commitment.”

“A major reason of delay to supply rice was abeyant signing of agreements between the government and rice mill owners. We hope it would be possible to buy the targeted rice within our extended period.”

Bangladesh Auto Major Rice Mills Owners Associations President KM Layek Ali also expressed hope that rice millers would supply rice by September 30.

Natural calamities and heavy monsoon rains also impacted the rice procurement, he said. l

Participants race for glory at the 38th Banglalink Boat Race on the Buriganga River yesterday

EWU freshmen orientation held n Tribune Report

Stronger river protection commission demanded

The orientation programmes of newly admitted students at East West University for fall semester 2014 were held at the university’s own campus in the capital’s Aftabnagar on September 4.

More than 800 students were admitted in 11 different disciplines this semester.

Department of Business Administration arranged the orientation programme at the auditorium lobby of the university. Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, chairperson of board of trustees, graced the occasion as the chief guest while Prof Ahmed Shafee, vice chancellor of the university, was present as the special guest in the programme.

Prof Tanbir Ahmed Chowdhury, chairperson of the department and dean of Faculty of Business and Economics chaired the programme.

The objective of the programme was to welcome the new students and orient them to the university facilities, faculty members and academic system. l

n Abu Bakar Siddique The recently-inaugurated National River Protection Commission is a mere advisory body to the government and lacks executive power, allege environmentalists.

“The commission could be a powerful organisation to work for the overall development of rivers. Although it has provision for including experts on river, water and environment, engineers and even human rights activists, there is no representative from the social movements that have been going on for the last 15 years for protecting rivers in this country,” said Md Abdul Matin, secretary general of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), at a press conference yesterday.

“We welcome the National River Protection Commission as it is better to have something than nothing. However, we are doubtful about its role to meet the people’s expectation regard-

ing river protection,” he said.

The commission should consist at least two civil society members who have clear records in river protection movement to make the government aware of the real situation of the country’s rivers, Matin added.

The commission started its journey on September 3 under the National River Protection Commission Act 2012.

Columnist Syed Abul Maksud was also present at the event organised by Bapa at the Dhaka Reporter’s Unity. He said: “The government should introduce a special tribunal to punish river grabbers and polluters for saving the rivers and the ecology.”

Other speakers urged the government to formulate a policy for the commission to protect the country’s rivers from pollution and grabbing.

They also demanded that restoring the navigability of rivers and evicting grabbers from the river areas be the core agenda of the commission. l

Road accidents claim 9 lives across the country Correspondents, Habiganj, n Our Mymensingh, Savar At least nine people were killed and 16 injured in separate road accidents across the country yesterday.

The majority of casualty happened at Dhuliyakhal area on Habiganj-Shayestaganj road when a Sylhet-bound passenger bus collided head-on with a human hauler going to Habiganj from Shayestaganj. Three people died on the spot and 12 others were injured at that time.

Later, two of the injured succumbed to their injuries after being taken to Habiganj Sadar Hospital.

The deceased had been identified as Jasmine Akter (18), Shamsu Mia (60) of Baniachang upazila, Khitish Das (55) and Sajib Das (50) of Madhabpur upazila, and Monir Hossain (45) hailing from Chittagong Sadar.

Meanwhile in Mymensingh, a headon collision between a bus and an auto-rickshaw left two persons dead and 4 others injured at Shambhuganj area,

police said.

In Ashulia, two separate road accidents killed two persons.

Police and witnesses said, Khitish Chandra Sarkar (40) was run over by a speeding bus at Nabinagar bus stand yesterday early morning. The bus fled the scene leaving him dead on the spot.

Another person died when a passenger bus hit a rickshaw at Ashulia bus stand on Baipail-Abdullahpur highway at around 8am. Of the two rickshaw passengers, Babu (22) died instantly. l

Moniruzzman Uzzal

The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) authorities are planning to provide ward boys or ayas (female attendants) with special identity cards in order to authorise their jobs.

Brigadier General Dr Mustafizur Rahman, director of the hospital, is believed to have asked the ward masters to prepare a list of the workers, who play a part in the hospital’s routine activities.

The list is likely to be finalised soon.

Although the hospital authorities claimed that they are unaware of the number of such workers at present, several officials told the Dhaka Tribune that it would not be less than 500.

Mustafizur told the Dhaka Tribune that the DMCH is a 2,600-bed hospital but 3,000-3,200 patients stay there daily.

“The number of beds has risen gradually but we are running short of grade III and IV employees. The current number would have been appropriate had it been a 800-bed hospital. It is impossible to run the hospital without these workers, who have been part of the organisation since its inception,” he said.

The ward boys and ayas allegedly charge patients extra money for even when providing a small service. Besides, as they are not officially recruited by the authorities, they often demonstrate a lack of respect while serving patients.

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Autumn trimester begins at IUB n Tribune Report Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) yesterday organised an orientation programme for the newly admitted students of the autumn trimester at its permanent campus in Bashundhara, Dhaka.

In his short speech Vice-Chancellor Prof M Omar Rahman welcomed the students and urged them to contribute to the society, country and humanity beside their studies.

Dr Sarwar Uddin Ahmed, dean of School of Business, Dr Ali Shihab Sabbir, dean of School of Engineering and Computer Science, Prof M Ali Hossain, dean of School of Environmental Science and Management, Prof Zakir Hossain Raju, dean of School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Dr Rita Yusuf, dean of School of Life Sciences and Dr Tanvir A Khan, registrar of the university also spoke to the newly admitted students on the occasion.

The programme was conducted by Ms Priyanka Dey, assistant director, undergraduate admissions and financial aid of IUB. Later, the newly admitted students visited different parts of the university. l

These workers are allegedly recruited by leaders of grade IV employees and ward masters, who take a certain amount of money from the workers every day. Speaking about paying the ward boys and ayas, the DMCH director said: “They are not government employees and hence cannot be on the hospital’s payroll.”

“They usually help and assist the patients. If the patients are satisfied, they can willingly give the workers any amount of money. Now that they would be provided identity cards, they can be identified if anyone of them force patients to pay,” he added.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities yesterday organised a press briefing and presented the parents, who had had one of their twin babies stolen from the hospital lately, with some toys and Tk15,000 in cash. RAB rescued the child later and arrested two women in connection with the kidnapping.

The couple, who attended the briefing, thanked the press, the RAB and the hospital authorities for rescuing their child. At the briefing, Dr Musfiqur Rahman said ayas had been ousted from the gynecology and the neonatal wards.

“We have already introduced identification tokens. No one is now allowed to go out of the hospital if there is a token mismatch. We plan to buy six more CCTV cameras to beef up security,” he added. l

Four arrested for raping a mentally challenged girl n Tribune Report The members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four people yesterday on allegation of raping a 12-year-old mentally challenged girl in the capital’s Airport area on August 26.

The arrestees are Moin Uddin, 18, Sobuz, 19, Aslam, 18 and Imran Hossain, 27. Led by Additional Police Super Shahjada Md Asaduzzaman, Rab 1 conducted an operation in Bharardi Dokhkhinpara area under Uttarkhan police.

Md Asaduzzaman said: “The victim was going to Kachkura to her uncle’s home on August 26 night. Around five men from Dobadia bridge area abducted her and took her to a tin-shed building owned by Afiz Uddin in Bharardi Dokhkinpara area.

“After raping the her, the men left her beside the road near Hazi Camp.

Locals rescued her and took her to a hospital. She was later admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.”

On September 5, the victim’s father filed a case with Uttarkhan police against four unknown men.

Asaduzzaman said: “RAB 1 conducted an operation and initially arrested Moin Uddin. During interrogation, he informed us about the three other men involved.

All of them have admitted to committing the crime. They will be handed over to the police station concerned.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Chinese firm gets contract for Muradpur-Lalkhan Bazar flyover Authorities have reduced the project cost by Tk24.61 crore n Asif Showkat Kallol Chinese construction firm Max-Renken JV is set to get the contract for building a flyover in the Chittagong city.

The Muradpur-Lalkhan Bazar flyover is part of an initiative to boost the port city's transit network that is already crippled by traffic congestion.

The structure will improve regional and international transit traffic through the Chittagong Port for the construction of a mega deep sea port at Moheshkhali.

The authorities have reduced the project cost by Tk24.61 crore by deciding not to immediately construct traffic sign and marking, electrical wire-work, drainage system and pavement.

An official of the Housing and Public Works Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune that the government would not immediately construct exit and entry ramps either.

Experts say the proposed flyover may have to suffer the same fate as the two existing ones – Bahaddarhat and Dewanhat – which also do not have exit and entry ramps at busy intersections.

As a result, people hardly use these flyovers and traffic congestion at busy intersections has not eased.

A technical evaluation committee has already finalised recommendations for the proposed the Muradpur-Lalkan Bazar flyover. Next week, the recommendations is likely to be sent to the

Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase for approval. The cabinet body will also finalise the decision to award the project to the Chinese contractor.

Public Works Secretary Golam Rabby said the government would not build any meaningless flyover; the entry and exit ramps would be constructed later.

According to the ministry proposal, the Muradpur-Lalkhan Bazar flyover will be the fourth flyover implemented by the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA).

It will have a 3,500m four-lane road from Muradpur to Wasa, a 700m twolane road from Sholashahar Gate number two to Baizid Bostami intersection; and entry and exit ramps with the two-lane

5

Sunday, September 7, 2014

1,000m road from the Oxygen intersection to the GEC intersection in the city.

Max-Renken JV is the lowest bidder among four firms, two of whom are local and two are joint ventures with China and India.

Max-Renken quoted Tk453.15 crore, but now, the project cost will be Tk431.50 crore because of the decision to withhold some sections of the structure.

The estimated Tk454 crore project will be sourced jointly by the government and CDA. The government will provide Tk437 crore and CDA Tk25 crore.

The initial plan was to build three flyovers in the area but a feasibiity study suggested that the three structures could be joined for greater benefit. l

BGC varsity law students stage demonstration n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Law students of BGC Trust University staged a demonstration and vandalised a university building to press home their demand for the Bar Council permission to participate in the written test for enrolment as advocates.

University and police sources said several hundred law students demonstrated at the Prabartak campus from 10am to 1pm.

The infuriated students vandalised a building but law enforcers quelled the unrest around 1pm, said police.

The students tried to block the road but police prevented them, said Officer-in-Charge of Panchlaish police station Mohiuddin Mahmood.

Some of the demonstrators also assaulted four photojournalists of different newspapers who were taking photos of the protest, and also hurled abuse

at them. Chittagong Photojournalists’ Association in a statement condemned the assault on the photojournalists.

Protesters said they came to know from newspaper reports that the Bar Council was about to announce the Prabartak campus illegal which is why they decided to stage a protest.

They said they would not be able to participate in the enrolment exam if the campus was declared illegal.

They also threatened to continue the agitation until the university authorities settled the issue.

Registrar of the university Nurul Huda Shikder said a writ petition had already been filed with the High Court in this regard.

“The Bar Council is likely to hold a meeting today to discuss the matter. However, the students went for demonstration without waiting to see the final outcome,” he said. l

Stop land grabbers from taking school property Teachers, guardians and students urge the government tivist Syed Abul Maksud. n Abid Azad “Now the land grabbing culture has Rights activists, teachers, guardians and students held a protest rally on the premise of the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital yesterday protesting the grabbing of schools' land by influential quarters and demanding measures to free the schools from their clutches.

Speakers at the rally said the influential quarters could not dare to grab land of Samajik Shiksha Kendra located on Baily Road as well as Champa-Parul Government Primary School at Mirpur 2, if they did not have connections with high ranking politicians.

They also said a total of 26 schools in the capital were in trouble as local influential quarters were trying to grab the land of those schools.

“Grabbing of school land is clearly a violation of human rights and also a violation of the constitution. Such activities are torture to innocent and poor children” said columnist and rights ac-

emerged in the country. The grabbers' eyes are on the schools now,” he said, adding that, around 150 schools have been grabbed across the country which could not be possible without government's influence.

Students were compelled to take to the streets to get their schools back, he said. Senior jounralist Abu Said Khan in his speech asked the education minister whether he was sleeping or not.

He said: “Don't you see anything that is going on? If you want the light of education than why you are keeping our children in darkness?”

The speakers demanded the stopping of all kinds of land grabbing immediately otherwise it will be spread throughout the country.

The programme was jointly organised by the Amar Odhikar Foundation, the Nagorik Sanghoti and Champa-Parul Government Primary School. l

Students of Samajik Shiksha Kendra and Champa Parul Government Primary School hold a protest rally on the premise of the central Shaheed Minar in the capital yesterday, demanding initiatives to recover their schools from the clutches of land grabbers SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Debate competition ends Panic grips CU students as bomb at Rajshahi University attack on shuttle train again visit our website @

www.dhakatribune.com

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:11PM SUN RISES 5:24AM

Correspondent, n Our Rajshahi University A two-day-long debate competition, Cute-BFDF 3rd National Debate Contest held at Rajshahi University ended on Saturday.

Jahangirnagar University Debating Society was the champion and Dhaka University Debating Society became runner-up in the contest.

Twenty seven debating teams from 22 public and private universities including Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Jahangirnagar University and Khulna University participated in the debate competition.

In the morning, a colorful procession, participated by guests and participants, started from the Senate building at 9am,.

Business Studies Faculty Debating Forum (BFDF) organized the event

with the support of Cute Cosmetics.

Bangladesh Debate Federation provided with technical support for the event.

On the second and final day of the event, semi final held from 12 noon to 2pm at Deans’ complex conference room and the final debate held at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium at 2.30pm.

In the afternoon, a policy forum event, “Digital Bangladesh: Our Expectation and Experience”, held at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium, where Junaid Ahmed Polok MP, state minister of Ministry of Information and Communication Technology was present as the key speaker.

English daily newspaper Dhaka Tribune, news portal Banglanews24. com, daily Kaler Kantha, Jamuna Television, local daily Sonar Desh and Rajshahi-based community radio Padma were the media partners of the event. l

n CU Correspondent Students of Chittagong University are extremely distressed as miscreants hurled crude bombs again on a running shuttle train in the Cantonment rail station area in Chittagong yesterday; the seven consecutive day of an indefinite student strike on campus.

However, no causality was reported during this incident, police sources said.

Witnesses said miscreants had hurled eight to nine crude bombs targeting the running shuttle train when it was crossing the Cantonment rail station area under Amanbazar around 8am.

“Following the attack, the Government Railway Police (GRP) petrol team fired four blank shots to bring the situation under control”, said Arab Ali, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Sholoshohar railway station outpost.

33

26 26

Chittagong

32

Rajshahi

32

25

Rangpur

32

26

Khulna

31

25

Barisal

30

25

Sylhet

34

25

Cox’s Bazar

30

25

24.2ºC Rangamati

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:26am 5:41am 11:57am 4:25pm 6:11pm 7:27pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Master of Sholohahar Railway Station, adding that the campus-bound shuttle train schedules continued for the smooth transportation of students.

Meanwhile, the teachers’ bus service plied the city and campus with police protection.

Classes of different departments

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.9ºC Sylhet

Residents of Shah Amanat and Suhrawardy went on an indefinite strike from August 31, demanding the reopening of the dormitories

were disrupted because of poor presence of students while examinations of different departments, including International Relations and Communication and Journalism were held, said campus sources.

Railway Running Staff Union sources said they would suspend the train services for their staffs' security.

A section of students who used to reside at Shah Amant and Suhrawardy dormitories have enforced an indefinite strike on the campus under the banner of “General Student of CU” from August 31, demanding the reopening of the dormitories.

Shah Amanat Hall was closed after a fierce clash between the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islamic Chhatra Shibir men on January 12 this year while Suhrawardy was announced temporarily after a gunfight between the same parties on August 24. l

Community based waste recycling system introduced

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

Demo train services have been suspended since September 1 for security reason, said Md Shahbuddin, station

President of the Baridhara Society Firoz M Hassan inaugurates a tree plantation programme at Rajuk park in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

The Baridhara Society yesterday inaugurated a community-based and environment-friendly waste recycling management system with an aim to make the capital's up scale residential area more liveable and green.

The society's President Firoz M Hassan inaugurated the recycling management system at a programme – Value for Waste Project – held at Baridhara Lakeside Rajuk Park, in presence of other leaders of the society, locals, media and cultural personalities.

“Applying the recycling system that is a barrel composting method, it would be possible to turn recycle 40 to 48 percent of kitchen waste into high quality compost as organic fertilizer. Thus, a huge amount of waste would not be required to be dumped at the landfills,” said Firoz M Hassan at the inauguration.

At the same time, the society also inaugurated a tree plantation programme

which expects to plant some 500 saplings on the lakeside park.

“The system is affordable, environment-friendly and would be able to create a financial source which is important for the country,” he added.

Earlier in January, the new waste recycling project was introduced in the community based waste recycling system this year.

Firoz also claimed though the recycling system inaugurate now, that was started in January this year, and the initiatives had introduced in September-October, 2013.

The inauguration ceremony was also addressed by Badiur Rahman, former president of Baridhara Society, and Ekattor Television Director Syed Ishtiaque Reza, Singer Samina Chowdhury.

The new recycling system asks kitchen waste to be separated in four categories using containers of four different colours – green, yellow, red and blue – to recycle them properly. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Jute policy fails to improve jute growers' lives in Magura n Our Correspondent, Magura Jute growers and traders in Magura face losses as the National Jute Policy (NJP) is not implemented by the government properly. Jute traders are not buying jute from the farmers this year, because many of them didn't receive any payment from BGMC after supplying the corporation with jute, which they had bought from the farmers last year.

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Magura informed, a total of 32,730 hectares of land was brought under jute cultivation in four upazilas of the district this year.

Visiting the Langalbandh , Gangnalia , Nohata and Nakol bazar in the district, this reporter found that many farmers were going back to their home with unsold jute, because of low price.

Those who could sell were selling them at a loss, because of the want of customers.

Abu Taleb, a farmer from Amuria village under, said he cultivated jute in 0.266 hectares of land this year, and faced loss as he had to sell it for Tk1250 per maund, when his production cost, after adding the transport cost, exceeded Tk1300 per maund.

He also said he has decided not to

cultivate jute in the coming year.

Magura jute traders sources informed, most of them were showing reluctance in purchasing jute because they were going through a hard time as Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BGMC) was yet to pay their bills from last year.

In the meantime, the traders who had supplied jute to BJMC this year did not get any payment yet.

Tipu Shultan, a jute trader, opined that government has to implement the policy properly. 13% of the total jute made articles were being used for domestic purposes at present, and this percetage should be upgraded to 25% by 2021.

But the current situation did not give much hope for that, as polythene bag still floods the local markets. On the other hand, government's order to use of gunny bags for carrying rice, flour, wheat and sugar, was violated as plastic and synthetic bags were being used everywhere.

Consequently, gunny bags were going unsold in the warehouse of BGMC. Moshiul Azam, a jute trader from Shatrijitpur village said he purchased jute from farmers last year and supplied it to local BGMC center, but he was yet to be paid Tk5 lakhs by the corporation.

In this situation he was unable to buy jute this year, as he had no cash.

Earlier, farmers and traders had a scope to sell jute to Nishong, the only jute mill in the district, on cash payment.

But the mill authority is not purchasing jute this year. Requesting anonymity, an official of Nishong jute mill told to this reporter that because of capital shortage, they were unable to purchase jute this year.

Huge amount of processed jute from last year was lying unsold in their warehouse. Moreover, despite repeated attempts they failed to get loan from bank. The official said they could purchase jute this year, if they were provided with some bank loans.

When contacted, Md Shafiqul Islam, manager of Shonali Bank's Magura branch admitted it and said they were not sanctioning loan for jute traders now, as they did not receive such instructions from the high ups.

Manosh Kumar Mollik, an official of Magura BGMC, admitted that they were yet to pay last year's due, as huge amount of jute made articles were lying unsold in their warehouse. However, the government has declared to sanction Tk80 cores for BGMC, which might solve the problem. l

Crossing the bridge connecting Subarnachar and Ramgoti in Noakhali has become hazardous as the soil on its both ends has almost eroded away DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bridge connecting two districts turns risky in Noakhali n Our correspondent, Noakhali The steel bridge connecting Subarnachar of Noakhali and Ramgoti of Lakshmipur has become risky as the soil on its both sides has eroded away.

Built in 2002 in the wake of demands raised by people of the two districts, the 200-metre bridge over Bhulua canal is supported by three pairs of pillars. Thousands of people, including students and traders, cross the bridge every day, risking their lives.

Farmers in both the districts take the bridge to travel to the other side but they are now facing losses as no vehicle runs on the structure. They now take alternative routes to reach their destinations, which has almost doubled their transport costs.

Locals said there have been a num-

ber of accidents on the bridge that left many people injured. The surface of the bridge has waned and is full of holes, making movement on the bridge hazardous.

Karim, a local resident, said: “We have contacted several officials but no step has yet been taken to fix the bridge. So we filled the holes with mud and wood. It has been like this for quite a while.”

Wishing anonymity, another resident said some influential people have collected toll in the name of fixing the bridge but nothing was done.

“A man named Emran, 25, collects Tk20 from each motorcycle, Tk10 from each bicycle and Tk10 from each rickshaw that cross the bridge in the name of contributions to build a mosque. The extortion, existing for nearly five years,

has been reported several times but the authorities concerned have taken no effective step to stop it,” he said.

People of both the districts demanded immediate steps to repair the bridge.

Subarnachar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khalid Mehedi Hasan said the condition of the bridge was not that bad but necessary steps would be taken to fix the structure as early as possible.

“I would talk to the upazila nirbahi officer of the neighbouring district in this regard,” he added.

The upazila nirbahi officer of Ramgoti upazila could not be reached for comment over phone.

Ramgoti Upazila Parishad Chairman Professor Abdul Wahed said he would visit the bridge in person soon to observe its present state and would take necessary steps to fix it. l

NEWS IN BRIEF AL leader ‘beaten by Jubo Dal men’ dies A local Awami League leader who was beaten allegedly by some Jubo Dal men over establishing supremacy at Sondara village in Ramganj upazila on Friday died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday. The deceased was identified as Jahangir Alam, member secretary of 6 No ward of Ichapur union unit of Awami League and son of late Dudu Miah of the village. Police said local Jubo Dal leader Mahbubu Rahman, its activist Siraj Uddin and Abdur Rahman swooped on Jahangir while gossiping in a tea stall in Sondara following enmity over establishing supramacy in the area. They beat up the AL leader mercilessly, leaving him seriously injured. Injured Jahangir was admitted to Ramganj Upazila Health Complex from where he was shifted to Noakhali General Hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was taken to DMCH for better treatment where he succumbed to his injuries in the morning. M Lokman Hossain, officer-in-charge of Ramganj police station confirmed the incident.

– Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur

Jubo League leader beats Hindu businessman during arbitration A Jubo League leader beat a Hindu businessman during a shalish – a village arbitration gathering – in Brahmanbaria’s Kosba upazila on Friday night. Locals said the victim, gold trader Indrajit Kormokar, 52, had been in a dispute with his brothers centring

a pond. To resolve the dispute, a shalish was called at the office of ward Councillor Kamal Mia, they added. At one stage of the shalish, Kosba upazila Jubo League General Secretary Md Shafikul Islam beat him indiscriminately, injuring Indrajit’s eyes critically, family members of the victim alleged. The Jubo League leader had been threatening Indrajit for extortion money in this regard for long, they claimed, adding that Indrajit was beaten as he refused to pay the extortion money. Meanwhile, Shafikul Islam claimed that he just slapped Indrajit, adding that his political rivals were carrying out propaganda against him.

– Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

Robbery committed, 3 hurt Robbers injured three members of a family and looted gold ornaments, cash and other valuables worth around Tk20 lakh from a businessman’s house at Imandipur in the municipality area yesterday. Police said a gang of armed robbers, numbering 8-10, stormed the house of businessman Alam Chowdhury in the area around 3:30 am by breaking open the door and held the house inmates hostage at gunpoint. They looted 32 tolas of gold ornaments, cash Tk one lakh and other valuables worth around Tk20 lakh from the house. The hoodlums also beat up three family members, including Alam Chowdhury and his son Sohel Chowdhury, as they tried to resist the robbery, leaving them injured.

– Our Correspondent, Savar

Sunday, September 7, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, September 7, 2014

How successful leaders are successful n Ahsan Sajid Leadership skills are a good skill set to have, but not all leaders are successful.

We often take for granted the assumption that leadership skills are somehow synonymous to eventual success. However, in reality, there is no skill set, or secret combination of characteristics that makes a leader successful. Different traits matter in different situations, and while some leaders are successful others simply fail.

The good news however is that one can certainly learn to be an effective leader. One simply needs to understand the various approaches to leadership, to best use the right approach given the existing situation.

One way of doing this is to learn about the core leadership theories that provide the backbone of our current understanding of leadership.

Modern history has been obsessed with the idea of leadership and over the previous century, four main groups of theories have emerged about the subject. The following are the four core theories of leadership.

Trait theories

Trait theories argue that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics, or traits. Originally the theory believed that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you are either born with or simply don't have.

However, we have moved on from this idea as research and advances in science are helping us learn more about what we can do to develop leadership qualities within ourselves and others.

Trait theories have narrowed down traits and qualities (such as honesty, empathy, assertiveness, adaptability, amicability) that are “helpful” when leading others, but not a magic formula for effective leadership. None of these traits or any specific combination of them will guarantee success as a leader.

Traits are external behaviours that emerge from the things going on within our minds – and it is these internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership.

Behavioural theories

Behavioural theories focus on how leaders behave. For example, does a good leader decree what needs to be

done and expect instant cooperation?

Does the good leader involve their teams in the decision making process to encourage team bonding and cohesion?

In the 1930s a German-American psychologist named Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behaviour. He argued that there are three types of leaders. According to his theory: Autocratic leaders: They make decisions without consulting their teams.

This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there's no need for input, and when team agreement isn't necessary for a successful outcome.

An effective leader will often need to adapt their style to fit a specific group or situation, and this is why it is useful to gain a thorough understanding of other styles Democratic leaders: They allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas.

Laissez-faire leaders: They don't interfere at all. They allow people within the team to make many of the decisions.

This works well when the team is highly capable, motivated, and doesn't need close supervision. However, this behaviour can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted; and this is where this style of leadership can fail.

From this one may glean that there is no right or wrong, hard and fast method or way. An effective leader needs to be flexible enough to slip into whatever role the present situation demands.

How leaders behave affects their performance, but researchers have found that many of these leadership behaviours are appropriate at differ-

BIGSTOCK

ent times, based on the circumstances.

The best leaders are those who can use many different behavioural styles, and choose the right style for each situation.

Contingency theories

The realisation in the latter part of the last century that there is no one correct type of leader finally led to theories that the best leadership style depends on the situation. These theories try to apply this idea to predict which style is best under which circumstance.

For example, when we need to make quick decisions, which style is best?

When we need the full support of our team, is there a more effective way to lead? Should a leader be more people-oriented or task-oriented? These are all questions that contingency leadership theories have sought to address.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory is a popular contingency-based leadership framework, which links leadership style with the maturity of individual members of the leader's team. Other contingency-based models include House's Path-Goal Theory and Fiedler's Contingency Model.

Power and influence theories

Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach from the other established theories. Power and leadership theories are based on the different ways that leaders use power and influence to get things done, and they look at the leadership styles that emerge as a result.

Perhaps the best-known of these theories is French and Raven's Five Forms of Power. This model highlights three

Making good decisions under pressure Why experience counts

In case you ever wondered why experience matters so much when you are looking for a job, according to the RPD Process, as people become more adept in their chosen field through experience, their ability to recognise patterns is enhanced.

This gives them more options to choose from. This means that, more often than not, the first option they choose will work. Their rapid and effective movement through the recognition primed decision making model is what makes them experts.

There is no great technique behind decision making and the process is one of the most primal parts of our consciousness BIGSTOCK

n Ahsan Sajid The military, the police, and fire-fighters often have to make life-or-death decisions within a moment’s notice that not only affect their lives but the lives of others that includes civilians or personnel in their team. Surgeons and pilots have to regularly make decisions affecting the lives of those under their care. One wrong decision could threaten the lives of many. How do these people, working in such extremely high pressure situations make these decisions so quickly?

There is no great technique behind it and the process of decision making is one of the most primal parts of our consciousness. The Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) Process explores this method of decision making. The RPD Process can be used to make better decisions in high-pressure situations.

About the RPD Process

The RPD Process was first identified by research psychologists Gary Klein, Roberta Calderwood, and Anne Clinton-Cirocco in the late 1980s. Klein

then published the process in his 1999 book "Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions." Klein is best-known for pioneering the field of naturalistic decision making – the study of how people make decisions in demanding and high-pressure situations.

In 1985, the researchers who were then studying decision making in the army, realised that these expert decision-makers were not comparing lists of options. They were not even comparing two options. So they ended up revising the whole research project and came up with a model of how people actually make decisions. This description they called the recognition primed decision making model.

How it works

In a given situation, the decision maker picks up cues and indicators that let them recognise patterns. Based on these patterns and the decision they have to make, the person chooses a single course of action or an “action script” that they consider will achieve the outcome.

Klein and Co wondered how people

could assess this single option if they were not comparing it to something else. What they found was that the decision maker would run the action script through a mental simulation.

The mental simulation was based on mental models that the decision maker had developed through experience. In other words, the decision maker has an idea how things work based on the knowledge that has been gained from experience. The decision maker compares the option against what is known to work.

If the decision maker considers the action script will achieve the outcome, they go ahead.

If they consider that it might not work because of a potential problem, they may try and alter the action script in some way. If mentally they don't think it will work, they discard it completely, and choose a second action script.

This is then mentally rehearsed and so on until they find an action script that they think will work. After that, it is utilised. Note that in this recognition primed decision making model there is no comparison of alternatives.

Intuition versus rationale

What Klein and Co are suggesting in their recognition primed decision making model is the use of intuition as well as rational decision making models, but with intuition leading the way. Intuition is used to recognise situations and help to decide how to respond, and analysis is used to verify that our intuitions are appropriate to the situation.

Initially Klein suggested that 90% of important decisions were probably made this way, with more than 90% of routine decisions. Subsequent research has suggested that his initial ideas were actually biased in favour of rational decision making. So the research actually underestimated how often people use a recognition primed decision making process.

The process of the recognition primed decision making model is being used to replace the conventional army military decision making process (MDMP) in many units, because it works. Plans using the recognition primed decision making process are found to be bolder and better adapted to situational demands than the other plans. l

types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive – and two sources of personal power – expert and referent (one’s personal appeal and charm).

The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative, and that you should work on building expert power (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) because this is the most legitimate source of personal power.

Another leadership style that uses power and influence is transactional leadership. This approach assumes that people do things for reward and for no other reason. Therefore, it focuses on designing tasks and reward structures.

While this may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a highly motivating work environment,

it often works, and leaders in most organisations use it on a daily basis to get things done. Similarly, leading by example is another highly effective way of influencing a team.

So what really works?

Transformational leadership is often the best leadership style to use for business. Transformational leaders show integrity, and they know how to develop a robust and inspiring vision of the future. They motivate people to achieve this vision, they manage its delivery, and they build ever stronger and more successful teams.

However, an effective leader will often need to adapt their style to fit a specific group or situation, and this is why it is useful to gain a thorough understanding of other styles. l

Jargon for journos! n Career Desk Angle: The emphasis chosen for a story, or the perspective from which a story is written.

Back bench: Senior BIZ production journalists VOCAB on a newspaper.

Blockline: A caption for a photograph or image.

Bulldog: An early edition of a newspaper.

Breakout /Sidebar: A secondary news story that supports or amplifies a major story.

Byline: A journalist’s name at the beginning of a story.

Copy: Main text of a story.

Coverline/Strapline: Captions on a magazine cover or newspaper front page.

Clippings: A journalist’s collection of published print work. Also known as cuttings and sometimes presented as a portfolio.

Cut-away: A technique in television editing to break up a lengthy shot on one subject. In long interviews, the camera may ‘cut away’ to a shot of the interviewer.

Dead air: An extended unwanted silence on radio, often caused by technical or operating errors.

Door-stop: When a reporter or group of reporters interview someone as they leave a building, often unexpectedly.

Drop in: Late news added after the edition has already started printing.

Dump button: The button that a radio host hits to instantly delete objectionable comments or expletives when there’s a seven second delay.

Five Ws and H: Who? What? Where?

When? Why? And How? The six most important questions journalists should ask and news stories should answer.

Grab or sound bite: A brief, colourful piece of recorded sound, usually taken from a longer interview and used in a news item.

Layout sub: A sub-editor who specialises in laying out pages.

Nib: News in brief – a quick summary of a story.

Noddy: In television, a brief cut-away shot of a reporter or interviewer listening to an interviewee’s answer, often nodding his or her head.

Nut graf (also known as bullet points): It refers to a paragraph or box containing the essential elements of a story.

On spec: Article that is written in case it is needed, though it may not be used.

Pad: To make a story longer by using more words than are necessary.

Pull-out quote: Selected quote from a story highlighted next to the main text.

Often used in interviews.

Put to Bed: When the paper heads to press and newsroom has signed off all pages.

Run: To publish a story.

Rushes: Early edited version of video or film that needs further editing.

Scrum: A gathering of reporters around a person, all competing to ask questions or take photographs. Compare with a media conference.

Segue: (Pronounced seg-way) In broadcasting, a transition from one topic to another using a word, idea or theme common to both.

Snap (or flash): A short message from a news agency alerting subscribers to an event about which they will shortly provide more detailed coverage.

Sound bite (sometimes called a grab): A short segment of someone speaking, usually the most colourful or interesting part of what they said.

Spike: To kill an article submitted for publication.

Spill (also known as jump): To continue a story from one page to another.

Splash: An exciting front page story given prominence so people will take notice of it.

Stringer: A regular contributor to a newspaper or broadcaster who is not a member of staff. Stringers are often paid by the length of stories they provide.

Teaser: A short audio or video segment produced to advertise an upcoming news bulletin or news items.

Two-shot: In television, a camera angle which includes two people on the screen, usually an interview guest and the interviewer.

Typo: An unintentional typing error in a story.

Voice over (VO): A television technique in which a reporter speaks while vision is being shown on screen.

Wire: Reuters, Bloomberg, Australian Associated Press or other news services whose dispatches are transmitted electronically to the publication. Stories or photographs provided by wire services for journalists to use in reporting or compiling news for publication or broadcast.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Obama: Key allies ready to join war in Iraq n Reuters, Newport, Wales President Barack Obama said key Nato allies stood ready to join the United States in military action to defeat Islamic State militants in Iraq as he vowed to ‘take out’ the leaders of a movement he said was a major threat to the West.

Obama said the Washington would hunt down and dismantle the organisation, which has seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, in the same way it had tackled al Qaeda since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and was doing to al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The US hoped a new Iraqi government would be formed this week and was confident it would have a coalition for the sustained action required to destroy the militants “Key Nato allies stand ready to confront this terrorist threat through military, intelligence and law enforcement as well as diplomatic efforts,” Obama said after ministers of 10 nations met on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Wales to form what Washington called a “core coalition.”

Ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Turkey, Italy, Poland, Denmark and non-Nato Australia attended the talks with the US secretaries of state and defence, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel.

“Already allies have joined us in Iraq where we have stopped ISIL’s advances, we have equipped our Iraqi part-

ners and helped them go on offence,” Obama told a news conference.

The United States hoped a new Iraqi government would be formed this week and was confident it would have a coalition for the sustained action required to destroy the militants.

French President Francois Hollande confirmed Paris was willing to join US air strikes if requested by a new Baghdad government as part of a comprehensive international strategy to confront IS. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who failed to win parliamentary backing for military action in Syria last year, was more cautious about participating in armed action, saying: “We are not at that stage yet.”

The British public is deeply wary of foreign military intervention after London joined Washington in the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on false information about weapons of mass destruction. France, which opposed that operation, is more open to overseas action.

Obama drew criticism last week for saying he had not yet developed a strategy for confronting the Islamic State in Syria, which has provoked public outrage in the West with the gruesome beheading two US journalists.

The United States stressed the need for a comprehensive approach in the talks on Friday. “We are going to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL, the same way that we have gone after al Qaeda,” Obama said in some of his toughest comments since Washington began air strikes last month to halt the Islamists’ advance in northern Iraq.

“You initially push them back, you systematically degrade their capabilities, you narrow their scope of action, you slowly shrink the space, the territory that they may control, you take out their leadership, and over time they are not able to conduct the same kinds of terrorist attacks as they once could.” l

Displaced Iraq Christians who fled from Islamic State militants in Mosul, pray at a school acting as a refugee camp in Erbil

How big a threat does IS pose to the US homeland? n Agencies When American Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned last month that the Islamic State (IS) is an “imminent” threat to the United States, a number of lawmakers and analysts seized upon that claim, according to a report by The Christian Science Monitor.

“This is really the first group that has the wherewithal in terms of financing” to potentially strike on US soil, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. IS, also called ISIS and ISIL, has “heavy equipment, heavy explosives, the ability to move quickly.”

Indeed, many have argued that IS now represents a far greater prospect of peril to US interests than Al Qaeda does.

But are comparisons to Al Qaeda –

Ceasefire holds in eastern Ukraine, exchange of POWs planned

the group that attacked on US soil on 9/11 – accurate? How big a threat are IS foreign fighters to the US? In little-publicized – and rare – public remarks this week, the outgoing director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matthew Olsen, played down the possibility of an IS attack on the American homeland, insisting that “ISIL is not Al Qaeda pre-9/11.”

As “dire” as the threat from IS has been made to sound in recent weeks, “There is no credible information that ISIL is planning to attack the United States” and “no indication at this point of a cell of foreign fighters operating in the United States – full stop,” he said in remarks Wednesday at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Still, on advice from its own Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, Britain recently raised its terror threat level from

Burnt armoured personnel carriers (APC) that belonged to the Ukrainian forces, according to locals, are seen on the road outside the village of Mnogopolye, southeast from Donetsk, September 5 REUTERS

An uneasy calm prevailed in eastern Ukraine yesterday after Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists signed a ceasefire as part of a drive to end a war that has triggered a deep crisis in relations between Russia and the West.

The peace roadmap, approved by envoys in Minsk on Friday, includes the exchange of prisoners-of-war. A separatist leader said this process would begin later on Saturday, though the Ukrainian side said details were still being worked out.

The two sides remain far apart on the future status of the rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine and both residents and combatants said they did not expect the ceasefire to last long, but there were no reports of serious violations on Saturday.

“The forces of the anti-terrorist operation support the ceasefire and are closely observing the order of the commander-in-chief,” the spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Andriy Lysenko, told a daily briefing in Kiev.

In rebel-held Donetsk, the region’s industrial hub with a pre-war population of about one million, separatist commanders said they did not believe the five-month war was over.

“The ceasefire is looking good for now but we know they (the Ukrainian side) are only using it to bring in more forces here and ammunition and then to hit us with renewed strength,” said one rebel commander known by his nickname Montana.

“Come what may, I would not trust (Ukraine’s President Petro) Poroshenko. And it’s not him making the call anyway but the Americans and that is even worse.”

Poroshenko agreed to the ceasefire after Ukraine accused Russia of sending troops and arms onto its territory in support of the separatists, who had suffered big losses over the summer.

Moscow denies sending troops or arming the rebels.

“I am sure that Ukraine as a state and I as leader of that state are doing everything possible to achieve peace in our country,” Poroshenko said in an interview for the BBC’s ‘Hard Talk’ pro-

“substantial” to “severe” – indicating that the risk of an attack on the country from fighters for IS, with British passports, was “highly likely.”

What about this recent development?, Mr. Olsen was asked. It’s more a function of Britain’s “geographic proximity” to the fighting in Middle East, he said.

“The situation is more pronounced in the UK, in terms of foreign fighters traveling to those countries and then returning home,” he said.

The number of foreign fighters with American passports who could return to the US has been the subject of much debate, too, within US intelligence analysis circles. Figures have run the spectrum from several dozen to several hundred.

For his part, Olsen estimates that “over a hundred Americans have traveled to Syria,” but adds, “to be clear, we

Egypt charges Mursi with leaking state secrets to Qatar n Reuters, Cairo

n Reuters, Donestsk/Mariupol

REUTERS

Egypt charged ousted president Mohamed Mursi and nine others on Saturday with endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar, furthering a state crackdown on his outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Relations between Qatar, a Gulf Arab state, and Egypt have been icy since July 2013, when Egypt’s then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled Mursi after protests against his rule.

Qatar had supported Mursi, who is already in jail along with thousands of Brotherhood members, many of whom have been sentenced to death on separate charges. Security sources had said last month that Egypt was investigating Mursi in connection with documents they said were leaked to Qatar and its satellite news channel Al Jazeera.

The Egyptian public prosecutor’s office said on Saturday its secret investigation had unearthed enough evidence of espionage to charge Mursi and nine others in a criminal court. The maximum penalty if convicted is death.

“The inquiries ... exposed humiliating facts and the extent of the largest conspiracy and treason carried out by the terrorist Brotherhood organization against the nation through a network of spies,” it said in a three-page statement.

The public prosecutor said Mursi’s aides were involved in leaking to Qatari intelligence and Al Jazeera, documents which exposed the location of and weapons held by the Egyptian armed forces and detailed the country’s foreign and domestic policies.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry in Doha did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the accusations. Al Jazeera, which has been banned from Egypt, has denied any bias in reporting events there or any role in aiding the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood dismissed the charges as political.

“Today is the start of yet another kangaroo trial... Mursi’s trials are politically motivated cases with trumped up charges and a corrupt judiciary presiding over it,” Abdulla El-Haddad, a Brotherhood spokesman based in Britain, said by email. l

gramme broadcast late on Friday.

He was speaking after attending a two-day Nato summit in Wales at which US President Barack Obama and other leaders urged Russia to pull its forces out ofUkraine. Nato also approved wide-ranging plans to boost its defences in eastern Europe in response to the Ukraine crisis.

Somalia on alert after alShabab leader killed

Sanctions

Somalia is on alert for retaliatory attacks by the Islamist group al-Shabab, officials say, after the group’s leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, 37, was killed in a US air strike. National Security Minister Kalif Ahmed Ereg said the country faced “desperate attacks” on government facilities. The US confirmed the death of Godane in air strikes on Monday night that hit a vehicle and camp south of Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab has not named a successor or even acknowledged Godane’s death. Ereg told reporters: “Security agencies have obtained information indicating that al-Shabab is now planning to carry out desperate attacks against medical facilities, education centres and other government facilities.”

The European Union announced new economic sanctions against Russia late on Friday over its role in Ukraine but said they could be suspended if Moscow withdraws its troops and observes the conditions of the ceasefire.

Russia’s foreign ministry responded angrily on Saturday to the measures, pledging unspecified “reaction” if they were implemented. Moscow responded to a previous round of US and EU sanctions by banning most Western food imports.

The prime minister of the rebels’ self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Alexander Zakharchenko, said his side would hand over its POWs to Ukraine on Saturday. l

n BBC

Ereg “congratulated the Somali people” on Godane’s death, adding: “The security forces are ready to counter their attacks and we call on people to help the security forces in standing against violent acts.”

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud issued a statement on Friday urging militants to embrace peace after the death of their leader.

He announced a 45-day amnesty for militants who were willing to renounce the group. Godane was one of the US state department’s most wanted men.

It had placed a bounty of $7m (£4.2m) on his head. There are few indications of who may be named to replace Godane. The US has supported the African Union (AU) force that has driven al-Shabab out of the capital Mogadishu and other towns since 2011. l

don’t know how many of those have joined ISIL.” To that end, Secretary Hagel announced Friday on the heels of Nato meetings that the US would be forming a “multinational task force to share more information about the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and from Syria into Iraq.” He added in his statement that “these foreign fighters represent an acute threat to our Nato allies.”

Among the task force’s activities will be efforts to “stifle ISIL’s source of revenue, including any trade in petroleum products,” with the ultimate goal of establishing a “truly global coalition” to take on IS, Hagel said. “Acting together, with clear objectives and common purpose, we will degrade and destroy ISIL capabilities – and ensure that it can no longer threaten Iraq, the region, and the world.” l

Ebola outbreak stirs anger in fragile Liberia n Reuters, Monrovia/Dakar When a starving Ebola patient escaped from a treatment centre in Monrovia and staggered through a crowded market in search of food, bystanders who scattered in his path voiced their anger not at him but at Liberia’s president.

To many in this impoverished West African country, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government has not done enough to protect them from the deadly virus. Ebolahas killed more than 1,000 people in Liberia since its arrival six months ago. Across West Africa, the death toll from the world’s worst Ebola outbreak has surpassed 1,900.

Panicked residents said the patient was the fifth to escape in recent weeks from the understaffed ELWA hospital.

Dozens watched anxiously as workers in protective clothes bundled the struggling patient into a truck and drove him back.

“The patients are hungry, they are starving. No food, no water,” said one terrified woman in the crowd. “The government need to do more. Let Ellen Johnson Sirleaf do more!”

A Noble Peace Prize winner for her work on women’s rights, Johnson Sirleaf had made gradual progress before the epidemic in rebuilding Liberia after a 1989-2003 civil war.

She now seems destined, however, to spend the last two years of her presidency dealing with the fallout from Ebola.

Feted internationally since she became Africa’s first female head of state nine years ago, Johnson Sirleaf’s reputation at home has been dogged by a slow improvement in living standards.

Some critics saying she is out of touch with poor Liberians.

The 75-year-old former World Bank official now faces mounting anger over her handling of Ebola. Her government has been denounced for causing food shortages by imposing quarantine on affected communities, while healthcare workers have walked out on strike after several of their colleagues died.

The president has also faced criticism for sending troops to quell protests in the ocean-front West Point slum of Monrovia. A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot after soldiers opened fire on a crowd trying to break out of a quarantine there.

Opponents have called for Johnson Sirleaf to resign, but her government has said it is doing everything possible, given the scant resources at its disposal. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Monsoon rains kill 115 in Pakistan, 108 in India

Death toll may rise as more flooding is forecast for coming days

n AP, Islamabad Heavy monsoon rains and flash floods have killed 115 people in Pakistan and 108 people in India, officials said yesterday, as forecasters warned of more rain in the coming days and troops raced to evacuate people from deluged areas.

The annual monsoon season has struck hard across the region, leaving people to wade through rushing water in towns and villages across Pakistan and in Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir, where authorities say they are seeing some of the worst flooding in decades.

Ahmad Kamal, a spokesman for Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, said at least 61 people died in the eastern Punjab province since Thursday. He said another 38 people died in the Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir and 11 died in northern Gilgit Baltistan province.

Kamal said officials believe all those were killed when the roofs of their homes collapsed. He said the delgue has injured more than 148 people across the country.

“We are dispatching tents and other relief items for those who have been affected because of rains and floods,” he said. He said the army helicopters and boats were evacuating people from affected areas.

In India, authorities put the death toll at 108 people, including some 30 people killed when a bus filled with those attending wedding washed away in a flooded stream. Four passengers managed to swim away, but others remain unaccounted for, officials said.

At least 300 federal rescue workers have joined thousands of state police and soldiers to rescue tens of thousands of people stranded across the region. Dozens of bridges have been damaged or washed away.

Authorities fear the death toll may rise in the region as more flooding and rain is forecast for the coming days.

State-run Pakistan television showed inundated villages, submerged roads and damaged homes across Pakistanand in its portion of Kashmir.

In a statement, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the deaths and destruction caused by the rains and floods were a great loss, noting that some 650 homes have been destroyed already.

“The government will leave no stone unturned to help the people in distress,” Sharif said.

Pakistan’s meteorological service said “widespread rain-thundershowers” were expected Saturday in various parts of the country.

Pakistan and India suffer widespread flooding during the annual monsoon season. In 2010, flash floods killed 1,700 people in Pakistan. l

A temple is partially submerged in floodwaters in Jammu, India. Heavy monsoon rains have caused flash floods and landslides that left hundreds of people dead in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and in eastern Pakistan AP

Analyst: Pakistan army, ISI targeting India to hit Sharif n Agencies

Suggesting that Pakistani army and its spy agency ISI were targeting India and their own Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a dangerous game, a former CIA analyst has advocated greater US-India intelligence cooperation.

The release of a new al Qaeda videotape of its leader, Ayman Zawahri, announcing the creation of an al Qaeda franchise in India had further complicated the situation, according to Bruce Riedel, now director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution.

“Zawahri made the tape in his hide-

out in Pakistan, no doubt, and many Indians suspect the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is helping to protect him,” he wrote in an article in The Daily Beast.

“Zawahri has longstanding links” to Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT), the group which attacked Mumbai in 2008, and to its leader Hafeez Saeed,” the senior fellow at the Washington think tank added.

The US state department, Riedel noted, had publicly blamed LeT for an attack on the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, right on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swear-

ing in to which he had invited Sharif too.

Noting that LeT is very close to the Pakistani military’s spy agency ISI, he wrote, “LeT would not have taken such a highly provocative action without at least some advance nod from the Pakistani spies in the ISI and the generals who command them.”

“LeT’s leader, Hafeez Saeed, lives openly in Pakistan, frequently appears on television denouncing the United States, and is the darling of the ISI,” Riedel added.

“One of the goals of the Herat operation was to discredit Sharif,” he wrote,

as the army has become increasingly unhappy with Sharif for putting the former army dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial and his reluctance to take on the Pakistan Taliban.

Violence has also surged along the line of control in Kashmir, he noted even as “Sharif had been urging deescalating the Indo-Pakistan rivalry and cutting back on the arms race, positions the army hardliners find threatening.”

“In short, the Pakistani army and its ISI spies are once again playing with fire-with India, the LeT and Kashmir-in order to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders,” Riedel wrote.

The US should step up intelligence cooperation with India to prevent and deter attacks such as the ones in Mumbai and Heart, he suggested.

“Even if a terrorist action cannot be foiled, the more information exchanged about Pakistani ISI involvement with LeT, the more likely the US will have credibility with New Delhi if a crisis does occur,” Riedel wrote.

The United States should also consider a unilateral step if another attack occurs, threatening to place Pakistan on the State Department list of states sponsoring terrorism, he suggested.

Alternatively, Riedel wrote a “tar-

Delhi: BJP hunts for numbers, Kejriwal accuses it of horse-trading

TA L L S H I P S O N D I S P L AY

n Agencies

The Tall Ship Tectona, built in India in 1929, is moored outside the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich in east London. Over 50 tall ships from around the world will participate in the Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta 2014 until Tuesday REUTERS

China’s Pakistan visit ‘postponed over ongoing protests’ n Agencies Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Pakistan has been postponed, the Pakistani foreign ministry said yesterday.

The ministry said the delay was “in view of the current political situation in Pakistan” and the trip would be rescheduled “as early as possible.”

Islamabad has experienced three weeks of anti-government protests, some of which have been violent. A visit from Sri Lanka’s president was also cancelled last month for similar reasons.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been hoping for about $34bn (£21bn) of deals to be signed during Mr Xi’s visit, reports said.

In a statement, Pakistan’s foreign ministry described the two countries as “time-tested all-weather friends” and said talks were underway for a rescheduled visit. l

Kolkata scientists rewrite earth’s evolutionary history books n Agencies Scientists from Kolkata have rewritten the evolutionary history books by finding that oxygen-producing life forms were present on earth some 3 billion years ago — a full 60 million years earlier than previously thought, TNN reported.

These life forms were responsible for adding oxygen (O2) to our atmosphere, which laid the foundations for more complex life to evolve and proliferate.

Geologists from Trinity College, Dublin along with professors Joydip Mukhopadhyay and Gautam Ghosh from the Presidency University in Kolkata have found evidence for chemical weathering of rocks leading to soil formation that occurred in the presence of O2.

Using the naturally occurring uranium-lead isotope decay system, which is used for age determinations on geological time-scales, the authors deduced that these events took place at

geted sanctions move against specific Pakistani military officials would send a strong deterrent message to the Pakistani army and could be a warning shot before putting Pakistan on the list of terror patrons.”

Finally there should be contingency planning between Washington and New Delhi about managing a future Indo-Pakistan crisis like the Mumbai crisis, he wrote.

“This would be intended to create dialogue, not create a platform to gang up on Pakistan. But in any case it would be prudent to plan for the worst,” Riedel wrote. l

least 3.02 billion years ago.

The ancient soil (or paleosol) came from the Singhbhum Craton of Odisha and was named the Keonjhar Paleosol after the nearest local town.

The early Earth was very different to what we see today. Earth’s early atmosphere was rich in methane and carbon dioxide and had only very low levels of O2. The widely accepted model for evolution of the atmosphere states that O2 levels did not appreciably rise until about 2.4 billion years ago.

This “Great Oxidation Event” event enriched the atmosphere and oceans with O2, and heralded one of the biggest shifts in evolutionary history.

Micro-organisms were certainly present before three billion years ago but they were not likely capable of producing O2 by photosynthesis. Up until very recently however, it has been unclear if any oxygenation events occurred prior to the Great Oxidation Event. l

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah was scheduled to meet his party legislators in Delhi yesterday evening in the latest bid to ramp up numbers for forming a government in the Capital.

Amid reports that lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung might invite the saffron party to form the government, the BJP has sent out mixed signals on the issue.

The party has said though it will go all out to get enough support, it will not mind fresh elections either.

“Individuals (from other parties) are in touch with the BJP to offer support (to form the government), but we are also ready to face elections even if they are held tomorrow,” said BJP Delhi president Satish Upadhyay.

Delhi is under President’s rule following Kejriwal’s resignation from the chief minister’s post in mid-February along with his ministers. The AAP leader had stepped down, accusing the BJP and the Congress, which had given Kejriwal’s government outside support, of joining hands to stall a key anti-graft bill.

As the BJP camp geared up for the

meeting with Shah, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stepped up attack on the BJP. AAP leaders were supposed to meet the President in the evening, to request him to thwart any attempt by the BJP to form a government.

Ahead of the visit to Rashtrapati Bhawan, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal once again accused the BJP of trying to form the government through “horse-trading.”

In the 70-member Delhi House, the BJP and its ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has 29 MLAs, down from 32 after its legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pravesh Verma were elected to the Lok Sabha. The AAP has 28 members and the Congress has eight.

Kejriwal said his party will seek the President’s intervention to ensure that the saffron party does not get an invitation “under any circumstances” from Jung.

“How will BJP form government?

Naturally, BJP wants to form government through horse-trading, by buying MLAs which is totally wrong. They want to buy MLAs using money power, at Rs. 20 crore each,” he alleged. l

What’s a ‘hairy monkey’? Chinese artists share their secret n Agencies Of all the curiosities one can find in China, few are more bizarre than “hairy monkeys,” according to a report by The Christian Science Monitor. These are not real monkeys. They are tiny humanoid figures made from furry magnolia buds and sloughed off cicada shells, and if that sounds unlikely, you should see what their creators have them do. Not that many such creators still exist. There are probably fewer than a dozen folk artists in Beijing practicing this abstruse traditional skill, constructing exquisitely modeled tableau that illustrate scenes from old Beijing life.

They do it by taking magnolia buds gathered in early spring, when they are covered with a fluffy down, and attaching the heads and legs of cicada carapaces – resembling minuscule lobster claws – which the insects shed in high summer and leave on the trunks of the trees in which they live.

Bending these claws into arms and legs, the artists then set the miniature monkey-like figures in old-fashioned Beijing

street scenes, selling toffee apples, playing Chinese checkers, sharpening knives, or grilling lamb kebabs, and place the decorative tableau under glass domes for protection. “The things I make show life when I was a kid in the 1960s,” says Yu Guangjun, who learned the art from his father. “They are imbued with the spirit of Beijing.”

Just how it occurred to somebody to put magnolia buds and cicada shells together is not certain, but they are both ingredients used in Chinese traditional medicine: an

infusion of magnolia buds is said to cure nasal inflammation and soaking your feet in water enriched with cicada slough relieves swelling. Legend has it that at the beginning of the 19th century a bored clerk in a Beijing pharmacy was playing around with stuff he found in the shop’s cabinets and came up with the idea of creating the miniature figures. Today the most ambitious modelers, such as Mr. Yu, spend months building extravagantly detailed tableaus that can use dozens of tiny “hairy monkeys” to re-create traditional scenes such as wedding processions, public baths, or fishermen by a pond.

In a few Beijing families the art has been passed from generation to generation over more than a century. Cui Yulan, who runs a small museum and shop in a quiet “hutong” alley with her husband, learned from her grandfather when she was five, she says.

Later a young man at her workplace who was good with his hands and knew how to draw caught her eye. She took him home to meet her family, Ms. Cui recalls, and he won their approval. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, September 7, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Build on partnership with Japan

I

t is highly encouraging to see Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on an official visit to Dhaka just three months after the two heads of state last met in Tokyo. That Abe is the first head of government to visit Bangladesh since the January 5 elections is a testament to the strength of the cooperative relationship between our two nations.

Japan has always been an important ally to Bangladesh, and our biggest donor in terms of infrastructural aid. The fact that Bangladesh-Japan relations have seen even more positive growth since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012 is validated by his visit – it is the first a Japanese prime minister has made here in 14 years.

Japan’s assistance is crucial for boosting our infrastructural development, as well as ensuring energy security. Already having given a considerable amount of aid to Bangladesh, the Asian giant has pledged to provide our country with almost $6bn in development assistance over the next four to five years.

After all the allegations of corruption following the Padma bridge scandal, it is good to see that the government has been successful in moving forward to create an investment-friendly environment in the country. We encourage our prime minister to continue working towards developing this fruitful friendship.

We welcome the Japanese premier’s visit, and are hopeful that it will help further strengthen not only bilateral ties between the countries but economic prosperity in the region.

Japan’s assistance is crucial for boosting our infrastructural development, as well as ensuring energy security

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

Myanmar losses 9 million in census, Rohingyas denied recognition

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

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

September 1

Rohingya Jarga The UN charter granted us the permission to defend ourselves, so we occupied our motherland, Arakan.

Self-defence is our right and this is how we can protect ourselves: 1) By creating a Rohingya national army; 2) ensuring our security by creating a Rohingya police force; 3) and creating a Department of Justice for Rohingyas to ensure our judges grant us justice among our community and in our land. Buddhist justices have been shown to be anti-Rohingya and oblivious to what is meant by justice.

After that, our next step is to create a directo-

rate of education for Rohingyas in the Rohingya state, a directorate of health in the Rohingya state, and a directorate of Rohingya immigration.

According to the Burmese regime-led government, a lot of Bangali Buddhists have settled in the Rohingya state.

We invite all Rohingya organisations to join in this aim and push forward this project. All Rohingya organisations who have been running projects but have never united behind a single project.

Thanks to all my fellow peaceful Rohingyas in our motherland of Arakan.

SUDOKU Dhaka, the city of palaces August 30

Imran, Qadri may face sedition case

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.

September 1

Diversify our export basket

W

e are glad to see experts at a seminar urging Bangladesh to diversify its exports – in terms of products as well as markets – and add more value to their products.

Bangladesh needs to do just that to remain competitive, when the jump from a low income to a middle income country is only a matter of time if the current growth rate sustains.

It is a triumph for our private sector that despite last year’s political turmoil, we have been able to grow. That being said, the fact that 80% of our exports are being supplied by the RMG sector is not a healthy symptom for our economy.

By creating more export jobs in more sectors and growing new markets, there can be both direct gains for businesses and workers, and a reduction in risks to the economy.

It is important for the country to diversify its export basket, both in terms of broadening the number of countries reached by our goods, and increasing the value of non-RMG items exported. But first, policymakers need to ensure that the required infrastructure is in place – a steady, long-term supply of power, fuel, and steel has to be maintained.

Bangladesh needs to look beyond the West for potential markets. The balance of the world’s wealth has shifted towards the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern regions, hence that market is equally lucrative, and we need to make inroads further into those regions.

Arefin Sharif Dhaka is my most favourite city.

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid “In its time, Dhaka was the capital of the ancient Bengal, described by the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb as, “the paradise of nations for its wealth and trade.”

Dhaka is like a magnet ... attracts me wherever I go!

Slice of Diana’s wedding cake auctioned August 30

Amar Habib “The Pakistan government has been urged to register a sedition case against Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf chief Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader Tahirul Qadri for violating the constitution. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, made the call.”

Maulana Diesel is a disgrace to Islam and should step down. He has no idea about diversity or culture.

Breadbitten Amar Habib: “Maulana Diesel” – a British-Muslim metalcore group?

OM Breadbitten: No doubt funded by Middle Eastern oil-igarchies as well.

Jennifer Lawrence contacts authorities after nude photos hacked September 2

Bangladesh needs to look beyond the West for potential markets

SK “Although the cake came wrapped in its original wax paper, it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to eat it.”

Collecting antiques is fine, but THIS??

Minor domestic help beaten by hot spatula August 30 Nazmul Khair “An 11-year-old hired as domestic help is undergoing treatment at DMCH after allegedly being tortured by her employer.”

Till today, I have not seen any guilty person be punished by the court for torturing their help.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

BB “Online pictures of the actor, 24, who won an Academy Award for “Silver Linings Playbook” and stars in “The Hunger Games” movie franchise, began appearing on Sunday.

“The photos were posted on the imagesharing forum 4chan. Britain’s Mirror website quoted the anonymous uploader as saying on the site he or she was a collector, not the hacker.”

Ahh 4chan. The rectum of the internet.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Decay (3) 3 Sensitive plant (6) 8 Soon (4) 9 Convict (3) 10 Mock (6) 11 Bank employee (6) 14 Luxury (5) 17 Gathering of witches (5) 20 Vent (6) 24 Handsome youth (myth) (6) 26 No score (3) 27 Cult (4) 28 Tantalising puzzle (6) 29 Incite (3)

DOWN 1 Fissure (4) 2 Lofty (4) 3 Fashion (4) 4 Still (5) 5 Oily fruit (5) 6 Unhappy (3) 7 Representative (5) 12 Self (3) 13 Sheltered side (3) 15 Groove (3) 16 Respectful fear (3) 17 Intone (5) 18 Stringed instrument (5) 19 Clamour (5) 21 Consumer (4) 22 Old stringed instrument (4) 23 Slender shoot (4) 25 Pass away (3)

Tk256 crore spent on DSCC roads is money down the drain September 2

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Osmania

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

“During a recent visit to the Lalbagh and its adjoining areas, the Dhaka Tribune found most drains open and uncovered.”

They need to build a proper drain first to be able to pour anything away.

Ebola and the failure to respond September 2

Zero-Agenda Most countries don’t appear to care much about this right up until one of their own gets infected. Business as usual, as far as I can tell.

Convicted war criminal Alim dies August 30 NK Allah will carry out justice now.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Sunday, September 7, 2014

11

Come on over

I

n Faruque Hasan

t is great to hear that the cabinet has approved a Tk50,000cr master plan for the development of the tourism sector of our country. At present, how are the Bangladeshis doing in this sector?

In 2013, the total number of tourist arrivals in Bangladesh was 278,780 against 588,193 in 2012, according to Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. In 2013, we faced prolonged political unrest that caused a drastic decrease in tourist arrivals in the country. The number of tourists in 2012 was the highest number that Bangladesh received in a year till now.

Now, let’s compare the performance of Bangladesh in tourism with two of our small neighbours – Cambodia and Myanmar.

In 1998, Bangladesh received 171,961 tourists, when Cambodia received 187,000. In 2012, Cambodia received 3.5 million foreign visitors, an increase of 25% compared to 2011.

In that country, tourism increased more than 11-fold since 1998. In 2013, Cambodia received 4,210,165 foreign tourists. Myanmar received 1 million tourists in 2012, an increase of 54% from 2011. In 2013, it received 2.04 million foreign visitors. The statistics speak for themselves.

Bangladesh who already had visited more than 70 countries. After watching the sunset in Bangladesh he said: “I used to think the sunset in Morocco was the most beautiful sunset in the world. But now I know the sunset in Bangladesh is the most beautiful one.”

Six betrothed young couples came to Bangladesh from Latvia. They had a plan to visit 12 Asian countries; and Bangladesh was the last leg of their journey. When they went back home, one of them wrote to their tour guide in Bangladesh: “Among the 12 countries we have visited, we liked Bangladesh the most.”

An Uzbek lady, who did her Master’s in tourism from a university in Scotland, taught tourism in Malaysia for three years. Now she is staying in Bangladesh. She once told me: “Bangladesh has so many archaeological attractions that Malaysia does not have.” In 2013, Malaysia got more than 25 million tourists.

An American, a member of the Centurion Club, came to Bangladesh.

Someone can be a member of that club if he/she has visited at least a hundred countries. Bangladesh was his 186th country to visit. On the way to the hotel from the airport, he told me the best kebab he ate in the world was in

Bangladesh has plenty to offer tourists

We need a well-orchestrated drive run by competent people

How can we explain the poor condition of tourism in Bangladesh?

Is Bangladesh not an attractive destination for foreign tourists? With more than two decades of experience in the tourism industry, I can say, the small number of tourists who come to visit Bangladesh go back home with full tour satisfaction.

A Japanese tourist came to

Uzbekistan. Later on I took him to one of the best kebab houses in Dhaka.

After having kebab with naan there, he told me Bangladeshi kebab was the best kebab in the world.

He stayed in Bangladesh for four days. And on the way back to airport he told me: “The food in Bangladesh is so tasty!” I remembered the renowned art critic, Hassan Shaheed Suhrawardy,

mentioned in one of his books that Dhaka cuisine was the best cuisine in the world.

Last but not least, a British tour agent sends two to four tourist groups each month to Bangladesh – each group comprising 12-20 tourists – during the tourist season from October to March. These groups make a crossborder tour comprising West Bengal, Bangladesh, Sikkim, and Bhutan.

When these tourists go back home, they give their opinion of their tour experience to the tour agent by filling a form. Most of the tourists opine that their tour experience in Bangladesh is the best.

Now let’s have a look to the opposite side of the coin. A few years back, when a Japanese young man

Bad apples n Monica Islam

W

hat is common between the Earth and paradise? The forbidden fruit – the tempting red apple. According to Biblical sources, Adam and Eve’s consumption of the forbidden fruit resulted in the downfall of humanity from a heavenly abode to the Earth’s humble ground.

If food adulteration continues without the public and the responsible authorities batting an eyelid, a man-made doom will not be too far away.

We will be evicted from Earth due to the forbidden fruit – toxic apples – except that in this case the perpetrators will not be brought to account, and there shall be no fiery dungeons awaiting them. With World Food Day (October 16) being a little over a month away, can we expect to mark the day with specific, workable plans for curbing food adulteration?

Food adulteration is a form of food wastage at the production level. Food is adulterated with formalin, DDT, calcium carbide, textile dyes, urea, brick powder, and the likes which are known to cause cancer, hypoxia, memory loss, mood disturbances, liver failure, and several other health problems.

According to a recent study by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNFAO), 54% of the world’s food wastage occurs during production and storage, while the remainder happens during processing, distribution, and consumption.

Furthermore, every year roughly one-third of food is wasted, which amounts to the whole food production of sub-Saharan Africa!

Food wastage has multiple consequences. From the social perspective, it leads to a loss of human effort and contributes to a growing population of hungry, emaciated citizens. One in every seven people in the world goes to bed hungry, and more than 20,000 children under the age of five die daily from hunger. From an environmental standpoint, food waste means a waste of all natural and scarce resources, especially water, which assist food production. Additionally, when wasted food is thrown away and breaks down

in landfill along with other organic materials, it generates methane – a gas 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, which makes it a catalyst for climate change.

What does food adulteration imply for Bangladesh? An estimated 98% of the world’s hungry live in developing nations. Since Bangladesh is a developing nation that is the ninth most populous country and the 12th most densely populated country in the world, food management is critical.

Food waste is one factor that is both a cause and an effect of climate change. Floods and droughts damage the country’s crops, harvest potential, and soil fertility. This also works as a motivation for farmers and suppliers to adulterate food. The food wasted as a result of this in turn emits methane, propelling climate change.

If food adulteration continues, a man-made doom will not be too far away

According to Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) – a national development organisation operating in Bangladesh – food adulteration ranges between 70% and 90%. Health practitioners asserted that this is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Although the issue has been receiving media attention only recently, the problem has existed for close to a decade now, as proven by a 2004 random survey by Public Health Laboratory of Dhaka City Corporation, which discovered more than 76% of food items in the market is adulterated.

Numerous laws exist in Bangladesh, such as the BSTI Ordinance, the National Health Policy 2000, the Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act 2005, and the National Food Policy Plan of Action, 2008-15 (NFP PoA). If we were to dissect just one of these,

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

wanted to visit Bangladesh, his mother told him to take a lot of drinking water with him, saying: “You won’t get drinkable water in that country.”

A Polish tourist group came to visit Bangladesh. In the flight, a few worried members of the group asked the tour leader: “Is there any attached toilet in the hotels we are going to stay in?” The tour leader answered: “I have no idea, but I hope there is.”

A South African tourist came to Bangladesh. At the airport in Dhaka he asked the Bangladeshi tour guide who went there to receive him: “Have you brought a boat?” When he saw that the guide was confused he said: “Then how will we go to the hotel?” His idea was that Dhaka city, along with the whole country, was always inundated

with floodwater.

A young Egyptian woman came to Bangladesh to attend a tourism fair.

Her family and friends asked her not to go there, because it was a lawless country where women were not safe.

A German couple came to Bangladesh. When they were here, the lady’s old mother was always praying so that her daughter wouldn’t fall victim to a ferry disaster.

An American couple came to Bangladesh for a 14-day tour. I asked them what their idea about Bangladesh was before they had come here. They said: “We thought all we would see are flood and famine.” Then the gentleman asked me: “Why does your country always get bad press?”

As long as we cannot get rid of the

present negative image of our country to the outside world, foreign tourists will not flock to Bangladesh – no matter what size tourism projects we take up.

To build a positive image, which our country deserves, we need a wellorchestrated drive run by competent people. It is a completely wrong idea that to develop tourism in Bangladesh we need to have bars, casinos, discotheques, massage parlours, etc.

Iran does not have all these things, and still it received more than 5.6 million tourists in 2013. l Faruque Hasan is working as the Community Tourism Specialist in the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project (SATIDP).

Teaching in trouble we find that one of the three objectives of the NFP PoA is adequate nutrition for all individuals, which provides for the supply of safe, quality food.

In the short run, it proposes raising awareness and instituting safe food vending systems. In the long run, it recommends strengthening food testing laboratories, developing food standards in compliance with Codex Alimentarius, and enforcement of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point to control food adulteration.

The responsibility of implementing these proposed strategies lies with various ministries, such as the Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Disaster Management, and Health and Family Welfare. Political commitment, therefore, is crucial. NGOs are expected to collaborate with the government for implementation while academic institutions are entrusted with scientific research for developing the necessary food standards.

Moreover, the following steps must be taken with utmost urgency: Making Bangladesh Food Safety Advisory Council functional, passing and approving the Safe Food Law drafted in 2013, integrating BSTI laws with other laws, such as the Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act 2005, enforced by the government, establishing a separate consumer court for dealing with violation of consumer rights, reaching out to farmers, manufacturers, and suppliers with educational materials about food adulteration and climate change, enforcing Consumer Rights Protection Ordinance 2007, and enforcing the appropriate punishment for offenders swiftly.

Food adulteration is a violation of basic human rights as citizens are denied from the pleasure of consuming safe and nutritious food. Food adulteration is also the deliberate starvation and poisoning of human beings, amounting to genocide. This practice must rattle the public and the government at once. l Monica Islam hosts online radio shows at Sylvia Global Media Network and blogs at World Pulse. She aims to advance human rights and social justice through the media.

n Naima Nuren Khan

T

eachers have the power to guide, direct, and influence what will become of us tomorrow.

The job’s responsibilities transcend beyond class hours to the way the teacher holds up as role models. The relationship between a teacher and a student must be based on respect from both ends. With just a few words of encouragement and a bit of guidance, a teacher can transform and inspire a student’s life in a constructive way.

A large portion of our lives are spent in academic institutions. Hence, developing a student-teacher relationship based on mutual respect is essential.

Although, the student-teacher relationship is vital for intellectual and mental growth of students, the whole value system seems to be going astray.

The blame rests on both ends.

Teachers today have commercialised their profession. The profession has now become a source of business.

Teachers show inefficiency in academic institutions to gain monetary benefits from private tutoring. Teachers of higher level education seem to be indifferent, and their responsibilities seem to be confined within the exam syllabus. On the other hand, students are also becoming careless and disrespectful. The commercialisation of the profession in unison with the negligence of students can hinder the potential of a promising generation.

The teaching method may also be a fundamental cause of the sour relationship. In our country, learning is still confined within books rather than practical knowledge. Thus, this leads to monotony. Students lack interest in attending classes and learning something new. In such a situation, the students are also at fault.

Teachers, who venture out of the textbooks and adapt non-conventional methods to test the concepts, are scorned by the students. Students often show disapproval when a teacher imparts moral lessons or establishes strict rules.

Nowadays, an ideal student-teacher relationship has become rare. Students seem to be mostly driven by the need

for good grades. Hence, they mechanically memorise without fully understanding the concepts. At the same time, teachers simply distribute handouts or notes. Teachers are unwilling to experiment with unique teaching styles for effective learning. Field trips, interactive classes, or introduction of new teaching methods are practiced by few.

pointment.

In other cases, teachers expect students to simply obey them. They set unreasonable submission dates and impose impractical rules. However, what should be done is to come up with reasonable solutions fit for all.

In order to relate to the youth, some teachers discuss inappropriate issues which contrarily set the wrong stand-

Although teaching is one of the most respected professions requiring immense knowledge, a child is hardly ever encouraged to be a teacher

In the leading universities of Bangladesh, the education system has much more space for efficient operation. In most reputed universities of the developed countries, the practice of teachers writing research papers or books is significantly prevalent. However, in our county, very few teachers are associated with academic writing.

Academic writing holds great value in terms of intellectual development and has universal recognition.

Establishing such a trend will enhance academic excellence of both of the teachers and students. Meritorious students will get the opportunity to work as research assistants. This will be motivating and also assist in future academic life.

While negligent students are the cause of such a trembling rapport, some teachers are guilty of misusing their authoritative position. Teachers are often careless when students bunk classes. The tendency of the students’ absenteeism is re-enforced when teachers themselves miss classes without prior notice. Often times, students come from distant places. An unannounced cancellation of class is a source of discouragement and disap-

ard. A few teachers have also made undesirable headlines. Misuse of their authoritative power has resulted in severe mental and physical assault. As a society, we cannot forgive them.

Society’s outlook on the profession of a teacher plays a substantial role.

The status of a teacher in our society has been deteriorating over the years.

A teacher’s significant contribution in building the nation’s future is consistently undermined and overlooked.

With so many lucrative career options, the value and respect of this profession seem to be gradually decreasing. Although teaching is one of the most respected professions requiring immense knowledge and dedication, a child is hardly ever encouraged to be a teacher.

The relationship between a teacher and a student should be built on respect, care, and friendship. It shouldn’t one that induces discomfort or fear. In order to enhance the student-teacher relationship and to develop an effective learning process, it is essential for parents, students, and teachers to work together. l Naima Nuren Khan is a freelance contributor.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Piprabidya team goes for alternative promotions

JENNIFER LAWRENCE enters Guinness World Record

Piprabidya’s hero Mithu on the set of promotional video Hero Hotie Ar Ki Laage

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has entered the Guinness Book of World Records after becoming cinema’s most successful heroine following her role as Katniss Everdeen in the hugely popular “Hunger Games” franchise.

The “Hunger Games” and its sequel “Catching Fire” grossed over 900 million pounds worldwide to earn the record. Lawrence can only extend this feat with two more of the franchise’s films yet to be released. “Mockingjay – Part 1” is set to be unveiled this coming November, with “Mockingjay – Part 2” slated for a November 2015 release, reported BBC online.

The 24-year-old actress’s lead film debut came in the 2010 drama “Winter’s Bone.” She has since starred in many successful films including “X-Men: First Class,” its sequel “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “American Hustle.” She won Best Actress at the 2013 Academy Awards for her performance in David O Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Lawrence is not the only one being inducted into the Guinness World Records. “X Factor” alumni One Direction have also found a place after becoming the first British boyband to reach the top of the US charts with three consecutive albums, while singer Miley Cyrus holds the record for most searchedfor popstar on the internet. l

n Entertainment Desk The painting exhibition of Egyptian artist Dr Walid Jahin titled “Personage of Egyptian Vision” is going on at the La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka.

Renowned Egyptian artist Jahin is exhibiting his artworks for the first time in Bangladesh. He is a professor of fine arts at the Alexandria University of Egypt. As Jahin puts it, his artistic transcendence started 15 years ago, deriving inspiration from the great Egyptian art, whose influences evolved into modernism and postmodern forms.

He is known for bridging the gap between traditional Egyptian art form and modern art form. Best known for his modern art techniques, Jahin has received numerous prestigious awards since 1996. His recent endeavours celebrate the human body portraying in the epic manner of Greek gods and goddesses. The exhibition will be open to all until September 13. l

Greek gods with Egyptian touch

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Sanjida Tanmoy, who stepped into the showbiz world through the model-hunt contest “Veet-Channel i Top Model 2011,” is about to make her silver screen debut with “Bapjaner Bioscope,” a directorial venture of Reazul Rezu. The film also starred celebrated actors Shahiduzzaman Selim and Shatabdi Wadud.

Sanjida has also signed for a mainstream Dhallywood movie titled “Target” and appeared in a number of TV serials including “Joyita,” “Sokhi Bhalobasa Kare Koi,” “Nirbikar Manush” and “Phd Salman.”

Dhaka Tribune caught up with the actor to know her feelings about the movie.

Tell us about the character you played...

I played Panai Bibi, a sex worker. Jibon Sarkar, who plays the bad guy, meets her at a brothel and falls in love with her, subsequently taking her to his isle to marry. Then the crisis begins and the hero, Shatabdi Wadud, subsequently comes to her rescue. The most important part of the movie is the portrayal of Panai Bibi in three different ways: as a sex worker, a bride, and a miserable, estranged housewife.

How did you manage to portray these characters?

It was not very hard since my co-artists, including Shahiduzzaman Selim and Shatabdi

n Entertainment Desk

The Weinstein Company will be releasing “The Hateful Eight,” the latest film of Quentin Tarantino, the filmmaker’s ninth, in a little over a year.

Most intriguingly, the film, which Tarantino has long-touted would be filmed in large format, will apparently receive “the widest 70mm release in over 20 years.”

For anyone who loves film, that can only be a good thing.

With a January start date of shooting, the cast of the film is yet to be confirmed.

Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth and Walton Goggins were among those who took place in the recent live-read, while more recently Jennifer Lawrence, Evan Rachel Wood, Geena Davis and Hilary Swank were rumoured to be involved. l

SATV, 8:40pm

Drama serial Joiboti Koinyar Mon is adopted from the theatre production with the same title by Selim Al Deen. Tisha, Deepa Khandaker and Shahiduzzaman Selim play the lead roles of the serial.

Super 8

Zee Studio, 7:30pm

During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.

Raiders of the Lost Ark HBO, 7:15pm

Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Wanted

Star Movies, 11:30pm

A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father’s superhuman killing abilities.

I want to act opposite Shakib Khan: Sanjida Tanmoy

Tarantino’s next film confirmed for fall 2015

Joiboti Koinyar Mon

n Entertainment Desk

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Mostafa Sarwar Farooqi, known for his atypical directorial tastes, is soon going to introduce the debutant hero of his upcoming feature film through a fun video, ridiculing the hero stereotypes seen in the industry.

“Hero Hoite Ar Ki Laage” is part of a months-long promotional campaign directed towards creating hype among movie buffs before Piprabidya (Ant Story), Farooki’s fifth feature film, gets its theatrical release on October 24.

Noor Imran Mithu plays the central role in the film.

While talking to Dhaka Tribune, Farooqi said: “Noor Imran Mithu is not like other conventional heroes. He is like most of us. A commoner, you can say. The video presents him in a hilarious way, with Mithu emulating conventional heroes of the film industry.”

“When we were thinking about introducing Mithu to the audience, we decided to go for something like this, which people will remember for a long time.”

Band Chirkutt made a song for the video which will uploaded on the Facebook page of Chabial any day soon, Farooqi added, refusing to detail the tactics of his promotional campaign. “There are more surprises!”

“Piprabidya,” which was premiered in several international film festivals, is about unemployed young people who live in Dhaka city, which they think of as a “big pie” and become desperate to have their shares. l

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Wadud, helped me a lot. My director was always available to help. Even Masum Reza, the scriptwriter, also helped me in portraying the nuances of the characters. The role of a sex worker is a dream one for every actress, and I tried to do the best I could.

Tom Hanks and Sting to receive Kennedy Center honours

Any interesting story behind “Bapjaner Bioscope”?

I remember one day, while shooting, we were trapped in a sandstorm around midnight in the isle. We couldn’t see each other and lost our ways. Subsequently we found our way back to the campsite. It is a horrifying experience.

What kind of role do you want to play generally?

I have an inclination for negative roles but haven’t got an opportunity to play one yet. I also like to act in action-thriller films where I will appear as the tough, hard-nosed woman rather than the typical cute one.

Do you have a dream to work with any particular Bangladeshi actor?

I want to act in a film with Shakib Khan. I am really looking forward to working with him in my next film.

What’s your obsession besides modeling and acting?

I am a shopaholic. l

SONAM ‘nervous’ to step into Rekha’s shoes n Entertainment Desk Actress Sonam Kapoor was initially apprehensive to take up the role in “Khoobsurat” remake as she did not want to be compared to Rekha, who starred in the original 1980 film.

“I was a little nervous to step into the shoes of Rekhaji. I was doubtful at first because comparisons will be there as Rekhaji had done the film so brilliantly and people will question how I will do it. But after reading the script, I was a bit relaxed. I found the character to be female-driven, it is an author backed role,” Sonam told PTI. “There is not much that I have taken from her character as my role is quite different from the original,” she said. The 29-year-old actress plans to show the film to the veteran actress.

“When I told her about this film, she gave me her blessings. She is excited about the film. She is a close friend and we show her all our films,” Sonam added.

In real life, Sonam says she is more like her character Mili.

“Khoobsurat” is slated to release on September 19. l

n Entertainment Desk Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and musician Sting are among the cultural figures to be awarded this year’s Kennedy Center honours at a White House reception on 7 December.

The movie star said the honour added to being “a fortunate man, in that I love the work I do.”

Figures who have influenced US culture through the arts are awarded annually.

It is relatively rare for a British artist, such as Sting, to be recognised.

He likened it to receiving an artistic

knighthood in the UK. He told the BBC: “It was very unexpected. I’m thrilled. I’m only the 18th British person to receive it, along with Cary Grant and Julie Andrews.

“I’m definitely the first Geordie ever to get it,” said the singer, who was born in Wallsend.

Singer Al Green, actress Lily Tomlin and ballet dancer Patricia McBride will also receive the honour.

The five award-winners will be received by President and Mrs Obama before a star-studded gala, which will be subsequently broadcast on US television. l

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

‘The Dying Grounds

By Shafiq Rahman Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Centre, Dhanmondi 7/A Montage

By Samarjit Roy Choudhury Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts Threads of Testimony

By Dilara Begum Joly Time: 12pm-8pm Bengal Art Lounge, 60, Gulshan Avenue

Theatre

Ganga-Jamuna Theatre Festival Kobi Time: 7pm – 9pm Experimental Theatre Hall

Did you know?

England have scored just nine goals in their last 10 internationals

Sport

Sunday, September 7, 2014

14 Neymar stunner

gives Brazil win over Columbia

14 Real asked me

not to play in the WC final: Di Maria

Rain, hosts continue to torment Tigers n Tribune Desk Torrential overnight and continuous morning rain delayed the second day’s play of the first Test between the West Indies and Bangladesh by three and a half hours before the hosts resumed to torment the visitors with Kraigg Brathwaite and Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the crease.

Bangladesh’s new ball pair, Rubel Hossain and Al Amin, looked as threatening as the weather in the opening half an hour at the Arnos Vale Stadium yesterday, but once Brathwaite and Chanderpaul saw off the initial movement of the ball, they were in complete control till this report was filed.

With puddles of water visible on the outfield and no sign of a break in the showers, the umpires ruled out play until lunch before inspecting the ground after lunch time and deciding to extend the game by 30 minutes and target at least 55 overs on the day.

Chanderpaul edged one between the gully and third slip fielder to get a four off Al Amin early in the first over before he survived twice more – both off Rubel. First a micro inside edge saved the 40-year-old from LBW while the second time, when even Mushfiqur Rahim was convinced of gloving an outside edge, via review it appeared the ball had actually swung its way close to the edge, but missed it.

The rookie opener Brathwaite, who enjoyed a moment of luck after reach-

Sajjadul, Enayet opt out of VP race n Minhaz Uddin Khan The number of interested candidates for the already delayed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) vice-president’s election has been reduced to three after current board directors Sajjadul Alam and Enayet Hossain Siraj opted out of the race.

Sajjadul informed BCB chief Nazmul Hasan of his disinterest in participating in the election prior to the last board meeting where the election date was fixed while Enayet informed Nazmul of his decision right after the date of the poll was announced.

Speaking to Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Sajjadul cited personal reasons for opting out while Enayet, who is currently in Singapore, could not be reached for comments.

The withdrawals left former senior BCB vice-president Mahbub Anam, Ahmed Iqbal Hasan and AZM Nasir to fight for the two available slots. Sources revealed influential BCB director Mahbub and Nasir are the front-runners as majority of the board directors and the BCB president himself is interested in seeing the duo in the posts.

The first elected body of the cricket board failed to reach a consensus over the two largely ceremonial posts and consequently asked for an election on December 4, 2013.

Nazmul, after the last board meeting on August 26, finally announced September 16 as the date of the polls for the two posts which are left unattended for around a year – since the formation of the current BCB body in October last. l

ing three figures on day one, Mushfiqur failing to hold on to an outside edge behind the stumps off the bowling of Shuvagata, soon went on to land his 150 while Chanderpaul as always looked to be under control of the situation with his calm approach.

West Indies resumed the day on 264 for three and added 80 more runs with out any casualties when this report was filed.

Earlier on day one, there was little to cheer Bangladesh, except for the determination of the newcomers as Taijul and Shuvagata delivered 52 of the 87 overs bowled the day and claimed all three wickets. l

DAY 2, POST LUNCH West Indies 1st Innings C Gayle lbw Shuvagata Hom K Brathwaite not out K Edwards c Mominul b Taijul D Bravo c Mahmudullah b Taijul S Chanderpaul not out Extras Total (107 overs, 3 wickets)

64 161 10 62 20 15 332

Fall wickets 1-116 (Gayle), 2-133 (Edwards), 3-261 (Bravo) To bat J. Blackwood, D. Ramdin (captain), J. Taylor, K. Roach, S. Benn, S. Gabriel Bowling Al-Amin Hossain 19-9-43-0, Rubel Hossain 22-1-80-0 (1nb), Mahmudullah 5-0-31-0, Shuvagata Hom 32-6-85-1, Taijul Islam 29-7-79-2

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite guides the ball to third-man on day two of the first Test match against Bangladesh at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent yesterday COURTESY

13

15 Steyn, Du Plessis

set up tri-series win for SA

BPL franchises served ultimatum n Minhaz Uddin Khan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will serve the seven franchises of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with a ‘confirmation notice of termination’ anytime soon. The BCB has sent letters to the seven franchises yesterday asking to clear the outstanding dues whilst also informing them that failing to do so will see their contracts with the board terminated.

BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury informed the media yesterday that the seven franchises have been served with the ultimatum letter but no deadline was mentioned.

On the other hand, BPL Governing Council member-secretary Ismail Haider Mallick cut a disconsolate figure saying BCB had made several attempts to realise the dues but failed.

“They (franchises) were given enough time I believe,” said Mallick yesterday. “So there is no other way for us then to terminate the contract with them if they do not response accordingly this time. They will be served termination confirmation any day,” he added.

The BCB director also informed that the board will take legal measures against the franchises if they fail to pay the money.

According to sources within the BPL GC, none of the franchises have paid the annual fees. On top of that the seven teams have also failed to clear the players’ remuneration from the second edition of the BPL held in early 2013.

Meanwhile, the hearing of the disciplinary appeal of match-fixing allegations from the second edition of the BPL will begin tomorrow. l

BOA eyes success in Atletico signs Mamunul on loan n cricket, kabaddi Shishir Hoque

n

Shishir Hoque

The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) is eyeing at least three medals from cricket and kabaddi disciplines with a little hope towards achieve something from archery and shooting in the 17th Asian Games set to begin from September 19 in Incheon, South Korea.

Following a poor display in Glasgow Commonwealth Games the BOA earlier omitted nine disciplines from the initial 21 before adding gymnastics. Despite only 13 disciplines, a contingent of around 166 members (126 athletes from 13 disciplines, 40 coaches and managers) will fly to Incheon.

BOA secretary general Syed Shahed Reza put his medal hope on three events and said, “We are going to Incheon with a hope to win medals in the men’s and women’s cricket and women’s kabaddi team who won us medals in the Guangzhou Asian Games.

“We hope they will repeat their good performance. Shooting and archery on their day holds the capability to achieve something,” said Shahed Reza at an official press conference at the BOA auditorium yesterday.

This will be the first time Bangladesh will participate in the Asian Games without any athletes from swimming and athletics while the contingent comprises of athletes from fencing, wushu, taekwondo and karate – disciplines where there are no hope of winning a medal.

“There is nothing to be dishearten or discouraged about because we will grow up the athletes from childhood and the existent athletes must have to perform to ensure their participation in the multi-sports game,” said Shahed when asked whether the omission of eight disciplines would discourage the athletes.

Until the 2010 Asian Games, the men’s kabaddi team have always returned home with a medal since the discipline’s introduction to the games in 1990. This time they are placed in the same group with India and Pakistan and carries little hope of achieving any honour while shooting and archery are also lacking in confidence.

“Archers from Asia dominate the world ranking, so it is hard for us to win a medal but we will put our best to do something,” said archer Emdadul Haque Milon.

Youth and Sports Minister Biren Sikder was present during the occasion and met the athletes and officials of the Asian Games contingent. l

Bangladesh national football team captain Mamunul Islam has inked a three-month loan deal with Atletico de Kolkata to represent the newly founded club in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League (ISL) scheduled to kick off on October 12.

The loan period will end on December 21, a day after the ISL’s scheduled final, and Mamunul is expected back to his Bangladesh Premier League club Sheikh Jamal DC accordingly.

The 25-year-old is expected to join Atletico de Kolkata later this month after the end of Incheon Asian Games, which begins on September 15, where the talisman attacking midfielder will represent the Bangladesh U-23 national football team.

The Kolkata based franchise club completed the signing of the midfielder through a dazzling ceremony in capital’s Uttara Club yesterday in the presence of Sheikh Jamal DC president Manjur Kader and representatives of Atletico de Kolkata.

Mamunul considered himself “lucky” and said it is a “dream come true”. He said, “I’m very happy today that it is now official. After Munna and Aslam bhai I’m going to play for an Indian club and the responsibility is also huge. If I can perform well there it would encourage the young generation of Bangladesh.”

“This is an important milestone in my career. I am really excited about joining Atletico de Kolkata, the team that will transgress boundaries and bring both sides of Bengal closer. My goal will be to play a real part in building something special in the football

capital of India,” said Mamunul after inking the deal.

Mamunul, who led Sheikh Jamal to the IFA Shield final in Kolkata earlier this year, will share the dressing room with former Liverpool, Barcelona and Spanish international Luis Garcia and

will be coached by former Bolivia coach Antonio Lopez Habas.

“I will spend three months with the best, experienced players and will play alongside them. It will help me improve my performance and I will definitely learn a lot both on and off the pitch,” said an excited Mamunul.

Anilava Chatterjee, an official of the club, said they chose Mamunul in the last moment as they “believe” he has got the potential and also hope he will shine.

Manjur Kader was also ecstatic during the occasion and said he didn’t hesitate for a second when Atletico de Kolkata wanted the service of his club captain.

Atletico de Kolkata is partly owned by former Indian cricket star Sourav Ganguly who welcomed Mamunul to the club saying, “I’m sure that both Bangladesh and Kolkata will be waiting to see him in action soon.”

The team is currently training at the Los Angeles de San Rafael training ground in Segovia, Spain and will return home 15 days before the tournament. Head coach Antonio hoped to get Mamunul match fit and said, “His national and club commitment surely must be keeping him match ready when we embark on our quest for the trophy. He is surely a hero in Bangladesh’s football arena and hopefully will soon be the toast of all Atletico de Kolkata fans in India.” l

SL trounce Hong Kong

VH finally break title drought n Raihan Mahmood After a 4-year wait, VH finally emerged as the champions of ‘Vertical Horizon Underground Basketball Championship’ beating Gregorian Aces by 72-69 points in a naibiting final at the Dhanmondi Basketball gymnasium on Friday.

As expected, the intense final kept the crowd on their feet till the conclusion of the game. Displaying great tenacity, VH played as an unit and turned the ball around to take the lead in the final minute causing great heartbreak for the Gregorian Aces. It was a case of so-nearyet-so-far for the former champions.

In the semis, Gregorian Aces defeated Josephites 82-72 while VH ousted GYC 72-69 in another close finish. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Raihan Mahmood

Sri Lanka’s Nanayakra Lakhsan (R) beats the Hong Kong goalkeeper and defender to score during their second group match in the Hockey World League Round 1 at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Sri Lanka returned to winning ways in the Hockey World League Round 1 mauling Hong Kong 6-1 at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

The Lankans went ahead in the third minute with Dhammika Ranasingha hitting the board from their second penalty corner.

Forward Mohammad Mulafar doubled the lead in the 30th minute with a fierce reverse hit from the left edge of the arc.

Sadanuwan Priya made it 3-0 in the 43rd minute with a reverse hit after cruising through the opposition defence running onto a nice through pass from Tusith Rathnasiri.

Ranasingha scored his second from another penalty corner in the 45th minute giving Sri Lanka a four-goal cushion.

Hong Kong’s Felix grabbed the lone goal for his team two minutes later with a soft push after Chan Ka Chun sent him free in the middle of the arc.

However, in the very next minute, Lakhsan Nanayakra netted the fifth goal for his side with a superb field goal.

Mulafar wrapped up the scoreline with a field goal in the 54th minute.

Following their 3-2 defeat to Bangladesh in the opening match, Sri Lanka now have three points from their first two games. The hosts, who have maximum points, will take on Hong Kong in the last match of Round 1 today.

A win for Bangladesh will see the home side top the group and qualify for the second round while a loss will send Sri Lanka to the top of the table and into the second round. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Neymar stunner gives Brazil win n Reuters, Miami A superb 83rd minute free-kick from captain Neymar gave Brazil a winning start under new coach Dunga as they beat Colombia 1-0 in a fiercely contested friendly on Friday.

It will take more than a win of this nature, against a team reduced to ten men for the last 41 minutes, to put the harrowing 7-1 loss World Cup semi-final loss to Germany out of Brazil’s minds but Dunga said the win was a confidence booster.

“It is always good to win, especially with the criticism after the World Cup, some of which was very strong,” said Dunga who is in his second spell as Brazil coach after taking over from Luiz Felipe Scolari.

“This will help the players to regain self-esteem and confidence. I told them that they are here because they are the best and they have dreamt their whole life to be here. They should not be afraid and just have to go out there and play,” added the captain of the 1994 World Cup winning team.

Colombia midfielder Juan Cuadrado was sent off in the 49th minute following a second yellow card for a foul on Neymar and there was no shortage of effort - or indeed rough challenges from both teams.

New Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao made his return to the Colombian team for the first time since November as a 77th minute substitute

to the delight of the large and loud Colombian contingent in the capacity 73,429 crowd at Sun Life stadium.

The game marked the start of the new four year cycle for both countries as they begin to look to the 2018 World Cup in Russia but the impact of this year’s tournament in Brazil was clearly still fresh.

Colombia’s last outing was their infamous 2-1 defeat to Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals - a match which saw Neymar suffer a tournament ending injury after a knee in the back from Camilo Zuniga.

Zuniga, who became a hate figure in Brazil, and Neymar captained their respective teams and in a public display of reconciliation, they hugged each other on the field shortly before kick-off.

With the numerical advantage after Cuadrado’s dismissal Brazil enjoyed the better of the game but it was not until seven minutes from the end that they broke through - a curling 25 metre free-kick from Neymar that flew into the top corner out of David Ospina’s reach.

Falcao’s introduction provided some late impetus to the Colombian attacks but the striker, still easing back from the knee ligament injury which cost him his place at the World Cup, will be disappointed not to have found the target with a header from close range in the final minute.

Brazil will play Ecuador in New Jersey on Tuesday. l

Ronaldinho joins Mexican club Queretaro n AFP, Mexico City

Colombia striker Falcao (R) of greets Brazil forward Neymar of after their International friendly at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Friday AFP

Road to France begins in earnest for Europeans n AFP, Paris Exactly eight weeks on from Germany’s triumph over Argentina in the final of the World Cup in Brazil, the road to the 2016 European Championship begins on Sunday.

The first round of matches in a qualifying campaign that will run until November next year will be spread over three nights, with European football’s governing body UEFA eager to maximise television exposure for the leading nations.

With the top two in each of the nine groups progressing along with the

best third-placed team - the remaining third-placed sides will play off for four more berths - the chances of seeing any major nations miss out seem virtually non-existent.

That, coupled with the number of matches against minor nations, led England manager Roy Hodgson to warn that a less-than-half-full Wembley, as was the case for the midweek friendly against Norway, may become a common sight.

Germany could be forgiven for wanting to savour their World Cup success a little longer, but instead Joachim Loew’s side - without the retired Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker or the injured Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Mats Hummels - start their Euro campaign against Scotland in Dort-

mund in Group D on Sunday.

The Germans lost 4-2 in a World Cup final rematch against Argentina on Wednesday, but Loew is hopeful a newlook defence in particular will come good against the Scots.

The added presence of Gibraltar, appearing in a qualifying competition for the very first time, adds even more intrigue to Group D and they will play their first qualifier against Poland in Faro on Portugal’s Algarve while they await construction of a venue on the rock itself.

For other nations, the road to Euro 2016 marks the birth of a new era, in particular for Spain, who failed miserably in their defence of the World Cup but remain the two-time defending European champions.

La Roja begin their bid to qualify from a modest Group C when they tackle Macedonia in Valencia on Monday, and they will do so without the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and David Villa, who have all retired.

Other countries have appointed new coaches, such as Euro 2004 winners Greece, who will be led by veteran Italian Claudio Ranieri as they start at home to Romania in Group F, while the Netherlands are now led by Guus Hiddink after Louis van Gaal took them to third place at the World Cup. The Oranje are away to the Czech Republic in Group A on Tuesday, while Antonio Conte’s first competitive game as Italy coach will be in Norway in Group H the same day. l

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho made a surprise move to Mexico’s first division Friday, joining the White Roosters of Queretaro on a two-year deal.

The 34-year-old former World Cup winner and two-time world player of the year had been without a club since leaving Brazilian outfit Atletico Mineiro in late July.

“I chose Mexico for the affection I have always received here. I am very motivated to represent Queretaro,” he wrote on Twitter.

The former Paris St-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan player, whose full name is Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, said he would be wearing the number 49 jersey, sporting his lucky number.

Signing Ronaldinho is a big move for a club that was almost thrown out of the league last year due to a corruption scandal involving its former owner. Ronaldinho had been pursued by English nonleague team Basingstoke Town, who play in the sixth tier. But the Brazilian great, who scored 33 goals in 97 appearances for his country, went another way.

“I am pleased to share with you that from today, the star @10Ronaldinho is a rooster,” team owner Olegario Vazquez wrote on Twitter. It strengthens a great team, the fans deserve it,” he said.

Ronaldinho joins the club as it fights to retain a playoff spot in the Liga MX 2014 Apertura tournament. Seven games into the season, Queretaro currently sits in eighth place, the last playoff place.l

Fifa completes probe into 2018, 2022 WC hosting n Reuters, Berne Fifa ethics committee investigator Michael Garcia has completed his probe into the controversial bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, and handed in a 350-page report.

The report, which has not been made public, will be submitted to the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber, headed by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, to decide on whether any wrongdoing was committed, soccer’s governing body said on Friday.

FIFA said they could not comment on

when Eckert might reach his decision.

During the course of the year-long investigation, Garcia and his deputy Cornel Borbely interviewed “more than 75 witnesses and compiled a record that, in addition to audio recordings from interviews, includes more than 200,000 pages of relevant material,” FIFA said.

“The report sets forth detailed factual findings; reaches conclusions concerning further action with respect to certain individuals; identifies issues to be referred to other FIFA committees; and makes recommendations for future bidding processes.”l

Real asked me not to play in the World Cup final: Di Maria n Reuters, Buenos Aires

Dutch national football team’s assistants coach Ruud van Nistelrooy (C) attends the Netherlands team’s training session on Friday in Seefeld ahead of their European championship qualification against Czech Republic on Tuesday AFP

Angel Di Maria has claimed his former club Real Madrid put pressure on Argentina not to play him in the World Cup final in another bitter chapter in his departure from the Spanish giants.

Di Maria joined Manchester United from Real last month for a British record fee of 59.7 million pounds ($97.45 million) with the Spanish club’s president Florentino Perez saying the winger’s demands for a new contract were too steep.

“There was a letter from Madrid that arrived at 11 in the morning of the match day, we were due to play at 4 in the afternoon... was putting ice on my leg to be in the final,” Di Maria told Argentine radio station America on Friday, suggesting the club did not want him to aggravate a leg injury.

“I tore up the letter as soon as it was given to me and didn’t take any notice of it, I didn’t care what might happen, but it was (coach) Alejandro’s (Sabella) decision,” he said.

“I didn’t want to make any demands of him but I also didn’t want to leave the team a man short five minutes from a very important match.”

Argentina lost the final 1-0 after extra time to Germany at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on July 13.

“I suffered a lot that morning, it was the worst thing that’s happened to me in my life in footballing (terms) because reaching another final is very difficult, not to say impossible,” Di Maria said.

“The letter was handed to (late Argentine FA president) Julio (Grondona) and he said if I wanted to play I should do so anyway. From what I understand

it had something to do with insurance.”

Later on Friday, Julio Grondona Jr accused Perez of wanting to intimidate the AFA into not fielding Di Maria, who was man of the match in Real’s Champions league victory in the final against Atletico Madrid in May. “We received the letter signed by Florentino Perez saying he did not allow Di Maria to play... We called Di Maria and together agreed to tear it up,” said Grondona’s son, president of Argentine first division club Arsenal which was founded by his father, and a member of Argentina’s World Cup delegation.

“We were pressured.”

“I never wanted to leave Madrid, Cristiano always supported me to stay.

Selling me was very good for Madrid to recover all they had spent (in the transfer market),” he said. l

THE FIVE BIGGEST SUMMER TRANSFERS IN LIGUE 1

DAVID LUIZ

SERGE AURIER

JORDAN AYEW

MICHY BATSHUAYI

ROMAIN ALESSANDRINI

Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain; 49.5m euros

Toulouse to Paris Saint-Germain; loan

Marseille to Lorient; undisclosed

Standard Liege to Marseille; 7m euros

Rennes to Marseille; 5 million euros

The Brazilian centre-back joined Paris Saint-Germain from Chelsea for a world record fee for a defender and is reunited with international team-mate Thiago Silva at the heart of Laurent Blanc’s back four. The World Cup proved a traumatic experience for the 27-year-old and his compatriots as they were demolished 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals but Blanc tipped his new signing to banish those painful memories and forge a formidable partnership with Thiago Silva at the Paris Saint-Germain.

Aurier, 21, was the standout right-back in the French top flight a year ago with Toulouse and was named in the Ligue 1 team of the season for the 2013/14 campaign. He then performed admirably for the Ivory Coast in Brazil before Paris Saint-Germain swooped in and snapped up Aurier on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent. Aurier, who spent much of his upbringing in the Paris outskirts, said the move was “a childhood dream” while PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi lauded the Ivorian as “one of the most promising young players in world football”.

Ayew, 22, penned a four-year contract at Lorient after struggling for first-team opportunities at Marseille. The Ghanaian striker impressed during the the second half of last season on loan at strugglers Sochaux where he netted five goals in 17 appearances, arguably his best run in the French top flight, but was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation to the second tier. Ayew is charged with the task of replacing Jeremie Aliadiere, who moved to Qatar, and Cameroon international Vincent Aboubakar, sold to FC Porto after scoring 16 Ligue 1 goals last season.

The highly-rated Batshuayi signed a five-year contract with Marseille after setting the Belgian Pro League alight with Standard Liege last season, scoring 21 goals. The 20-year-old of Congolese origin, a reported target of boyhood club Arsenal before pledging his future to Marseille, linked up with new OM boss Marcelo Bielsa. Batshuayi, a regular at Under-21 level for Belgium, was called up to Marc Wilmots’ provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup, and although he failed to make the final cut, Batshuayi very much remains one for the future.

Former Marseille academy product Alessandrini finally got his wish as he returned to the Velodrome, a year after almost joining his hometown club. A year ago, Rennes were reluctant to let him leave after the Brittany club helped nurse him back from a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered during the 2012/13 campaign.

Alessandrini, 25, scored 10 goals and laid on five assists and was called up to the France squad during his injury-truncated debut season in Ligue 1. Six goals and five assists was still enough to convince OM to prise him away from Rennes on a four-year deal.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Sunday, September 7, 2014

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD Australia A Finch b Steyn P Hughes c de Villiers b Steyn S Smith c Miller b Parnell G Bailey b Imran Tahir M Marsh b Parnell G Maxwell lbw b Steyn B Haddin lbw b Steyn J Faulkner c Miller b Morkel M Johnson c Phangiso b Morkel M Starc not out N Lyon not out Extras (4b, 5lb, 9w, 1nb) Total (9 wkts, 50 overs)

Austrian player banned for 70 matches An Austrian footballer has been handed a record 70-match ban for headbutting a referee during a fifth division match, the Tyrolean Football Federation confirmed on Thursday. “The 70-match suspension is without precedent to our knowledge but it seems proportional given the gravity of the offence,” said federation spokesman Horst Scherl.

The incident occurred last Saturday during a match between SK Rum and SPG Innsbruck West in the Tyrol region of western Austria. SK Rum midfielder Ismail Gundüz headbutted the referee as he was about to receive a second yellow card after 86 minutes while his team were trailing 3-2. “The referee had to be hospitalised, his lip exploded, and the match was interrupted,” said Scherl. “The disciplinary commission decided on a 70-match suspension, all parties, with the exception of the player, who disputes the facts, agreeing the intentional aspect of the gesture,” he continued.

–AFP

Fall of wickets 1-25 (Hughes), 2-49 (Smith), 3-82 (Bailey), 4-115 (Finch), 5-115 (Maxwell), 6-132 (Marsh), 7-137 (Haddin), 8-144 (Johnson), 9-215 (Faulkner).

Bowling Steyn 10-1-35-4, Morkel 10-0-58-2, Parnell 10-1-40-2, Phangiso 10-0-36-0, Imran Tahir 10-0-40-1.

South Africa H Amla c Bailey b Smith 51 Q de Kock c Bailey b Maxwell 7 F du Plessis c Faulkner b Johnson 96 W Parnell b Faulkner 6 AB de Villiers not out 57 JP Duminy not out 0 Extras (1b, 2w, 1nb) 4 Total (4 wkts, 40.5 overs) 221

Uefa lifts PSG sanction for Barca game UEFA have lifted a partial stadium closure imposed against Paris Saint Germain which would have applied when the French champions host Barcelona in the Champions League this month. PSG had been ordered to close two sections of their Parc des Princes stadium as punishment for their supporters’ abuse of disabled Chelsea fans during their Champions League quarter-final match in April. But European football’s governing body said on Friday that their appeals body had partially upheld PSG’s appeal and instead fined the club 50,000 euros ($64,790). PSG will host Spanish giants Barcelona on September 30. The club have also been ordered to make changes at their stadium “in order that people with reduced mobility are better protected,” UEFA said in a statement. During the April 2 first-leg quarter-final - in which PSG beat the Londoners 3-1 - a group of disabled Chelsea fans were seated among the home supporters due to a lack of facilities in the visitors’ stands.

–AFP

Fiorentina’s Rossi out for 5 more months Injury-prone Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi is expected to be out for another five months, his Serie A club said Friday. The American-born 27-year-old missed the World Cup because he only returned from a problem with his right knee late in the season and then-Italy coach Cesare Prandelli did not consider him fit enough to go to Brazil. The former Manchester United player underwent surgery in Colorado last Friday to try to resolve the long-standing problem.

Rossi ruptured his knee ligaments in 2011 and 2012 - missing almost two entire years of his career - and has suffered problems ever since.

Fiorentina said his knee was stable but insisted he needs a long period of rehabilitation. On September 1 the Tuscans had suggested he would be out for only a month and a half. Rossi, who also played for Villarreal and Parma, has scored seven goals in 30 appearances for Italy.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH

South African cricket players pose for a photo after winning the final of the triangular ODI series against Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe yesterday

AP

Fall of wickets 1-14 (de Kock), 2-112 (Amla), 3-126 (Parnell), 4-217 (du Plessis) Bowling Johnson 9.5-0-52-1, Maxwell 2-0-12-1, Marsh 5-0-25-0, Starc 4-0-27-0, Faulkner 8-0-54-1, Lyon 10-1-41-0, Smith 2-0-9-1

Steyn, Du Plessis set up tri-series win for SA n Reuters, Harare A superb spell of reverse-swing bowling from Dale Steyn and another fluent innings from Faf du Plessis helped South Africa cruise to a six-wicket victory over Australia in the final of the triangular series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

Steyn took key wickets in recording figures of 4-34 as the Proteas limited Australia to 217-9 in their 50 overs.

South Africa always looked in control of their reply as Du Plessis finished with 96, just missing out on his fourth century in five matches and third in the

series against Australia.

The Proteas passed their victory target with 55 balls to spare to win the one-day international series that also involved Zimbabwe.

Both sides had spoken of the importance of this series in the build-up to next year’s 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“The fact that we are starting to win games under pressure shows we are on the right track, but there is definitely room for improvement,” Proteas captain AB de Villiers said at the postmatch presentation.

“We will try to get things 100 percent

for the big tournament (World Cup).”

After South Africa had asked Australia to bat, they managed to contain the run rate and pick up wickets at regular intervals.

Both slow-bowling options worked well, with off-spinner Aaron Phangiso going for 36 in his 10 overs and leg-spinner Imran Tahir recording figures of 1-40. But the Australians were put on the back foot when Steyn returned for a second spell midway through the innings.

He bowled opener Aaron Finch for 54 with a vicious inswinging delivery and did the same on the very next ball

to trap the dangerous Glenn Maxwell leg before wicket.

That triggered an Australian collapse that left them floundering on 144-8, before James Faulkner (39) and Mitchell Starc (29 not out) put on 71 for the ninth wicket to add some respectability to the score.

“We were 70 to 80 runs short, but we were outplayed,” Australia captain George Bailey said.

“It was challenging to bat at the start, but once again, credit to South Africa, their spinners were tight and their top four almost all got starts.”

The Proteas looked to be positive

from the start in their reply and after the early loss of Quinton de Kock (seven), Hashim Amla and Du Plessis added 98 for the second wicket with the test captain out for 51.

An experiment to move Wayne Parnell up the order as a pinch-hitter was a failure as he took 24 balls to score just six while AB de Villiers took just 41 deliveries for his 57 not out to make a mockery of the plan.

Du Plessis, named Man of the Series, was out four runs short of his hundred, caught by Faulkner at mid-on, off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson, with the scores level. l

KP slams ‘selfish’ Cook Gregs, DT, Play-Pen, DRMSC into semis n AFP, London

Kevin Pietersen has slammed England captain Alastair Cook as “selfish” for playing down his team’s chances of winning next year’s World Cup. Cook’s side beat India by 41 runs on Friday to salvage some pride after an emphatic defeat in the one-day series, but former England batsman Pietersen is still frustrated by what he sees as a negative attitude in the national team hierarchy.

He believes Cook is keen to take a low-key approach to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to avoid heaping further pressure onto his own shoulders after his poor one-day displays, which prompted several ex-England stars to call for him to step down as limited overs skipper.

“I think it is selfish that the captain is not talking positively about winning the World Cup,” Pietersen wrote in his Daily Telegraph column on Saturday.

“In Alastair Cook’s own words it is ‘far fetched’ to believe we can win the tournament. I just do not buy that. It is

also nonsense to think we do not have time to make changes that could transform England’s chances.”

Pietersen revealed that the lack of positivity going into next year’s tournament is especially galling after the Ashes schedule was amended to improve England’s chances. The controversial batsman was axed after that dismal Ashes campaign after falling out with several members of Cook’s team.

“There is a theory the England and Wales Cricket Board are reluctant to remove Cook as captain of the one-day team because it might destabilise the camp ahead of next year’s Ashes,” he added. That is hard to swallow for those of us who endured back-to-back Ashes campaigns just so this winter could be dedicated to one-day cricket in the lead-up to the World Cup.” Although Cook came through similar doubts about his suitability to lead the Test side earlier in the season, Pietersen believes his style fundamentally does not fit in with what is required in the shorter form of the game. l

BTV, Gazi TV, Ten Cricket

n Tribune Desk

The semi-final line-ups of the boys’ event in the Polar Icecream 22nd School Handball Tournament 2014 were confirmed as St. Gregory’s High School, Dhanmondi Tutorial, Play-Pen School and Dhaka Residential Model School and College progressed to the last four after their respective quarterfinals at the M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium yesterday.

St. Gregory’s defeated Scholastica 26-9, Dhanmondi Tutorial pipped Sunnydale 15-14, Play-Pen outplayed Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment School 12-5 while Residential beat BISC 12-4.

Meanwhile in the girls’ second round matchups, Scholastica outclassed Chittagong Grammar School Dhaka 17-0, Green Herald International School posted a narrow 3-2 win over Agrani School and College, Shaheed Anwar Girls’ College thrashed South Breeze School 7-1 while Viqarunnisa Noon School and College thumped Motijheel Colony High School 8-1. l

An action from the match between Play-pen and Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment School during the 22nd School Handball tournament at the Handball stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Serena to face on Wozniacki in US Open final after Peng drama

8:00PM Bangladesh tour of West Indies 1st Test, Day 3 Star Sports 1, 3 HD1 7: 55 PM Natwest International T20 England v India Star Sports 4 6:00PM F1: Italian GP Race Day

n AFP, New York

Sony Six 10:00 PM Uefa Euro 2016 Qualifying Denmark v Armenia 12:30 AM Germany Scotland Sony Six HD 10:00 PM Uefa Euro 2016 Qualifying Georgia v Republic of Ireland 12:30 AM Portugal v Albania Ten Sports, Ten HD 10:30 PM US Open 2014 Men’s Double Final 2:30 AM Women’s Singles Final

54 15 10 12 27 0 6 39 6 29 0 19 217

Peng Shuai of China receives help leaving the court in her match against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during their US Open 2014 women’s singles semifinals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center in New York on Friday AFP

Serena Williams will fight for an 18th Grand Slam title against Caroline Wozniacki after sweeping past Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-3 on Friday to reach the US Open final.

World number one Williams, winner of the past two titles at Flushing Meadows and five overall, will try to match Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 career major titles when she faces her good friend Wozniacki on Sunday.

The 10th-seeded Dane was leading 7-6 (7/1) 4-3 when China’s Peng Shuai dramatically retired from their semi-final with heat related illness.

Peng was taken from the court in a wheelchair as Wozniacki, leading 7-6 (7/1), 4-3, was declared the victor.

Peng, in growing discomfort in the second set in the hot sunshine bathing Arthur Ashe Stadium court, was

overcome in the eighth game, reeling to the back of the court where she was eventually attended by a trainer and a supervisor.

After some discussion she was helped form the court and granted a confusing and controversial mid-game medical timeout as Wozniacki, facing a break point, was left to try to stay loose hitting practice serves.

Peng returned to the court and after a break of 10 minutes played five more points before she was stricken again, finally crumpling to the court, her Grand Slam dream in tatters.

Wozniacki, who shocked five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, is back in a Grand Slam final for the first time since losing in the 2009 US Open final to Kim Clijsters.

Despite her 17 major wins, Williams, too, was overjoyed to return to the final, having failed to make it out of the fourth round at any major so far this year.

“Oh my God, it feels so good,” said Williams, who sank almost to her

knees screaming “Yes!” when Makarova pushed a last forehand wide. “I’m so happy, you have no idea.”

Williams saw Peng’s travails unfold as she warmed up for her match.

“I was really saddened by it,” she said.

“She’s such a great person. You never want to see anyone go out like that.”

There was no drama - or suspense for Williams. After Makarova had held her first service game for 1-1 in the opening set, Williams won the next nine games, turning up the volume to finish with 24 winners on an increasingly windy Ashe court.

The American superstar needed exactly one hour to subdue 17th-seeded Makarova, who was playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final after coming up empty in four prior quarter-final appearances.

Williams played three straight tournaments in the build-up to the Open, winning titles in Stanford and Cincinnati and reaching the semi-finals in Montreal. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Indian tariffs make Bangladesh major gold smuggling hub n Mohammad Jamil Khan The recent confiscation of smuggled gold from Dhaka’s main railway station, in addition to near daily seizures of gold from the country’s international airports, suggest Bangladesh’s integration into an international gold smuggling network, police said.

The latest gold seizure at Dhaka airport yesterday resulted in the detention of Shah Alam, 35, and the recovery of 700 grams of the precious metal hidden in his luggage trolley. A day earlier, 5.75 kilogrammes of gold was recovered from Dhaka airport and Kamalapur Railway Station.

Law enforcement intelligence officials said Bangladesh was being used as a transit route for gold intended for the Indian market after that country increased taxes on gold imports. The Indian market’s demand for gold is legendary. Sources said most gold brought illegally into Bangladesh was on its way to India, where it was smuggled in by road and railway.

Law enforcers have so far been unsuccessful in putting down the smuggling of the precious metal. Sources allege that law enforcers only manage to recover a fraction of the smuggled gold, while most of the illegal trade successfully evades observation.

Customs and police sources said most of those arrested in gold smuggling cases last year were now out of jail on bail. The masterminds and influential people behind the illicit trade have not been clearly identified, they said.

Intelligence agencies report that smugglers, many of whom are Bangladeshi and Indian nationals, were working in cooperation with gold smugglers in a number of other countries.

Sources said seven international gold smuggling groups were active in Bangladesh. Local smugglers of various sizes are reported to be working with the smuggling racket. At present, Al Razzak, Rashid and Hamza of Dubai, “ND” of Singapore and Samir, Jamil Ahmed and Ashif were allegedly leading smuggling operations on the Bangladesh-India transit route.

The Dhaka Tribune managed to speak with a smuggler who has links with the illicit gold trade. The smuggler, who preferred to remain anonymous, said a few days ago that Bangladeshis were delivering smuggled gold

to the border with India for a commission paid for each gold bar.

Several months ago, Indian nationals started working the route directly in order to cash in on the lucrative trans-Bangladesh trade, the smuggler said.

The veracity of his statement was borne out by the fact that 20 Indian citizens carrying gold bars had recently been arrested by police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh.

Customs department records showed a total of 610 kilogrammes of gold recovered between July last year and the present month, worth about Tk277 crore.

In this connection, 89 cases were filed with police stations and 86 people shown arrested.

Records showed that most of the smugglers arrested in the past year were freed on bail although these cases are not bailable, because they are under Sections 25 B (1) B and 26 (1) of the Special Powers Act, 1974.

Mahfuzul Islam, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, told the Dhaka Tribune that almost all of the accused arrested in gold smuggling cases last year were now out on bail.

Intelligence officials said Nasir, Golden Monir, Nizam, Dipok Kumar, Md Habib, Abul Kashem, Abdur Rauf, Rabbani, Mizanur Rahman, Delowar, Asadullah, Atikul Islam, Monowar, Razesh, Kamal Uddin, Kamrul Hassan, Abu Jafor, Hossain Askar Labu, Saiful, Mazid, Ariful Islam, Selim, Liton, Jashim, Rafiq and others were regularly involved in gold smuggling in Bangladesh.

Fifteen years ago, there were 14 top gold smugglers in the country, of whom at least three were now politicians belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Awami League and the Jatiya Party, intelligence officials of law enforcement agencies said. There are a minimum of 50 influential people in the country connected to the smuggling racket, they said.

Airport authorities said at least 150 officials and staff at Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet airports belonging to the civil aviation administration, the customs service and Biman, were working to put an end to gold smuggling.

Mainul Khan, director of customs intelligence, told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh is being used as major transit hub for gold smuggling as Indian demand continues to rise. l

A section of the 22 workers, who returned after being cheated in Sudan, arrive at the Shahjalal International Airport in the capital yesterday

22 workers return from Sudan after facing fraud n Rabiul Islam

After being cheated and physically abused, 22 Bangladeshi migrant workers yesterday returned home from Sudan on three separate Air Arabia flights.

In January this year, the workers went to Sudan legally to work in the textile sector, only to be offered wages even lower than in Bangladesh.

The expat affairs secretary, Khandoker Showkat Hossain, said: “I am aware of the matter and our ambassador in Iraq has been given the responsibility to deal with the issue.”

“I do not know the latest situation but I will look into the matter,” the sec-

retary told the Dhaka Tribune.

When asked whether sufficient background checks had been made about safety and work conditions in Sudan, the expat affairs secretary said he would look into it.

Al Amin Noyon, a project officer at SHISHUK, a non-governmental organisation working for the rights of migrant workers, said Al-Purbasha Enterprise sent 58 migrants to Sudan legally, promising handsome salaries but workers were not paid as promised.

When contacted, the proprietor of Al-Purbasha Enterprise, Md Washiul Kabir, was not available for comment. Relatives of the migrants lodged complains

n Tribune Report Intelligence agencies in Kolkata have prevented four Hyderabad youths from crossing over to Bangladesh to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Police on Friday said more youngsters from the city could be in touch with recruiters from the terror outfit, reported The Times of India.

n Sourav Habib from Rajshahi

“We have seen the news and we are looking into the matter. We have to examine the basis of the news,” Additional Secretary at Bangladesh's Home Ministry Kamal Uddin Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

Top Indian police officers said the recent al-Qaeda threat video and the starling revelation of the four city youngsters trying to get in touch with

‘The government could lend a hand’ Hamid complained about the lack of government help in running the sanctuary.

“I am a retired teacher. My mango orchard was my only source of income, but

try like Sudan, he said the middleman promised that the owner was Turkish and the salary was good.

“We knew it was a risk. It is our fate,” Salahuddin said.

“When we demanded salary increases, the security guards of the textile firm beat up a number of workers including Jasim Molla, Furkhan and Ruhul,” Aminul Islam, 38, a returnee from Gazipur told this correspondent.

“When I worked at Titas Denim in Bangladesh, I would get a salary of Tk13,000 but in Sudan I was given just Tk8,000,” Aminul said.

“We were without work for about two months,” he added. l

now I cannot grow mangoes because of these birds. If the government compensated me, I could let the birds stay,” he said.

In 2012, he informed Lutfor Rahman, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) at the time, about the birds. “But all he did was putting up a signboard declaring my orchard a reserved area,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

The current UNO of Puthia Khandaker Farhad Ahmed was very impressed on his visit to Hamid’s bird sanctuary on Monday.

“This sanctuary has increased this village’s beauty. Hamid has set an example by sacrificing so much for these birds,” he said.

He said the upazila administration would take necessary steps to preserve the biodiversity in the area as well as ensure a safe and healthy environment for tourists.

“We plan to build a road to the sanctuary.

We will also take legal steps to ensure the birds’ safety. Even if we are unable to provide financial help to Hamid, we will certainly try to give him the state honour,” the UNO said. l

a jihadi handler in Bangladesh have left the security agencies jitter.

In the video of al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahri available on social networking sites, he proposed to spread Islamic rule and raise the "flag of jihad" across the Indian subcontinent.

Last Sunday, four youngsters in their early twenties, including two engineering students, were arrested by

detectives in Kolkata while they were allegedly planning to meet an ISIS contact in Dhaka and join the terror outfit.

During interrogation, they revealed that 11 more youths from Hyderabad could be in touch with the ISIS handlers.

Motivated by an ISIS handler in a Facebook group, the youngsters decided to join the ISIS and went to Kolkata a week ago without informing their parents. l

Bangladesh successfully reduces child blindness over the last 14 years n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

made sure the birds feel safe on his property, despite all inconveniences they have caused him.

His love for birds is shared by everyone in the entire village – men, women and children alike, said Hamid’s son Ripon. “The villagers are determined to protect the sanctuary and do not let any hunters enter the village,” he said.

Ashraful Islam, a student, said: “After the word got out about this place, a few hunters have tried to come to our village, but the villagers always turn them away.”

Manjurul Islam, a farmer, said these birds had made the village famous, while school student Moushumi, said they were the main source of recreation for the villagers.

at the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry, Noyon said.

According to the victims, a middleman named Sarwar Bashir of Narsingdi, promised workers they would get around Tk40,000 including monthly overtime.

When they got to Sudan, the textile industry workers were offered Tk8,000.

“I was working as a mechanic at Sina Textiles in Bangladesh and was paid Tk19,000 per month. But in Sudan I was offered Tk13,000,” one of the returnees, Muhammad Salahuddin, 28, told the Dhaka Tribune over the telephone yesterday.

“We, a group of eight workers, each spent Tk160,000 to go to Sudan,” he said.

Asked why he went to a poor coun-

Four Indians coming to Bangladesh to join ISIS held

A safe haven for birds of passage Even five years ago, retired teacher Abdul Hamid took pride in his mango orchard, spanning over more than an acre of land. It was also his source of income, earning him around Tk150,000 from selling the orchard produce in 2009.

It is also the last year Hamid incurred any monetary gain from his orchard, thanks to migratory birds.

However, the resident of Bhallukgachhi Chokpara village, under the district’s Puthia upazila, let the birds find a sanctuary in his mango orchard.

The villagers also joined in to protect the sanctuary, which has now turned into a tourist spot.

But the birds found a safe haven in Hamid’s garden long before, the villagers told the Dhaka Tribune. Around seven years ago, they noticed around 10-15 birds making nests in a shimul tree there. The number increased a little every year.

Then one day in 2009, Hamid discovered around 10,000 birds nesting in his orchard.

“I found egg shells under the trees,” Hamid said. “The birds had hatchlings in the nests in my trees. They had made a home out of my orchard.”

Hamid has been facing monetary loss for the past five years as he can no longer grow mangoes because of the birds. Yet, he did not drive them away.

“This birds are my guest, they are our national treasure. People come to see these birds from far away,” he said.

“These birds migrate here in May every year, nest, and leave by the end of January,” said Esar Uddin, one of the villagers. “There are many other trees around Hamid’s orchard, but these birds always choose his trees to nest.”

A bird enthusiast himself, Hamid has

NASHIRUL ISLAM

Bangladesh has successfully reduced around 50% of child blindness in last the 14 years, which has come down to 25,000 from 48,000 as estimated in the year 2000.

Dr AHM Enayet Hussain, head of paediatric ophthalmology at the National Institute of Opthalmology and Hospital and program manager of national eye care program, made the announcement while presenting his keynote paper at an orientation on childhood blindness for journalist at the National Press Club yesterday.

Orbis International and Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra jointly organised the orientation under National Childhood Blindness Reduction Program at Orbis and the National Eye Care.

Presenting his keynote speech, Enayet said although no national survey was conduction on child blindness in the country, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the number of child blindness patients using Under-5 child mortality rate.

“Currently, the Under-5 child mortality rate is at 53, so it can be said that the estimated number of child blindness patients would be around 25,000,” he added.

He also added: “We had conducted cataract surgery of more than 10,000 children between 2005 and 2010.

When we reviewed the success of these operations, we observed that many of the operation did not give satisfactory outcomes as the patient

CHILD BLINDNESS IN BANGLADESH YEAR AFFECTED Cataract surgery 2000 2014

48,000 25,000

Within 2005-2010

+10,000

50% reduction in 14 years WHO RECORD Childhood blindness Refractive errors Low vision

0.75/1,000 1.3m 1,53,600

Around 78,336 blindnesses can be avoided Eye related issues Cataract, refractive error, strabismus, ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), ptosis and eye injury. did not come for treatment at an earlier age.”

He urged the people to bring their children, who are suffering from eyesight problem, for treatment and informed that the government will be providing all kinds of eye care treatment, including surgery, free of cost.

When asked, Dr Munir Ahmed, country director of Orbis International for Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I will not disagree with him [Enayet] but before using this data it should be validated in some way.

“However, the number of child blindness patients had definitely reduce in number. But, a large number of children continue to suffering from avoidable childhood illnesses.”

He further said early detection of the problem, quality of treatment and

post-treatment care can prevent avoidable blindness or restore the sight of the children.

Child eye experts said avoidable child blindness and visual impairment is a significant health issue in Bangladesh and its impact fuels poverty and worsens socio-economic inequality.

They also added that children of Bangladesh have been suffering of different eye related issues, such as cataract, refractive error, strabismus, rop (retinopathy of prematurity), ptosis and eye injury.

Quoting WHO, global estimates of childhood blindness show that the prevalence of childhood blindness in Bangladesh is at 0.75 per 1,000 children.

They said approximately 1.3 million children have refractive errors and around 1,53,600 have low vision problems, of which around 78,336 can be avoided.

Without intervention, blind or visually-impaired children are likely to experience low educational achievement, lack of productive employment opportunities, social isolation and increased poverty.

Among others, Mohammed Alauddin, director program of Orbis, Dr Nahid Ferdousi, co-ordinator of National Childhood Blindness Reduction Program, Dr. Lutful Husain, staff optholmologist at Orbis, and Parvin Sultana Jhuma, general secretary of Bangladesh Nari Sangbadhik Kendra, also addressed the program. l

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B3 G20 signals flexibility on big bank failures

B4 Japan PM’s stance on next tax hike ‘utterly neutral’

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

IMF looks into BB’s distressed debt handling n Asif Showkat Kallol International Monetary Fund is closely watching Bangladesh Bank’s actions in handling the country’s big loan scams in state-run banks, said Bank Division officials.

IMF has asked the central bank to provide more updates on specific steps it has taken regarding the incidents which include three loan forgeries by state-owned Sonali Bank and BASIC Bank involving thousands of crores taka, the sources said.

The lender also wanted to know as to whether the central bank has any plan to sell out the distressed debts arisen from the three scams.

A five-member IMF mission headed

by South Asia executive director Rodrigo Cubero will visit Dhaka on September 17-30 to review its fifth tranche of its $1bn credit given to Bangladesh under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

For the review, IMF has already sent a questionnaire to the central bank and different ministries asking about various issues. Answers will be sent on September 9.

Also during its fourth review mission last year, the IMF wanted to know what actions were taken against the banking frauds.

IMF also sought information about state-owned commercial and specialised banks’ compliance history with a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the central bank.

According to BB’s financial stability report 2013, the rising stressed assets and a couple of big financial scams in the state banks have been a cause for concern in the banking industry.

Stressed assets, which include gross non-performing assets and restructured advances, stood at 13.5% of the total loans at the end of December 2013, compared with 13.7% a year ago.

One-third (Tk20,360 crore) of the stressed assets are held by five state banks out of the 56 banks in Bangladesh.

Besides, IMF requested for three years information of non-performing loans (NPL) of all state-run commercial and specialised banks.

It also wanted to know about what plans or policies the central bank has taken to deal with the NPL and rescheduled loans for the banks.

A BB investigation in 2012 found that the Hall-Mark Group and some other businesses swindled around Tk3,557 crore from Sonali Bank showing fake documents. Of the amount, Hall-Mark alone embezzled Tk2,626 crore.

“The state banks won’t be able to recover the money from the distressed debt,” Salehuddin Ahmed, a former central bank governor, told Dhaka Tribune.

Distressed debt means a default loan of a borrower who is financially in deep trouble, and the state banks will sell his or her properties to recover the default amount.

Salehuddin Ahmed said as the default loans of the Hall-Mark Group have already become distressed debts, Sonali Bank can recover the amount by selling lands of the group.

“But in a country like Bangladesh, most of the loan defaulters are well connected with the political parties, so it is not so easy for the state banks to sell out the distressed debts,’’ he feared. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and herJapanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at a joint press briefing at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka yesterday. Shinzo Abe is the first Japanese PM to visit Bangladesh in the past 14 years. The visit focuses on, among others, strengthening bilateral trade relation through investment and development assistance by Japan BSS

Accord: Real progress made towards safe RMG goal n Tribune Report Accord claimed that it has made a “good and real progress” towards the goal of turning Bangladesh’s garment manufacturing into a safe and sustainable industry.

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the Western buyers’ initiative said more than 250 corrective action plans have been agreed so far while implementation of many such plans is already underway.

Corrective initiatives being implemented include things like reducing weight loads and adhering to load management plans.

Other corrective actions are a matter of cleaning up, organising, and then being disciplined in maintenance practices, said Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. These also include properly connecting and sealing electrical wires and keeping wires and circuits free of dust and lint.

Accord inspected over 1,000 ready-

made garment units for their fire, electrical and structural safety. The inspections found faults and safety risks in all these three areas in a significant number of factories.

The signatory companies of Accord and the faulty factories are working together to correct the flaws as soon as possible.

Accord set some safety requirements for the factories like installing fire doors, automated smoke detectors and fire alarm systems, establishing fire

protected exits from factory buildings, and strengthening of building columns.

In less than 2% of all inspected factories, Accord’s structural engineers deemed the factories unsafe for production and occupancy in their current state.

After lack of safety measures was spotted, over 21 factories have been shut down as a total of 1,631 units were inspected by Accord and Alliance, another such initiative by north American RMG importers. l

Directors to face Mongla Port SEZ development hits snag App to complain against restriction to enter “We wrote the two companies sev- Sirajganj SEZ is August 17, he said. n Kayes Sohel The proposed land area for the Sira- mobile phone services eral times for presenting financial probank premises The development of Special Econom- posal but they did not respond, leading jganj site is over 1,000 acres.

Earlier, BEZA carried out a study ic Zone at Mongla Port faltered as the the authority to call fresh invitation,” n Asif showkat n Muhammad Zahidul Islam selected developers were unrespon- said an official of BEZA. The investors and identified that Sherpur, MirershoThe directors of state-owned banks will not be able to enter their respective bank premises at their own sweet will, a move that was adopted last week apparently to curtail their influence on regular operation of the financial institutions.

The recent move will allow the directors to only attend the board meetings.

The Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID) and Bangladesh Bank in association with the management of state banks have also finalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) containing 19 points.

The banking division also said the state-owned banks may not appoint their retired high-ups to the same banks, plus their foreign tours will be curtailed by the board of directors of the banks.

The chief executive officers of state banks cannot stay in their posts for a long time, official sources said.

The MoUs as well the yearly action plan will be executed under the key performance indicator.

The CEOs and other senior officials will monitor the key performance indicators every six month and inform the ministry of the progress.

The risk management of state banks will also be strictly monitored on timely basis and audit objections will be dissolved within a stipulated time frame.

The court cases will also be reviewed on monthly basis.

According to the MoUs, the Human Resources Development policy of state banks will be reviewed and monitored at a regular interval of three months. l

sive towards the repeated request of Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) for submission of their financial proposal for the zone.

After showing expression of interests (EoI), Dubai Holding Commercial Operation Groups and Shanghai-based Wishark Enterprises Ltd - stepped back, citing lack of enough viability to woo the investors, said sources at the BEZA. The failure to net the developers by the government agencies has forced the BEZA to seek approval from the cabinet committee on economic affairs for floating fresh invitation from the developers.

On August 26, the cabinet committee approved the BEZA proposal to issue both EoI and request for financial proposal (RFP) in one envelop for making the procedure faster.

“We will invite both EoI and RFP within the next two weeks for the Mongla SEZ,” said Md Nurannabi Mridha, executive member, Planning and Development at BEZA and also project director.

Mongla Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is the first venture after the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) was constituted through enactment of law in 2010. It is one of the five economic zones that the government planned to establish at a cost of Tk1,400 crore in the country’s different areas.

The government has bought 205 acres of land for Mongla SEZ from Mongla Port Authority at a cost of more than Tk47 crore. The World Bank (WB) will provide about Tk80 crore for offside development project.

on condition of anonymity said the Mongla site will not be attractive as salinity on the surface is too high.

“Moreover, Mongla Export Processing Zone is still underutilised and port activities have been suffering a lot due to navigation problem of Pashur River for which most of the transportation is done through the Chittagong Port,” said an investor. He said the government, however, tried its best to woo investment in Mongla SEZ. The government in July had appointed an Indian company, Price Water House Coopers Private Limited India (PWC), for expediting the development and construction of the five proposed SEZs following the government agencies failure to attract foreign and local investors.

In line with the procedure, the government will provide the land by acquiring them and utility in five areas and the investing companies will develop the infrastructure on their own and bring foreign investors to set up industries there.

In April 2012, the prime minister gave nod to set up five ever economic zones supposed to be completed in two years aiming to industrialise and enhance the living standards of rural people by attracting both foreign and domestic investments.

Other four SEZs will be set up in Anwara and Mirersarai of Chittagong, Sherpur of Moulvibazar and in areas adjacent to Bangabandhu Bridge in Sirajganj. Land acquisition process of the above first three SEZs are underway, said Mridha.

The deadline for submitting RFP for

rai and Anwara as potential locations for economic zones to be built at an estimated cost of $1.17bn by investors.

But the government has not carried out any feasibility study while establishing a SEZ in Mongla after the Prime Minister’s Office gave nod, but followed the previous study of Mongla Export Processing Zone.

The Sherpur Economic Zone, which is proposed to be set up on 353 acres of land, will be 55km from MAG Osmani International Airport, 435km from the Chittagong port and 208km from Dhaka, according to the study.

It will accommodate industrial units for textile, ceramic, pharmaceuticals, paint and food processing, and create jobs for 40,706 workers. The price of land will be $50 per square metre.

The government plans to start the construction of the Sherpur EZ in 2015 and complete the work by 2018. It will cost $90m, with only five households to be relocated to accommodate the economic zone. The Mirershorai economic zone will be set up on 6,615.12 acres of land at a cost of $847m. It, however, does not have the water supply network at present.

The proposed zone will be 182km from Dhaka, 66km from Chittagong, 79km from the airport and 67 from the seaport. It will house industries such as garment, garment accessories, textiles, machinery parts, bike and automobile assembling.

The Anwara project will be located on 1,389 acres of land and will be 45km from Chittagong port, 28km from the port city and 46km from the airport. It will cost $239mn. l

BTRC is developing a mobile application to help users file their complaints if any against telecom services.

The app will be first of its kind in the country and is expected to be available for use before CTO annual meeting from tomorrow, the regulator sources said.

It will be launched on android platform, but also available on Google app and other stores.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is going to host 54th annual meeting of Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO) in Dhaka on September 8-12.

“We are developing the application to offer better services to the telecom users. It will reach the users before the CTO meeting,” said Zakir Hossain Khan, Assistant Director (Media and Publications), told Dhaka Tribune.

However, the app will be fully ready to receive complaints in a couple of days after launch, he said.

According to him, some more time is also needed to synchronise with mobile applications and their website.

The application developer firm MCC handed over the draft app to BTRC on Sunday. Earlier in January, Dhaka Metropolitan Police developed an android application first time from a government wing.

But BTRC app would be considered first in the country, said SM Ashraf Abir, managing director of MCC. The government has taken an initiative to develop 100 apps for the users.

BTRC’s app is first among them.

In first week of August, MCC developed an application on Bangabandhu

under 100 application projects.

But that application is yet to be launched. BTRC app includes many features including the history of BTRC, and its mission, vision and achievements.

A senior officer of BTRC said the initiative has been taken to take the government’s services to the end-users, monitor services provided by telecom operators and ensure rights of the clients.

Earlier in an event recently, BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose expressed his dissatisfaction over the management of customer complaints by the mobile phone operators, saying the operators mostly ignore the complaints or refer to the regulator. l

ICT helpline introduced to protect cyber crime victims n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The government has introduced an ICT helpline where victims could lodge complains to seek assistance from the state in getting necessary protective measures against cyber crime.

The government has already disclosed a cell no (01766678888),

which will remain active 24 hours a day and seven days a week for the people, according to a latest facebook status of state minister of the ICT division Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

“To inform or to receive any sort of help regarding cyber crime just send an SMS or make a direct phone call, anytime from anywhere in Bangladesh by 24/7,” urges Palak in

his status posted on Saturday.

Earlier, experts at a seminar on the ICT industry informed that there was a cyber crime committing in every 20 seconds in the country.

Kamal Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary of the ICT division under Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology ministry said, “We are developing a wing

for the protection of cyber crime as the government has already undertaken a program for it.”

He, however, informed that the ministry was providing necessary assistance to the affected people in the last couple of months.

Earlier, on October 2013, the government has amended the ICT act and introduced a section about

cyber crime.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also established an immediate response team of cyber crime protection in 2012, which included all the mobile phone operators and other stake holders. But this team is now currently ineffective, according to ICT ministry officials. l

B2

Stocks extend rally for fourth session n

The major sectors posted a mixed performance with non-banking financial institution posting highest gain of over 2%, followed by power, IT, textile and telecommunication that closed almost flat.

Food and allied, pharmaceuticals and banks edged down.

Lanka Bangla Securities said index had a stellar rally at the beginning of the trading session. However, profit booking in last hour narrowed the gain, it said.

“Market kept its bullish trend intact as it observed two consecutive green days after crossing 4,600 level.

Strong market sentiment is evident by the high market turnover and return on picky stocks.”

IDLC Investments said market momentum continued for the fourth consecutive session amid improved turnover.

It said large cap stocks still demonstrate a strong conviction from the investors’ part, while a number of non-banking financial institutions showed up in the top gaining list.

The gainers beat the losers as of 295 issues traded, 185 advanced, 88 declined and 22 remained unchanged.

Mobil Jamuna Limited Bangladesh was the most traded stocks with shares worth nearly Tk34 crore changing hands, followed by Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd Bangladesh, Beximco Limited, BSRM Steel, Grameenphone and Beximco Pharma. l

Tribune Report

Stocks ended flat yesterday, extending their rally for the fourth session in a row.

The market opened on upbeat mood and the momentum remained strong till the end of the session.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, rose 9 points or 0.3% to 4,642.

The Shariah index, DSES, was marginally up almost 2 points or 0.2% to 1,089.

Market momentum continued for the fourth consecutive session amid improved turnover

The comprising blue chips DS30 witnessed fractional gains of 0.2 points to 1,758.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, shed 5 points to 8,725.

The trading activities were, however, upbeat as turnover at DSE stood at Tk602 crore, an increase of 9.4% over the previous session.

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS Company AIMS First -A EBL NRB M.F.-A IFIC 1st MF-A EXIM Bank 1 MF-A Reliance1 M.F.-A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A FarEast Knitting -N Grameen M F One-A EBL First M F-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A

Closing (% change) -25.40 -17.54 -13.56 -12.86 -12.20 -11.86 -9.91 -8.66 -8.33 -8.33

CSE LOSERS Company AIMS First -A Popular Life Insu. -A 8th ICB M F-A IFIC 1st MF-A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A FarEast Knitting -N Grameen M F One-A EBL First M F-A AB Bank 1st Mutual Fund-A Reliance1 M.F.-A

Closing (% change) -25.00 -24.18 -21.43 -10.34 -10.17 -9.76 -9.70 -9.68 -9.23 -8.33

4642.37703

(+) 1.41%

1758.24193

(+) 1.84%

14355.8981

(+) 1.33%

11499.7385

(-) 1.29%

8725.2512

(+) 0.77%

Average (% change) -25.13 -20.17 -12.54 -12.86 -12.92 -11.95 -9.71 -10.18 -9.46 -7.64 Average (% change) -25.20 -24.18 -22.14 -9.45 -10.32 -10.23 -10.21 -10.24 -8.78 -8.33

ANALYST

Closing average 28.51 4.79 5.16 6.10 7.28 5.23 41.10 32.63 5.55 5.56

Closing average 28.68 138.00 54.50 5.27 5.30 40.91 32.64 5.52 5.92 7.70

Weekly closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 1198.67 1018.46 438.53 3520.29 1626.82 3183.48 9.73 3786.05 3880.27 398.51 414.37 223.70 269.66 1401.53 923.58 365.21 428.58 1362.75 629.74 1919.11 2.26

▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ Weekly high

28.20 4.70 5.10 6.10 7.20 5.20 40.90 32.70 5.50 5.50

Weekly closing

40.00 5.60 6.00 6.60 8.30 6.00 45.00 36.00 6.10 6.20

Weekly high

28.50 138.00 55.00 5.20 5.30 40.70 32.60 5.60 5.90 7.70

39.30 138.00 55.00 5.80 6.00 44.70 36.50 6.30 6.70 8.50

CSE key features August 28-Sep 4, 2014

DSE GAINERS

Turnover (Million Taka)

In Tech Online -A ISN Ltd. -Z Rangpur Dairy-N Fu-Wang Food A Agni Systems -A Modern Dyeing -Z Nitol Insurance -A PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Daffodil Computers -Z R. N. Spinning-Z

Company

27,001.31

Turnover (Volume)

691,742,834

Number of Contract

648,116

Traded Issues

309

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

190

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

114 5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,449.11

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.69

CSE key features August 28-Sep 4, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

2,019.81

Turnover (Volume)

63,607,775

Number of Contract

89,050

Traded Issues

251

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

142

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

103

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,364.49

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.66

Turnover in million

26.60 4.70 4.80 6.10 6.90 4.90 37.50 29.00 4.90 5.10

Weekly low 27.70 138.00 55.00 4.90 5.20 37.50 29.90 5.20 5.90 7.70

Latest EPS

80.582 2.755 3.678 0.026 14.089 12.965 459.194 55.651 8.151 12.195

Turnover in million

Closing (% change) 27.27 23.23 22.22 21.21 19.64 18.21 14.57 13.75 13.22 12.99

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Latest PE

4.71 0.85 0.72 1.28 1.38 1.68 2.13 3.40 0.65 0.91

Latest EPS

4.676 0.069 0.055 0.109 0.240 92.924 3.705 1.755 4.958 0.075

4.71 17.00 7.96 0.72 1.68 2.13 3.40 0.65 0.64 1.38

6.1 5.6 7.2 4.8 5.3 3.1 19.3 9.6 8.5 6.1

Latest PE 6.1 8.1 6.8 7.3 3.2 19.2 9.6 8.5 9.3 5.6

Company In Tech Online -A Rangpur Dairy-N ISN Ltd. -Z Agni Systems -A Fu-Wang Food A Daffodil Computers -Z Intl. Leasing-B Shahjibazar Power-N Legacy Footwear -A Islamic Finance-A

Closing (% change) 26.87 23.40 22.77 20.00 19.10 14.05 13.21 12.59 11.70 11.28

Average (% change) 24.00 23.33 21.20 20.95 14.83 17.61 16.88 11.05 13.45 12.10 Average (% change) 23.24 21.58 22.77 15.40 19.64 13.91 11.41 12.43 13.20 8.04

Closing average 16.74 12.16 22.87 23.84 32.53 84.40 28.88 17.89 13.75 25.94

Closing average 16.65 22.99 12.40 32.67 23.57 13.84 11.91 639.05 30.18 14.52

Weekly closing 16.80 12.20 23.10 24.00 33.50 84.40 28.30 18.20 13.70 26.10

Weekly closing 17.00 23.20 12.40 33.60 23.70 13.80 12.00 639.50 29.60 14.80

Weekly high 18.00 12.20 23.70 24.60 35.00 84.40 29.40 18.20 14.00 28.00

Weekly high 17.40 23.50 12.40 34.00 24.00 14.00 12.10 639.50 31.40 15.00

Weekly low 12.00 9.40 17.00 18.20 24.00 74.00 22.90 15.80 11.10 20.80

Weekly low 12.90 18.00 9.50 25.00 19.70 12.00 10.50 550.00 26.00 12.00

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

63.428 2.697 371.851 323.717 482.977 0.072 12.109 84.656 12.987 91.798

Turnover in million

-0.88 0.20 1.16 0.96 1.27 1.61 2.58 1.30 0.68 2.74

Latest EPS

10.223 21.365 0.474 19.772 20.498 1.214 4.895 12.077 14.516 4.387

-0.88 1.16 0.20 1.27 0.96 0.68 -0.78 3.04 0.28 1.50

Latest PE -ve 60.8 19.7 24.8 25.6 52.4 11.2 13.8 20.2 9.5

Latest PE -ve 19.8 62.0 25.7 24.6 20.4 -ve 210.2 107.8 9.7

Weekly news from trade server AGM/Dividend SAIHAMCOT: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend for the year ended on April 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 23.10.2014, Time: 11:30 AM, Venue: Mill Premises, Noyapara, Saiham Nagar, Madhabpur, Habigonj. Record date: 17.09.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.48, NAV per share of Tk. 24.17 and NOCFPS of Tk. 8.93 for the year ended on April 30, 2014.

FARCHEM: The Board of Directors has recommended 20% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 09.10.2014, Time: 11:30 AM, Venue: Bir Chandra Nagar Gono Pathagar and Nagar Milaynayatan (Town Hall) Kandirpar, Comilla. Record date: 11.09.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 3.45, NAV per share of Tk. 17.91 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.08 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

MHSML: The Board of Directors has recommended 25% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.10.2014, Time: 11:30 AM, Venue: Factory Office, Thakurbari Teac, Masumabad, Bhulta, Rupgonj, Narayangonj.

Record date: 25.09.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 2.62, NAV per share of Tk. 18.23 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.20 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: PRAGATILIF: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk.

202.01 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 3,772.44 million as against Tk. 115.83 million and Tk. 3,268.97 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

TUNGHAI: (Q1): The Company has reported its profit after tax Tk. 12.25 million and basic EPS Tk. 0.27 for the 3 (three) months ended on 31 March 2014 (Jan 2014-March 2014) as against profit after tax of Tk. 11.60 million and basic EPS of Tk. 0.26 for the same period of the previous year. It is to be noted that basic EPS has been calculated based on weighted average Pre-IPO paid-up number of shares i.e. 45,130,000 shares for both periods. However, considering Post-IPO 80,130,000 number of shares the Company's basic EPS for the 3 (three) months ended on 31 March 2014 would be Tk. 0.15 and NAV per share would be Tk. 13.03 as on March 31, 2014.

PRAGATILIF: (H/Y): As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on 30.06.2014 (Jan'14 to June'14), the Company has reported an increase in life insurance fund of Tk. 181.21 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 3,751.64 million as against Tk. 166.26 million and Tk. 3,319.39 million respectively for the same period of the previous year. Whereas a decrease in life insurance fund was Tk. 20.80 million for the period of 3 months (Apr'14 to June'14) ended on 30.06.2014 as against an increase of Tk. 50.42 million for the same period of the previous year.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: ANWARGALV: The company has in-

formed that the Board of Directors of the company has taken the following decision: "Resolved that, the Board of Directors be and are hereby agreed to open the L/C through South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Limited to import new thread cutting machines. The new thread cutting machines are being imported at value of USD 56,863.70, other than setting cost."

Credit Rating: NITOLINS: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has announced the CPA (Claim Paying Ability) Rating of the Company as "A" in consideration of audited financials of the Company up to December 31, 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

HAKKANIPUL: Emerging Credit Rating Limited (ECRL) has assigned the surveillance rating of the Company as "ECRL-2" in the short term along with a stable outlook to the Company based on audited financials of the Company up to June 30, 2013, unaudited financials upto March 31, 2014 and other qualitative information.

APEXTANRY: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated the Company as "AA-" in the long term and "ST-2" in the short term based on audited financial statements of the Company up to June 30, 2013, unaudited financials for July, 2013 to March, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

Large cap stocks still demonstrate a strong conviction from the investors’ part, while a number of non-banking financial institutions showed up in the top gaining list

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 4.44 3.77 1.62 13.04 6.02 11.79 0.04 14.02 14.37 1.48 1.53 0.83 1.00 5.19 3.42 1.35 1.59 5.05 2.33 7.11 0.01

Million Taka 94.14 75.78 31.24 195.57 106.58 145.77 0.00 316.31 208.32 105.35 22.78 46.29 22.01 124.32 127.60 14.81 20.38 90.15 115.80 203.14 0.13

CSE

% change 4.56 3.67 1.51 9.46 5.16 7.05 0.00 15.31 10.08 5.10 1.10 2.24 1.06 6.02 6.17 0.72 0.99 4.36 5.60 9.83 0.01

Million Taka 1292.82 1094.24 469.77 3715.86 1733.40 3329.25 9.73 4102.35 4088.59 503.86 437.15 269.99 291.66 1525.86 1051.18 380.03 448.96 1452.90 745.53 2122.25 2.39

Total

% change 4.45 3.76 1.62 12.78 5.96 11.45 0.03 14.11 14.07 1.73 1.50 0.93 1.00 5.25 3.62 1.31 1.54 5.00 2.56 7.30 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 BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Grameenphone-A MJL BD Ltd.-A LafargeS Cement-Z Beximco Pharma -A BSRM Steels-A Golden Son -A Summit Power -A Agni Systems -A Tung Hai Knitting -N CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A FarEast Knitting -N LafargeS Cement-Z Raspit Data Mgt -Z Khulna Printing-N UNITED AIR-A Grameenphone-A BSC-A The Peninsula CTG.-N Square Pharma -A

Volume shares 31,448,052 3,405,964 8,886,139 8,667,060 15,399,740 7,176,116 12,657,575 13,900,040 15,700,543 16,929,500

Volume shares 3,677,538 2,280,200 680,500 2,240,500 2,240,500 5,626,901 169,800 62,690 1,112,600 155,028

Value in million 1329.39 1144.15 1016.64 990.15 865.98 695.49 623.75 565.74 482.98 473.53

Value in million 155.66 92.92 77.93 74.97 74.97 71.72 56.86 38.45 37.80 36.61

% of total turnover 4.92 4.24 3.77 3.67 3.21 2.58 2.31 2.10 1.79 1.75

% of total turnover 7.93 4.73 3.97 3.82 3.82 3.65 2.90 1.96 1.93 1.86

Weekly closing 41.70 338.10 116.70 119.20 55.00 98.50 47.70 40.40 33.50 25.40

Weekly closing 41.80 40.70 118.90 32.20 32.20 12.70 337.70 610.50 33.90 237.20

Price change -3.25 5.29 5.23 12.03 -5.34 4.01 -5.54 3.86 19.64 0.00

Weekly opening 43.10 321.10 110.90 106.40 58.10 94.70 50.50 38.90 28.00 0.00

Weekly high 46.00 346.00 118.10 122.50 60.00 99.90 52.00 45.00 35.00 33.50

Weekly low 37.60 300.00 100.00 99.00 49.30 85.30 43.40 35.30 24.00 25.20

Weekly average 41.97 339.61 115.71 120.68 55.38 98.81 47.93 40.44 32.53 25.85

Price change -3.91 -9.76 10.50 0.00 -3.88 0.79 5.53 1.53 -0.59 -1.21

Weekly opening 43.50 45.10 107.60 33.50 33.50 12.60 320.00 601.30 34.10 240.10

Weekly high 44.10 44.70 122.20 36.00 36.00 14.00 347.00 634.00 34.60 242.00

Weekly low 37.50 37.50 104.00 31.90 31.90 11.00 316.10 591.00 33.50 230.00

Weekly average 41.98 40.91 120.94 32.84 32.84 12.72 338.83 613.44 34.13 237.97

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

G20 signals flexibility on big bank failures n Reuters, London Regulators trying to end the problem of “too big to fail” banks are moving closer to a landmark deal that will give large banks more flexibility about how to deal with losses when they go bust and cut the amount of fresh bonds they will need to issue.

Global regulators, led by Bank of England governor Mark Carney, want to agree a set of rules that would force bondholders to cover the losses that arise when a major bank fails, to avoid a repeat of the last financial crisis when taxpayers were forced to foot the bill.

Different banking models and legal systems have complicated the talks and in order to try and secure a deal by the next meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies in Brisbane in November, regulators have agreed a more flexible approach, according to two sources familiar with the draft proposals.

Under the new plan, major banks including HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Mitsubishi UFJ and Citigroup, will be able to count their surplus capital, including shares, earnings and some types of bonds, towards new buffers which are meant to be tapped when a bank gets into trouble.

The measure will apply to the 29 banks on the Financial Stability Board’s “too big to fail” list. These banks already have to hold more capital than smaller banks by 2019.

Initially, banks expected they would have to issue new “bail in” bonds for the whole of the buffers regardless of whether they had surplus capital.

The new proposal means fewer bonds will now have to be issued by

Facebook ready to spend billions to bring whole world online n Reuters Facebook Inc is prepared to spend billions of dollars to reach its goal of bringing the Internet to everyone on the planet, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday.

“What we really care about is connecting everyone in the world,” Zuckerberg said at an event in Mexico City hosted by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

“Even if it means that Facebook has to spend billions of dollars over the next decade making this happen, I believe that over the long term its gonna be a good thing for us and for the world.”

Around 3 billion people will have access to the Internet by the end of 2014, according to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) statistics. Almost half that, 1.3 billion people, use Facebook.

Facebook, the world’s largest social networking company, launched its Internet.org project last year to connect billions of people without Internet access in places such as Africa and Asia by working with phone operators. l

typically have already.

Studies by regulators next year would whittle the range down to a single minimum figure, though some of the 29 banks could have to hold more, the sources said.

Twin calculations

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney speaks to the Canadian Club Of Toronto after being named the 2012 Canadian Of The Year in REUTERS Toronto those banks among the 29 whose capital buffers are already well above the minimum requirement.

The new proposals will be seen as a rebuff to US supervisors who wanted the buffer to include only subordinated debt and not to be mixed up with other bank safety cushions.

Instead, the proposals will also take into account different banking models such as the Japanese system, which is heavily deposit-funded.

“We have significant amounts of deposits and our lending portfolio is much smaller than the size of our deposits,” said Masaaki Tanaka, the dep-

B3

Sunday, September 7, 2014

uty president of Mitsubishi UFG. “We don’t need to issue more debt.”

After the November summit there will be a public consultation based on a range for the buffer rather than a single figure. The proposed range is expected to cover either side of 10% or equivalent to the core capital buffer the banks

There was also progress on how the new buffer will be calculated, with banks being called on to use two methods and comply with the higher figure, the sources said.

The first method, as preferred in Europe, calculates the requirement as a percentage of risk-weighted assets.

The second approach, which US supervisors champion, uses a percentage of a bank’s total assets.

Core to securing a deal will be safeguards to restore trust between a bank’s home and host or overseas supervisors.

Trust between them was lost during the financial crisis when host regulators put pressure on foreign banks to hold capital locally to shield taxpayers.

To avoid disputes there would be advance agreements between home and host supervisors on where the buffer is located and on when the trigger to convert it into equity is pulled, the sources said.

The plans of each lender would be reviewed by supervisors from outside the lender’s home country to build confidence.

The date for full compliance with the new buffer, formally known as gone concern loss absorption capacity or GLAC, was unclear though 2019, the date when other capital requirements come fully into effect, is seen as probably unrealistic, the sources said. l

Oil prices sag after disappointing US jobs data n AFP, New York Oil prices dropped Friday, pulled lower by a disappointing US employment report that suggested weaker economic growth.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery slid $1.16 to $93.29 a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for October dropped $1.01 to $100.82 per barrel.

Hopes that the US would turn in a seventh straight month of strong jobs generation were dashed when August’s number came in at just 142,000 net new positions, 80,000 less than expected.

The Labor Department data supported the view that the economy is still struggling to pick up speed, and that wages remain very flat, holding back consumer spending.

That came on the back of poor data for the eurozone that has depressed the outlook for fuel consumption there.

“The jobs data has raised questions about what was probably one of the strong points in the economic outlook that has been helping support oil prices,” said Gene McGillian of Tradition Energy.

“It kind of raised the concern that we have more than ample supply and weak fuel demand.”

Sentiment was also weighed down by continued doubts about a ceasefire plan between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels, and President Barack Obama’s warning that the US might still go ahead with fresh sanctions on Moscow next week. l

Fed official: ‘US interest rates are too high’

No more secrets - Swiss banks learn to shape up, not shut up

n Reuters

n Reuters, Zurich

A top Federal Reserve official on Thursday said he believes US interest rates are too high, and had no “good answer” when asked why the Fed is reducing its efforts to push borrowing costs down.

“Interest rates are not low enough,” Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Narayana Kocherlakota said at a Town Hall meeting in Montana, citing subdued inflation and “unacceptably high” unemployment as evidence.

The fact that the Fed has not been able to achieve its twin objectives of maximum employment and 2% inflation suggests the need for lower rates, he said.

“Given where we are with inflation, I think that it’s challenging to know why we are removing stimulus from the economy at the rate that we are,” he said.

“I think that is a challenging question, and I don’t really have a good answer.”

The Fed has kept short-term interest rates near zero since December 2008 in an effort to pull the economy from its worst recession in decades. It has also bought trillions of dollars of Treasuries and housing-backed securities to push borrowing costs down further and spark investment and hiring.

Dutch-Bangla Bank has recently awarded scholarships, the 9th phase, to 5,050 students who passed SSC and its equivalent examination in 2014. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith was present at the award-giving ceremony as chief guest, which was presided over the bank’s chairperson Sayem Ahmed

But with the unemployment rate, at 6.2%, well below its recession-era peak of 10 percent, and inflation showing no signs of falling further, the Fed has begun to trim its monthly bond purchases, aiming to end them completely

by October.

Kocherlakota is a voter on the Fed’s policy-setting panel this year and has argued forcefully that the Fed should do more to try to bring inflation up and unemployment down. Still, he has voted all but once with the majority at the Fed to continue to trim the bondbuying program.

On Thursday, Kocherlakota forecast inflation to stay below the Fed’s 2% target until 2018, a sign that the country is not taking full advantage of its resources.

It is a very different picture from the too-high inflation that plagued policymakers 40 years ago, Kocherlakota said at the town hall, held at Carroll College in Helena.

Back then, U.S. President Gerald R. Ford launched an anti-inflation campaign and commissioned Meredith Willson to write a song to go with it. “Who needs inflation? Not this nation,” Kocherlakota quoted from the song, to chuckles in the largely student audience. l

Switzerland’s allure as a place to stash cash has been badly damaged by a US-led campaign against tax cheats, and the country’s roughly 140 private banks can no longer rely on a reputation for secrecy to attract wealthy customers.

To try and compensate for the hundreds of billions of Swiss francs withdrawn in the wake of the tax probes, banks that once relied on word-ofmouth referral have brushed up their sales pitches and hit the road to attract new clients, particularly in Asia, the world’s fastest production line for multi-millionaires and billionaires.

“The key paradigm shift is that, in the old days, Swiss private banking imported clients,” said Zeno Staub, the chief executive of Swiss bank Vontobel.

“Now we export services.”

To compete across borders, banks either need scale, or a specialist niche.

Industry experts expect a gradual wave of takeovers and closures to shrink the sector, possibly by up to a third, once long-running US tax investigations involving dozens of banks conclude.

Some are expected to be wrapped up in the next 12 months, but others could

Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) and Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited (BCBL) have recently signed an agreement for foreign remittance payment. SIBL’s managing director Md Shafiqur Rahman and BCBL’s managing director Abu Sadek M. Sohel signed the agreement

drag on.

The tectonic shifts expected in an industry steeped in hundreds of years of tradition prompted speculation last week of a tie-up between Credit Suisse, the country’s second-biggest bank, and Julius Baer, its third-largest listed wealth manager.

Analysts questioned the logic of such a takeover for Credit Suisse, which only recently agreed to pay $2.6bn to settle a tax probe with the United States, hollowing out its reserves for such a big deal.

Julius Baer is in the midst of its own US criminal investigation for aiding tax evasion, and a source familiar with the matter said the case for a deal between the two banks was weak for now and that any possible merger would be at least two to five years away.

But the speculation of such a tie-up underlines the sense of change afoot in the wood-panelled private banks of Geneva and Zurich, from which rich clients withdrew a net 350bn Swiss francs ($381bn) between 2008 and 2014, according to an estimate from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Profits have been eroded by the outflows and clients’ preference for lowrisk holdings, which generate weaker

SBL Capital Management Limited and SBL Securities Limited have recently held an awareness programme on public issue application process. Group Company Secretary AFM Nizamul Islam Chowdhury was present as chief guest at the programme

Boned-up bankers

Before the 2007-08 financial crisis and subsequent increase in regulatory vigilance, not much had fundamentally changed in the world of Switzerland’s often family-run private banks since the Napoleonic era. Customers came to Zurich and Geneva to park their money, and the bankers did not have to do much to keep it.

Once-a-year meetings with clients left plenty of time for long lunches and afternoon tipples.

Now, with the threat of hefty sanctions for tax evasion and customers anxious for returns in an era of record low interest rates, bankers have to bone up on investment trends and regulatory small print. l

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti Corruption Commission and CID, Bangladesh Police have recently organised a daylong discussion with the private sector stake holders on evaluating the risks of money laundering and financing in terrorism, at Jahangir Alam Conference Hall. The discussion was chaired by DG, ACC Brigadier General (rtd) MH Salah Uddin. Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank and BFIU’s head attended the event as chief guest

Mosleh Uddin Ahmed has recently been promoted as the additional managing director of Jamuna Bank Limited. He joined in Jamuna Bank Limited as deputy managing director on Feb 28 last year. He has graduated in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and completed MBA degree from IBA, University of Dhaka

Junior Chamber International, Bangaldesh has recently visited Australian High Commission and met with its High Commissioner, Greg Willcock to discuss about scopes and opportunities of youth development in Bangladesh

returns for banks. The number of lossmaking banks rose by almost 50 percent in 2013 to 34 compared to a year ago, according to a study by auditor KPMG that looked at 94 Swiss private banks.

The KPMG study, which excluded some big banks like UBS and Credit Suisse, also showed private banks’ return on equity - a key measure of profitability - fell by more than 75% between 2006 and 2013.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sunday, September 7, 2014

ECB cuts key rate to 0.05% from 0.15% to avert deflation n AFP, Frankfurt The European Central Bank surprised financial markets on Thursday by paring back its key interest rates to new all-time lows to ward off deflation, and it also cut growth forecasts.

The news sent the euro down by more than a cent against the dollar to the lowest level in 13 months.

The head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, also said at a later press conference that the bank would launch a programme to purchase asset-backed securities, a major policy development which the markets had expected.

The bank would launch further measures if needed to ward off the threat of deflation, he assured, while also revealing that the bank had cut its eurozone growth forecasts for this year and next.

Against a background of growing concern that the single currency area is on the verge of dangerous spiral of falling prices, the ECB cut its central “refi” refinancing rate to 0.05 percent from 0.15 percent.

It also lowered the deposit rate to minus 0.20 percent from minus 0.10 percent and trimmed its marginal lending rate to 0.30 percent from 0.40 percent, it said in a statement.

Few analysts had expected any further rate cuts this month, arguing that, with eurozone borrowing costs already at record lows, a cut would not prove particularly effective.

QE or ABS

Many observers had expected the ECB to embark on a policy of what is known as “quantitative easing” or “QE”, a radical policy - already used by other central banks such as the US Federal Reserve - of buying securities on a big scale to inject cash into the economy.

But they said it might opt for a nar-

Interest rates Benchmark rate

Last change

6%

2012 July 5

Canada 1%

2010 Sept 8

China

2009 March 5

Britain 0.5% Switz.

0 / 0.25%*

2011 Aug 3

USA

0 / 0.25%*

2008 Dec 16

Euro zone

0.05%

2014 Sept 4

Japan

0 / 0.1%*

2010 Oct 5

*Margin of fluctuation rower scheme of asset-backed securities (ABS) purchases.

The pressure has increased on the

ECB to act after eurozone inflation slowed to just 0.3% in August from 0.4% the previous month.

The latest data puts inflation worryingly below the central bank’s target of just under 2% and brings the single currency area perilously close to deflation.

This is a climate of falling prices which can cause businesses and consumers to delay purchases, further reducing demand and prices and pushing up unemployment.

But there is resistance to QE because it would entail the ECB buying up sovereign bonds, which many critics -- including the German central bank or Bundesbank - view as monetary financing, or printing money to pay a country’s debt.

And the ECB is expressly forbidden from doing that.

ECB watchers felt the additional rate cuts were therefore a way for the central bank to duck a programme of QE for now.

It “looks like a stop-gap ahead of more powerful stimulus measures to be unveiled in the coming months,” said Capital Economics economist Jonathan Loynes.

“But these moves are no substitute for the much more powerful policy action which looks increasingly necessary to prevent a renewed recession,” the expert continued.

He therefore expected Draghi to “drop some heavy hints of further action .... An ABS purchase programme still appears to be at the top of the list, but Draghi will also keep the door wide open to a full-scale quantitative easing programme.”

Asset-backed securities are bundles of individual loans such as mortgages, auto credit and credit-card debt that are sold on to investors, allowing banks to share the risk of default and encouraging them to offer more credit.

Draghi has repeatedly said that preparations for such a programme are underway. l

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks next to a teleprompter during a news conference after reshuffling his cabinet, at his official residence in Tokyo REUTERS

Japan PM’s stance on next tax hike ‘utterly neutral’ n AFP, Tokyo Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stands “utterly neutral” on whether to decide in December to raise the sales tax again next year but he will be very cautious in his decision given the potential blow to the economy, Japan’s economy minister said on Friday.

Economy Minister Akira Amari, speaking to reporters in a group interview after a cabinet reshuffle, said the government is ready to roll out a stimulus package to limit the economic impact if it decides to raise the sales tax next year. Abe is due to decide in December whether to proceed with a second-stage rise in the sales tax to 10%in October 2015 in a bid to rein in Japan’s massive public debt.

April’s rise to 8% from 5% triggered the biggest contraction in three years in the second quarter, followed by a run of other weak indicators, raising doubts about whether Japan should go ahead with the hike.

“As to what the prime minister is thinking, it’s utterly neutral,” Amari

said. “He said no countries have doubled the sales tax rate over a year and a half ... I expect that he will make a considerably cautious decision.”

Amari said he expects a very cautious decision, particularly if any risk emerges of the economy relapsing into deflation as that would ruin the very aim of Abe’s reflationary policies known as “Abenomics.” Japan is no longer in deflation but the government won’t be able to declare deflation is beaten by December when a decision on the tax hike is due to be made.

If Abe’s government decided to forego the planned sales tax hike in 2015, it should take steps to offset the lost revenue and declare when the tax would be increased in order not to lose market trust in Japan’s public finances, Amari added.

“It would be very risky” if the confidence is lost, he said. Japan’s economy shrank by an annualized 6.8% in the second quarter, more than erasing a firstquarter surge in the run-up to the sales tax increase. Analysts in a Reuters poll forecast a 3.8% bounce this quarter. l

IMF welcomes ECB actions to fight deflation threat

Apple seeks old magic with new products

n AFP, Washington

With its highly awaited product launch next week, Apple is aiming for a new “big thing” as the iconic gadget-maker finds itself under pressure over a celebrity photo theft scandal.

Apple has been customarily tightlipped ahead of its Tuesday event at a performing arts center where late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 30 years ago.

But those who follow Apple are expecting bigger versions of the iPhone and -- perhaps more significantly -- an entry into wearables with an “iWatch” at the event led by Apple chief Tim Cook.

The choice of venue has fueled talk that Apple will crash the wearable computing party with a health-themed smartwatch, in a bid to dominate the segment the same way it ruled smartphones, tablets and MP3 players with iPhones, iPads and iPods.

“This is probably the last major thing that Steve personally will give us,” Creative Strategies president Tim Bajarin said.

“It is Tim Cook’s design, but the genesis began with Steve’s journey through health issues.”

The International Monetary Fund expressed strong support Thursday for the European Central Bank’s surprise actions to counter stalling growth and a threat of deflation in the eurozone.

“We strongly welcome the measures taken by the ECB, which will help to counteract the dangers posed by an extended period of low inflation,” said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

The IMF had been urging the ECB to take further action to help the economy of the 18-member eurozone, still mired

in crisis despite the rescues of Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Against a background of growing concern that the eurozone is on the verge of dangerous spiral of falling prices the ECB cut its central “refi” refinancing rate to 0.05% from 0.15%.

It also lowered the deposit rate to negative 0.20% from negative 0.10 % and trimmed its marginal lending rate to 0.30% from 0.40%.

Few analysts had expected any further rate action this month, arguing that, with eurozone borrowing costs already at record lows, a cut would not prove particularly effective. l

Motorola puts smartwatch on sale, upgrades phones n AFP, Washington Motorola kicked off sales of its new smartwatch Friday, in a series of product launches which could be the last before the Google-owned electronics firm is sold to China’s Lenovo.

The company said its Moto 360 watch, which uses the Android Wear platform from Google for wearable technology, was going on sale starting at $249 for US customers.

Motorola also unveiled upgraded versions of its flagship Moto X smartphone and lower-priced Moto G. The Moto 360, which features a round face design similar to a classic wristwatch, “keeps you on time and up to date without taking you out of the moment or distracting you, telling you what you need to know before you know you need it through subtle alerts and notifications,” the company said in a statement.

“Moto 360 also responds to your voice. Just say ‘Ok Google’ to ask questions like who won the Stanford vs.

New Mexico game or what time your flight leaves, or to get stuff done like scheduling an appointment, sending a text, setting an alarm or taking a note.”

The next-generation Moto X boosts

DILBERT

its screen display to 5.2 inches and keeps the existing design options and voice controls of the phone unveiled last year.

The device will sell for $499 offcontract and as low as $99 through some carriers with a two-year contract.

It will be offered later this month in North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America, The Moto G, which also gets a boost in size, will be sold starting at $179 starting Friday in the US, Britain, India, France, Brazil, Spain and Germany.

By end of year, the upgraded Moto G will be available in “more than a dozen countries and through several carrier partners around the world,” Motorola said.

The launch comes just days ahead of a highly anticipated event by Apple, which is expected to unveil larger versions of its iconic iPhone, and possibly its own smartwatch.

Google announced earlier this year it signed a deal to sell the struggling smartphone maker to Chinese tech giant Lenovo for $2.91bn. It is not known when the deal will be finalized.

Motorola has failed to gain traction in a rapidly evolving smartphone market now dominated by South Korea’s Samsung and US-based Apple. l

n AFP, San Francisco

Bigger than music

Bajarin says the impetus for a wearable Apple device came from Jobs and his frustration with the health care system while battling the illness that took his life in late 2011.

Apple could use its services such as online data storage locker iCloud to aggregate health information and act as a mediator with the health care industry.

“You could see this being bigger for Apple than the music industry,” Bajarin said, referring to the company’s prosperous iTunes store.

“Money spent on health care makes the money spent in the music industry look like peanuts.”

Cook has stated that wearable computing makes more sense on the wrist than in eyewear such as Google Glass.

Apple is fine-tuning a new mobile operating system that could allow for mobile payments and includes a health platform, which could mesh nicely with an “iWatch” for tracking activity, sleep, pulse and more and connecting to an iPhone or iPad. While Apple is not the first to dive into the business of building brains into wearable devices, the company is likely to set its offering apart with a trademark blend of style and innovation.

“Apple did not introduce the MP3 player, they made it better; they didn’t invent the smartphone, they made it better; they didn’t invent the tablet, they made it better,” Bajarin said.

“They will put their design genius and back-end content networks into a wearable.”

Apple is likely to unveil the iWatch form and design to entice software developers to tailor applications for hardware that won’t be available for months.

“I believe it will be another historic product for Apple,” Bajarin said.

iPhone goes phablet

Confidence is high, and timing is right, for Apple to introduce new-generation iPhone 6 models with screen sizes stretched to tap into love for “phablets” combining features of smartphones and tablets.

This is probably the last major thing that Steve personally will give us

“Frankly that’s one of the things they need to do to improve their standing in the market,” Forrester analyst Frank Gillett said of iPhones getting bigger.

“Much of the market popularity of smartphones has been driven by large screens.”

Apple has seen sales growth for iPhones, but slower than its rivals like Samsung. The iPhone has a leading share in the US market of some 40 percent, but its worldwide share of the smartphone market is less than 12 percent, according to surveys.

Gartner analyst Van Baker predicts Apple will unveil an iPhone 6 with a screen increased to 4.7 inches, and that

odds are strong for a 5.5-inch version.

New iPhones are also expected to feature near-field communication chips that will let them be used as mobile wallets, challenging services such as Square or Google Wallet.

Black eye for Apple

Apple would be asking people to trust it with health and more financial data after taking a bruising over the release of nude photos of celebrities including Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence from its cloud.

Apple says there was no breach of its iCloud and that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-toguess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple.

Cook told the Wall Street Journal that Apple would step up its iCloud security by sending alerts when attempts are made to change passwords or access iCloud data on new devices.

Jack Gold, analyst with J. Gold Associates, argues that “this will go away, unless it happens again in the near term. But it is certainly a black eye for Apple.”

If Apple delivers on expectations Tuesday, it could regain some of the shine rubbed off by the celebrity photo hacking.

“Once the market understands what Apple is doing here, and the ultimate potential, they will realize that Apple has another blockbuster on its hands,” Bajarin said. l

Danish central bank brings back negative deposit rate

n AFP, Copenhagen

Denmark’s central bank cut its deposit rate into negative territory on Thursday after the European Central Bank made a surprise cut in key interest rates to avoid deflation.

The deposit rate, which was below zero from July 2012 until April this year, was lowered to -0.05% from 0.05%.

The lending rate, the current account rate and the discount rate were kept unchanged.

Denmark is a member of the EU but not of the euro-zone.

“The interest rate reduction is a consequence of the reduction by the European Central Bank of its monetary policy rates by 0.10 percentage point,” the Nationalbank said in a statement.

The deposit rate is the rate at which commercial banks are paid, or in this case have to pay, to place funds at the central bank. l

The Pulse O2 health wristband, an activity tracker, is displayed at the booth of French consumer electronics company Withings on the opening day of the consumer electronics trade fair 'Internationale Funk Ausstellung' (IFA) in Berlin September 5. IFA, one of Europe's biggest showcases of the latest electronic gadgets runs until September 10 AFP