05 sep, 2014 copy1

Bhadro 21, 1421 Zilqad 9, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 154

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages plus 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk12

WEEKEND

7 | FEATURE

11 | OP-ED

14 | SPORT

PLAYING WITH THE GERM CELL

DHAKA: FROM THE BIRD’S EYE, TO LIFE UP-CLOSE

POLL POSITION

ANGEL SETS UP SWEET REVENGE OVER GERMANY

little al-Qaeda puts South Asia in crosshairs Authorities prepared to stop DU ADMISSION TEST

Government to make formal statement today on new video; Chittagong adopts precautions n Asif Islam Law enforcement agencies scrambled to assess the threat raised by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri’s announcement that a South Asian branch of its international armed group had been established “to raise the flag of jihad” in the region.

The al-Qaeda video comes six months after a previous call to Bangladeshi Muslims to adopt al-Qaeda’s version of Islam and take part in holy war. An audio message believed to be authentic, calling on Bangladeshis to join the movement, was released in January this year.

P9 INDIA ON ALERT The 63-year-old Islamist militant, who took over the al-Qaeda organisation after US commandos killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011, announced the establishment of “Qaedat al Jihad in the Indian subcontinent,” in a video spotted on Wednesday on online jihadist forums by US-based jihadist threat monitor, SITE Intelligence Group.

State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said Bangladesh’s official reaction to the video would be made today.

“We are looking into the al-Qaeda video message,” he said yesterday as intelligence agencies worked to au-

and Islamabad Jammu Kashmir

thenticate the video.

“We are verifying the origin and authenticity of the video,” the state minister said, adding: “We have been working on curbing militancy for a long time.”

In neighbouring India, the home minister, Rajnath Singh, met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the director of the intelligence bureau, sources said. The government was treating the video as “genuine”, although it would be verified, and issued “an alert across several states,” India’s The Hindu newspaper reported.

The new entity, Qaedat al Jihad in the Indian subcontinent, was announced by As Sahab, al-Qaeda’s official media wing, in a video posted on social media outlets including YouTube, Qatar-based al Jazeera reported.

Known to be active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Qaeda has vowed to export jihad to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, in defence of those Zawahiri described as: “Vulnerable in the Indian subcontinent, in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir...”

The only known operation by al-Qaeda in India, a reconnaissance mission carried out by a Yemeni national in Goa some time between 2008 and 2009, was discovered when US forces retrieved the terrorist’s computer after he was killed in Iraq, India’s NDTV reported.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Six presenters of religious programmes in different private television channels, two of whom are involved with Jamaat-e-Islami, have been sued in connection with the killing of Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi.

Emran Hussain Tushar, Dhaka city unit general secretary of Islami Chhatra Sena – student wing of Islamic Front Bangladesh, filed the case with Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The accused are NTV’s Tarek Monawar; ATN Bangla’s Arakanullah Haruni and Kamaluddin Jafree; RTV and Radio Today presenter Khalid Saifullah Bakshi; Diganta TV and Peace TV anchor Kazi Ibrahim; and

Senior treasury and opposition bench lawmakers yesterday asked the government to ban the recently published book of AK Khandaker for distorting facts while describing the history of 1971 Liberation War and the role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

While taking part in an unscheduled discussion in parliament, the MPs also demanded that a sedition charge be brought against him.

Air Vice Marshal (retd) Khandaker was the deputy chief of army during the war. He served as the planning minister during the Awami League’s previous tenure. But he did not seek nomination in the January 5 election.

Gujarat

n Julfikar Ali Manik After nearly seven months of the much-talked-about release of an audio message on Bangladesh, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s latest video message announcing a plan for Bangladesh, India and Myanmar can be the latest source of encouragement for Bangladeshi militants and terrorist outfits.

This may also bring new challenges for the three countries, which have already been suffering from the radicalisation problem for long.

Through his book “1971: Ins and Outs,” the lawmakers alleged that weapons were handed over to others by writing controversial words on Bangabandhu and the war.

The book, published by Prothoma and launched Tuesday, says Bangabandhu at the end of his historic March 7, 1971 speech had uttered “Joy Pakistan” after “Joy Bangla.”

It also criticises the role of Awami League leadership during the Liberation War saying that the political leadership had failed to play its due role. The book says it was true that the political leadership succeeded in the end, but the country had to pay high price because of their clashes and lack of visionary thoughts.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

4 | News

6 | Nation

Around 200 doctors, who teach and provide alternative medical treatments like unani, ayurvedic and homeopathy, were posted to different district and upazila hospitals. The Health Directorate had issued a gazette notification in this regard on September 1.

Bangladesh

SPOKESPERSON OF QAEDAT AL JIHAD

Myanmar

A boost for local militants?

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

5 | News

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

HEAD OF AFGHANISTAN TALIBAN

Rakhine State

INSIDE The war crimes tribunal yesterday disposed of the contempt notice it had issued upon New York-based HRW asking it to be more circumspect and careful in making any comment or placing statement on the judiciary of Bangladesh.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

MULLAH OMAR

USAMA MAHMOUD

Assam

Bangla Vision’s Mokhtar Ahmed.

Of the accused, Tarek Monwar is a rokon of Jamaat while Jafree is the former Jamaat ameer of Narsingdi district unit.

Presenter of religious programmes on Channel i, Faruqi, 60, was slaughtered by a group of unidentified people at his house on August 24.

He was a Presidium member of Islamic Front – a platform of several Islamist organisations. He also served as the international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, an Islamist group that opposes Jamaat and Hefazat-e-Islam.

Faruqi was the imam of Supreme Court mosque. He had different business including a hajj agency.

3 | News

lice, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday over phone.

Monirul has longstanding experience of playing a significant role in combating Islamic militancy and terrorism. He said they would be monitoring each and every small aspect of the issue “closely, deeply and cautiously” though Monirul thinks they need to check whether Zawahiri’s video message is authentic.

Leading foreign media yesterday reported Zawahiri’s latest 55-minute video message with huge importance,

With threats of digital fraud still very much there and authorities appearing equally hapless as before, Dhaka University admission tests for the 201415 session are set to kick off today.

The Dhaka Tribune has learned that at least 100 syndicates – comprising DU teachers, Chhatra League leaders and activists, general students and coaching centre instructors – have been active in the capital.

Reportedly, these groups have been trying to lure admission-seekers into adopting unfair means in exchange for lakhs of taka, primarily because no notable action have been taken against the accused from the previous years and nearly all members of these syndicates have remained out of law’s reach.

The fraud is done mainly through technological tools such as mobile phones, miniature bluetooth headsets, and tweaked calculators and wristwatches that can communicate.

The syndicate members generally bribe invigilators to collect the question papers after examinations start, solve the problems and send the answers to the devices that the examinees carry with them to the exam halls.

During last year’s admission tests, at least 16 candidates were detained from various examination centres in the capital and were handed over to police on charges of adopting unfair means. Several cases were also filed against them.

However, according to police, all

HEAD OF AL QAEDA

HEAD OF QAEDAT AL JIHAD

MPs demand ban on AK Khandaker’s new book n Emran Hossain Shaikh

n Arif Ahmed

AYMAN AL ZAWAHIRI

ASIM UMAR

Six television anchors sued for Faruqi murder n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

digital fraud

THE EASTWARD MARCH OF TERROR

Dhanmondi playground, which had recently been re-declared as a public ground by DSCC, has again become virtually off-limits to children, youngsters and locals as authorities of the playground continue to control its gates.

Without any boundary wall, Birpur Government Primary School in Narsingdi municipality is running just beside a railway line posing risks to its students. Headmistress of the school says as there was no boundary wall surrounding the school it had become difficult to control the students.

Despite being infected by the problem of militancy and terrorism, these countries have been able to maintain stability through extensive efforts – separate and sometimes collective. The efforts are likely to need strengthening further after the latest video message of Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician.

“We will keep watching very closely so the militants in our country cannot organise or cannot give their outfits and acts an organised shape,” Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Po-

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

13 Huji men indicted for CPB rally attack n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

ment submitted a final report on the cases on December 17, 2003, accusing none. The plaintiff, however, was not satisfied with the report.

On January 27, 2005, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate asked the authorities to re-investigate the cases responding to a petition for fresh probe.

Of the 13 accused, Mufti Hannan, Mufti Mainuddin Khaja alias Abu Jandal, Arif Hasan Suman, Maulana Sabbir Hossain and Shawkat Osman are now behind bars.

The eight others are Md Moshiur Rahman, Maulana Abdul Hai, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Jahangir Alam Badar, Nurul Islam, Mohibul Muttakim, Anisul Morsalin and Rafiqul Islam Miraj.

Involvement of Huji in the blast surfaced nine and a half years after the attack when Jandal claimed responsibility in a judicial confessional statement.

In his statement, Jandal said the attack made by Huji men killed five people. The three others, including two hawkers, died in another explosion at Bangabandhu Avenue. l

ACC finds MP Aslam innocent n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission has found Dhaka lawmaker Aslamul Haque innocent while investigating into the phenomenal growth of his wealth.

The ACC initiated the inquiry against Aslam in January following media reports that highlighted large discrepancies between the information he had provided for the 2008 election.

The lawmaker told reporters in March that the affidavit he had submitted to the ACC prior to this year's poll had an error.

“My income tax adviser mistakenly wrote that I owned 145 acres of land, which is actually 1.45 acres,” he said.

According to the affidavit placed before the Election Commission, Aslam had just over six acres of land five years ago, which turned into 145 acres of land.

ACC Deputy Director KM Mejbah Uddin and the investigation officer, submitted the probe report to the ACC, recommending the graft buster to exempt Aslam from the allegation of amassing illegal wealth as no such evidence was found, an ACC official confirmed the Dhaka Tribune.

Aslam is likely to be cleared of all allegations soon after the report is approved by the commission. l

Judge KM Imrul Kayes of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Special Tribunal 4 indicted the 13 under the explosive substances act.

The court also set October 23 for the prosecution witnesses to testify.

Five of the accused, who were pres-

ent at the court including Mufti Hannan, claimed themselves innocent and sought justice when Additional Public Prosecutor Assaduzzaman Khan read out the charges in front of them.

Of the remaining eight accused, seven have been on the run since the case proceedings began and the other went into hiding after he had been bailed.

The attack on the CPB rally killed eight people and injured over 50. Two cases were filed over the incident - one for killing eight people and the other for blasting bombs which was filed under the Explosive Substances Act. On August 21, the same court indicted the 13 accused in the killing case.

On November 27 last year, investigating officer Mrinal Kanti Saha submitted the charge sheets before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka accusing Huji of the attack.

Manzurul Ahsan Khan, then president of the CPB, filed the cases with Motijheel police station, and claimed that a group of anti-state conspirators carried out the attack.

The Criminal Investigation Depart-

Six anchors

MPs demand ban on AK Khandaker’s book

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against 13 activists of banned Islamist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (Huji) in a case filed in connection with the 2001 attack on a rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh in the capital’s Paltan.

The attack on CPB rally killed 8 and injured over 50. Two cases were filed over the incident - one for killing eight people and the other for blasting bombs

Magistrate Asaduzzaman Nur recoded the statement of the plaintiff. The judge also directed the officer-incharge of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police to register the complaint as a regular case and carry out investigation along with the murder case filed by Faruqi’s family with the same police station.

In the case, Emran alleged that Jamaat-Shibir extremists had tried to kill Faruqi in January, 2010 while Kazi Ibrahim threatened to kill him in Trishal of Mymensingh in 2012.

According to the case details, at a meeting arranged by “Association of Islami Media Personality” on August 22, accused Tarek Monwar had threatened to burn Faruqi down. The other accused supported Tarek’s speech at the same meeting.

Leaders of Ahle Sunnat too blame Jamaat for the killing of Faruqi since he used to speak against superstitions and fanaticism.

At a recent rally in Chittagong, Ahle Sunnat leaders also demanded ban on Peace TV and several programmes on different private channels for instigating militancy. Police say difference over religious ideology was the main reason behind Faruqi murder. l

Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, who was in the chair, in his observation said the book might hurt the sentiment of the people. “I was surprised. Though he has written some partial truth, he also made some distortions,” he said adding that such distortion was not acceptable.

“Bangabandhu is the Father of the Nation. Bangabandhu means Bangladesh and Bangladesh means Bangabandhu,” he said.

Ruling party lawmaker and former minister Abul Kalam Azad initiated the discussion. Senior Awami League MPs Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Maj Gen (rted) Rafiqul Islam Bir Uttam; Jatiya Party lawmaker Kazi Feroz Rashid; and JaSoD lawmaker Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal took part in the discussion.

Taking the floor, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “We should speak carefully about Bangabandhu because he is the best Bangalee of thousand years.”

On “Joy Pakistan,” Tofail said he felt shame uttering the words written by Khandaker, who was made a minister by the daughter of Bangabandhu.

“I was present on the stage (on March 7). I did not hear such a slogan

Friday, September 5, 2014

in which the al-Qaeda boss announced the creation of an Indian branch of his militant outfit to “raise the flag of jihad” in Bangladesh, Myanmar and some parts of India.

In February, in an audio message Zawahiri called upon Bangladeshi Muslims to fight against secularists and “atheists,” and said: “My Muslim brothers in Bangladesh, I invite you to confront this crusading onslaught against Islam, which is being orchestrated by the leading criminals in the subcontinent and the West against Islam...”

The message had an indication about al-Qaeda’s growing interest of expanding its network in South Asian region beyond its longstanding existence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Although there have been several militant outfits in Bangladesh, there has been no official branch or presence of the outfit; nor do the local militant organisations have any official affiliation with al-Qaeda network.

But based on individual relationship some Bangladeshi Islamist militant leaders and their outfits have had longstanding relations with al-Qaeda, its founding chief Osama Bin Laden and other leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Leaders of the country’s first openly formed militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihadal Islami (Huji) were not also linked with al-Qaeda. Many of these Huji leaders are now at the helm of recently emerged radical outfit Hefazat-e-Islam, in whose favour Zawahiri released his audio message in February.

Monirul said al-Qaeda exists in Pakistan but in Bangladesh it has “distant relatives” and communication between them was at individual level.

There was no organisational structure of al-Qaeda.

He added that al-Qaeda did not open any branch anywhere else and it recognised outfits around the world that have ideologies similar to its as its affiliates.

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

of them have secured bail from various courts. Shirajul Islam, officer-incharge of the capital’s Shahbagh police station, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The courts did not grant us remand for any of these candidates. That is why, we have failed to make any progress with the cases.”

DU VC AAMS Arefin Siddique said: “We cannot take any action against the candidates caught while adopting unfair means because they are not our students. We can only hand them over to police.”

A case study

Last year, Sadia, an admission seeker who sat for the Ka unit examination, was detained for adopting unfair means. For getting prepared to take the admission test, she got herself admitted to the University Coaching Centre (UCC), the most popular tuition house in the country.

“Masum Sir [a teacher of the UCC] told me that he could guarantee my admission if I paid him Tk4 lakh. Before the exam, he gave me a calculator-like device. During the examination, he sent me the answers on that device,” Sadia told police.

DU Proctor Professor Amzad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that the university authorities had filed a case against the coaching centre.

But as police could not find any evidence against Masum, the university could not take any action against the UCC. The Dhaka Tribune has talked to a teacher of the UCC who takes classes at the centre’s Farmgate branch in the capital. He is a current student of the Faculty of Social Sciences at DU. Seeking anonymity, he said he had set a target of earning at least Tk5 lakh this year by being part of the fraud.

from Bangabandhu,” he told the House.

Quoting from the book, Tofail said Khandaker had not been aware of the incidents of mass upsurge in then East Pakistan since he was in West Pakistan from 1951 to 1969.

Tofail also criticised Khandaker for writing that there was no political preparation for the War of Independence. “Bangabandhu knew every piece of information. Even, he knew what was happening in the cantonment at that time,” he said.

Industries Minister Amu said Bangabandhu had been mentally prepared for the country’s independence since 1947. “The unarmed nation did not take arms overnight,” he said.

Sheikh Selim asked the writer to come up with a proof of his claims. He wanted to know why the former minister had written the book.

“Khandaker joined the Liberation War upon suggestions of Pakistan. He has been praising Ayub Khan undermining Bangabandhu and the constitution,” Selim said.

He also suspected that Khandaker might have written the book with the money of the ISI (the intelligence agency of Pakistan).

He demanded that the government

bring a sedition charge against the writer and ban his book.

Former home minister Rafiqul told the House that Khandaker might have distorted the history being instigated by vested quarters.

“Why did he make such statement all of a sudden? What is the source of his information?”

The whole nation would refuse the book for undermining Bangabandhu, he said. “We fought in 1971 under political leadership, under the leadership of Bangabandhu,” Rafiqul said.

Former information minister Abul Kalam Azad called for hating those who would like to distort the history.

“Information provided by AK Khandaker has hurt the nation,” he said adding that a section of people was still hatching conspiracies.

Condemning Khandaker, JaPa lawmaker Kazi Feroz Rashid said Khandaker was trying to mislead the nation by writing false history.

Mayeen Uddin considered the book as an offence. “This is no way acceptable,” he said asking all not to undermine the constitution.

However, most of the parliament members have reportedly not read the book. l

Monir is curious to get confirmation first about the authenticity of Zawahiri’s latest video message.

Former Maj Gen Abdur Rashid, a security analyst who closely studies militant and terrorist outfits across the world, is however certain about the authenticity of the video. He rather expressed doubt over the possibility of the message’s impact in Bangladesh.

He thinks although there has been no presence of al-Qaeda in India and this region, many militants and militant groups in Bangladesh have had link with al-Qaeda for long, and many of them have also enjoyed state patronisation in the past but could not succeed.

“Now Bangladesh and India – both have strong stance against militancy issue separately and mutually,” said Rashid, adding that for this he believed this call from Zawahiri would not create any impact in Bangladesh and its two neighbouring countries.

He, however, thinks the video mes-

sage will definitely encourage Bangladeshi militants and similar clouts in India and Myanmar.

Rashid observed that against the backdrop of the recent rise of another similar outfit named Islamic State (IS) – formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – al-Qaeda is in an existence crisis. So, Zawahiri’s video message is an attempt towards survival by opening its activities in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

It can also be that al-Qaeda wants to shift focus from the IS to it.

Whatever the motive was behind the video message, the retired general said, after this announcement al-Qaeda was likely to try to carry out some terrorist acts in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

“So, after the video message maintaining the peaceful situation of the region will be a challenge for these three countries and all countries should face this common challenge together,” Gen Rashid said. l

In the past few years, most of the cases of fraud and detention were reported from the off-campus examination centres.

The university has to take the admission exam at these centres because there is not enough space to accommodate all the candidates on its campus.

In today’s Ga unit examination, a total of 49,976 candidates are fighting for only 1,170 seats. There are four other units under which admission tests are taken.

Last year, DU authorities identified the Dhaka College, Eden College, Titumir College, Mirpur Bangla College, Home Economics College, Tajgaon College, Sheikh Borhanuddin Degree College and the Teachers Training College in the capital as the most fraud-prone centres.

Interestingly, ruling party’s student front Chhatra League is very active in most of these colleges.

A member of one of the digital fraud syndicates has told the Dhaka Tribune that the task is easier to carry out at the centres that are located outside the main campus of DU. He said most of the above mentioned colleges have fully fledged committees of Chhatra League, whose leaders can easily influence and sometimes even threaten the teachers to play ball with them.

The invigilating teachers help the syndicate members sometimes by supplying the question papers or turn blind eyes towards adoption of unfair means in the examination halls.

Last year, Foyez, the then joint secretary of the Dhaka College unit of Chhatra League, took the question paper of Kha unit admission tests from a teacher of the college in exchange for a huge amount of money.

CMP acting commissioner Banaz Kumar Majumder confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that police had increased surveillance over certain madrasas, some organisations and some residential areas, but did not disclose details for security reasons.

CMP DB Additional Deputy Commissioner Engineer Hasan Chowdhury said detectives had been deployed as a precautionary step.

Of the 15 madrasas, Lalkhanbazar Madrasa of Hefazat Senior Nayeb-eAmir Mufti Izharul Islam, Mojaherul Ulum Madrasa in the city’s Miakhan Nagar and Darul Ulum Madrasa in the Chandanpura area were considered significant. Other madrasas at Chandgaon, Firoz Shah Colony and Bakalia areas were also under surveillance, said the DB official, who asked to remain anonymous.

The killing of Osama bin Laden in a US commando operation in Pakistan, demonstrated the susceptibility of

South Asia to Islamist militant groups – both as a safe haven and source of crowd-funding and also as a potential theatre of military operations.

While the dominant position of al-Qaeda among jihadist forces has been eclipsed in recent times, first by its spin-off organisations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the challenge posed by Islamic State seems to have elicited a response from the group, analysts said.

Although al-Qaeda is still regarded as a threat to the West but it has never been able to replicate an attack on the scale of the September 11, 2001 attacks by hijacked airliners on New York and Washington.

Analysts believe the launching of Qaedat al Jihad in the Indian subcontinent, hoping to capitalise on unrest in Kashmir and Myanmar, could be an attempt by the group to remain relevant and regain some of its lost lustre in jihadist circles.

A boost for local militants?  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Authorities little prepared to stop digital fraud

Most vulnerable centres

Witnesses said Chhatra League activists Mamun and Kawsar accompanied Foyez.

Reportedly, they took the question paper to room 205 of the South Hall dormitory of the college, solved the problems and sent the answers to the mobile phones of at least 35 candidates.

Witnesses said Pallab, the then president of Dhaka College unit Chhatra League, and Swim, the general secretary, were involved with the racket.

A few months ago, Dhaka College unit Chhatra League Publicity Secretary Sohel allegedly kept a DU student confined for two days because the DU student had not paid him the pledged Tk3 lakh. Sohel reportedly sent the answers to the student’s mobile phone via text messages.

After the incident, DU authorities decided to exclude Dhaka College as a centre from this year.

However, at a press conference on August 14, VC AAMS Arefin Siddque revoked the decision, saying adequate measures would be put in place to prevent fraud at these vulnerable centres.

This year, the list of examination centres include 10 such venues that were marked vulnerable last year.

DU Proctor Prof Amzad Ali said: “This year, we will try to make sure that each room at these examination centres has at least two DU teachers for invigilation. We will also take additional precautionary measures at these centres. We could not exclude these centres because of the large number of candidates.”

Sources said not just those from the other colleges, a number of leaders of the DU unit Chhatra League are also involved with the fraud syndicates.

Among them are DU unit Vice-President Mithun Das, Joint Secretary HM Al Amin Ahmed, Organising Secretary Apel Mahmud Shabuj, Ekushey Hall unit President Rakib Hasan, SM Hall unit Secretary Didarul Islam and Awami Law Students Council Secretary Shariful Hasan Shuvo.

Dr Syed Manzoorul Islam, a professor of English at DU, said: “Not just in Dhaka University, admission question fraud is happening in almost all public universities, especially those that take the tests on the basis of multiple choice questions.”

Steps taken

Professor Hasibur Rashid, DU admission examination coordinator, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have changed the question pattern by removing complex mathematics. In that way we have eliminated the need for calculators.

“We requested the mobile phone operators to halt the SMS traffic for an hour during the examinations, but they said they could not do it because it would cause huge losses. We then requested them to keep it shut for half an hour.

“But they turned down that request too,” he said.

He added: “Because the number of students is large, it is not possible to frisk everyone.

“But we will try to make sure that nobody enters the examination halls with mobile phones.”

Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam said: “Ensuring exemplary punishment for those involved in the fraud, tight security measures around the examination centres and taking extra care of the external ones can significantly check fraud.”

The DU VC said: “This year, the university will be more cautious about digital fraud. We have increased the number of invigilators and teachers for every examination centre.” l

al-Qaeda puts South Asia in crosshairs  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

In the 55-minute video, al Zawahiri said Qaedat al Jihad would recognise the overarching leadership of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar but will be led day-to-day by senior Pakistani fighter Asim Umar, according to al Jazeera.

Asim Umar, who featured in an al-Qaeda film commemorating the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, is regarded as a rising star in al-Qaeda’s Pakistani operations, according to the Wilson Centre, a prominent US think-tank.

Umar, while focused on al-Qaeda’s stated strategic war against the US and the West, has also advocated for war against the “near enemy” and called for localised jihad in South Asia.

In a 2013 video released by al-Qaeda titled, “Why Is There No Storm In You Ocean,” Umar chastised Indian Muslims for not taking a greater role in international jihad. Although, his identity has not been confirmed, some

sources have speculated he might be a Pakistani Punjabi militant commander from the town of Miranshah, the BBC reported.

Intelligence analysts say the new video is part of a recruitment campaign by al-Qaeda to battle the growing pre-eminence of Islamic State (IS) in jihadist circles. IS has overrun territory in eastern Syria, and northern and western Iraq the size of Belgium and has set up a rudimentary state, which it calls a caliphate, in the area it occupies.

Analysts say the Zawahiri video, although it could presage actual jihadist violence in South Asia, may be understood to be an attempt to challenge the IS. The appeal to notions of Muslim persecution, real or imagined, is not new to al-Qaeda. In the video, Zawahiri says: “Your brothers in Qaedat al Jihad did not forget you and they are doing what they can to rescue you from injustice, oppression, persecution, and suffering.”

But his vow to “crush the artificial borders” dividing Muslim populations in the region probably refers to IS successes in Iraq and Syria. In the words of BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, “Islamic State (IS) has grown into everything al-Qaeda tried – and failed – to be.”

Because of its location straddling two of the new areas of operation highlighted in the video – Bangladesh and Myanmar – Chittagong police authorities have taken precautionary measures, according to a report sent by our Chittagong Correspondent Tarek Mahmud.

A Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Detective Branch (DB) official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that the CMP had increased surveillance over 15 madrasas in the port city dominated by Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islam and Islami Chhatra Shibir, following instructions from police headquarters.

The political economy of jihadist terrorism, apart from any ideological agendas the groups may have, is sufficient incentive for groups to push for top position.

The IS, for example, has managed to get hold of a de facto capital, Raqqa, operates a disciplined administrative and command structure, runs a rudimentary fiscal apparatus, and has an estimated $2 billion in its war chest.

Despite international outrage for the atrocities it has committed against civilians and journalists, the IS is enjoying a surge in recruitment, the BBC says.

The latest video showed footage of bin Laden before showing a map of southwest Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Horn of Africa. It then showed Zawahiri’s speech, in Arabic, followed by Asim Umar, speaking in Urdu, and identified a new group spokesman identified as Usama Mahmoud. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Friday, September 5, 2014

Tribunal blasts HRW for remarks, disposes of notice n Udisa Islam The war crimes tribunal yesterday disposed of the contempt notice it had issued upon New York-based Human Rights Watch asking it to be more circumspect and careful in making any comment or placing statement on the judiciary of Bangladesh.

“People like opposite parties in a civilised society got no mandate to exceed the limit of law. Everybody knows that all are equal in the eye of law,” said the International Crimes Tribunal 1.

A comment cannot be fair which are not truly stated and accurate. “Any unfair criticism of judgement underling the confidence of the judiciary amounts to contempt,” it said.

The three-member tribunal said: “It is the worst kind of contempt to scandalise court or its judges by the commentators without having adequate knowledge on the fact in issue. It is also a contempt of court touching the impartiality and integrity of a judge or making sarcastic remarks regarding his judicial competence.

“On scrutiny of the dossier presented by the parties concerned [prosecution and defence], the issue [HRW report] in hands is found to be contemptuous against the opposite parties [HRW, its Asia Director Brad Adams and associate for HRW Asia Division Storm Tiv].”

The prosecution on August 20 last year filed the contempt petition against HRW’s board of directors, its Executive Director of Asia Division Brad Adams and its associate for the Asia Division Storm Tiv for making “biased, baseless, utterly false, fabricated and ill-motivated allegations” in its report regarding the trial of former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam.

The HRW report reads: “Human Rights Watch’s concerns about the Azam trial include: judges improperly conducted an investigation on behalf of the prosecution; collusion and bias among prosecutors and judges; failure

HRW urges revocation of media policy n Tribune Report

The government should immediately revoke a new media policy that imposes draconian restrictions on media freedom, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Wednesday.

Donors should make it clear to the government that limits on freedom of expression that violate international law are unacceptable, the statement read, adding that the policy contains overly broad language and imprecise definitions that appear aimed at significantly curtailing critical reporting.

“This policy exemplifies how little appreciation the government has for free speech,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This vague policy will allow the government to take arbitrary action against those it sees as its political opponents and could be a precursor to legislation that would lead to censorship and criminal penalties.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s veiled threats in defence of the media policy are of particular concern, Human Rights Watch said.

The clause restricting the reporting of “anarchy, rebellion, or violence” seems aimed at limiting reporting of opposition protests, and because none of the key terms are defined, media would be susceptible to arbitrary enforcement, the New York-based human rights body added.

“This policy is a frontal assault on media freedom, which is essential as a check on government power, corruption, and human rights abuses, among many other issues,” Adams said. “It empowers an increasingly authoritarian state with tools to go after critics. It needs to be revoked if the government is serious about its commitment to freedom.”

Human Rights Watch noted that the slippery slope allowed by the media policy could have broad-ranging effects and that no media area is exempt from its reach.

Hasina claimed that the media policy was modelled on the BBC media policy guidelines but the foundations underlining the BBC policy are absent from the Bangladeshi policy, Human Rights Watch said. l

to take steps to protect defence witnesses; changes in the trial court panel; and lack of evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The organisation also alleged that the law minister and the law state minister had interfered in the independence of judiciary at the tribunal.

Tribunal Member Justice Jahangir Hossain in the order said: “They [HRW] neither made an inquiry into the matter nor did they attend any proceedings of the tribunal but hypothetically made the biased, illegal and unethical report. They wilfully but unethically tarnished the dignity and image of the tribunal and its judges.

“We are expecting more circumspection, understanding, discretion and judgement on the part of the opposite parties [HRW] because they are strongly claiming that they speak on behalf of the distressed and oppressed people and of their fundamental rights.”

Mentioning that US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Stephen J Rapp visited the tribunal and lauded the roles of the judges, the tribunal said: “However, as the accused party sought mercy at the initial stage of the hearing and it was the first contempt notice issued against them ever, we are herewith disposing of the matter.”

After passing the order, the prosecution pleaded to the tribunal seeking two orders – one is to ask the HRW to upload the order in their official website and another is to send the order to the Foreign Ministry giving direction to communicate with the US government so they can share the directives.

The tribunal rejected the pleas saying: “We will upload it [the order] in our official website.”

Then law minister Shafique Ahmed last year lambasted the HRW saying: “Where did they get such nerve? Who gave them the right? They have been working as a lobbyist [of Jamaat] or else they could not present such a report.” l

A local city bus stops in the middle of Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to pick more passengers in the capital yesterday. Despite the government’s attempts to transform the highway from two-lane to four-lane in a bid to ease traffic flow, reckless actions of vehicles continue to add to the sufferings of passengers along the route MEHEDI HASAN

Bangladesh to engage in trade diplomacy with Japan n Tribune Report Bangladesh will engage in trade diplomacy with Japan when its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrive in Dhaka with a 50-member high-powered business delegation tomorrow.

“The focus of the visit is investment,” Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told a press conference yesterday, adding that the visit would encourage Japanese investors to invest in Bangladesh.

The government wanted to expand economic and technical relationship with Japan to implement the “Vision 2021” which was put forward by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to elevate Bangladesh’s status to middle-income

46 BNP leaders’ charge framing hearing deferred n Md Snaual Islam Tipu A Dhaka Court has deferred the charge framing hearing against 46 BNP leaders including party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in an arson case lodged in 2012.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ataul Haque fixed September 24 for next hearing following a time petition filed by defence lawyer Md Sanaullah Miah yesterday.

Defence counsel Md Sanaullah Miah filed a time petition for six BNP leaders including Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and former Dhaka City Corporation Mayor and BNP Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

A total of 37 BNP leaders including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members MK Anwar, Brig

Gen (retd) Hannan Shah, Mirza Abbas, joint secretaries Amanullah Aman, Barkatullah Bulu, Juba Dal president Moazzem Hossain Alal, Shecchashebok Dal president Habib-Un-Nabi khan Sohel, and Liberal Democratic Party President Col (retd) Oli Ahmed appeared before the court. Three other accused including former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Maqbul Ahmed are absconding.

The accused, according to the case, torched vehicles in front of the Prime Minister’s Office during April 29 shutdown in 2012.

BNP had called the countrywide hartal demanding rescue of BNP Leader M Ilyas Ali and restoration of the caretaker government system.

On May 10, 2012, Detective Branch Inspector Md Nurul Amin submitted the charge sheet to the Court. l

country, Mahmood said.

Leading businessmen of both the countries, representatives of the Board of Investment and Japan External Trade Organisation would take part in the Japan-Bangladesh Economic Forum to be held in Dhaka tomorrow, he said.

During the visit, exclusive economic zones for Japanese investors would also be discussed, he said. Bangladesh agreed to provide some 500 acre lands for the Japanese investors exclusively when Sheikh Hasina visited Tokyo in May. During the first meeting of the Bangladesh-Japan Joint Public-Private Economic Dialogue on August 21, both the parties discussed investment barri-

ers in Bangladesh, the minister added.

“The Japanese investors are likely to invest in energy, power, infrastructure, information technology, textiles and RMG, pharmaceuticals, auto-mobiles and some other sectors,” he informed.

Relaxation of ROO

Bangladesh will seek Japanese assistance to allow more export to their country.

“We hope that there will be progress in relaxing the rules of origin for exporting knitwear, jute and jute products, home and oven textiles, and table wear,” the foreign minister said.

Dhaka requested the Japanese prime minister in May to waive duties

on the products and it expected progress during this visit, he said.

Comprehensive Partnership

Bangladesh-Japan relationship has been elevated to comprehensive partnership level and the Japanese premier’s visit is expected to boost the relationship.

A joint statement issued by Hasina and Abe in May said the two prime ministers launched the “Japan-Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership” and both also decided to detail the modalities at the earliest. “Abe will reiterate Japanese assistance to the mega projects announced in the joint statement,” Mahmood added. l

Khaleda’s appeal hearing starts in Supreme Court n Ahmed Zayeef The Supreme Court yesterday started hearing the plea of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia filed against a High Court order that rejected her petition challenging legality of the appointment of a judge conducting two corruption cases.

The five-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Mozammel Hossain after a hearing set September 7 for further proceedings.

Lawyer Zoynul Abedin read out the High Court order on behalf of Khaleda.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam attended the hearing on behalf of the state and lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan on behalf of the Anti-

Corruption Commission.

The trial of Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases, in which Khaleda is the prime accused, already began in the Third Special Judge’s Court of Judge Basudev Roy. Khaleda had to appear before the court on Wednesday.

But the special court has set September 10 for recording deposition of the complainant after the defence filed two petitions seeking adjournment.

On May 12, Khaleda Zia filed the writ petition challenging legality of appointment of the judge who framed charge against Khaleda and six others at trial court. On June 19, High Court’s single bench of Justice Kazi Razaul Huq rejected the petition.

On July 07, Khaleda filed two petitions with the Appellate Division challenging the rejection order. She also sought stay order on the trial proceedings.

On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon police station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, for abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 accusing Khaleda, her elder son Tarique Rahman and four others for misappropriating over Tk2.10 crore, which came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans. l

Order on Bergman’s case Oct 13 n Udisa Islam

After hearing both parties, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 has fixed October 13 for passing order on the contempt charge brought against British journalist David Bergman.

Counsel for the petitioner yesterday replied to some questions that Bergman’s lawyer raised earlier.

Tribunal Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan fixed the date after both the petitioner and the defence completed submissions in presence of Bergman.

On April 17, the tribunal started

contempt of court proceedings against Bergman as it found prima facie elements of contempt in his blogposts.

On February 18, Supreme Court lawyer Abul Kalam Azad filed the contempt petition alleging that Bergman in his article had questioned the figure of martyrs in the Liberation War. Meanwhile, the prosecution in the trial against Maulana Abdus Subhan placed its 27 witness Azab Uddin, an assistant librarian of Bangla Academy, as seizure list witness. After his deposition, the tribunal 2 fixed next Sunday for further witness in the case which is at the final stage. l

240 gold bars seized at Ctg airport n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Helen O’Connor, climate and environment adviser at DFID Bangladesh, speaks at a round table on Climate Change and Urbanisation In Bangladesh, in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Custom officials at the Shah Amanat International Airport have recovered 240 gold bars worth Tk12 crore from a plane of Regent Airways.

The plane arrived at the airport from Bangkok around 6pm yesterday.

Moshiur Rahman Mondal, assistant commissioner of customs at the airport, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had found the bars wrapped in a black polythene in an abandoned condition, after searching the toilet of the plane around 6:45pm. No one arrested in this connection, he said.

The gold bars weighing 28 kilogrammes were handed over to Bangladesh Bank while a case was lodged with Patenga police station in this connection, added the assistant commissioner.

Existing law allows a person to carry highest 200 grams of gold from abroad paying necessary duty at the airport while the passenger can bring highest two kilogrammes of gold by giving early notice to the authorities concerned and paying duty, according to a circular of Bangladesh Bank. Till date this year, the customs authorities have seized around 3,000 gold bars worth around Tk200 crore from the Chittagong airport. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, September 5, 2014

200 doctors posted to provide alternative medical treatments n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Around 200 doctors, who teach and provide alternative medical treatments like unani, ayurvedic and homeopathy, were posted to different district and upazila hospitals.

The Health Directorate had issued a gazette notification in this regard on September 1 that said 59 homeopathic, 47 unani and 47 ayurvedic indoor and outdoor officers were given postings. Besides, 40 doctors were posted as lecturers and indoor medical officers at public homeophathic and unani-ayurvedic medical college and hospitals.

The doctors were instructed to join their new offices by September 7.

Dr Gour Moni Sinha, director at Alternative Medical Care (AMC) of the Health Directorate, told the Dhaka Tribune that to boost the quality of Alternative Medical Care (AMC) in the country the Health Ministry had appointed three categories of AMC doctors in the district and upazila hospital.

He also informed that currently 45 district hospitals in the country had only one doctor each to provide AMC services.

Several senior health officials told the Dhaka Tribune that the drugs used for alternative treatments had no side effects and were cost-effective than any other modern treatment methods.

It is learnt that a five-year (2011-2016) long operation plan of the AMC programme has been running under the Health Population and Nutrition Sector Development Programme (HPNSDP) to popularise and create awareness

among the general people.

Dr Gour Moni Sinha, meanwhile, mentioned that World Health Organization (WHO) had also recommended alternative health care systems to avoid health risks.

Health Directorate officials said it was decided to provide across the country. Around 15% to 20% patients in 45 districts are currently getting health care from alternative doctors, they claimed.

It was learnt that One of the chief targets set by the government under the National Health Policy 2011 was to upgrade the traditional health care system and education.

Khodadad Khan, an adviser to the Unani Oshud Shilpa Samiti, said traditional medicine was used for treating 24 diseases under primary health care in Bangladesh. More than 82% raw materials of traditional medicine were available inside the country, he added.

He said India, Nepal, China and many other European countries were then relying on traditional medicine for primary health care.

Dr Rashid-e-Mahbub, president of Health Rights Movement Bangladesh, said the alternative doctors were being unable to gain the patients’ trust, although a large number of people had relied on knowledgeable alternatives doctors in the past.

He said alternative treatments could be used for children, but not for emergency care. However, the qualification of the doctors and the quality of medicine should be checked properly, he added. l

DG Food Ahammad made OSD n Mohosinul Karim

Students of a Samajik Shikkhakendra Government Primary School join a rally organised by Chhatra Union yesterday, protesting the demolition of their school building on Bailey Road in the capital RAJIB DHAR

Unilever BizMaestros ends n Tribune Report The fifth session and the final stage of Unilever BizMaestros, a much-discussed business competition of the multi-national company in search of the best business minds, completed at Hotel Lake Shore in the capital on Tuesday.

In the programme, 11 teams placed their campaigns along with visual demonstrations of their activation plan, from which the judges selected the top 3, says a media release.

The team from Department of Chemical Engineering of the BUET won the first runners up title and the team of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) grabbed the second title while the grand finale of competition was supposed to be held in London in March, 2015. l

STUDENT STRIKE AT CU

Teachers’ bus vandalised in Chittagong, crude bombs blasted n CU Correspondent A teachers’ bus of Chittagong University (CU) was vandalised by miscreants in the city’s AK Khan Area yesterday, the fifth consecutive day of CU students’ strike demanding reopening of closed residence halls.

Meanwhile, several crude bombs were blasted at the Rail Station area when the campus bound shuttle train was ready to make its first trip of the day.

Sub Inspector Arab Ali of Government Railway Police (GRP) of Sholoshohar Rail Station Police Outpost said, at least five crude bombs were set off at the eastern corner of the station at around 7:40am.

The blast created panic among the

general students and made the train delayed by 25 minutes, added Md Shahabuddin, station master of Sholoshahar railway station.

Earlier in the day, miscreants vandalised the teachers’ bus at Ispahani Rail Crossing area under Pahartali police station at around 7:30am.

Rabiul Islam, director of CU transport said, miscreants put up a barricade at the area and began pelting stones when the bus was going to pick up teachers.

The miscreants behind the bomb blast and the vandalism could not be identified, said the CU Proctor Siraj-ud-Dowla adding that the authority had been trying to resolve the issue.

However, classes and examinations

Muhith happy with education sector improvement n Our Correspondent, Habiganj Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith yesterday said the education sector had seen a rapid improvement in the country after the ruling Awami League government took over.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a Jubo League, the youth front of the Awami League, meeting in Habiganj.

Jubo League Chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury inaugurated the meeting while Chairman of Zilla Jubo League Ataur Rahman Selim chaired the event.

Awami League Organising Secretary Misbah Uddin Siraj, Jubo League Chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury, General Secretary Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, Zilla Awami League Chairman Abu Ja-

hir MP, General Secretary Abdul Majid Khan MP, Mahbubur Rahman MP and female MP Keya Chowdhury spoke, among others.

In his speech, the Minister said: “The education sector has witnessed a significant improvement. Now there is a school within the range of 2km for every student. When this government took office, the budget was too small.”

The minister said the prime minister wanted to form an inclusive government, but it is unfortunate that the BNP didn’t participate in the last election.

The minister also said: “Development is not possible without peace, and within the next four years this government will surely turn this country into a peaceful and wealthy nation. l

EC to use EVMs in UP polls n Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the union parishad (UP) elections.

The commission took the decision at a meeting yesterday, a senior EC official said.

EVMs have been used in Bangladesh before, in city corporation and municipality polls. The first time it was used in a ward during the Chittagong City Corporation polls in 2010.

However, after some glitches occurred during vote collecting during

Rangpur City Corporation election in 2012, the EC decided not to use the machines in any other elections.

Authorities concerned are working on fixing the glitches, according to sources at the commission.

A few more amendments to the system are going to be made as well, and the revised plan will be presented at the EC’s next meeting for final approval, said Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz after the meeting.

After the final approval, the plan will be sent to the Law Ministry for vetting, and then implemented in the UP polls, he said. l

of different departments of the university are going on as usual despite the strike, confirmed the Proctor.

A section of students who used to reside at the Shah Amanat and the Suhrawardy residence halls enforced the indefinite strike on Sunday under the banner of “General Student of CU” demanding reopening of the halls.

Shah Amanat hall was closed down on January 12 after a bloody clash took place between the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) activists while Suhrawardy was locked after a gun fight between the same men on August 24. CU authority and BCL leaders of CU unit claimed that Shibir men in guise of general students were behind the strike. l

Muggers shoot father and son to loot Tk48 lakh in capital n Afrose Jahan Chaity A group of muggers shot a father and his son and looted Tk48 lakh from them in front of the Khilgaon fire station yesterday evening.

Following the incident, locals people took the two victims, Israil Hossain, 60, and Sharif Hossain Saymon, 32, to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctors declared Saymon dead.

Israil is now receiving treatment at the hospital in critical condition.

The victims were the owners of the Universal Money Exchange in Motijheel and were on their way back to their Goran home when the attack took place.

“They came under attack by four to five muggers in front of the Khilgaon fire station around 8:30pm.

First, they held them at gunpoint and opened fire on them after snatching their bag containing Tk48 lakhs,” said Muktar, relative of Israil Hossain, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.

Local people said the muggers snooped upon them after they parked their private car near their house.

Shirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Khilgaon police station, said police had now been conducting an investigation into the incident.

A case was filed with the police station in this connection. l

Director General of Directorate General of Food Ahammad Hossain Khan, also an additional secretary, was made officer on special duty (OSD) to the Public Administration Ministry.

He was replaced by OSD Additional Secretary Sarwar Khan, previously attached with the Labour and Employment Ministry.

The Public Administration Ministry has issued separate gazette notifications on Wednesday regarding the changes.

According to the ministry, Ahammad was removed from his office for his alleged involvement with several corruptions including recruitment of officials and employees in the DG food office.

Meanwhile, additional secretary to Liberation War Affairs Ministry, Mojibur Rahman, was made the chief controller of the controller’s office of export and import. l

Recognition of female farmers demanded n Abu Bakar Siddique Civil society members yesterday urged the government to recognise female farm labourers as they have been playing a vital role in ensuring the country’s food security.

They also demanded the equal wage for female farmers like their male colleagues to enhance their potentiality.

They came up with the demanded at a press conference held at the National Press Club auditorium. The Oxfam

Bangladesh has organised the event.

“The role of female farm labourers is invisible in agriculture sector, said Prof Sharmind Neelormi of Jahangirnagar University. Currently, the female agriculture workers have been receiving around 41% less wage than male workers, she added.

According to Labor force survey 2005-06, there are around 2.20 core female labours in Bangladesh. Around 77% of them are rural female, who are involved in rural economy that in-

cludes agriculture, livestock, poultry and fisheries.

Despite having constitutional assurance of the equal rights for male and female, the females are still facing discrimination in all aspects of their lives, said Monisha Biswas, policy advocacy manager at Oxfam.

In addition, the civil society members urged the government to bring the female farmers under the subsidy scheme of the government to boost their capacity and potentiality. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Friday, September 5, 2014

Dhanmondi playground goes back to DMCH two-deck railings considered risky the clutches of Sheikh Jamal Club n Occupiers use Bangabandhu, prime minister's portraits to gain political sympathy

n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhanmondi playground, which had recently been re-declared as a public ground by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), has again become virtually off-limits to children, youngsters and locals as authority of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club continue to control the playground's gates.

In the last decade, several concrete structures, including housing for club's players, staffs and construction labours, were built on the public ground by the private sporting club due to the negligence and lack of planning by DSCC. During this period, the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club had been using the name of Bangabandhu's family to fend off any legal action that might be taken against them for the illicit occupation.

Recently, they painted large portraits of

Bangabandhu, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and late Sheikh Jamal in front of the main gate of the playground.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, several residents of the area said they could not enter the playground due to restriction and protests from Sheikh Jamal club authority. Ishtiaq Ahmed, a resident of Dhanmondi yesterday, said: “Though the city corporation had reopened the playground to public in May, the private club authority had again shut the gates for the public.

“When the media ran reports on the playground, the club authority had allowed the general public to enter the ground. Now, the club authority does not allow it any more.”

Visiting yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune correspondent found that a security guard was being kept at gate of the playground. However, when this re-

porter tried to enter in the playground, he was stopped by the security guard saying the club authority has directed him not to allow anyone, except club officials, to enter the ground.

Contacted, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club President Manjur Kader, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “The issue is now a pending issue in the High Court.

So, I cannot say anything about this.

“If you further want anything about it, you can go to the court and ask,” he suggested.

Back in 2004, following a petition filed by the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB), the High Court directed the then Dhaka City Corporation (now Dhaka South City Corporation) to free the playground from the illegal occupation.

On April 24 this year, DSCC authorities reopened the public playground follow-

ing a demonstration staged by the green activists, locals and sports personalities.

Later on May 18, the city corporation conducted a drive at the Dhanmondi playground and demolished only two illegal establishments in compliance with an HC order of 2011.

Earlier, a High Court bench dropped a petition filed by six green activists, seeking the court directives to remove illegal structures built on the Dhanmondi playground, from its cause list.

The petition was later accepted and sent to another bench, which felt embarrassed to hear it.

Meanwhile, the DSCC authority had always played silent role over the issue.

When contacted, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Md Ansar Ali Khan, repeated: “We have not been informed about any such incident. If any irregularities are found, we would take action against it.” l

Moniruzzman Uzzal

The height of the deck railings on Dhaka Medical College Hospital two floors has raised security concerns as hospital officials consider the barriers risky.

Anyone can jump off a floor as the height of the railings is not high enough, they said.

Authorities of the hospital, which was built at a cost of more than Tk100 crore, are said to have sought a Tk2 crore fund from the Health Ministry to construct higher deck railings.

According to hospital records, two patients died in the last few months after they had jumped off the 7th and 9th floors.

The one jumping off the 9th floor on Tuesday was Nurnabi, a cancer patient.

It was alleged that the doctors did not pay attention to him as he had come to the hospital to seek treatment. The frustrated man then jumped off the building.

Pro-govt panel sweeps DU syndicate polls n DU Correspondent

3 arrested with geckos in Sylhet n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

The Blue Panel, a platform of the ruling Awami League-backed teachers, dominated the elections held yesterday of Dhaka University Syndicate as well as academic council and finance committee.

The panel bagged eleven of thirteen seats while Jamaat-e-Islami-blessed White Panel managed to secure only two seats. DU Treasurer Mohammad Kamal Uddin, also the chief election commissioner of the elections, announced the results in the afternoon, which started around 9am and continued till 1pm without any break.

In the polls, 1289 of 1419 voters had cast their votes without any untoward incident, the treasurer continued.

The syndicate member winners are Prof ASM Maksud Kamal (Dean), Prof Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed (Professor), Dr Chandra Nath Poddar (associate professor) and Nilima Akthar (assistant professor) from the Blue Panel while the white lock's elected are Prof Mohammad Lutfar Rahman (provost) and Afrin Chowdhury (lecturer).

The academic council members are Dr ZM Parvez Sazzad (Associate Professor), Dr Mahbub Ahasan khan (Associate Professor), Dr Mohammad Abdullaha-hel Amin (Associate Professor), Abul Kalam Lutfor Kabir (Assistant Professor), Mohammad Touhidul Haque (Assistant Professor), Shoboth Dev Nath (Assistant Professor).

The winning member for the Finance committee is Dr Mohammad Masudur Rahman. The syndicate elections were held under six categories – dean, hall provosts, professors, associate professors, assistant professors and lecturers while the academic council is in only two categories – associate and assistant professors. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:13PM SUN RISES 5:42AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

33

Chittagong

31

26

Rajshahi

33

26

26

Rangpur

33

26

Khulna

31

25

Barisal

31

25

Sylhet

32

24

Cox’s Bazar

29

25

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.0ºC Dinajpur

24.0ºC Sylhet

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

The High Court on Wednesday sought a report on the alleged negligence of duty on the part of hospital staff which resulted in Nurnabi’s death.

Director of the hospital Brigadier General Dr Mustafizur Rahman, however, denied the allegation and told the Dhaka Tribune that it was nothing but an accident.

He said a three-member probe committee headed by Professor Dr Firoz Ahmed was formed to examine the cause of the death.

“In the primary investigation, no evidence of negligence of duty was found,” said Mustafizur.

He said it was impossible to keep all the patients, visitors and hospital staff under watch in order to prevent possible suicide.

“The deck railings are not high enough and anyone can jump off any of the floors. If we get the fund from the ministry, we will build higher railings,” he added. l

4:24am 5:40am 11:57am 4:28pm 6:13pm 7:30pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Encroachment on the Turag River has stopped after the Water Development Board constructed a walkway along the river bank at Amin Bazar in the capital. Earlier, the area was under the occupation of sand traders and land grabbers SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

JU students protest brood quota n Mahadi Al Hasnat Students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday staged demonstration on the campus protesting authorities’ decision to reduce admission tests requirements for brood quota.

Campus sources said over 200 students under the banner of general students formed a human chain in front of new arts faculty building around 11:30am.

Speaking at the human chain they alleged that authorities of the university had reduced admission requirements under the pressure of university’s officers and employees’ movement which was misuse of quota system.

The teachers said university authorities had done this to provide special privilege to a certain group Azad Likhon, a student of Urban and Regional Planning department, said: “There are some competitions in other quotas such as player quota, freedom fighter quota and seats under those quotas are limited. But in brood quota, there is no competition and seat limitations.

“Moreover, applicants under the brood quota get a special grace mark in the admission tests, although many of them fail to get pass marks in intake test.”

Speakers at the human chain said many unqualified students who get enroll at the university getting special privileges and grace marks even cannot complete their academic carrier because of their poor results in the departments.

Nishat Imtiaz Bijoy, a student of Journalism and Media Studies depart-

ment, said students who get enrollment in the university under brood quota often feel inferior and guilty.

“I have some friends who feel inferior and shy as they are brood-quota students. If there was any standardise rules and minimum competition they would do better in class and feel confident,” he said.

Later, the protesting students submitted a memorandum to JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam.

The VC said: “We are trying to stop giving grace marks in the admission tests, but it is little bit tough stopping grace marks right now as the system has been going on for a long time in the university.

Earlier, a section of teachers held a press conference protesting authorities’ decision in reducing admission requirements.

The teachers said university authorities had done this to provide special privilege to a certain group.

The university authorities have recently reduced some requirements for B and C units following officers and employees’ movement as some candidates became unqualified for registration in the admission test.

The officers and employees at that time called a two-day work abstain to reduce admission requirements under brood quota. Later, they withdrew their movement following the assurance of the VC. When contacted, Deputy Registrar (education) said: “The committee has reduced admission requirements of social science and arts and humanities faculties to provide scope for attending the admission test to the students of rural areas.”

General Secretary of JU Employee Association said as they were working at JU, they had rights to admit their children to the university. l

Police, in separate drives, have arrested three people and recovered four geckos, a lizard like creature, in Surma upazila of Sylhet.

Police arrested them from Humayun Rashid intersection and Hazrat Shahjalal Dargah gate areas and recovered the geckos on Wednesday night.

The arrestees are Monir Uddin, 60, son of late Abdul Malek of Dorakul village, Mohammad Abdul Majid, 48, son of Abdul Goffur of Khagrachhari and Julhash Mia, 48.

Police said a gang had been involved in the trade of geckos in Sylhet for a long and as its part, they had brought four geckos from Khagrachhari on Wednesday night. South Shurma police outpost SI Shafiqul Islam Khan said: “Acting on a tip-off, a team arrested Majid and Julhas from Humayun Rashid intersection area around 9:30pm.”

“Upon their information, police conducted another drive in the Hazrat Shahjalal Dargah gate area and arrested Manir with the four geckos,” he said.

The SI said the estimated price of the geckos was more than Tk1.5 crore.

During preliminary investigation, Monir confessed that he had brought the geckos to keep them as pets.

Officer-in-Charge of South Shurma police station Md Mursalin said: “The arrestees will be sent to the court and the geckos will be handed over to the forest department. l

Five fake dentists jailed for nine months in capital n Tazlina Zamila Khan A mobile court of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) sentenced five fake dentists to one-year imprisonment during a drive at Karwan Super Market in the capital yesterday for practising without approval of the government.

The mobile court also fined them Tk1 lakh each and seized their equipment.

A team of the elite force led by Md Didarul Alam, deputy director of RAB 2, conducted a drive at Garden Dental Care, Al-Madina Dental Care and AlHera Dental Care and Zannat Dental Care and gave verdict against the fake dentists.

The convicts are Illias Hossain of Garden Dental Care, Hasanur Rahman and Md Akhter Hossain of Al-Madina

Dental Care, Tofazzal Hossain of AlHera Dental Care and Alauddin Hossain of Zannat Dental Care.

Md Didarul Alam, deputy director of RAB 2, said the mobile court had given verdict against them as they had been practising without having any registration from the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC).

“Most of them have passed the SSC only, but doing practice which is risky for general people,” he said.

The fake doctors, however, said they had done a short course on dental treatment and took the certificates from the Desh-Bangla Kollyan Samity.

Swapan Kumar Tapadar, deputy director (hospital) of the Director General for Health Service, said: “I did not heard about the Desh Bangla Kollayan Samity, which provides dental certifi-

cates. None of them are registered by the BMDC. Nur-e-Alam, who visited one of the fake dentists, said: Few days back, I took my nephew Nisha to Zannat Dental Care. Fake doctor Alauddin took Tk6,000 for dental filling, but it broke within few days.”

Akhter Hossain, one of the convicts, said: “After the SSC, I did a short dental diploma course from the Desh Bangla Kollyan Samity. I asked them if I could consider myself as a doctor, then the officials said that I can use the designation before my name.” He mentioned his monthly income as Tk 25,000.

Executive Magistrate AHM Anwar Pasha said: “There was a risk of getting affected with aids and other diseases as equipment used in treatment at those clinics are not washed properly.” l

Dada factory turns into a scrap n Our Correspondent, Khulna The once famous Dada Match Factory of Khulna is in a shambles. Following the shut down of the factory, most of its expensive equipment is out of order due to lack of maintenance.

Moreover, a lot of equipment has been stolen as security measures of the factory is not satisfactory.

In this circumstance, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu is scheduled to visit the factory today. He would take decision about the future of the mill after going back to Dhaka.

Khulna City Corporation has been directed to clean and prepare the factory for the minister’s visit, said Additional

DC of Khulna Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain.

The long-standing factory was closed down on February 2010 in the face of financial crisis. In 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at a rally in Khulna’s Khalishpur, announced to revive the factory under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC). However, no concrete measures has been taken since then. Prime Minister’s assurance, efforts from ministries and local MPs and workers’ movement have remained all but fruitless.

It will be very difficult to start the factory with very little equipment and that too in such bad condition. Spare

parts of various machineries have been long stolen. Parts stored in various storage spaces are also gone. Even the ceiling fans are not spared.

Khulna DC Anis Mahmud, in his defence, said the factory was not under the purview of the administration. He just followed government’s order to seal off the factory.

Meanwhile, labour leader of the factory Md Delwar Hossain Dilkhosh said, workers of the factory had been going through immense sufferings since the shutdown.

Many workers died out of hunger and diseases in the last four years. Education of their children is also being hampered due to financial crisis. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Friday, September 5, 2014

School beside railway tracks, students cross gutter to enter classrooms n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi Without any boundary wall, Birpur Government Primary School in Narsingdi municipality is running just beside a railway line posing risks to its students.

Headmistress of the school Mir Nasrin Sultana said as there was no boundary wall surrounding the school it had become difficult to control the students. “Whenever they get a chance they run to the shops situated on the other side of the railway line taking risks, sometimes they even throw pebbles on the trains while playing,” she said.

Situated at the centre of Narsing-

di municipality, Birpur Government Primary School was established in 1929. Later in 1998, a two-storey building was built while another one-storey building was established in 2008 inside the school area.

Because of poor construction work cracks have already developed on different parts of the two-storey building which is situated right beside the railway line, said a number of teachers, students and locals.

Moreover, because of the ongoing construction work for extending the Tangi-Bhairab railway line, heavy vehicles are plying on the road beside school making the building more vulnerable, they said.

Six killed across the country n Tribune Report At least six people were killed in Netrakona, Khulna, Comilla, Feni, Khulna and Shariatpur districts yesterday.

Our Netrakona correspondent reports: A farmer was hacked to death by his rivals in Kendua upazila here over land dispute.

The victim was identified as Alimuddin, 45, son of Sundor Ali of Birmohori village of the upazila.

Abhiranjan Dev, officerin-charge of Kendua police station, said Alimuddin had a long standing dispute with his cousin Ali Newaz over land.

The supporter’s of Ali Newaz chopped Alimuddin as he went to work at the disputed land in the morning, leaving him critically injured.

He was rushed to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital around 10am where doctor declared him dead.

Khulna correspondent said a wood trader was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Digholia upazila.

The victim was identified as Lakhmikanta Mandal, 36, son of Nothuram Mandal of Pashchimpara village.

Shova Mandal, brotherin-law of Lak hmikanta, said a group of miscreants shot him when he was standing in front of his home at the village around 9pm.

He was rushed to Khulna Mediacal College Hospital where doctor declared him dead. Rabiul Hossain, officer-in-charge of Digholia police station, confirmed the incident.

According to Bagerhat correspondent, miscreant hacked to death a local Awami League leader in Morhelganj upazila.

Mojammel Hossain alias Mojam Sikder, 50, was

attacked by a group of men armed with machetes around 8.30 pm , said Morhelganj police station OC Md Aslam Khan.

Nishanabari Union Awami League's General Secretary Abdur Rahim Bachchu said Hossain was hacked by a group of men at the Jewdhara village. Locals rushed him to the upazila health complex where he died later.

Our Comilla correspondent said a man was beaten to death by his younger brothers at Kalkharpar village in Sadar upazila over family feud.

SI Safiqul Islam of Sadar upazila police station said Shah Alam,35, son of Sanu Mian died on the spot as his younger brothers Faruk Hossain and Sharif Hossain beat up him with bamboo branches mercilessly.

Police arrested Faruk and Sharif in this connection.

Feni correspondent reports: A youth was hacked to death at Bandua village in Fulgazi area in the district.

Fulgazi police station Officer-in-Charge Harunur Rashid said miscreants murdered Harun, son of Khaej Ahmed and dumped the body in the area.

Additional Superintendent of Police Saiful Haque said the deceased was accused of a murder case.

Police investigated into the matter, he said.

Shariatpur correspondent said a madrasa student was killed at Gosairhat in the district. The deceased was identified as Zihad Hossain,10, son of Jahangir Alam.

Police sources said Ziahd went out on Wednesday when one Ruhul Amin called him. Later, he was found dead under a bridge in the area.

Police suspected he was killed after torture. l

Man becomes prey to kidnapping Correspondent, n Our Rangamati A gang of culprits reportedly abducted a man from his residence in Pagoijjachhari village in Bagaichhari upazila early yesterday.

The victim is Bikram Chakma, 35, son of Sneho Kumar Chakma, a resident of the village.

It was learnt that a gang of unknown 10-12 armed miscreants swooped on Bikram's house around 1am and they picked up him.

Confirming the news, the

upazila's 35 Bangatali UP Chairman Tarusi Chakma said Bikram was not involved in any political parties.

On the other hand, United People's Democratic Front Spokesperson Maichel Chakma echoed the chairman's voice saying the JSS (Santu Larma faction) caused the kidnapping while he urged upon the party not to harass the ordinary people for the division between them.

When asked, JSS Information and Publication Secretary Sajib Chakma denied the allegation. l

Jessore power company staff demand job rights Correspondent, n Our Jessore The workers and employees of West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) yesterday from a human chain demanded necessary rights in their jobs.

Sources said about 150 workers of the company under the banner of WZPDCL Bidyut Sramik Karmachari League took position in front of the district press club in the morning and they demanded all facilities in their job, which Bidyut Unnayon Board granted. l

During a visit yesterday it was found that a three feet gutter has developed on the school field that students are crossing by a narrow pillar to enter classrooms.

A class two student Sumaiya Siddiqua hurt herself on Wednesday after slipping down from the pillar while crossing the gutter.

Despite informing local administration about the issues, no steps had been taken, said parents and teachers of the school who are passing days in fear of more accidents.

The officials concerned should take immediate steps to address the problems of the school that has a total of 545 students, they said.

Chairman of the school management committee Mostafa Kamal Ahmed said the issues had been informed through written statements several times to the upazila chairman, and primary education officials both at district and upazila level.

“However, I do not see any sign of progress,” he said.

Upazila Education Official Md Abdul Jalil Howlader said: “I have not heard about the issues. However, upon visiting the school, the issues like boundary wall, gutter and vulnerable building will be informed to the concerned higher authority soon. I would make recommendations to take necessary steps.” l

General students from Narshingdi formed a human chain yesterday protesting the murder of Nasib, a schoolboy who was killed after abduction last Friday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Human chain formed AL leader commits suicide protesting abduction and n murder of schoolboy Shahriar Milton, Sherpur

Joint publicity and publication editor of Nalitabari upazila Awami League, Khonodoker Azar Ali, 53, committed suicide by hanging himself.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night, September 3 at his home in Dakhkhinbazar area. Police collected his dead body from the location of the incident.

According to Nalitabari police source,

sometime in the evening the AL leader made a noose with a scarf which he used to hang himself from his room’s beam. Khonodoker Azar Ali was the son of late Khondoker Hafez Ali Member from Fakirapara village in Marichrpur union of the upazila. The deceased left two wives, one son and three daughters.

Nalitabari thana Sub-inspector, Md. Ruhul Amin said: “No motive was found regarding the suicide and had a good relationship with family members. l

n Our Correspondent, Narshingdi Students from different educational institutions and general people of Narshingdi formed a human chain yesterday protesting murder of Nasib, a schoolboy who was abducted last Friday.

Ayes Ali Academy, the school in which the deceased boy studied, organised the programme yesterday. The protesters gathered beside Dhaka-Sylhet highway near the Itakhola area around 11am.

Ajraf Hossain, principal of Ayes Ali Academy, Mumtaz Begum, the deceased’s aunt

and some general students made speeches at the meeting. The speakers demanded immediate measures by the administration to ensure punishment of the culprits responsible for the schoolboy’s murder.

Nasib was abducted by Tauhid and AlAmin, who rented a flat in Nasib’s house, on Friday. On Saturday morning they demanded Tk2 lakh from his uncle Kajal over phone.

When informed, police arrested Tauhid on Sunday night and learned from him that they had already strangled the boy to death.

Later police recovered the body from a biogas tank in Shadharchar village. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Feature

7

Friday, September 5, 2014

Dhaka: From the bird’s eye, to life up-close Dhaka, as a city, may be on the receiving end of a lot complaints, be it related to traffic, roads, buildings, politics, or the enforcement of law and order. But on the other hand, Dhaka appears to bask in a candid glory that is obvious only when perceived not through the eyes of a citizen who sees the city as a mere means to an end. When one gazes at it with an openness to take it all in as the city’s pulse, as the city is, instead of what it should be, there comes a vivid collage of images, whose character ranges from flamboyant to humble with a uniqueness that stands in a league of its own Photos: Syed Zakir Hossain Û

Swooping down twoard Hatirjheel, reveals the texture of the urban jungle below

Þ

Ý

On the left we see the Karail slums and in stark contrast stands the Gulshan and Banani affluence on the right

Ý

This road in Shakharibazar depicts a calm yet busy aspect of everyday life in Dhaka

Ý

This tunnel-like passage in Boro Katra mixes past and present in one definitive interplay

The grand design of the Ruplal House in Old Dhaka mkaes one wonder whether this building was the centre of such utilitarian bustle back when it was constructed

Ý

This tabla store in Dhamrai, far removed from the rush of city life, rests in the serenity of humility combined with obsessive care

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Friday, September 5, 2014

Ukraine and rebels to seek peace plan, ceasefire on Friday n Reuters, Mariupol, Ukraine

(From L-R) French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi hold a meeting on the situation in Ukraine at the Celtic Manor Resort during the 2014 Nato Summit AFP

Russian plan fails to calm Ukraine as Nato backs Kiev over Moscow n Reuters, Newport/Donetsk Ukraine’s president heard words of support from Western leaders at a Nato summit on Thursday, but a Kremlin peace offer failed to halt fighting in the east where dramatic advances by pro-Russian rebels have tipped the balance of power against Kiev.

The West believes a rebel advance since last week is the result of an assault by heavily armed Russian troops sent across the border, and has been scrambling to find a response to the biggest confrontation with Moscow since the Berlin Wall fell.

Western states have backed Kiev

with words and economic sanctions on Moscow, but have also made clear that they will not fight to protect Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels rose up in two provinces after Moscow annexed the Crimea peninsula in March.

President Petro Poroshenko was invited to meet US President Barack Obama, Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Francois Hollande and other Western leaders at a summit of Nato in Wales hosted by Britain’s David Cameron.

“To the east, Russia has ripped up the rule book with its illegal, self-declared annexation of Crimea and its troops on Ukrainian soil threatening

and undermining a sovereign nation state,” Obama and Cameron wrote in a joint newspaper editorial.

Hollande brought the biggest surprise on the eve of the summit: postponing the delivery of a helicopter carrier warship to Russia, a measure he had long resisted. Moscow accused him of caving in to US political pressure.

“France’s reputation as a reliable partner that carries out its contractual obligations has been thrown into the furnace of American political ambitions,” Russian Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

Conflicting signals

The past few days have seen conflicting signals from Moscow. After a week of belligerent statements, President Vladimir Putin unveiled a peace proposal on Wednesday and discussed it with Poroshenko. The Ukrainian president, who has tried to keep diplomatic lines open with the Russian leader, at one point even suggested on his website on that a ceasefire was in the works.

But his prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, dismissed Putin’s proposal, which would require Ukraine to pull its forces out of rebel held territory, as a “deception” and said Putin’s real aim was to “destroy Ukraine and restore the USSR.” l

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the main pro-Russian rebel leader said they would both order ceasefires on Friday, provided that an agreement is signed on a new peace plan to end the five month war in Ukraine’s east.

The first apparent breakthrough of its kind in the war comes after a week in which the pro-Moscow separatists scored major victories with what Nato says is the open support of thousands of Russian troops.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Wales, Poroshenko said the ceasefire would be conditional on a planned meeting going ahead in Minsk on Friday of envoys from Ukraine, Russia and Europe’s OSCE security watchdog.

“At 1400 local time (7.00am EDT on Friday), provided the (Minsk) meeting takes place, I will call on the General Staff to set up a bilateral ceasefire and we hope that the implementation of the peace plan will begin tomorrow,” Poroshenko told reporters.

Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko said in a statement that the separatists would also order a ceasefire, from one hour later, provided that Kiev’s representatives signed up to a peace plan at the Minsk meeting.

The announcements come a day after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin put forward a seven-point peace plan, which would end the fighting in Ukraine’s east while leaving rebels in control of territory.

So far there has been no sign of a halt in fighting in the east, where rebels have rapidly advanced in the past week, backed by what Kiev and Nato say is the support of thousands of Russian troops with artillery and tanks.

Moscow denies its troops are there, in the face of what the West says is overwhelming evidence.

Reuters journalists heard explosions and saw columns of smoke on the eastern outskirts of Mariupol, a government-held port of 500,000 people that is the next big city in the path of the rebel advance. A Ukrainian military source said troops were bracing for a potential attack on the city.

UN says $600m needed to tackle Ebola as deaths top 1,900 n Reuters, Washington/Conakry The United Nations said $600 million in supplies would be needed to fight West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, as the death toll from the worst ever epidemic of the virus topped 1,900 and Guinea warned it had penetrated a new part of the country.

The pace of the infection has accelerated, and there were close to 400 deaths in the past week, officials said on Wednesday. It was first detected deep in the forests of southeastern Guinea in March.

The hemorrhagic fever has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, and Senegal, and has killed more people than all outbreaks since Ebola was first uncovered in 1976. There are no approved Ebola vaccines or treatments.

An experimental Ebola vaccine that

Canada said it would give to the World Health Organization for use in Africa was as of Wednesday still in the lab that developed it as officials are puzzled over how to transport it.

Ottawa said on Aug. 12 that it would donate between 800 and 1,000 doses of the vaccine, being held at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

“We are now working with the WHO to address complex regulatory, logistical and ethical issues so that the vaccine can be safely and ethically deployed as rapidly as possible,” Health Canada spokesman Sean Upton said in a statement.

“For example, the logistics surrounding the safe delivery of the vaccine are complicated.” Upton said one of the challenges was keeping the vaccine cool enough to remain potent. l

Confronted by a steep fall in support after years of economic crisis and scandals in the ruling class, Spain’s conservative government has proposed an electoral reform it says will improve democracy but critics fear could help keep discredited elites in power.

The move appears to have been prompted by the whirlwind success of 8-month-old leftist party Podemos (“We Can”), which has taken mainstream politics by storm to become Spain’s third-biggest party, a hair’s breadth behind the Socialists .

The credibility crisis of Spain’s two main parties - the People’s Party (PP) conservatives and Socialists - (PSOE) is evident in their decline from a combined 80% of votes cast 10 years ago to around half of intended votes now.

If consolidated, their broad losses to

smaller parties could mean that by the time the next national election is due, in late 2015, they themselves could be forced into what up to now had been unthinkable - a grand coalition.

With that threat looming, the PP government says it plans to change the format for the May 2015 municipal elections to give anyone with 40% voter backing the automatic right to form a government, less than the full majority needed at present.

The government has touted the idea as a response to the Spanish public’s demands for more real democracy - one major factor behind the rise of Podemos.

But critics have derided the measure, saying it could well assure PP victories in many town halls unless rivals form coalitions. That is a tall order at a time when politics is more deeply polarised than usual. l

The separatists would also order a ceasefire, from one hour later, provided that Kiev’s representatives signed up to a peace plan at the Minsk meeting “To the east, Russia has ripped up the rule book with its illegal, self-declared annexation of Crimea and its troops on Ukrainian soil threatening and undermining a sovereign nation state,” Obama and Cameron wrote in a joint newspaper editorial.

Hollande brought the biggest surprise on the eve of the summit: postponing the delivery of a helicopter carrier warship to Russia, a measure he had long resisted. Moscow accused him of caving in to US political pressure.

“France’s reputation as a reliable partner that carries out its contractual obligations has been thrown into the furnace of American political ambitions,” Russian Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook. l

Britain considering arming, training Kurdish forces: PM Cameron n Reuters, Newport Wales

Relatives and soldiers from the Lebanese army carry the coffin of Lebanese soldier Ali al-Sayyed, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants in Arsal, during his funeral in his hometown of Fnideq in Akkar September 3. Islamic State militants beheaded al-Sayyed, a Lebanese soldier who was one of 19 captured by hardline Syrian Islamists when they seized the Lebanese border town for a few days last month, a video posted on social media showed on Saturday REUTERS

Newcomer leftists In northeast Syria, Islamic State shake-up Spain politics builds a government n Reuters, Madrid

Reuters reporters also heard government shells rain down overnight on a residential district Donetsk, capital of one of the rebels’ two self-proclaimed independent states.

Poroshenko won support from Western leaders at the Nato summit.

The West has backed Kiev by imposing economic sanctions on Moscow, but has also made clear it will not fight to protect the country, where pro-Russian rebels rose up in two provinces after Moscow annexed the Crimea peninsula in March.

The Ukrainian president was invited to meet US President Barack Obama, Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Francois Hollande and other Western leaders at a summit of Nato in Wales hosted by Britain’s David Cameron.

n Reuters, Beirut In the cities and towns across the desert plains of northeast Syria, the ultra-hardline al-Qaeda offshoot Islamic State has insinuated itself into nearly every aspect of daily life.

The group famous for its beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions provides electricity and water, pays salaries, controls traffic, and runs nearly everything from bakeries and banks to schools, courts and mosques.

While its merciless battlefield tactics and its imposition of its austere vision of Islamic law have won the group headlines, residents say much of its power lies in its efficient and often deeply pragmatic ability to govern.

Syria’s eastern province of Raqqa provides the best illustration of their methods. Members hold up the province as an example of life under the

Islamic “caliphate” they hope will one day stretch from China to Europe.

In the provincial capital, a dustblown city that was home to about a quarter of a million people before Syria’s three-year-old war began, the group leaves almost no institution or public service outside of its control.

“Let us be honest, they are doing massive institutional work. It is impressive,” one activist from Raqqa who now lives in a border town in Turkey told Reuters.

In interviews conducted remotely, residents, Islamic State fighters and even activists opposed to the group described how it had built up a structure similar to a modern government in less than a year under its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Reuters journalists are unable to visit the area for security reasons.

The group’s progress has alarmed regional and Western powers - last month

US President Barack Obama called it a “cancer” that must be erased from the Middle East as US warplanes bombarded its positions in Iraq.

But Islamic State has embedded itself so thoroughly into the fabric of life in places like Raqqa that it will be all but impossible for US aircraft - let alone Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish troops - to uproot them through force alone.

Bride of the revolution

Last year, Raqqa became the first city to fall to the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. They called it the “Bride of the Revolution.”

A variety of rebel groups ranging from hardline Islamists to religious moderates held sway in the city, although Islamists clearly dominated.

Within a year, Islamic State had clawed its way into control, mercilessly eliminating rival insurgents. l

Britain said on Thursday it was considering arming Kurdish forces but Prime Minister David Cameron signaled he would not sanction UK airstrikes against Islamic State militants before a new Iraqi government is in place.

Britain has so far carried out aid drops and surveillance and transported military supplies to Kurdish regional forces allied with the Baghdad central government.

Other European countries, including Germany, France and Italy have already agreed to send Kurdish forces a quantity of light weapons to use against the militants who have swept into northern Iraq.

“We’re prepared to do more and we’re considering actively whether to give them arms ourselves and whether we can do more directly to train Kurdish militia - we’re already playing a role there but we can do more,” Cameron told ITV. Cameron, hosting a two-day Nato summit in Wales, said he was not ruling anything out in the effort to “squeeze” the Islamic State (IS) “out of existence,” but signaled Britain would not join US airstrikes before a new Iraqi government is in place.

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi said last week he was optimistic about forming a new government soon.

Abadi is tasked with forming a power-sharing administration that can ease tensions and counter IS militants who pose the biggest security threat to Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

“We musn’t see this as something where you have a western intervention over the heads of neighboring states,” Cameron told the BBC. “What is required is a strategy to help those on the ground and to have an Iraqi government there that can make a difference, Kurdish forces that can make a difference and then we ask what more we can do to help them. It needs to be that way round.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Friday, September 5, 2014

India on alert after al-Qaeda announces local wing n Reuters, New Delhi

India ordered several provinces on Thursday to be on increased alert after al-Qaeda announced the formation of a wing of the militant group in India and its neighbourhood, a senior government official said.

In a video posted online, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahri promised to spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the “Indian subcontinent.” The government believes it is authentic and has warned local governments, said an official who attended a security briefing in which the video was discussed with the home (interior) minister.

“This matter has been taken very seriously,” the official told Reuters. “An alert has been sounded.”

Indian security forces are usually on a state of alert for attacks by homegrown Islamic militants and by anti-India groups based in Pakistan. It was not immediately clear what additional steps were being taken.

Until now there has been no evidence that al-Qaeda has a presence in India.

The timing and content of the video suggests rivalry between al-Qaeda and its more vigorous rival in Syria and

In this still image from video obtained September 11, 2012, courtesy of the Site Intelligence Group shows al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video, speaking from an undisclosed location, released by Al-Qaedaís media arm, as-Sahab AFP Iraq, Islamic State, which anecdotal evidence suggests is gathering support in South Asia. According to media reports, Islamic State pamphlets have been distributed in Pakistan in recent days.

Zawahri’s announcement also made two references to Gujarat, the home state of India’s new Prime Minister Na-

rendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist.

Modi has long been a hate figure for Islamist groups because of religious riots on his watch as chief minister of the state in 2002. More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the spasm of violence.

“In the wake of this al-Qaeda vid-

eo, we will be on a higher alert. We will work closely with the central government to tackle any threat posed to the state,” S.K. Nanda, the most senior bureaucrat in the home department of Gujarat, told Reuters.

A high security alert in the state involves activating informer networks in sensitive areas.

A senior police official said that Gujarat has been high on the list of militant organisations, including al-Qaeda, since the 2002 riots.

“It will be more so now because Narendra Modi is prime minister,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

Zawahri described the formation of “Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent” as glad tidings for Muslims “in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir” and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.

Ahmedabad is the main city in Gujarat state, which borders India’s arch-rival, Pakistan.

Assam is an state in India’s farflung northeast where religious tensions are high after massacres of Muslims by tribal populations in the past two years. A senior intelligence officer in the state said security forces there were “well prepared”

to face any threats.

Muslims account for 15% of Indians but, numbering an estimated 175 million, theirs is the third-largest Muslim population in the world.

Tensions between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent have grown since Pakistan was carved from Muslim-majority areas of India in 1947, a violent partition in which hundreds of thousands were killed.

Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, has long attracted foreign mujahideen fighters as well as home-grown separatist militants. In June, al-Qaeda released a video urging young radicals in Kashmir to draw inspiration from militants in Syria and Iraq and join the “global jihad.”

Intelligence sources in Indian-held Kashmir told Reuters on Thursday that they had so far detected no traces of al-Qaeda in the Himalayan region that borders Pakistan and China.

The appearance of Islamic State flags at recent protest rallies in Kashmir was the work of an individual and did not point to any involvement of the group there, one said.

India has suffered several largescale attacks by Islamist militants, most recently the 2008 Mumbai rampage by Pakistani fighters that left

166 people dead.

Smaller domestic militant groups regularly detonate small bombs, but have so far failed to launch a major attack. Earlier this year, Indian intelligence agencies said a handful of Indian men had joined the militancy in the Levant, among the first known cases of Indians joining foreign jihad.

Hindu nationalist groups sympathetic to Modi have been stirring sectarian tensions in recent weeks, claiming there is an Islamist conspiracy to seduce Hindu women and convert them to Islam.

At one of the world’s most influential Islamic seminaries, Darul Uloom Deoband, in northern India, an official said that extremist groups routinely try to recruit young, uneducated and poor Muslim boys as militants.

“We inform our students about the dangers faced by Islam, and rising militancy is one of the key subjects discussed in the seminary,” said Ashraf Usmani from the seminary, which is known for its conservative Muslim thought.

“I can say this with confidence that no student from Deoband can be recruited by al-Qaeda or any other terror groups.” l

Dalai Lama again refused South Africa visa n AP, Johannesburg

Foreign minister denies that Thai cabinet meets king; doubt grows IS operates in Pakistan over power handover schedule

The Dalai Lama has again been refused entry into South Africa where he was going to attend the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, his South African representative said. Concern about angering China has been cited for a visa refusal in the past.

Nangsa Choedon, the representative, said officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation called her to say the Tibetan spiritual leader’s visa was denied, the Cape Times newspaper reported Thursday.

“For now the Dalai Lama has decided to cancel his trip to South Africa,” Choedon was quoted as saying.

South Africa’s international relations department said later Thursday it had received written confirmation from the office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama in India indicating he has cancelled his planned visit to South Africa.

South Africa’s High Commission in New Delhi was still processing the visa application “in line with due process,” it said. But “following the cancellation of the planned visit by the office of His Holiness, the Department now considers the matter to be closed.”

Tashi Phuntsok, the spokesman for the Tibetan government-in-exile, said “if the news reports are correct, it is unfortunate that the South African government did not extend the same courtesy to the respected religious leader, the Dalai Lama, as it did to the other Nobel laureates.”

The annual summit is being held in Cape Town next month and is meant to commemorate the life of Mandela.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Thursday said it took note of South Africa’s statement about processing the visa.

“We look forward to being in attendance at the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Cape Town together with His Holiness and other laureates,” the foundation said. l

During a media briefing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they were not aware of Pakistani nationals working in association with the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi led militant movement, Islamic State (IS), in Iraq.

“Reports about IS in Pakistan’s tribal areas are not correct and Pakistani forces are fighting against terrorists and this fight is in the middle of its success,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said.

However, a small group of activists belonging to the IS, which is led by an Afghan national, has distributed a booklet in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas, particularly in Afghan refugee camps.

n Agencies

The booklet calls upon people to support the IS which has occupied large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

It says the caliphate declared in parts of Iraq and Syria will expand to Khurasan, comprising Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.

Aslam also confirmed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan was on schedule, and that dates of the visit were under discussion.

“China is Pakistan’s best friend and this visit would further cement this relationship between the two countries,” the FO spokesperson said.

Earlier, a high-level Chinese delegation comprising security and protocol of the President Jinping had arrived in the capital to finalise the dates of his visit. l

Islamabad stand-off: MPs heap scorn on protesting parties n Agencies As the political crisis prevailing in the country continues unabated, the government and opposition parties in the Assembly are making frantic efforts to negotiate with the protesting PTI and PAT. The previous day saw the PTI lawmakers march into Parliament, with Shah Mehmood Qureshi making a feverish speech about his party’s decision to march. There was, however, no finality on the acceptance of their resignations as the NA speaker maintained his wish to meet with the disgruntled lawmakers in his chambers.

The MQM, too, added to mounting pressure on the government when party chief Altaf Hussain demanded the resignations of all MQM legislators.

While the opposition jirga gave the welcome news that the issue was “70% resolved,” Dr Tahirul Qadri show no signs of retreat; an absurd appeal for bats, balls and legos for the children at the PAT dharna was made, as well as mattresses for the women.

With the numbers at the Constitution Avenue parade continuing the ebb and flow pattern of the past weeks, a dramatic ruling from the Supreme Court or flexibility from the defiant government and stubborn protesting parties are the only likely options to end the deadlock.

Will worn-out Imran give up on his demand for the premier’s resignation? Will better sense prevail for Dr Qadri, who is calling for an overthrow of the system as we know it? Will the passive government pull a new trick out of its hat? l

THE MOON RABBIT

n Reuters, Bangkok Thailand’s new military-stacked cabinet met King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok on Thursday, marking the formal start of an administration that will spend at least a year overhauling the political system before calling an election.

The leader of a May 22 coup, army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is now prime minister, has said he wants a year of reforms to culminate in a late 2015 election. But observers say there are signs a power transfer could be delayed.

“Prayuth has given himself several tasks to attend to while he is appointed prime minister,” said Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of South East Asian Affairs affiliated with Chiang Mai University.

“These could likely legitimize a reason for him to extend his term as prime minister and thus consolidate the power of his military faction and himself.”

Dressed in a crisp, white military uniform, Prayuth, 60, led his cabinet to Bangkok’s Siriraj hospital, where King Bhumibol, 86, has been staying while he undergoes a health check-up, the palace says.

The army seized power after months of protests in Bangkok by supporters of the royalist establishment against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Analysts say the coup leaders want to end influence of Yingluck’s brother, former telecoms tycoon and populist premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. He lives abroad to avoid a jail term for graft but retains huge support, to the anger of the establishment which sees him as a threat.

The military-backed government installed after the 2006 coup re-wrote the constitution to try to curb Thaksin’s sway. But that failed to derail his political juggernaut and Yingluck swept a 2011 election.

“Rightly or wrongly, there is a feeling among the generals that the armed forces is the only institution in Thai-

land that is capable of revamping the political landscape and rooting out Thaksin’s influence,” Ambika Ahuja, a Southeast Asia specialist at Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, told Reuters in an email.

Policy misstep

Since taking control Prayuth has rolled out a temporary constitution that grants the military absolute powers and hand-picked an interim parliament stacked with military figures that appointed him prime minister.

The military government is striving to revive an economy that contracted in the first half of the year. There are signs of recovery but data on Friday suggested a broad-based recovery is some way off.

The man overseeing the economy in the new cabinet is one of its few civilians, Pridiyathorn Devakula, 67, a former central bank governor who was finance minister in the government the military set up after the 2006 coup.

During that government, he bungled an attempt to impose capital controls to prop up the currency, leading to a sharp fall in the stock market. His appointment has garnered mixed reactions.

“I don’t think he is a stand-out to foreign investors and any who have followed Thailand for a long time remember his capital controls mistake,” Andrew Stotz, chief executive at A. Stotz Investment Research in Bangkok, told Reuters.

Others welcome someone they say is respected in the international financial community who, as economics adviser to the junta, has helped ease foreign investor concerns about stability.

But democracy, said Chambers, may have to wait.

“Prayuth’s promises to achieve multiple goals also gives them what they perhaps perceive as a mandate to remain in power until these objectives are reached,” said Chambers.

“Only one year until elections? I doubt it.” l

Iran, US meet in Geneva as search for nuclear deal intensifies n Reuters, Geneva

A person stands in front of a 25.3 meter long giant rabbit designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman at an old aircraft hangar as part of the Taoyuan Land Art Festival in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, September 3. The rabbit is named ‘Moon rabbit’ for the coming Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival and will be displayed from September 4 to 14 at the Taoyuan military base REUTERS

Thailand’s prime minister and Army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha (L) talks with deputy prime minister Pridiyathorn Devakula (R) during a group photo at government house in Bangkok yesterday AFP

Iran and the United States met in Geneva for bilateral talks on Thursday as international diplomacy intensifies to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran’s atomic activities by a new deadline in late November.

The office of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton confirmed Iran and six world powers would hold their first negotiating round since they failed to meet a July 20 target date for an agreement in New York on Sept. 18.

The deadline was extended until Nov. 24 after six months of talks because wide gaps persisted over the future scope of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which can have both civilian and military applications.

The six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain - aim to persuade Iran to scale

back its nuclear program in exchange for phasing out sanctions that have severely hurt its oil-dependent economy.

The election last year of President Hassan Rouhani, widely seen as a pragmatist, raised hopes of a settlement of the standoff after years of soaring tension and fears of a new Middle East war, and an interim accord was reached between Iran and the six powers in Geneva late last year.

But Western diplomats say the sides remain far apart on what a final deal should look like - especially on the issue of how many enrichment centrifuges Iran can operate - and that a successful outcome in the negotiations is far from guaranteed.

Western countries suspect Iran’s program is aimed at seeking the capability to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran says it is a peaceful project to generate electricity.

Thursday’s meeting in Geneva be-

tween senior Iranian and US officials was the second time they held talks in the Swiss city in the past month.

US Sanctions pressure

State news agency IRNA and a US official confirmed the discussions were underway. “If there is good will and a constructive approach, we can reach a desired result before Nov. 24,” IRNA quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying late on Wednesday.

The United States last week penalized a number of Iranian and other foreign companies, banks and airlines for violating sanctions against Tehran, saying it was sending a signal that there should be no evasion of sanctions while talks continue.

Rouhani said on Saturday the sanctions were against the spirit of negotiations, but added he was not pessimistic about the viability of the talks. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Friday, September 5, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Treat waste as a resource

I

t is deeply concerning that municipalities lack even a rudimentary system for processing e-waste generated from computers, handsets, and other electrical and electronic equipment.

Electronic waste contains many toxic and non-biodegradable materials, which can be valuable if recycled properly. The Department of Environment prepared a draft for an E-Waste Control Policy in 2012, but there is no sign of it being put into practice.

This neglect contaminates land and exposes thousands of wastepickers to hazardous health risks.

With growing economic activity, the amount of such e-waste is set to multiply at an even faster pace than general waste. As it is, the dysfunctional system for waste collection in cities like Dhaka fails to collect over half the waste generated each day. Recycling and waste sorting sites are pitifully provided for and are frequently a nuisance, with noxious wastes being tipped out and sorted on public roads.

We must make our systems for collecting and treating all types of waste fit for purpose. As a country with a successful ship recycling industry and large pools of labour, there is no shortage of resources to draw upon.

As well as ensuring safer facilities for processing toxic materials and bringing in mandatory rules for e-waste recycling, we have to boost collection rates.

The city corporations should provide proper recycling bins to allow organic materials to be usefully composted at source and to encourage more people to pre-sort paper, plastics, and glass.

While such schemes do not replace the need for expert sorting of materials, they have been widely proven to encourage more people to recycle and are helpful in reducing litter.

Electronic waste contains many toxic and nonbiodegradable materials, which can be valuable if recycled properly

Newer avenues for remittance

A

Bangladeshi remittance and investment fair is all set to be held in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur on September 21 and 22. The fair is largely being organised by a number of private firms and will house open stalls from numerous Bangladeshi banks, insurance companies, other financial institutions, and certain product manufacturing companies.

It is very good to see private companies starting to take more initiative in bringing in more foreign remittance to our country.

While official remittances from the country’s 8 million expatriates have tended to grow throughout changing economic cycles, economic turbulence in other countries, and competition from other nations which export labour, make it imperative to seek out new ways of earning more foreign remittance.

Expanding the skills of our workforce has been a proven method of accomplishing this goal, but it is initiatives such as the Kuala Lumpur remittance fair through which larger quantities of foreign funds can be earned.

The government would do well in making the inflow of foreign remittances an easier process for the individuals and organisations which are operating outside our borders, key improvements can be made in our infrastructure, while entirely new, technology-driven channels can also be explored.

The government would do well in making the inflow of foreign remittances an easier process

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

Most people satisfied with government September 1

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 10 represents D so fill D every time the figure 10 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

as possible, or within a year. In a poll held last month, only a fourth of the respondents wanted fresh elections. In December, just before the parliamentary election, seven out of 10 people thought that the country was headed in the wrong direction.”

I am happy that Bangladeshis understand the difference between good and bad.

Monir Uddin Ahmed Badal So many contradictions in the poll results.

Ashraf da Friend #JoyBangla #JoyBangabandhu Long live #SheikhHasina Long live #Bangladesh!

Raihan Al-Beruni “In a dramatic turn of public opinion, threefourths of the population were found to be more or less happy with the performance of the current government led by Sheikh Hasina.

“But, in an opinion poll conducted immediately after the January 5 election, more than three-fourths of the respondents wanted fresh elections as early

Nazim Ahmed I love my country and by its side I stand. Joy Bangla!

Tahsin Mahedy Prince If the government has oh so much love for the public, then why is it so scared of holding another election??

Minister’s chopper visit angers flood victims

3 killed in protesters’ clash with Pakistan police

August 28

August 31 Sayeda Rumi I think many more were killed than just those three.

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

Saleha Toseef Sayeda Rumi: Yes, we’re in the midst of a very bad situation.

Love you, Dhaka Zahid “The minister observed the flood situation from the helicopter for 15 minutes.”

Wow! The minister was able to use this opportunity to his advantage to go for a helicopter ride!

10 missing as trawler capsizes in Meghna August 28

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid “Some 40 passengers were on-board the trawler when it capsized near the Kagbazar area of Bhairab in Kishoreganj. Around 30 of these passengers managed to swim ashore with the help of nearby fishermen. Efforts are ongoing to rescue the missing passengers.”

God save them!

Baby stolen from DMCH rescued August 28

Nazmul Khair What good news on a bad day!

CALVIN AND HOBBES

August 31

Hafeejul Alam I fully agree with the writer. Dhaka, good-old Dhaka!

Mahbub U Rahman I agree 100%. I love my own city, and it’s originally my very own city, Dhaka. For some reason, I have ended up living outside of it. I miss my first-love!!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Call for aid (6) 5 Unhappy (3) 7 Do wrong (3) 8 Good name (6) 11 Cleaning implement (3) 12 Devotional song (5) 14 Thrown (4) 16 Staggers (5) 18 Drive (5) 20 Woody plant (4) 21 Make suitable (5) 23 Melody (3) 24 Hard outer coverings (6) 27 Frozen treat (3) 28 Donkey (3) 29 Instrumentality (6)

DOWN 1 Queensland town (3) 2 Vigour (3) 3 Broke out (7) 4 Specialised skills (4) 5 Boil gently (6) 6 Testify (6) 9 Dutch cheese (4) 10 Corn spike (3) 13 Salad item (7) 14 Shrill-sounding insect (6) 15 Glittering particles (6) 17 Fasting period (4) 19 Resinous substance (3) 22 Self-righteous person (4) 25 Japanese monetary unit (3) 26 Secret agent (3)

Faruqi killing: Islami Chhatra Sena to enforce hartal on Sunday August 30 Ummul Fazl Nothing but killings and killings. Law enforcement needs to search out and execute these criminals. No more sympathy or kindness.

Chamber Orchestra’s powerful and convincing act wows audience September 1

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

PEANUTS

Naveed Hossain I’m sad to have missed this show. :( But hopefully, I’ll be there to support them and catch them at their next performance.

Ex-Oriental Bank officials, businessman sent to jail August 28 ZA “A Dhaka Court sentenced six former Oriental Bank officials yesterday to seven years of imprisonment, and a businessman to 10 years of imprisonment for loan forgery.

The court also fined Tk1,428,572 to each of the accused.”

Meanwhile, how did the chief of risk management get off the hook? We know the power of influence in this country.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Friday, September 5, 2014

There is a cure n Dwitiya Jawher Neethi

A

BIGSTOCK

S

T

R

A

I

G

H

T

T

A

L

K

Poll position

M

n Zafar Sobhan

y phone has been ringing off the hook since Monday when the Dhaka Tribune published its opinion poll on the government’s first six months in office.

In response to the first question I am asked, let me state unequivocally that I stand fully behind the poll. The poll was conducted by IRC, a well-reputed polling and research firm, along precisely the same lines as the previous two Dhaka Tribune polls.

Our last two polls have held up well, corresponding closely to other polls commissioned contemporaneously, and seemingly being confirmed by subsequent observable facts on the ground, and I am confident that the polling methodology employed in all three polls has been sound and scientific, and that the results and very credible.

In response to the second question as to how could the poll results show the government so popular when everyone knows the opposite is true, I would humbly submit that it is precisely because we do not know, beyond our own limited circles (that may or may not be representative of the nation as a whole), how people are thinking, that it is important to conduct polls in the first place.

Anecdote, casual conversation, unscientific observation, and dime-store analysis are simply no substitute for the empirical process of polling to try to get to the heart of public sentiment and perception.

T

H

Are polls infallible? By no means.

Can they be wrong or inaccurate? Most certainly.

But I think it is important to understand the science behind polling and to accept their results as a base-line from which to conduct one’s analysis.

Now, it is possible that the DT poll was what is known as an outlier and did not fully capture or present an accurate picture of what the public thinks. It is for this reason that I welcome more polling by other organisations.

public, who feel that the country is now heading in the right direction, compared to roughly an equal percentage who felt the opposite when we polled them in December 2013.

Well, why is that so hard to fathom?

The country then was mired in shocking political violence and appeared to be on the brink of civil war or at least a never-ending cycle of bloodshed. No one knew whether the Jan 5 election would even be able to be held or what the aftermath might be.

back to the opinion polls from 2009.

The Bangladeshi public (indeed this is true almost everywhere in the world) is generally charitable to newly-elected governments, and it typically takes a while for disenchantment to set in.

There is even a term for it among political analysts: The honeymoon period.

So, none of these results are particularly outlandish or inexplicable.

But the important point is that neither should they necessarily be interpreted as a strong endorsement of the government or a strong statement of support for its conduct.

That’s not what I read in the DT poll results. What the poll suggested to me is a populace that is sick and tired of violence and instability, and is enjoying a little peace and quiet.

More than anything else they simply want to get on with their lives without having to worry about the buses they travel in being burned or the schools their children go to being shut down or the businesses they own or patronise being reduced to rubble.

Frankly, had the BNP taken part in the Jan 5 election and had they won and come to power, we might well be seeing the same results in reverse.

The importance of the DT poll is that it points us in the direction of the right questions to ask: What do these poll results mean in terms of what the Bangladeshi public wants, and what are the implications for the future of the Bangladeshi polity?

I don’t have the answers, but sometimes knowing the right question to ask is almost as important. l

What do these poll results mean in terms of what the Bangladeshi public wants, and what are the implications for the future of the Bangladeshi polity?

The more polls we have, the more accurate the picture we will receive, and this information can be very useful to us in terms of crafting or assessing public policy and spotting important trends, or shifts in the public mood.

I also think that it is equally important to know how to parse the information that a poll reveals, and to understand what it actually says and does not say. To my mind, a careful reading of the DT poll suggests results that are not nearly as unexpected or far reaching as would appear at first glance.

Let’s take the almost 70% of the

E

Fast forward six months, and things are a lot better. The streets are safer, there appears to be some measure of stability, the economy appears to be chugging along, and the uncertainty and violence of the last six months of 2013 appear to be a thing of the past.

Similarly, while immediately after the Jan 5 elections, fully 77% wanted to see new elections within one year, is it so hard to believe that, after six months of relative peace and quiet, a majority might now be content to let the government see out its term?

Nor is the 75% satisfied with the government’s performance in its first six months so hard to credit. Look

F

L

person who grew up in Bangladesh is familiar with the face of poverty. Beggars, hungry children, and desperation are not new for us. I remember how when I was a young girl, a boy showed up at our doorsteps. He was hungry and my mother fed him dinner. He left after he ate and I bawled for him because I wanted him to stay with us, and could not understand why my family did not feel the same way.

This empathy evolved into sympathy; thinking about street children and the desperate lives they lived, made me disconsolate. My sympathy was also coupled with a hint of jealousy for all the freedom they seemed to enjoy.

Eventually, it became nonchalance.

Poverty was everywhere, and there was nothing I could do about it.

This is the general evolution of our psyche regarding poverty. It leads to the feeling that it is there and nothing can be done. But this is where we are wrong. And this is the reason why we tolerate this social ailment.

Government statistics from 2010 put 17.6% of the population of Bangladesh below the lower poverty line.

This represents over 26 million people, or about 6 million families. They struggle with access to khasland, education, medical facilities, and proper livelihoods. Additionally, they also have to contend with climate shocks. The living conditions of the extreme poor are almost beyond the imaginations of people who grew up in middle-class families in urban Dhaka.

Often a part of their daily lives involves thinking about where their next meal will come from, and how their income sources may vary seasonally.

Jobs may include strenuous labour, which hardly provide adequately for their families. Children may have to work to share their parents’ burden and provide for themselves.

The deep, entrenched nature of this social ailment makes the extreme poor unaware of globally established norms like sending children to school and not permitting child marriages. Their impoverished lives rob them of the ability to live with dignity and they become deprived, and also often unaware, of their basic rights as human beings.

Extreme poverty is also not unique to Bangladesh. Countries such as China and Brazil have also combated it with targeted programs and commitment. Policies in China in 2004 that ensured near-universal coverage of healthcare changed the face of poverty in that country. A high 2.7% of Chinese GDP is government expenditure on healthcare.

In Brazil, 6.5% of the population lived on just $1 a day in the year 2000.

By 2009, this figure was cut in half.

The Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) program, which targets short-term poverty through direct cash transfers and aims to eradicate long-term poverty by building human capital through conditional cash transfers, has lifted 50 million people out of poverty and inspired policies in more than 20 countries.

These examples, along with the gains made in extreme poverty alleviation in Bangladesh itself, prove that poverty can be eradicated. 34.3% of the total population in Bangladesh was below the lower poverty line in 2000, as opposed to 17.6% in 2010.

However, this rate may be hard to maintain as the threat from climatic shocks increase and as more and more people fall back into the trap of extreme poverty. According to Shiree, an estimated $3bn will be required to take 6 million families out of extreme poverty by 2022. With Bangladesh’s GDP at $116bn in 2012, this represents less than 0.5% of its GDP per year over six years.

Now that we realise poverty is not an incurable condition, poverty alleviation in Bangladesh should be prioritised because the gains made in industry are obviously not reaching this set of people. Committed implementation strategies, along with programs and policies that specifically target the extreme poor, are needed in order to comprehensively address this pressing issue. Targeted policies could include introducing an Extreme Poverty Reduction Tax which would channel funds towards poverty eradication programs.

All Bangladeshis, not just the government, must take this pledge. In a democracy (almost) the public has a role to play when it comes to what is prioritised by the government. The eradication of extreme poverty is a demandable priority. Community-level private sector initiatives are also essential in bringing about change.

A rising GDP that does not enhance human wellbeing and capacity-building for all is not a sign of economic progress, and what’s more, negates the gains made by development by weighing it down with social malaise.

As long as such large numbers of people do not have the opportunity to have and use economic resources and entitlements and are deprived of social opportunities, there can be no real economic growth. l Dwitiya Jawher Neethi works in the development sector.

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

I

P

S

I

D

E

Not helping AL n Nadeem Qadir

J

ohn F Kennedy, in his inaugural address in 1961, said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for the country.” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the chief of the ruling Awami League, almost advised likewise to the activists

of her party’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) recently.

Speaking at the BCL mourning-month rally in Dhaka’s historic Suhrawardy Udyan, the prime minister told them to follow Bangabandhu’s spirit of sacrifice, not greed or amassing wealth. The country’s oldest student group, BCL, was founded in

DHAKA TRIBUNE

1948 and played a pivotal role in all great movements of the country, including the 1971 liberation war and the 1990 movement to oust the autocratic government.

“History has not remembered those who joined politics driven by greed for wealth, and those who do so now will face the same fate,” she told the rally.

Hasina added: “Always think what you can give to the people of the country, and not what you got.” The prime minister had rightly spoken.

In an opinion poll carried out by the Dhaka Tribune, the majority said they were satisfied with the government and the next elections should be held after this government completed its five-year tenure.

But unfortunately, BCL has been resorting to activities that have damaged the government’s image and have given the wrong message of lawlessness in the country. Newspaper reports regularly speak of BCL activists resorting to various crimes, especially extortion and tender businesses.

This gives some vested quarters the chance to further malign BCL, and that means Sheikh Hasina, by using the or-

ganisation’s name in various criminal activities.

The latest incident involved BCL activists rampaging the Chittagong railway station. The station master, Jafar Ahmed, was quoted as saying that some 30 BCL men vandalised the manager’s room without trying to understand the situation. The BCL men did not get the 340 tickets they had asked for earlier. It has been alleged that they often ask for such a huge number of tickets.

Even if we want to believe Nurul Azim Roni, general secretary of BCL Chittagong City Unit, that they were manhandled first by the railway employees, vandalising the station is still not the answer. The result was another humiliation for Sheikh Hasina, who is fondly called “Apa” or “Sister.” The Daily Star, even wrote an editorial on the issue saying the “government must reign in.”

“The damage that the wayward BCL activists do to the government’s image should not be countenanced by the authorities. It is in the greater interest of the ruling AL that it keep such activists of its student front on a tight

leash,” the newspaper’s editorial said.

It charged that BCL resorted to its “all too familiar, high-handed methods to impose their will ...”

BCL has been resorting to activities that have damaged the government’s image

The Daily Star is widely read, and its readership includes the expatriate community, who assess the country’s situation on the basis of these reports.

What impression have they gotten?

The Dhaka Tribune has also published a report titled: “BCL goes on rampage at Chittagong rail station.”

Is that the gift you – BCL activists – give to your Apa, the prime minister?

You must reflect the pride that comes

with belonging to the Awami League of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Muibur Rahman, and her able daughter, Sheikh Hasina, who has been struggling to give Bangladeshis a better life despite many hurdles. There were so many attempts to assassinate her, but God’s mercy has saved her.

You are a majority and must be tolerant, not violent and anarchic.

BCL must carry this proud flag and give up all such activities and set an example of tolerance and positive student politics. They must focus on how the education system can be improved and how politics can be saner with more debate rather than muscle.

To quote Kennedy again: “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom – symbolising an end, as well as beginning – signifying renewal, as well as change.” You must not let down a great leader like Bangabandhu, nor his daughter. Think and act, don’t let the country down.

Celebrate the freedom of a Razakarfree Bangladesh. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

FRIday, September 5, 2014

RAI-KRISHNA PADABALI

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

N

usrat Faria, the gorgeous host of reality-show “Handsome: The Ultimate Man,” is currently on a tour to Cox’s Bazar to shoot for the next episode of the show. Dhaka Tribune caught up with the 21-yearold anchor and model to know about her recent ventures.

Are you planning to work in any TV play?

I have been in the industry for nearly two years now. I got a couple of offers from different directors but none of these interested me. My favourtie director is Raihan Khan. If I happen to get an offer to act in his play, I will grab it without a second thought!

What kind of role are you interested in?

I would like to play roles that are glamourous and dynamic. Usually, I like to put elements of drama and glamour in my shows so that the audience can differentiate me from other anchors. I will try the same method in my film too.

Any update on Redowan Rony’s upcoming film Morichika?

Yes, I am supposed to work in Morichika along with Tahsan Khan. But it’s still in the pre-production stage, so I cannot say much at this moment.

On your shows one can detect a mix of energy and spontaneity not often seen on air. What’s the source of this energy?

My strength is my confidence. For every show I take preparations so as

to be able to impress the audience. I am not camera-shy. There’s nothing unsettling for me there. I don’t know how it happens, but the moment a camera starts to roll, I feel relaxed and confident.

Who is your childhood crush?

My childhood crush is Hrithik Roshan.

Actually, I am still in my childhood (laugh). I am not too old, you know, and I still have my childhood feelings alive in my heart. I guess Hrithik will remain my life-long crush.

Which one of your shows is your personal favourite?

I host a celebrity fun show titled “Late Night Coffee” on Rtv, which is wonderful in that there’s nothing artificial or fabricated about it. But my personal favourite is the show that I host on Radio Foorti called “Night Shift with Nusrat Faria.”

Ace dance duo Shibli Mohammad and Shamim Ara Nipa and their dance school Nrityanchal staged much-acclaimed production ‘RaiKrishna Padabali’ on Wednesday. A houseful audience was enthralled by the grace and grandeur blended with skillful choreograpy demonstrated in the dance drama which was staged as part of the ongoing ‘Ganga-Jamuna Natya O Sangskritik Utsab 2014’ at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Written by poet Sheikh Hafizur Rahman and choreographed by Sukalyan Bhattacharya, it is based on the eternal love story of Radha and Krishna KHAN HASAN MUHAMMAD RAFI

Love stories of three different times n Entertainment Desk A telefilm titled “Kagojer Camera” will be aired today on NTV at 2:35pm. It is written and directed by Gautam Koiri. Prosun Azad, Shamol Mawla and Abu Hena Rony has been cast in the lead role.

The telefilm portrays three different love stories in three different timelines: 1974, 1994 and in 2014. The story of 1974 depicts the story of a boy named Farid who is in platonic love with Mira. While he does not have the guts to talk with her, he stares passionately at the girl. His friends insist that he communicates with her. One day, he writes a love letter, and with a trembling heart he tries to give the letter to the

girl. Somehow, the letter does not reach Mira. In the story of 1994, Kabir and Roksana are involved in a two-year-long relationship. Kabir is unemployed, and constantly looking for a job. They regularly communicate through wired telephones, but one day, Roksana gets caught by her father while talking to Kabir. Rokhsana’s father locks her up while Kabir waits in vain for her at a railway station. In the story of 2014, Sam bumps into Mashiyat at a dj party. Mashiyat challenges Sam to a car race which takes place during midnight, in Dhaka. After the event, they fall in love with each other, but the relationship lasts for three days only.

One fine day, Sam discovers that they are taking part in the same race again. l

Moyurakkhi Maasranga TV 11:59pm

Mou, Aparna and Maznun Mizan are the lead actors of the single-episode TV play featuring complications in the married life.

Hera Pheri Star Gold 12pm

Why is that?

In other shows there is always some restriction you have to abide by. You cannot say this or that, you know.

Such restrictions are a hindrance to spontaneity. But in this show, I feel like I can do anything I want, play with my audience and co-anchors and guests. I have the freedom.

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

I have been a fan of Riaz since my childhood. These days I am working closely with him for “Handsome: The Ultimate Man.” If I ever get an opportunity to act, I will take that opportunity to romance him on the screen. l

Prosun Azad and Shamol Maola in Kagojer Camera

n Entertainment Desk n Entertainment Desk The actress was recently voted the “Sexiest Woman Alive” by a Youth Survey 2014 conducted Indian national daily India Today, elbowing out the likes of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie and singer Beyonce Knowles to bag the top spot by 37% of the votes.

This comes as no surprise, especially since the actress was named “India’s Most Beautiful” by a leading magazine this year and also crowned the “Sexiest Woman in the World” for the fifth year in a row, a feat no other Bollywood actress has managed to achieve so far.

With Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mahin-

dra Singh Dhoni and Aamir Khan in the race, Katrina Kaif was one of the front runners on India’s Most Attractive Personality list, coming in at the number six position according to a survey held by TRA - Trust Research Advisory across 15 prime cities in the country.

If that wasn’t all, Katrina, also secured the top spot in the world-renowned 50 Sexiest Asian Women List 2013.

Despite not a single release so far in 2014, Katrina manged to stay in news courtesy her much speculated upon relationship with actor Ranbir Kapoor.

She is all set to sizzle on screen with Hrithik Roshan in “Bang Bang” in October. l

Disney will make a short film, a follow-up to its hit movie “Frozen.”

The studio has confirmed that the “Frozen Fever” will premiere in 2015 and will see the return of all the main original characters, reported Huffington Post.

Released last year, the Oscar-winning animated film “Frozen” is a story of a fearless princess who sets off on a journey to find her estranged sister.

“In ‘Frozen Fever,’ it is Anna’s birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa’s icy powers may put more than just the party at risk,” reads a plot description for the film provided by Disney.

The movie will also have a song from Oscar winners Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, while Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are set to return to direction with it. l

In the comedy, three unemployed men find the answer to all their money problems when they recieve a call from a kidnapper.

However, things do not go as planned.

Did you know?

Wayne Rooney has now overtaken Michael Owen and has 41 goals for England.

Only Charlton, Lineker & Greaves have more

Sport

Friday, September 5, 2014

14 Angel sets up

sweet revenge over Germany

14 CR7 impressed

by United’s Falcao capture

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Ian Botham calls

for end to Indian Premier League

10-man U23s get the better of BD Police n Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh U-23’s Abdul Malek shown a direct red card after a harsh tackle on a Bangladesh Police player during their practice game at the Rajarbagh Police Line Ground yesterday MUMIT M

RESULT Bangladesh U-23

3-0

Bangladesh Police

Jewel 55, 75, Meshu 78

Regardless of a poor display in the opening half, the Bangladesh Under-23 football team registered a 3-0 victory over first division outfit Bangladesh Police Athletics Club, in the national side’s sixth practice match, at the Rajarbagh Police Ground yesterday.

Jewel Rana netted a brace while Atiqur Rahman Meshu grabbed a goal, all in the second half, to give the national team a hard-fought victory.

The game against Bangladesh Police will probably be the national side’s last practice match at home as the team is scheduled to leave the country on Sunday night for the upcoming 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Talks are already ongoing to hold another friendly match in Singapore before the players set their feet in the northwestern city of South Korea to take part in the men’s football competition slated to get underway on September 15. The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) earlier wanted to organise a friendly against a Malaysian club but it was cancelled later.

Bangladesh will fly to South Korea via Singapore Airlines and during their transit in Singapore they are planning to play a match there, but, according to sources within the BFF, it is highly unlikely.

The national side’s Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif retained only two players – Meshu and Yousuf Sifat

- in the starting eleven which played against the Nepal U-23 team last week and started the game in the worst manner possible going down to 10 men with just 16 minutes into the clock as Abdul Malek received his marching orders.

Bangladesh appeared disorganised and anonymous on the field in the first half and skipper Mamunul Islam came off the bench following Malek’s straight red card to bolster the attack.

“Only two players from the friendly against Nepal played in the starting eleven today (yesterday). We played better in the second half and scored,” said Mamunul after the game.

“We played against Nepal four days ago. The players are working hard to regain their form,” added Mamunul.

The visitors tried to script a comeback after resumption and it was Jewel who broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half with an angular shot. The Brothers Union forward notched the second with a header in the 75th minute before another header from Meshu, who scored a hattrick against Bangladesh Army, extended the lead to 3-0 three minutes later.

The Bangladesh U-23 side earlier played two matches each against the Nepal U-23 team and Bangladesh Army and one against BFF Eleven losing just once against Nepal in Sylhet.

Bangladesh will begin their Asiad campaign against Afghanistan on September 15. l

WI set to extend dominance over Bangladesh n Agencies, Kingstown The West Indies and Bangladesh commence a two-Test series at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent today with the hosts heavily favoured to extend their dominance over the visitors from the preceding limited-over matches.

The visitors may take some heart in returning to the scene of an historic Test triumph over a severely depleted Caribbean side on their last campaign in the region five years ago.

However their performances in last month’s one-day internationals, where they were swept 3-0 and were only really competitive in the first match, hardly bodes well for this fixture and the following Test in St Lucia.

Usually strong in the spin bowling department, Bangladesh go into the brief series without their hero from the 2009 tour, left-arm spinning all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, who remains unavailable for national duty to suspension for disciplinary violations.

To make matters worse, skipper Mushfiqur Rahim will not be able to call on the services of off-spinner Sohag Gazi, whose bowling action was reported as suspect by the umpires during the second ODI in Grenada.

He has since returned home and his place is to be taken by the left-arm spinner Elias Sunny, although it is questionable whether he will be match fit for the first Test.

HEAD TO HEAD (TEST) Total 10

WI win 6

BD win 2

Draw 2

Given their limited bowling resources, Bangladesh’s best chance of avoiding being trampled by the West Indies again will be for their batsmen to rise to the occasion on what are expected to be placid pitches for the two Tests.

Mushfiqur and Nasir Hossain compiled hundreds in the high-scoring drawn three-day match against a St Kitts Invitational XI in Basseterre over the weekend.

And with 22-year-old Mominul Haque carrying an impressive record of three hundreds in seven Tests and an average

of 75.50 into the series, determined and resolute batting seems the only option for Bangladesh to thwart a West Indian side keen to make amends under new captain Denesh Ramdin for a 2-1 home series loss to New Zealand in July.

Two key players, mystery spinner Sunil Narine and experienced all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, are unavailable for the Tests due to commitments with their Indian Premier League franchises for the Indian Champions League tournament, which gets underway September 13.

However Narine’s absence gives gangling left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn another opportunity to cement a place in the Test side after bowling successful marathon spells in the three matches against the New Zealanders.

With four faster bowlers named in the squad of 13, the nature of the pitch on the first morning is likely to determine whether tearaway pacer Shannon Gabriel gets the nod or if the selectors will keep faith with the trio of Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder.

While the shortcomings of the West Indies batting line-up were exploited by the efficient New Zealanders, these two matches against a much less repu-

Gazi relaxed ahead of bowling tests n Mazhar Uddin Upon returning to the country from the West Indies after the limited-over leg of the tour due to a suspect bowling action, Bangladesh off-spinner Sohag Gazi yesterday informed he is not worried about his bowling test at the Metropolitan University, Cardiff, on September 19.

The match officials reported Gazi’s bowling action after the conclusion of the second ODI of the three-match oneday international series between the West Indies and Bangladesh and as per the International Cricket Council process, Gazi must now go through a series of tests to be conducted by specialists.

“I am playing cricket for the last 1314 years and I have struggled a lot and have witnessed many ups and downs in my career so far before reaching this position today. So if I compare this with those struggles it is nothing. I don’t think it will be anything serious and I am actually quite relaxed,” said Gazi.

The 23-year old cricketer from Patuakhali made his bow in the international arena with a bang becoming the only

player in the history of Test cricket to smash a hundred and take a hat-trick in the same Test against New Zealand last year in October. Gazi is desperate to come back soon with the home series against Zimbabwe scheduled to be held in October-November.

“Obviously I would like to make a comeback as early as I can as we have many games lined up in the future. I am hoping for a positive result so that I can make a comeback in the upcoming series.

I will try to start fresh once again and forget my mistakes from the past,” he said.

Gazi went on to say he had very little ideas about what sort of tests he will have to face in Cardiff but left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak gave him advice who also encountered similar tests after undergoing similar fate following the two-match Test series against NZ at home, 2008.

“Honestly I do not know what type of test I will have to give. Razzak bhai told me I have to bowl 9–10 overs with some equipments attached to my body.

They’ll ask me to bowl all types of deliveries that I normally bowl at an international match,” he added. l

table bowling attack offer the Caribbean batsmen the prospect of a run-feast.

One has already whetted his appetite. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the Kingstown 40-year-old who has played more Tests - 156 - than any other West Indian compiled 183 in the warm-up match against Bangladesh at Warner Park. It is an ominous portent for Mushfiqur and his men.

While Chris Gayle continues to struggle for runs at the top of the order in 2014, opening partner Kraigg Brathwaite and middle-order player Darren Bravo both hit hundreds against New Zealand.

The two Test matches will have no bearing on the ICC Test rankings with the West Indies down at eighth and Bangladesh occupying the last posi-

tion, 10th. A 1-0 or 2-0 series win for Bangladesh, however, will see them closing the gap on ninth placed Zimbabwe. A 1-0 or 2-0 victory for the West Indies, on the other hand, will decrease their gap with New Zealand, who are seventh. A 0-0 or 1-1 draw, meanwhile, will see both the teams maintaining their current rating points – Bangladesh (28) and the West Indies (73). l

LAST 5 MEETINGS (TEST) 25 November, 2012 at Khulna, West Indies won by 10 wkts - West Indies tour of Bangladesh 2012, 2nd Test 17 November, 2012 at Dhaka, West Indies won by 77 runs - West Indies tour of Bangladesh 2012, 1st Test 02 November, 2011 at Dhaka, West Indies won by 229 runs - West Indies in Bangladesh 2011, 2nd Test 25 October, 2011 at Chittagong, Match drawn - West Indies in Bangladesh 2011, 1st Test Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim (L) and opener Anamul Haque (R) enjoy the company of Prime Minister of St Vincent Dr Ralph E Gonsalves during an official reception at the Premier’s residence in Kingstown on Wednesday COURTESY

21 July, 2009 at St George’s, Grenada, Bangladesh won by 4 wickets - Bangladesh in West Indies Test Series, 2009, 2nd Test

Hosts eye win in Hockey World League opener against Sri Lanka n Shishir Hoque Favourites Bangladesh will kick-off their FIH Hockey World League round-1 campaign against Sri Lanka at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium at 3:30pm today.

Apart from the Lankans, Bangladesh, who finished as the champions in the last edition of Hockey World League round-1, will face Hong Kong on Sunday in their last match as the fourth team of the group, Afghanistan, withdrew from the event.

Bangladesh coach Naveed Alam believes this tournament will serve as a great preparation for the national side’s Asian Games participation later this month, but at the same time cautioned his players not to take the opponents lightly. During the Asian Games qualifying in March, Sri Lanka held Bangladesh to 2-2, before the latter won 3-0 in penalties.

“We are taking this tournament as a part of Asian Games preparation and this tournament will give me clear concept about the team and we will find out the improvements in the last three months,” said Naveed yesterday.

“There is no space to underestimate any opponents in the international tournament. We will play for the championship and will try to boost our confidence before the Asian Games.” he added.

Despite losing three matches against a strong India side last month, Naveed thinks the series was a great “learning opportunity” while he also expressed happiness over his charges who “tried to improve their low fault.”

“I think they will show their improvement in the Hockey World League,” Naveed said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Mamunur Rahman Chayan echoed the same sentiment as of his coach’s and said, “We will take them (Sri Lanka) very seriously and will try to play according to our plan. If we stick to our own plan then we will win both the

matches with big margins.”

After arriving yesterday, Sri Lanka enjoyed their warm-up at the match venue in the evening. This will be the island nation’s first appearance in the Hockey World League while they have also qualified for the Asian Games.

“If you look at the ranking both Bangladesh and Hong Kong are ahead of us but we are improving and also want to qualify for the next round,” said Sri Lanka’s newly appointed coach Nadeem Ahmed Bhaat yesterday.

The number of teams to progress to the next round is not finalised yet as the FIH will only confirm the issue after the end of round-1 which will be played in nine different venues across the world.

The round-2 is scheduled to be held in Singapore in January next year.

The Bangladesh Hockey Federation also introduced three sponsors of the tournament — Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited and Argani Bank Limited — who will combine to provide Tk3.5m to the BHF while TV channel ATN Bangla will telecast the games live.l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Friday, September 5, 2014

Angel sets up sweet revenge over Germany n Reuters, Duesseldorf A brilliant performance from Angel Di Maria spurred Argentina to a crushing 4-2 friendly win over world champions Germany on Wednesday in an entertaining rematch of July’s World Cup final.

Despite the absence of injured captain Lionel Messi, Argentina ran circles around the World Cup winners on their home turf in the first match for both

teams since Germany’s 1-0 extra-time victory in the final in Brazil.

So impressive was the performance of the Argentine winger, who had missed the final through injury, in the Duesseldorf arena that even many of the German fans applauded his performance when he was replaced late in the match.

Germany coach Joachim Loew put only four of the starting 11 that won Germany’s fourth World Cup on the pitch in the warm-up match for their Euro 2016 campaign that starts on Sunday against Scotland.

Di Maria set up the first goal in the 21st minute with a pinpoint lob to the

penalty spot where Sergio Aguero slipped away from his marker and beat Manuel Neuer with an unstoppable volley from point-blank range.

Nineteen minutes later Di Maria broke free on the right near the goal line where he lofted a cross back to Erik Lamela, standing in for the injured Lionel Messi, who smashed a fine volley past a frustrated-looking Neuer.

Central defender Federico Fernandez headed the third two minutes after the intermission from Di Maria’s free kick before the winger made it 4-0 with a superb chip in the 50th minute.

“Di Maria is one of the best four or five players in the world and so his performance didn’t surprise me,” said Argentina’s new coach Gerardo Martino, adding he could have possibly made a difference had he been on the pitch in July.

“His absence there was noticeable,” Martino told a news conference looking back to the World Cup final.

But Loew later told reporters he did not think Di Maria would have made a difference in the final.

“We would have beaten them on July 13 even if Di Maria had been playing,” Loew said, a statement that prompted some German reporters to applaud. “He couldn’t have beaten us on that day.”

Germany came into the match still aglow over their World Cup win in Brazil but were facing a rout when they fell behind 4-0.l

Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria (L) congratulates his teammate Sergio Aguero after he scored the opening goal during their friendly match against Germany in Duesseldorf, Germany on Wednesday AP

Rooney rescues England in turgid Norway win n AFP, London Wayne Rooney marked his first game as captain with a goal as England overcame Norway 1-0 in a forgettable friendly game at a half-empty Wembley Stadium on Wednesday.

The Manchester United striker smashed home a 68th-minute penalty won by the impressive Raheem Sterling to give England victory in their first game since they limped out of the World Cup at the group phase.

It was his 41st goal for his country, taking him above Michael Owen in the all-time scorers’ list, and saw England end a run of five games without victory ahead of Monday’s opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Switzerland.

England manager Roy Hodgson also gave debuts to Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph and Arsenal defender Calum Chambers, whose new teammate Danny Welbeck caught the eye as a second-half substitute.

But on a night when only 40,181 fans turned out to watch England -- a record low in the seven-year history of the new Wembley -- there were few satisfactions for Hodgson, whose side registered only two shots on target.

“We probed very well in the first half and asked a lot of questions of them.

We started the second half poorly for 15 minutes, and Joe Hart had to make a couple of saves,” Hodgson told ITV. “But luckily we got ourselves going again with Danny Welbeck and Fabian

Delph, and got on top. We were good value for our victory.”

The thin crowd made for an atmosphere more akin to a testimonial inside the cavernous national stadium and it took the promptings of Sterling to spark the home team into life.

Sterling’s raking 40-yard ball set up a chance for Liverpool team-mate Daniel Sturridge, who could only lob over the bar, and he also teed up Sturridge and Leighton Baines for shots that were blocked.

Meanwhile, Alexander Kerzhakov became Russia’s record goalscorer with a double against Azerbaijan in a 4-0 friendly win in Moscow on Wednesday.

Sergey Ignashevich and Vladimir Granat were also on target in Russia’s

first game since their disappointing showing at the Brazil World Cup, where they failed to get past the group stage.

Teenage defender Ozan Tufan scored his first goal for Turkey in second-half stoppage time to give his side a 2-1 win over Denmark in their friendly international in Odense on Wednesday.

Denmark captain Daniel Agger, who last week left Liverpool to return to Copenhagen club Brondby, gave the Danes the lead from the penalty spot late in the first half, and the home side had plenty of chances to increase their advantage.

Nicklas Bendtner, left out of the original squad but called in as injury cover, was lively in attack but Turkey equalised through Olcay Sahan after 55 minutes. l

RESULTS

England

Rooney 68-P

Czech Republic

1-0

Norway

0-1

United States Bedoya 39

1-2

Turkey

Agger 34-P

Sahan 55, Ozan Tufan 90+2

Ukraine

1-0

Moldova

4-0

Azerbaijan

2-4

Argentina

2-0

Oman

Denmark

Bezus 63

Russia

Kerzhakov 6, 12, Ignashevich 41, Granat 81

Germany Schuerrle 52, Goetze 78

Ireland Doyle 20, Pearce 81

Aguero 20, Lamela 40, Fernandez 47, di Maria 50

Begovic goal enters record books n AFP, London

Dunga’s Brazil re-start against Colombia

Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic expressed pride on Thursday after his freak goal against Southampton last season was included in the Guinness World Records book.

The Bosnian international scored in a Premier League game at the Britannia Stadium in November when a wind-assisted clearance bounced over opposite number Artur Boruc only 13 seconds after kick-off. The distance of the strike was measured at 91.9 metres and it has now been recorded as ‘the longest goal scored in football’ in the latest edition.

“I feel amazing to be honoured in this way and as a goalkeeper I didn’t expect this to happen, not for this type of record anyway. I will take it though and enjoy it,” Begovic told. l

n Reuters, Miami

Germany’s forward Miroslav Klose (L) and former skipper Philipp Lahm celebrate their retirement from national team prior to the friendly match against Argentina in Duesseldorf on Wednesday AFP

THE

5

It will be easier said than done but Brazil attempt to put their World Cup humiliation behind them when they start life under new coach Dunga in a friendly against Colombia in Miami on Friday.

Barely two months after their shocking 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals of the tournament they hosted, there is a new look to the Selecao with Dunga, in his second spell in charge, hoping that fresh faces will be less affected by July’s traumatic exit.

The coach’s message of not dwelling on the past has been embraced.

“Dunga told all of us that we have to hold our heads up, put the past behind us, show our ability and that we

deserve to be national team players,” midfielder Oscar told Reuters.

“It is not easy to put the Germany defeat out of our minds, it is difficult, but we have to work and to show our value.”

Indeed, there was a relaxed look about the team as they chatted with reporters even though Friday’s opponents, a Colombia team out to avenge their 2-1 loss to Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals, are stern opposition.

Striker Radamel Falcao, who moved on Monday to Manchester United from Monaco, is back in the Colombia side after missing the World Cup through injury and will team up again with one of the success stories of the tournament in James Rodriguez.l

CR7 impressed

by United’s Falcao capture n AFP, London

Former Manchester United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo has given his approval to the club’s signing of Radamel Falcao and reiterated his desire to return to Old Trafford one day.

United signed Colombia striker Falcao from Monaco on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day and will be able to make the deal permanent next year for a fee of around 55 million euros ($72.3 million).

Several observers questioned the move for Falcao at a time when United are bereft of experienced players in central defence, but Ronaldo believes it was a good piece of business.

“He is a very good player. I think United did very well,” the Portugal captain said in an interview published in Thursday’s edition of the Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t think it is wrong. He will be a fantastic buy. United have not started well, with only two points from three games, so they need quality players.

And Falcao is a quality player.”

Ronaldo fulfilled his ambition of winning the Champions League with Real Madrid last season, but he says that he still carries a torch for United, the club he left in 2009.

“I love Manchester. Everyone knows that. Manchester is in my heart,” said the 29-year-old. “I left many good friends there, the supporters are amazing, and I wish I can come back one day.”

Ronaldo set a new Champions League scoring record with 17 goals last season and wrested the FIFA Ballon d’Or away from eternal rival Lionel Messi. l

BIGGEST SUMMER TRANSFERS IN BUNDESLIGA

Robert Lewandowski

Ciro Immobile

Josip Drmic

Mehdi Benatia

Xabi Alonso

Dortmund to Bayern Munich; free transfer

Torino (ITA) to Dortmund; £15.5m ($26.4m)

Nuremberg to Bayer Leverkusen; undisclosed fee

Roma to Bayern Munich; 30m euros

Real Madrid to Bayern Munich; 10m euros

It was announced back in January that Polish striker Lewandowski would be moving to Bayern in the summer on a five-year deal under freedom of contract. The 26-year-old followed the path trodden last summer by Mario Goetze in joinng Bayern from their biggest rivals. Lewandowski scored 74 Bundesliga goals in four years with Dortmund and was the division’s leading scorer last season with 20. He is therefore expected to be an improvement on Mario Mandzukic, sold to Atletico Madrid.

To replace Lewandowski, Dortmund splashed the cash to recruit Colombia striker Adrian Ramos from Hertha Berlin but the more intriguing deal was that which saw 24-year-old Italy striker Immobile, the leading scorer in Serie A last season for Torino with 22 goals, arrive in the Ruhr.

Immobile, previously with Juventus and Genoa, signed a five-year contract with Dortmund. He featured in two of Italy’s games at the World Cup but was largely ineffectual.

Leverkusen moved to strengthen their front line with the signing of highly promising 22-year-old Swiss international striker Drmic. Formerly of FC Zurich, Drmic sprang to prominence with 17 goals in a Nuremberg side that were relegated last season.

He put pen to paper on a four-year deal before featuring in all of Switzerland’s games as they reached the last 16 at the World Cup.

Moroccan international defender Benatia, 27, signed on a five-year deal from Serie A side Roma to help Bayern plug the gap left by the loss of Javi Martinez to a serious knee injury.

Benatia was born in France but only played in the lower leagues there before making a name for himself in Italy with Udinese. He then joined Roma last year and helped the capital club finish second to qualify for the Champions League.

Alonso, 32, joined Bayern from European champions Real Madrid last week in what he described as “the most complicated” decision of his career. A member of the Spanish side that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, Alonso had joined Real from Liverpool in 2009. He announced his retirement from international football last Wednesday. The recent purchase of German midfielder Toni Kroos had also complicated his future with Real, and so he eventually agreed to move in the opposite direction.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

PCB investigates Shahzad-Dilshan ‘religious spat’

QUICK BYTES

Brazil club banned over racist chants Top-flight Gremio were thrown out of Brazil’s main cup competition Wednesday in an unprecedented punishment for a club in the football-mad country after a visiting goalkeeper was subjected to sustained racial abuse.

Brazil’s sports justice tribunal also fined Gremio 50,000 reais ($20,000) after a group of fans of the club from the southern city of Porto Alegre chanted insults and made monkey noises at Santos goalkeeper Aranha during a cup clash on August 28. Gremio had condemned the fans involved and launched an anti-racism campaign, with the players taking to the field in their last league game holding a banner urging supporters to “say no to racism.”

But it is the second racist incident this year involving Gremio, the first earning the club a fine of $35,000. Separately, one young female supporter clearly seen yelling “macaco” (monkey) at shot-stopper Aranha was suspended from her job and her behavior sparked a storm of outrage on social media.

–AFP

n AFP, Karachi

Massa tips Bottas as potential champion Felipe Massa has tipped his ever-improving Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas as a potential world champion.

The Brazilian, 33, believes that his 25-year-old Finnish team-mate has all the necessary credentials to claim the title. Massa’s career has been spent alongside a string of world champions including Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher, Finn Kimi Raikkonen and two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso. “He’s a great driver,” said Massa. “He’s shown since the beginning of the season that he’s a great driver, that he’s quick, competitive, that he’s clever, intelligent, working very hard. “It’s clear he’s doing everything correct. People need to see him as a great driver in the field. Not just him, (Daniel) Ricciardo too.” Asked if Bottas could fight for a world championship, Massa replied: “He can, definitely. He’s still young.”

–AFP

Japan’s Okubo banned for trashing advertising board Japan’s World Cup striker Yoshito Okubo has been banned for two games by the J-League after smashing an advertising board in a fit of pique during a match last weekend, officials said Thursday. The suspension completes a double-whammy for the Kawasaki Frontale player after being dropped by Japan coach Javier Aguirre for the Mexican’s first game in charge against Uruguay on Friday and Tuesday’s friendly with Venezuela. Okubo, who has a reputation for having a short fuse, kicked the hoarding in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Nagoya Grampus, prompting the J-League’s disciplinary committee to charge him with destruction of property. His suspension comes less than a week after J-League rivals Yokohama F-Marinos were hit with a $48,000 fine after a supporter racially abused a black player by waving a banana during a game against Frontale.

–AFP

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (2L) and former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (2R) along with former Australian cricketers Brett Lee (L) and Adam Gilchrist pose with the Cricket World Cup trophy at an event in Mumbai yesterday AFP

Home series very crucial for ‘A’ team players n Minhaz Uddin Khan The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday announced the Bangladesh A team for their first four-day match against Zimbabwe A at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium in Cox’s Bazar from 14-17 September.

National selector Minhajul Abedin believes the upcoming home series for the second string national side to be vital for the discarded national team players. The former national skipper considered it as a big platform for the players.

“Playing for the A team will help those who eyes to play for the national side. We are giving priority to the Zimbabwe A se-

DAY’S WATCH ATN Bangla 3:30PM Hockey World League, Round-1 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka BTV, Gazi TV, Ten Cricket 8:00PM Bangladesh tour of West Indies 1st Test, Day 1 Star Sports 1, 3 3:30PM India tour of England 5th ODI Ten Sports 10:30PM US Open 2014: Day 12 Mixed Doubles Final/Women’s SFs

ries as it is being played at home and as because they (Zimbabwe) will have six to seven players from their main team. This series is very important for few new play-

SQUAD Liton Kumar Das, Sadman Islam, Marshall Ayub, Farhad Hossain, Rokibul Hasan, Shabbir Rahaman, Naeem Islam, Nurul Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Zuber Hossain, Saqlain Sajib, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Shohid, Muktar Ali ers as well. I believe this is going to be an exciting series,” said Minhajul to the media at SBNS yesterday.

Minhajul informed, the national se-

lection panel tried to accommodate both experienced and freshers in the side for afore mentioned reasons.

Upon queried of how realistic the chances are for the players (Marshall Ayub, Rokibul Hasan, Naeem Islam and Shahadat Hossain) who look to retain their place in the Tigers line-up, Minhajul said, “A player performing does have the chance to get back. We observed them during the practice sessions and to be honest their fitness looked good.”

Meanwhile, among the new faces the brightest future prospect is under-19 batsman Sadman Islam who had a superb U-19 World Cup in Dubai earlier this year. l

Pakistan on Thursday said it has set up a committee to look into a religious spat between their opener Ahmed Shahzad and Sri Lankan counterpart Tillakaratne Dilshan last month.

Television footage showed Shahzad passing a religious remark at Dilshan after the third and final one-day international in Dambulla last week.

After Sri Lanka notched a seven-wicket win to take the series 2-1 and the players were walking off the field, Shahzad can be heard on camera saying to Dilshan: “If you are a non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in your life, straight to heaven.”

Dilshan replied he doesn’t want to go there, to which Shahzad replied: “Then be ready for the fire.”

The remarks stemmed from reports that 37-year-old Dilshan was born to a Muslim father and a Buddhist mother and was originally named Tuwan Mohamed Dilshan.But once his parents separated he changed his religion and name to Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan as a Buddhist.

The footage went viral on the Internet, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to summon Shahzad on Wednesday.

A PCB spokesman said the matter will be investigated by an internal committee headed by director of international cricket Zakir Khan. l

Botham calls for end to IPL n AFP, London England great Ian Botham said Wednesday the Indian Premier League was “too powerful” for cricket’s longterm good as he called for the lucrative Twenty20 domestic tournament to be scrapped.

Delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s, where he was once a ground-staff boy before going on to star at the ‘home of cricket’ for both Somerset and England, Botham also expressed his fears about the IPL’s effect on corruption within the world game.

“I’m worried about the IPL -- in fact, I feel it shouldn’t be there at all as it is changing the priorities of world cricket,” the 58-year-old former England captain said.

“Players are slaves to it. Administrators bow to it. How on earth did the IPL

own the best players in the world for two months a year and not pay a penny to the boards who brought these players into the game?

“I know this has been modified to a degree, but it is still an imbalance.

The IPL is too powerful for the longterm good of the game. Corruption is enough of a problem in itself, but the IPL compounds that problem given it provides the perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing.”

Botham, one of cricket’s greatest all-rounders, added: “We have seen a few players exposed, but does throwing the odd second XI player into jail solve it? To kill the serpent, you must cut off its head.

The ICC (International Cricket Council) Anti-Corruption Unit must pursue the root of the problem and if necessary expose the big names.”l

Djokovic, Nishikori take long road to semi-finals Serena crushes Pennetta to reach last four

n Reuters, New York Serena Williams and Ekaterina Makarova sprinted into the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday, while world number one Novak Djokovic and marathon man Kei Nishikori were forced to take the long road into the last four.

Having already played the longest match of the tournament in the fourth round, a bruising four-hour 19-minute battle with Canadian Milos Raonic, Nishikori had enough left in the tank to get past third seed Stan Wawrinka 3-6

McMillan confirmed as NZ batting coach Former international Craig McMillan was confirmed as New Zealand’s batting coach on Thursday, after assuming the role on a temporary basis earlier this year. McMillan, who played 55 Tests and 197 one-day internationals for the Black Caps, has been given a two-year contract, New Zealand Cricket said in a statement. The 37-year-old worked as batting coach for the Black Caps tour of the West Indies in July and New Zealand A’s recently completed tour of England.

–AFP

15

Friday, September 5, 2014

7-5 7-6 (7) 6-7 (5) 6-4 in a four-hour 15-minute test of wills to become the first Japanese man into the last four of a grand slam in 81 years.

Bidding to reach the Flushing Meadows final for a fifth straight year, Djokovic did not need five sets to tame a valiant Andy Murray 7-6 (1) 6-7 (1) 6-2 6-4 but the big Serb did have to dig deep to see off his longtime rival who was in obvious distress at the end of what had been a wildly enthralling stadium court encounter.

While Murray and Djokovic battled their way through a 73 minute opening set, 32-year-old Williams needed just 63 minutes in total on a sultry evening

to breeze past Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-2 and become the oldest player to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since Martina Navratilova in 1991.

Russian left-hander Makarova, who will take on Williams for a spot in Sunday’s final, made her best mark in grand slam singles by outslugging Victoria Azarenka, the U.S. Open runner-up the last two years, 6-4 6-2 in a snappy 87 minutes.

While the day presented plenty of intriguing matchups it was the late night clash under the Arthur Ashe Stadium floodlights between Murray and Djokovic, in a rematch of the 2012 final won by the Scotsman, that was always going to be the showstopper.

The pair delivered on the promise, combining for some stunning long rallies until Murray struggled with his movement near the end and required a hot compress for his back midway through the fourth set. But he produced arguably his best tennis since having back surgery 11 months ago and gave the top seed a real scare.

“I think we played a very physical match in the first two hours,” Djokovic said. “I am very glad to get through to another semi-final. We both gave our best. At times, the tennis was not that nice, we made a lot of unforced errors but that’s due to a very physical battle we had in the first two sets. l

Du Plessis ton guides SA to final n Cricinfo South Africa secured their place in the triangular series final against Australia thanks to a third century in the competition from Faf du Plessis, which formed the spine of a target too tall for Zimbabwe to chase. Du Plessis shared a 103-run stand with JP Duminy for the fifth wicket and led the final assault which helped South Africa take 61 runs off the last five overs to put a place in the final beyond Zimbabwe’s reach.

The hosts had to reach the score in 25.2 overs to earn a bonus point and improve their run-rate enough to leapfrog South Africa but at a required run-rate of 10.83 to the over that was always going to be a tough ask. Zimbabwe have only managed over 200 once in the five ODIs they played before this one and, although they crossed the mark again this time, their batting let them down again. Aside from Brendan Taylor, who scored his first 50 in six innings, no one else managed to stay at the crease for longer than 41 minutes or score more than 29 runs.

As soon as the score moved beyond 220, Zimbabwe’s chances of winning, not in the overs they needed to get to

the final, but overall, were dimmed.

Their opening partnership remains brittle, their middle-order soft and their tail brave but inadequate even against a South African attack that was a man short.

BRIEF SCORE South Africa 271/6 in 50 overs (du Plessis 121, Duminy 51) Zimbabwe 208-all out in 47.2 overs (Taylor 79, Duminy 3/35) South Africa won by 63 runs

De Villiers was run-out cheaply at the non-strikers’ end to give Zimbabwe a chance to take control but Duminy denied them that. He played a Test-match style innings with du Plessis which focused on finding gaps and rotating strike rather than muscling through.

They did not breach the boundary for nine overs, including during the Powerplay but importantly, did not lose a wicket in that period either to ensue the foundation was laid.

Du Plessis inside-edged a ball for four to register a hundred in 135 balls and hammered the bowler for six over long-off. South Africa had the freedom to hit out at the end and ended up with a comfortable score on a sluggish surface.

Zimbabwe had prepared for a speedy start by inserting Vusi Sibanda in at the top but in his haste he was run out. Sikandar Raza threatened for the umpteenth time and then threw it away while Hamilton Masakadza also got a start he should have turned into something more significant.

Taylor was composed but with Phangiso and Duminy turning the ball and the fear factor of Dale Steyn, Zimbabwe’s middle-order crumbled and with it, their chance to cause another upset. l

Winners in the Bangladesh Junior Open Golf pose for a photograph along with guests at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday COURTESY

Akbar claims 1st Junior Open Golf n Raihan Mahmood Akbar Hossain of Moinamoti Golf Club emerged as the champion of the 1st Bangladesh Junior Open Golf held at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday.

Afnan Mahmud Chowdhury Mahi of Army Golf Club won the boys’ Under-16 crown while Shafik Ahmed of Kurmitola Golf Club clinched the title of the boys U-21 section. Nasimaa Akter

Shiba of Kurmitola Golf Club lifted the crown of the girls’ U-16 section while the title of the girls’ U-18 category was claimed by Zakia Sultana of Kurmitola Golf Club. A total of 91 junior golfers from nine clubs participated in the meet.

Lt. Gen. Anwar Hussain, the Quarter Master General of Bangladesh Army, distributed the prizes as the chief guest. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Friday, September 5, 2014

CHANCERY PROJECT IN TOKYO

SYLHET RAPE CASE

4-year delay pushes up cost by 17.56% High Court reinstates

death penalty verdict

Bangladesh also paid a penalty to Japan government for missing project deadline n Ahmed Zayeef the offices of an official representative but the interested Japanese contrac- work in Japan. n Asif Showkat Kallol Another Japanese firm placed its The High Court yesterday reinstated tors wanted to follow the laws in their of a foreign country.

The government has finally selected a Japanese contractor for building a chancery complex in Tokyo, but a fouryear delay has pushed the project cost up by 17.56%.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently sent a proposal to the cabinet committee on public purchase, saying the complex will now be built by Japanese firm Muramoto Corporation at a cost of Tk91.44 crore.

If the project could be kicked off four years ago – that is right after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had laid the foundation stone in Tokyo in November 2010 – the complex would have cost the government Tk77.78 crore.

A chancery is a complex that houses

The proposal, singed by Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, says Bangladesh cannot not delay the construction any further because Japan is going to host the 2020 Olympics and therefore all construction firms in the country will get busy improving the infrastructure for the mega sporting event.

The delay was a result of a bureaucratic tangle that originated from a confusion over which law to follow in implementing the project, which eventually led to the cancellation of the first tender. The Bangladesh government – the cabinet committee on public purchase to be specific – wanted to follow its own Public Procurement Act 2006

country.

The Foreign Ministry launched the project in 2011 after the Japanese government had allotted land and specified a June 2012 timeframe for building the chancery. In case Bangladesh missed the deadline, a penalty of 111.7 million Japanese Yen had to be paid.

Three firms emerged as pre-qualified bidders for the project after the Bangladesh embassy in Japan floated tenders.

The firms were supposed to submit offers in December 2013, but two of them said at that time that they would not be able to place their proposals.

One of them said it could not follow a Bangladeshi law for a construction

proposal but refused to deposit any security bond that the Bangladeshi procurement law stipulated. As a result, the lone bidder’s offer was cancelled.

Bangladesh had by then already missed the timeframe specified by the Japanese government, plunging the Bangladesh Embassy into a big trouble because of the liability of paying the penalty.

However, after a long parley and upon payment of a part of the penalty, the Japanese government finally extended the timeframe until June 2014.

Later, a second tender was floated in which Muramoto Corporation emerged as the best bidder and agreed to follow the Bangladeshi procurement act. l

the verdict of a speedy trial tribunal that had sentenced three people to death in a case filed for molesting, and then killing a teenage girl in Sylhet in 2006 to cover up their crime.

A HC bench of Justice Md Abdul Hye and Justice Krishna Debnath gave the order and they approved the carrying out of the execution order to the three convicts - Saad Ahmed and Ruhul Amin and Atik. Of them, Atik has remained on the run.

According to the case statement, Saad and Ruhul prayed acquittal to the bench during the hearing.

Deputy Attorney General Md Monirujjaman Rubel and Assistant Attorney General Abul Kalam Azad moved for

the state side while advocate SM Mubin for the convicts side.

On November 28, 2006, the convicts raped a 13-year-old girl and they killed her before throwing away her body in an abandoned place of Nolua Haor in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet.

In the incident, the then Golapganj police station SI Tapas Kumar filed a case and later police arrested Saad and Ruhul who gave their confessional statements before a court in the following year.

In the same year, police pressed charges in the case against the three with Sylhet Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.

Afterwards, the case was shifted to Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal which pronounced the death penalty to the trio in 2009. l

Speaker asks police to decide on chief whip’s letter on Sujit n Kamran Reza Chowdhury Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has instructed her security wing to ask the police to decide on the House committee’s letter requesting Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station not to arrest or harass a parliament staff charged with assisting a fake army officer to intrude on the parliament premises.

According to the rules of procedure, the speaker is the authority to allow any staff of the parliament secretariat to be on parliament premises. But the House committee, headed by the chief whip, sent a letter to the police station in violation of law, asking not to arrest or harass Sujit Kumar Dey, an administrative officer at the hostel wing.

The House committee is tasked with ensuring food and accommodation for the parliamentarians.

Police say Sujit allegedly helped Mahmud Hasan, a fake army official, to get into the offices of the MPs in their absence. Mahmud, who impersonated a major, would sneak into the MPs’ offices, as a means of cheating people and collecting money by promising jobs and contracts.

On August 12, security officials at the parliament caught Mahmud and caretaker of the hostel wing Salahuddin Md Amin red-handed from the office of Kabirul Haque.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police said Salahuddin’s boss Sujit fled the scene when police arrived there.

Police said Sujit should be interrogated to determine his involved in the intrusion.

“The deputy sergeant-at-arms showed me the House committee’s letter which asked not to arrest Sujit. But I told him to let police decide the course of action according to the law. I have nothing to say about this,” Shirin told the Dhaka Tribune.

At a meeting on August 18, Chief Whip ASM Feroz termed Sujit innocent and said he was being dragged into the incident with a motive. His predecessor Abdus Shahid supported him, though the majority did not.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police sent the House committee’s letter back to the office of the serjeant-at-arms, seeking the speaker’s opinion on this.

The parliament’s security wing fears that Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police might place the House committee’s letter before court as a proof that the committee had intervened.

“That would be embarrassing for the legislature. It could also mean that there is a clash between the speaker and the chief whip,” a security officer at the parliament secretariat told the Dhaka Tribune. l

A group of fishermen collect fishes on a boat in their farm at the capital’s Shonir Akhra area yesterday as rising flood water threatens to wash away the production out of the enclosures MEHEDI HASAN

‘One person commits suicide every 40 seconds’ n AFP, Geneva

One person commits suicide every 40 seconds -- more than all the yearly victims of wars and natural disaster -with the highest toll among the elderly, the United Nations said Thursday.

In its first report on suicide, the UN’s World Health Organisation blamed intense media coverage when celebrities kill themselves for fuelling the problem.

“Suicide is an amazing public health problem. There is one suicide every 40 seconds -- it is a huge number,” said Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO’s mental health department, at the presentation of the report in Geneva.

“Suicide kills more than conflicts, wars and natural catastrophes,” he said. “There are 1.5 million violent deaths every year in the world, of which 800,000 are suicides.”

Some of the highest rates of suicide are found in central and eastern Europe and in Asia, with 25 percent occurring in rich countries, the report says.

Men are almost twice as likely as women to take their own lives. Common methods are hanging, gunshots, and especially in rural areas the use of

poisonous insecticides.

“Globally, suicide rates are highest in people aged 70 years and over. In some countries, however, the highest rates are found among the young,” WHO said. “Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds globally.”

Don’t glamorise suicide

Alexandra Fleischmann, one of the report’s co-authors, said part of the blame lies with the publicity given to suicides by famous people, such as Hollywood actor Robin Williams.

The Oscar-winning star, who had suffered from depression, was found dead at his home on August 1, prompting an outpouring of emotion from the public and widespread media coverage.

Ella Arensman, president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, said that after news broke of Williams’ death she received “five emails of people who had recovered (from a) suicide crisis and saying that they are thinking again about suicide.”

“These overwhelming reports can have a contagion effect on vulnerable people,” she said, referring also to the

“sharp increase” in suicides after German football player Robert Enke killed himself in 2009.

“Suicide should not be glamorised or sensationalised,” Fleischmann said, urging news outlets not to mention suicide as the cause of death at the start of reports, but only at the end, “with a mention of where (the reader) can find help.”

WHO, which called suicide a major public health problem that must be confronted and stemmed, studied 172 countries to produce the report, which took a decade to research.

It said that in 2012 high-income countries had a slightly higher suicide rate – 12.7 per 100,000 people, versus 11.2 in low- and middle-income nations.

But given the latter category’s far higher population, they accounted for three-quarters of the global total.

Southeast Asia, including North Korea, India, Indonesia and Nepal, made up over a third of the annual figure.

WHO cautioned that suicide figures are often incomplete, with many countries failing to keep proper tallies.

In addition, “there are many suicide attempts for each death,” WHO chief

Margaret Chan said.

“The impact on families, friends and communities is devastating and far-reaching, even long after persons dear to them have taken their own lives,” she added.

Suicide and attempted suicide are considered a crime in 25 countries, mostly in Africa, in South America and in Asia.

The most suicide-prone countries were Guyana (44.2 per 100,000), followed by North and South Korea (38.5 and 28.9 respectively).

Next came Sri Lanka (28.8), Lithuania (28.2), Suriname (27.8), Mozambique (27.4), Nepal and Tanzania (24.9 each), Burundi (23.1), India (21.1), and South Sudan (19.8).

Next were Russia and Uganda (both with 19.5), Hungary (19.1), Japan (18.5), and Belarus (18.3).

The UN agency said its goal is to cut national suicide rates by 10 percent by 2020.

A major challenge, it said, is that suicide victims are often from marginalised groups of the population, many of them poor and vulnerable.

However, “suicides are preventable,” Chan said. l

1,205 schools closed due to flood n Mushfique Wadud

Academic activities in 20 districts are being hampered as a total of 1,205 schools – 965 primary and 240 high schools – were affected by the recent flood and river bank erosion. Some of the school buildings were demolished because of river bank erosion, officials said.

In most cases, authorities concerned were forced to shut down academic ac-

tivities because of the flood. On the other hand, a good number of schools in the flood hit areas are being used as flood shelters, suspending academic activities.

Director General Fahima Khatun at the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education said they had informed the ministry about the situation.

“We are continuously taking updates regarding the current situation of those schools. We have also instructed

them to arrange classes and examinations in alternative areas, so that academic activities are not hampered,” she told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Contacted, Nurul Amin Chowdhury, an assistant director of the Directorate of Primary Education, also echoed the same voice.

Meanwhile, school teachers said such gap in academic activities during this time of the academic year might

hamper students' preparation for the upcoming Primary School Certificate (PSC) and Junior School Certificate (JSC) examinations scheduled in November.

Abul Bashar, a primary school teacher in Kurigram, told the Dhaka Tribune over phone that his school had been closed for two weeks. “We are worried whether they would be able to complete the syllabus for PSC examination,” he said. l

More than 60 BNPJamaat activists sued for Bakshibazar clash n Tazlina Zamila Khan A case has been filed against more than 60 BNP-Jamaat activists centring the clash that took place between police and the party activists yesterday when BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia went to appear before a court in the capital's Bakshibazaar area Wednesday.

Sub-Inspector Sadeque Miah filed the case with Chawkbazar Police Station accusing around 65 BNP-Jamaat activists of assaulting and barring police from carrying out their duties.

BNP activists wanted to enter the court after Khaleda but police prevented them, prompting a clash Of the accused, names of 60 activists have been mentioned in the case detailed.

Mohammad Azizul Haque, officerin-charge of Chawkbazar Police Station, told the Dhaka Tribune: “They have been sued for attacking police outside the court. Some of the accused are named in the case.”

According to the in the case statement, the clash erupted around 1:10pm just after Khaleda entered the court. Initially, police tried to disperse the crowd by charging truncheons but the situation turned worse when the BNP men started throwing brickbats at the law enforcers.

Earlier on Wednesday, activists of

BNP and its associate bodies locked horns with police after party cheif Khaleda Zia appeared before the Special Judge Court 3 for a hearing in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.

The court was set up on the Aliya Madrasa ground. Khaleda reached the venue at 1:05pm and left 40 minutes later.

Since morning, many BNP activists were seen gathering on the streets leading to the court. Senior pro-BNP lawyers as well as senior party leaders thronged the court premises when Khaleda arrived there. BNP activists wanted to enter the court after Khaleda but police prevented them, prompting a clash.

The 45-minute clash, which left several people injured including four policemen, spread to Bakshibazar and Badrunnessa College areas. Chased by police, BNP activists entered the Buet campus where they were again driven out by Chhatra League activists.

Later, BNP activists vandalised some vehicles and roadside makeshift stalls in the area.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Saidur Rahman said: “Around 60 activists were sued, including Nahidul Islam Nahid, Said Hassan Mintu, Farhatullah, Anwar Parvez Badal, Abdus Samad, Abu Mutalib, Moshiul Alam Sentu and others.”

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Mehedi Hasan earlier said police did not allow all the BNP activists inside the court premises for the sake of security. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 German factory orders shrug off ‘Putin effect’

B4 Swiss economy most

competitive once again; EU, US, Japan improve

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

BB sets green loan targets for banks

It will be applicable only for 47 green products recognised by Bangladesh Bank

n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has set targets of direct green financing for all the banks and non-banking financial institutions to ensure financing environment-friendly projects.

It imposed the target at 5% of the total disbursed loans by the scheduled banks operating in the market since early 2013. The rate is 3% for the nine new banks and 4% for non-banking financial institutions.

All the 47 banks have their own green banking policy guidelines approved by their board of directors and have Green Banking Unit for pursuing green banking activities It will be 5% for all banks and non-banking financial institutions from January 2016.

The instruction came for the first time will be effective immediately, said a circular Bangladesh Bank issued yesterday.

The green financing will be applicable only for 47 green products recognised by the central bank.

The achievement of the expected target will be considered in the valuation of CAMELS rating, an international bank-rating system.

The circular warned that appropriate measures will be taken against those banks that will fail to achieve the target.

The central bank has set the target

to bring the banks under obligation, said Bangladesh Bank Deputy General Manager Morshed Millat.

The products under green financing include biomass-based large Biogas plant, poultry and dairy-based large Biogas plant, 1mw or above solar PV plant, solar cooker assembly plant, solar water heater assembly plant, solar air heater and cooling assembly plant, solar-driven cold storage, Bioenergy-driven power generation plant, power switch assembly plant for power saving, hybrid cook stove assembly plant, LED bulb or tube light assembly plant, power generation from municipal waste, compost generation from municipal waste, recyclable non-oven polypropylene yarn and baggage manufacturing and palm oil production plant etc.

The Bangladesh Bank has issued the policy guidelines for green banking to the scheduled banks in February 2011.

All the 47 banks have their own green banking policy guidelines approved by their board of directors and have Green Banking Unit (GBU) for pursuing green banking activities.

They also have their own Green Office Guide for conducting in-house green activities.

The central bank had launched the Tk200 crore green banking refinance scheme in August 2009 to set up solar panels, biogas plants and industrial ETPs (effluent treatment plants) under the scheme to help reduce industrial pollution and increase the power supply.

Under the scheme, Bangladesh Bank is currently providing loans for commercial banks between 5% and 12% interest rate for direct refinancing and credit wholesale to the entrepreneurs.

The scheme was undertaken in line with the government’s plan to meet 5% of the total demand for electricity from green energy by 2015 and 10% by 2020. l

Discussants at a seminar on revised GSP scheme of EU, organised by Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute at CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka yesterday

‘Diversification will make exports competitive’ n Tribune Report Speakers at a seminar yesterday urged Bangladeshi exporters to focus on product diversification and add more value to their products for being competitive on the global market, particularly in Europe.

“It is the high time for us to explore new opportunities in our foreign trade,” Dr Mashiur Rahman, Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser, said.

He emphasised the need of creating access to knowledge and technology to diversify products so the exports can sustain in global competition.

He was addressing the seminar on “Revised GSP Scheme of European Union: Implications for Bangladesh” at CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka. Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) organised the event.

Bangladesh depends on garment industry for 80% of its export earnings, but the industry, according to Minis-

WEF: Corruption remains a major factor in business n Tribune Report Inadequate infrastructures, corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency remained the most problematic factors in doing business in Bangladesh, said Global Competitiveness Report.

World Economic Forum prepared the report which was published in Bangladesh yesterday by the Forum’s local partner Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Bangladesh, however, progressed one notch forward in Global Competitiveness Index to 109th from 110th.

As per the report, Bangladesh has made positive changes in seven pillars including infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, higher education, goods market efficiency, financial markets sophistication, market size and innovation.

Major deterioration was observed in institutions, health and primary education, labour market efficiency and technological readiness.

Ethical standards of politicians are very low, which came down to 94% from 87%, while politicians ability is poor to govern effectively, the report said.

Parliament is ineffective to some extent as a law-making institutions and the ranking became bad to worse.

During launching of the report, CPD also held a dialogue on a recent update on business environment in Bangladesh.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu and former Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, among others, attended the dialogue.

On corruption, Amir Hossain Amu said: “Anti Corruption Commission is now working independently, which was proved in recent moves against some politicians.”

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said there is no sign of accountability in

Speakers at a dialogue on business environment held at a city hotel yesterday. CPD orgnised the event while launching Global Competitiveness Report RAJIB DHAR the country’s present administration.

To attain higher GCR ranking in near term future, the report suggested some reforms including strong political commitment for reduction of corruption and strengthening ACC. Ensuring transparency and accountability in the operation of private and public sector financial institutions, finalising the financial reporting act, establishing strong monitoring and enforcement of laws in the capital market, implementing environmental rules, resource development, better industrial relations, maintaining workplace safety and security.

Slow progress in global competitiveness could hardly generate momentum for developing an enabling business environment in the country, said Khnodaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of CPD. The World Economic Forum made the report on 144 countries after evaluating 12 different issues known

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

as “twelve pillars” under the three sub-indices.

The pillars include institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency and labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.

Switzerland topped the index for the sixth consecutive years followed

by Singapore, United States, Finland, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Sweden.

Among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, India was ranked 71, Sri Lanka 73, Nepal 102, Bhutan 103 and Pakistan 129.

Syed Manzur Elahi, treasurer of Board of Trustee of CPD and former FBCCI President A K Azad were also present at the dialogue. l

by the government to appoint 200 additional factory inspectors. “The appointment was supposed be completed by the end of 2013. But we know this has not been completed yet.”

According to him, Bangladesh is “still far behind to set working condition in RMG sector.”

About Tuba protests, the official said the use of forces in the workers’ sit-in shocked the EU. He said the EU parliament made the trade issues of Bangladesh on top of the priority list.

The EU companies might face legal challenges in court if they placed supply orders in Bangladeshi non-compliant factories, he said.

BFTI Chief Executive Officer Md Mozibur Rahman chaired the seminar while Additional Commerce Secretary Monoz Kumar Roy, trade adviser in EU delegation Zillul Hye Razi and BKMEA first Vice President Mohammad Hatem also addressed. l

ter-Counsel of EU delegation, is “still far behind to set working condition.”

Economists, analysts, entrepreneurs and business leaders spoke on the occasion.

They said the revised scheme may not affect Bangladesh’s export, especially in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector but in the long run the competitors like Pakistan may grab the EU market share of Bangladesh by enhancing capacity.

BFTI director Dr Mostafa Abid Khan presented the keynote paper.

During January-May, Bangladesh witnessed an 11% rise in exports to EU while Pakistan’s exports grew 17% to the market, a BFTI analysis found using figures of some certain products.

While Pakistan’s home textile export grew 27%, Bangladesh saw 3% fall.

Centre for Policy Dialogue Executive Director Mustafizur Rahman also called for diversification of and value addition to export goods to challenges

in the international market.

Prime Minister’s Power and Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury put stress on trade facilitation and use of knowledge and technology.

According to BGMEA president Atiqul Islam, Pakistan is more competitive than Bangladesh in the sector of woven products export.

He said: “Pakistan is increasing their capacity and building economic zones to develop industries. They are already one step ahead of us. They can produce cotton and can offer less price to EU market than us.”

Frédéric Maduraud, Minister-Counsellor, EU delegation in Bangladesh, however, criticised the Bangladeshi government’s move as the country is yet to meet the pledges given to the EU. The pledges include ensuring labour rights and corporate social responsibility.

Frédéric Maduraud cited the failure

CSE looks for strategic partner n Tribune Report

Cheaper imported foods help inflation fall

The Chittagong Stock Exchange is looking for strategic partner to sell its 25% stake in line with the demutualisation law, says its chairman yesterday.

“But we need to strengthen the bourse more for higher valuation within the three-year timeframe,” said Abdul Mazid, CSE chairman, in a monthly press briefing at his Dhaka office.

According to the demutualisation law, the country’s second bourse, CSE, will have to sell its 25% stake to the strategic partner within three years from the date of formation of new board.

The new board of CSE was formed on February this year under the demutualisation law.

While giving update about the CSE’s activities, he said the stock exchange is working with the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and Asian Development Bank under the capital market development programme III. He said the CSE is also working to make investors aware through arranging training programme, discussion and workshop.

“Besides, we are making efforts to set up a training programme which will be modelled on Thailand, Malaysia and Australia.” Under the programme, new products and setting up a clearing corporation will get pace, he said, adding that the CSE is also working to make internet-based trading popular among the investors. Welcoming the new IPO (initial public offering) application method, Mazid said it is a milestone for the country’s stock market.

“It will help reduce time of IPO procedure and bring momentum not only in the primary market but also in the secondary market.”

Moreover, the new method will boost trade, opening up new avenues of earning source of the TREC (Trading Right Entitlement Certificate) holders, he said. l

n Kayes Sohel Inflation fell to 6.91% in August from 7.04% in July, driven mainly by falling prices of imported food items, said official data released yesterday.

But the fall of inflation has taken the analysts by no surprise as they were expecting inflation to stay stable under the current politically calm situation.

They also said floods in some districts are unlikely to hurt inflation as the crisis is short-lived and has already started to disappear.

However, the year-on-year average inflation rose to 7.24% from 7.19%.

The downward slide was recorded in the prices of food items and upswing was recorded in the prices of non-food items, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.

Food inflation in July slipped to 7.67% from 7.94% in August while nonfood inflation rose to 5.76% from 5.71%.

“Drop in global food prices and relatively stable prices in local items, pushing down inflation,” Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said.

He expected inflation might come down further in coming months if the global food prices continue to decline.

Kamal also believed the country experienced a brief spell of floods and therefore the supply chain was unlikely to be affected.

A planning ministry statement said prices of locally produced foods like vegetables, fish, flattened rice, meat, spices, milk and other essen-

tials increased.

Prices of non-food items also increased, which include clothing, house rent, utensils, health service, transport, education materials and other services.

In rural areas, the overall inflation stood at 6.83%, dropping from 6.93%.

In urban areas, it fell to 7.08% from 7.24%.

“Month-to-month basis inflation remained more or less stable, which is not a situation to be worried,” said Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.

“This is neither a bad news nor a good news,” he said. Though, seasonal flood is a matter of concern but might not turn worse and if there is no bad news from the political front, inflation will decline in future, he said.

Bangladesh Bank, in its policy statement (July-December), said the FY15 inflation target announced in the Budget is 6%.

Reducing average inflation from its current level may prove challenging especially as aggregate demand is likely to pick up in first half of this fiscal.

In general, the twelve-month average inflation, by definition, only changes in an incremental manner, it said. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks extend rally for 4th day

DSE key features September 4-2014

n Tribune Report

Turnover (Million Taka)

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 end of the session.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, rose 9 points or 0.3% to 4,642.

'Strong market sentiment is evident by the high market turnover and return on picky stocks'

The Shariah index, DSES, was marginally up almost 2 points or 0.2% to 1,089. 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.

Trading activities, however, was 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 LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

EBL NRB M.F.-A Standard Ceramic -A BD. Thai Alum -B 4th ICB M F-A Tung Hai Knitting -N IFIC 1st MF-A Wata Chemicals -A Miracle Industries -B R. N. Spinning-Z Legacy Footwear -A

-9.62 -4.74 -4.29 -4.18 -3.79 -3.77 -3.42 -3.26 -2.97 -2.96

CSE LOSER Company Reliance1 M.F.-A GreenDeltaInsu -A Samorita Hospital -A ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A AB Bank 1st Mutual Fund-A BDCOM Online-A DBH 1st MF-A Miracle Industries -B R. N. Spinning-Z Prime Islami Life -A

Closing (% Change) -9.41 -7.87 -5.05 -4.88 -4.84 -4.59 -4.00 -3.76 -3.70 -3.66

4642.37703

(+) 0.21%

1758.24193

(+) 0.01%

14355.89810

(-) 0.06%

11499.73850

(-) 0.44%

8725.25120

(-) 0.06%

Average (% Change) -9.45 -4.33 -2.23 -4.18 -0.31 -2.64 1.45 1.16 -4.74 1.79 Average (% Change) -8.98 -7.87 -5.07 -3.05 -4.52 -5.16 -3.60 -0.55 -5.06 -3.70

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 4.79 46.40 27.24 185.90 25.85 5.16 246.02 18.30 25.94 30.18

ClosingAvg. 7.70 82.00 92.08 7.95 5.92 26.81 4.82 18.11 25.90 81.50

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 271.31 381.74 146.29 825.69 373.98 759.77 2.36 846.02 663.42 62.85 66.88 49.93 99.53 354.08 201.81 123.73 161.51 183.10 107.56 341.18 0.12

DHIGH

4.70 46.20 26.80 185.90 25.40 5.10 237.20 17.80 26.10 29.50

Closing

5.20 47.90 28.40 185.90 27.00 5.40 255.00 18.90 26.90 31.70

DHIGH

7.70 82.00 92.10 7.80 5.90 27.00 4.80 17.90 26.00 81.50

7.70 82.00 93.10 8.30 6.10 27.20 4.90 18.50 26.40 81.50

138,512

Traded Issues

295

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

196

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

98

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

1

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,449.11

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.69

CSE key features September 4-2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

442.47

Turnover (Volume)

13,752,524

Number of Contract

17,520

Traded Issues

232

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

129

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

95

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,364.49

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.66

Turnover in Million

DLOW 4.70 45.50 25.70 185.90 25.30 4.80 226.00 17.60 24.30 28.80

7.70 82.00 91.00 7.80 5.90 26.80 4.80 17.70 25.20 81.50

Latest EPS

2.387 0.116 22.706 0.019 46.923 2.793 12.824 8.617 11.200 18.581

Turnover in Million

DLOW

% change 4.50 6.34 2.43 13.71 6.21 12.61 0.04 14.05 11.02 1.11 0.83 1.65 5.88 3.35 2.05 2.68 3.04 1.79 5.66 0.00

Million Taka 19.09 38.67 7.05 49.94 21.73 34.81 65.99 33.70 17.69 3.42 10.47 6.79 49.52 24.63 3.16 9.57 7.18 25.58 33.97 0.05

CSE

% change 4.12 8.35 1.52 10.79 4.69 7.52 0.00 14.25 7.28 3.82 0.74 2.26 1.47 10.70 5.32 0.68 2.07 1.55 5.52 7.34 0.01

0.85 1.32 0.84 23.11 0.60 0.72 6.20 0.19 2.74 0.28

Latest EPS

0.012 0.074 0.276 0.088 0.059 0.131 0.060 0.417 2.215 0.033

Million Taka 290.40 420.41 153.34 875.63 395.71 794.58 2.36 912.01 697.12 80.55 70.30 60.40 106.32 403.60 226.44 126.89 171.09 190.29 133.13 375.14 0.16

ISN Ltd. -Z PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Meghna Con. Milk -B I P D C -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Intl. Leasing-B Islamic Finance-A Prime Finance-A Saiham Tex.A Union Capital -A

Closing (% Change) 9.91 9.64 9.59 8.22 7.49 7.27 6.52 6.35 6.12 6.04

CSE GAINER

1.38 1.90 2.20 1.40 0.64 1.43 0.06 0.19 2.74 4.95

Latest PE 5.6 35.2 32.4 8.0 43.1 7.2 39.7 96.3 9.5 107.8

Company Aziz PipesZ ISN Ltd. -Z PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Intl. Leasing-B I P D C -A Wata Chemicals -A SonarBangla Insu. -A Islamic Finance-A Shahjibazar Power-N AFC AgroBiotech-A

9.93 9.73 9.38 9.09 8.90 8.73 8.28 8.03 7.48 6.67

Average (% Change) 5.46 11.11 9.09 8.87 5.43 8.73 8.04 6.22 7.42 4.37

ClosingAvg. 12.16 17.89 7.92 15.57 645.89 11.82 14.56 19.88 30.78 19.11

ClosingAvg. 15.45 12.40 17.53 11.91 15.53 239.20 18.15 14.52 639.05 56.42

Closing 12.20 18.20 8.00 15.80 648.50 11.80 14.70 20.10 31.20 19.30

Closing 15.50 12.40 17.50 12.00 15.90 239.20 18.30 14.80 639.50 57.60

DHIGH 12.20 18.20 8.00 16.00 648.50 12.10 15.10 20.30 31.50 19.50

DHIGH 15.50 12.40 17.60 12.10 16.00 239.20 18.30 15.00 639.50 57.90

DLOW 10.00 16.80 7.60 13.20 630.00 10.00 12.50 17.50 29.60 17.00

DLOW 14.50 12.30 17.20 11.20 14.80 239.20 17.50 13.90 619.00 56.40

Turnover in Million 0.890 45.040 0.626 9.765 49.055 12.720 28.976 58.370 75.210 7.936

Turnover in Million 0.016 0.198 0.219 3.401 0.751 0.048 0.121 3.196 6.454 0.164

Latest EPS 0.20 1.30 -4.85 0.92 -3.16 -0.78 1.50 1.02 3.09 2.08

Latest EPS 0.42 0.20 1.30 -0.78 0.92 6.20 1.74 1.50 3.04 2.84

Latest PE 60.8 13.8 -ve 16.9 -ve -ve 9.7 19.5 10.0 9.2

Latest PE 36.8 62.0 13.5 -ve 16.9 38.6 10.4 9.7 210.2 19.9

News, analysis and recent disclosers From TradeServers: 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.

COMPANY NEWS: Shurwid Industries Limited: Trading of the shares of Shurwid Industries Limited will commence at DSE from September 08, 2014 under 'N' category. DSE Trading Code for Shurwid Industries Limited is "SHURWID" and DSE Company Code is 13234.

RELIANCE1: AIMS of Bangladesh Limited has informed that as per amended Income Tax Ordinance No. XXXVI of 1984 (ref: Finance Act 2014) section 54, every unitholder is required to furnish 12 digit Taxpayer's Identification Number (TIN) for deduction of Advance Income Tax (AIT) @

10%. Those who would not provide the 12 digit TIN will be subjected to deduction of AIT @ 15%. Therefore, the unitholders of Reliance One, the first Scheme of Reliance Insurance Mutual Fund, whose name appeared on the register at Record Date on 01 September 2014 are requested to submit their 12 digit TIN to the office of the Fund at AIMS of Bangladesh Limited at Unique Trade Center (UTC), Level 6, 8 Panthopath, Karwan Bazaar, Dhaka 1215 on or before September 07, 2014 by hand/ post/cou ANWARGALV: The company has informed 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."

IPO Subscription: Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Ltd. subscription date

24-28 August 2014, NRB upto 06 September 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Western Marine Shipyard Limited subscription date 10-14 August 2014, NRB upto 23 August 2014. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 100.

Right Share: MIDASFIN: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 03.08.2014.

ICB: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014.

Dividend/AGM FARCHEM: 20% stock, AGM: 09.10.2014, Record date: 11.09.2014.

SAIHAMCOT: 10% cash, AGM: 23.10.2014, Record date: 17.09.2014.

BSCCL: 10% cash, AGM: 12.10.2014, Record date: 04.09.2014.

PRAGATILIF: No dividend, AGM: 30.09.2014, Record date: 14.09.2014.

GPHISPAT: 15% cash and 5% stock, AGM: 10.11.2014, Record date: 22.09.2014.

5.6 43.2 41.9 5.7 9.3 18.7 80.3 95.3 9.5 16.5

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

Total

Closing (% Change)

Average (% Change) 11.56 9.15 8.34 6.21 9.21 8.24 6.12 3.49 5.05 4.31

Latest PE

Index had a stellar rally at the beginning of the trading session.

However, profit booking in last hour narrowed the gain

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▼

Company

160,170,902

Number of Contract

The major sectors posted mixed performance with non-banking financial institutions 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 demonstrating strong conviction from investors’ part, while a number of non-banking financial institution showed up in the top gaining list.

Gainers beat losers as out of 295 issues traded, 185 advanced, 88 declined and 22 remained unchanged.

Mobil Jamuna Limited was the most traded stock with shares worth nearly Tk34 crore changing hands, followed by Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd Bangladesh, Beximco Limited, BSRM Steel, Grammenphone and Beximco Pharma. l

DSE GAINER

6,022.85

Turnover (Volume)

Friday, September 5, 2014

% change 4.48 6.48 2.36 13.50 6.10 12.25 0.04 14.06 10.75 1.24 1.08 0.93 1.64 6.22 3.49 1.96 2.64 2.93 2.05 5.78 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

MJL BD Ltd.-A LafargeS Cement-Z BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BSRM Steels-A Grameenphone-A Beximco Pharma -A Bengal Windsor-A Agni Systems -A Delta Life Insu. -A Summit Power -A

Mozaffar H.Spinning-N Golden Son -A Olympic Ind. -A FarEast Knitting -N BSC-A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z The Peninsula CTG.-N ConfidenceCement A BSRM Steels-A MJL BD Ltd.-A FarEast Knitting -N Aftab Auto.-A Khulna Printing-N UNITED AIR-A

BSC-A Mozaffar H.Spinning-N People`s Leasing-A AramitCementA aamra technologies-A

VolumeShares 2,918,341 2,029,500 5,442,421 2,238,025 539,150 2,804,800 2,009,888 3,364,213 728,120 2,267,783

Value in Million 337.68 244.92 228.42 221.14 183.10 155.32 116.74 109.44 95.73 91.72

% of TotalTurnover 5.61 4.07 3.79 3.67 3.04 2.58 1.94 1.82 1.59 1.52

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

2,599,000 1,860,496 382,365 2,057,000 135,085

570,566 196,500 441,400 112,620 125,460 102,067 276,600 127,142 310,000 775,963

13,870 242,500 472,456 166,500 161,250

90.25 89.17 86.59 84.54 82.89

23.96 23.76 15.06 12.84 12.45 11.79 11.31 10.22 10.18 9.87

8.51 8.48 7.65 7.46 6.04

1.50 1.48 1.44 1.40 1.38

5.61 5.56 3.53 3.01 2.92 2.76 2.65 2.39 2.38 2.31

1.99 1.98 1.79 1.75 1.52

ClosingP 116.70 119.20 41.70 98.50 338.10 55.00 58.10 33.50 132.80 40.40

34.10 47.70 227.00 40.90 610.25

ClosingP

41.80 118.90 33.90 114.60 99.50 116.50 40.70 80.60 32.20 12.70

610.50 34.00 16.30 45.20 37.00

Change % 4.76 0.08 -1.65 1.97 0.06 -1.79 3.01 5.68 5.48 -0.98

-0.29 -0.83 0.80 3.02 -0.57

Change %

-1.42 0.17 -0.29 0.79 3.22 4.20 3.04 3.47 -3.30 -1.55

-0.54 0.59 4.49 3.43 -2.12

ClosingY 111.40 119.10 42.40 96.60 337.90 56.00 56.40 31.70 125.90 40.80

34.20 48.10 225.20 39.70 613.75

ClosingY

42.40 118.70 34.00 113.70 96.40 111.80 39.50 77.90 33.30 12.90

613.80 33.80 15.60 43.70 37.80

DHIGH 118.10 122.50 45.10 99.90 342.70 58.00 58.70 34.50 136.00 41.60

36.00 49.00 229.10 42.00 621.75

DHIGH

43.00 122.20 34.40 115.50 99.90 117.10 41.80 81.40 34.00 13.10

620.00 36.00 16.80 45.50 38.50

DLOW 100.30 118.20 38.20 94.00 325.00 51.00 51.00 28.80 122.00 36.80

33.80 43.40 209.00 40.10 609.00

DLOW

38.50 118.50 33.80 114.00 100.00 112.00 40.00 78.00 32.00 11.70

609.50 33.80 15.60 44.00 36.70

AvgPrice 115.71 120.68 41.97 98.81 339.61 55.38 58.08 32.53 131.48 40.44

34.73 47.93 226.46 41.10 613.63

AvgPrice

41.98 120.94 34.13 114.04 99.26 115.47 40.91 80.40 32.84 12.72

613.44 34.96 16.19 44.81 37.46

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Friday, September 5, 2014

German factory orders shrug off ‘Putin effect’ n AFP, Frankfurt German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for German-made goods both at home and abroad, jumped in July, suggesting the fallout from the Ukraine crisis remains limited for now, data showed yesterday.

Factory orders were up 4.6% in July compared with the level in June, the statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

In June, German factory orders had declined by 2.7%.

The office said that orders growth was driven mainly by strong foreign demand, with export orders advancing by as much as 6.9%, and domestic orders up 1.7%.

A regional breakdown showed that orders from the eurozone climbed by 1.7% and orders from outside the eurozone soared by 9.8%.

The headline figure was overstated by a disproportionately large number of bulk orders, the economy ministry said in Berlin.

However, “after the uncertainty triggered by geopolitical developments and the economic soft patch in the second quarter, the strong rise in orders is an encouraging sign for industry,” the ministry said in a statement.

Analysts said the data suggested that the feared fallout from the crisis in Ukraine was not proving quite so severe as expected.

“After a long series of negative surprises in data in recent weeks, the strong orders number is grounds for some optimism,” said BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar.

“It suggests that day-to-day business in Germany has not suffered unduly under the Ukraine-Russia conflict.”

But the data should not be over-interpreted, the expert cautioned.

“There is a risk in the coming months that the uncertainty will make itself felt a lot more in the hard data,” he warned.

Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz also believed that “the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and Western sanctions on German exports is limited.”

Square Consumer Products Ltd rebranded

IFC, VF Corp to provide $10m for local RMG manufacturers

Square Consumer Products Ltd., the leading manufacturer of many popular consumer products will be operating as ‘Square Food & Beverage Ltd.’ from now on.

According to a press release, the formal announcement of name change came at a launch programme held at the Headquarters of Square Food & Beverage at Square Center, Mohakhali on Monday.

Addressing the event, Nafisa Alam, Head of Marketing of Square Food & Beverage said: “This change will definitely add a new dimension to our success”.

Managing Director of Square Food & Beverage Ltd. Anjan Chowdhury said: “It’s always about raising the bar. This will definitely bring us closer to higher standards.” The program was graced by Chairman of Square Group Samuel S Chowdhury, Vice Chairman of Square Group Ratna Patra, MD of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Tapan Chowdhury, MD of Square Informatix Ltd. Charles C R Patra and Director of Square Food & Beverage Ltd. Eric S Chowdhury.

Square Consumer Products Ltd. was formed in 23 February 2000 and started operating the next year with a goal to provide quality food products. In the last 14 years, the company has manufactured and marketed award winning brands like Radhuni, Ruchi and Chashi. l

International Finance Corporation and global apparel and footwear company, VF Corporation, will provide up to $10 million to help suppliers in Bangladesh finance fire and building safety upgrades in their factories.

VF, the parent company of many well-known brands including The North Face, Vans, Wrangler and JanSport, will provide a full corporate guarantee in support of loans for its suppliers, says an IFC press release.

This enables IFC and its partner BRAC Bank to lend suppliers at lower interest rates and helps suppliers speed up fire and building safety upgrades.

The garment sector in Bangladesh accounts for 80% of the country’s total export earnings and 20% of its GDP. It employs more than four million workers—80% of them women—in formal jobs in more than 4,500 factories.

The sector, including buyers and suppliers, is eager to improve workplace environment and sustainable competitiveness.

The VF Corporation is a founding member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, an industry group of international apparel manufacturers and buyers.

This group has provided fire and safety training for more than 1 million

n Tribune Report

Maruti Suzuki to pay Japanese parent royalties in rupees for future models

n Reuters, New Delhi

A worker mounts a tyre at the serial production BMW i3 electric car in the BMW factory in Leipzig

n Tribune Report

LOTTO Bangladesh has recently stepped into its third year by holding a celebration ceremony of its 2nd anniversary at a city hotel in Dhaka. Giorgio Guglielmino, the ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh attended the ceremony as chief guest along with the company’s chairperson, Engineer Nurul Haque, managing director Kazi Jamil Islam and its chief executive officer Abdullah Al Musaddek

Nevertheless, the key effect of the crisis was the uncertainty it caused, he said.

“Only if the situation in Ukraine stabilises will confidence and thus growth rebound.”

ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski predicted the German economy “should return to growth in the third quarter.”

Bangladeshi factory workers and carried out inspections at all 587 factories that supply to its members.

Its work has resulted in corrective action plans for bringing factories up to acceptable standards.

Lack of financing is an obstacle to many suppliers who need to invest in these safety upgrades.

“The safety of the people making our products around the world is an imperative,” said Eric Wiseman, chairman, president and CEO of VF. “Our programme with the IFC helps to ensure that our suppliers have access to the necessary capital to complete safety improvement plans.”

Serge Devieux, IFC Director for South Asia, said: “The employment in the apparel industry has reduced poverty for millions of women in Bangladesh. This financing model, which we think could work well for other buyers and suppliers, will help Bangladesh’s suppliers improve work conditions and strengthen the country’s ability to attract garment manufacturers.”

This financing arrangement with the VF Corporation is part of the IFC’s broader approach to transforming Bangladesh’s textile sector.

The IFC also launched its supplierfinance programme, which allows suppliers to improve their access to working capital. l

The data “should give some relief that not everything is gloom and down,” he said.

UniCredit economist Andreas Rees said that “all the talk about geopolitical tensions and their swift impact on German hard data was wrong and largely exaggerated.

“The Russian-Ukrainian crisis does

REUTERS

not resemble the Lehman shock with its swift and brutal impact we had gone through six years ago,” he said.

“We think that at least a moderate rebound of German economic activity in the third quarter is in the pipeline” after a contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter, Rees concluded. l

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the nation’s top carmaker, said yesterday it would make royalty payments due to parent Suzuki Motor Corp for all future models in rupees to limit risks from foreign exchange fluctuations.

“On all future models the royalty will be expressed in rupees...and not (in) the yen so that we are not exposed to the variation in the exchange rate which has been happening in the past,” Maruti Chairman R.C. Bhargava told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in the Indian capital.

Maruti, over 56% owned by Suzuki, currently pays royalties in yen for use of technical know-how and its Japanese parent brand name. The company paid 24.86bn rupees ($412m), or nearly 6% of its net sales, in royalties for the year to March, according to its annual report for the year.

In February, some large Indian investment funds, challenging a plan by Maruti to source cars from a plant in western India to be built by Suzuki, saying the royalty paid by Maruti to its Japanese parent was too high, a complaint made previously by minority investors.

Maruti, which has said it will take minority shareholders on board before progressing on the new Gujarat plant, expects the factory to be commissioned in 2017, chairman Bhargava said at the shareholder meeting.

Bhargava also said Maruti would invest in increasing its research and development capabilities, and the work done locally would be taken into account while calculating royalty payments.

“That will mean that our expenditure on R&D will get rewarded in terms of lower royalty rates,” he said. l

BoJ holds off fresh stimulus despite weaker economy n AFP, Tokyo The Bank of Japan yesterday stuck by its view that the world’s number three economy was recovering, despite a contraction in the second quarter that underlined the damage inflicted by an April sales tax hike.

Policymakers held fire on expanding the bank’s vast stimulus programme following a two-day policy meeting, although they flagged housing and factory output as weak spots, along with shaky demand for Japanese exports.

Investors will now turn their focus to a regular post-meeting briefing by governor Haruhiko Kuroda at 0630 GMT to see if he hints at future moves to counter the downturn.

The April-June quarter saw Japan’s economy suffer its deepest quarterly contraction since the 2011 quake and tsunami owing to April’s sales tax hike.

The 1.7% dip in gross domestic product - or a 6.8% contraction at an annualised rate - gave the clearest picture yet of the impact of the tax hike and has thrown into question plans for another rise next year.

It also underlined an apparently widening gap between the BoJ’s up-

beat view of Japan’s economy and official data.

For the past 20 meetings, the BoJ has held off making any major adjustments to its stimulus unleashed in April 2013, despite growing calls to act in the face of softening data.

Kuroda has given little indication he will soon increase its asset-purchasing stimulus - similar to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing - saying the impact of the sales tax hike has not been as bad as expected.

However, he has pledged to take further action if necessary.

The former Asian Development Bank head was tapped last year by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a key player in Tokyo’s plans to stimulate the laggard economy.

‘Glass half full’

On Thursday, the BoJ pointed to a decline in the real-estate sector and said factory output has “recently shown some weakness” - a term it also applied to exports.

But it also noted that employment and wage growth were “improving steadily”.

“Japan’s economy has continued to recover moderately as a trend, although the subsequent decline in

demand following the front-loaded increase prior to the consumption tax hike has been observed,” it said, echoing earlier statements.

The BoJ added that it expects the negative impact of the rate rise “to wane gradually”.

However, in July it slightly lowered its growth forecast for the current fiscal year to March to 1% from a previous 1.1% estimate. It had been predicting growth of 1.5% in late 2013.

The decision to stand pat again will likely see economists roll back their expectations for further easing in the last quarter of 2014.

“The key question ahead of today’s meeting was how the bank would react to the poor Q2 GDP figures,” Capital Economics said in a note.

“The Board’s glass-half-full rhetoric suggests that the chances of additional easing being announced as early as next month, which had been expected by a number of analysts until recently, have further diminished.

“However, inflation is set to fall short of the Bank’s forecasts by yearend, while the recovery is set to remain sluggish.”

It added that “that a more aggressive pace of purchases may still eventually be required”. l

MasterCard has recently announced the winners of its first “Spend & Win” campaign called “Char Chakka Hoi Hoi”. Abu Taher Ratan was awarded with a new car for winning the contest. Ari Sarker, MasterCard’s division president for South Asia also attended the prize distribution ceremony among others SBAC Bank Ltd has recently signed an agreement with Jamuna Bank Limited (JBL) for disbursement of foreign remittance as an associate bank. The managing director and CEO of JBL, Shafiqul Alam and Md Rafiqul Islam, managing director and CEO of SBAC Bank signed the agreement

MediaVest starts its journey in Bangladesh n Tribune Business Desk

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Bangladesh has recently distributed gifts to the children under the care of ActionAid Bangladesh

First Security Islami Bank Ltd has recently opened a collection booth and an ATM booth at HM Samorita Medical College and Hospital. The bank’s chairperson, Alhaj Mockbul Hossain was present at the inaugural ceremony

MediaVest, a media agency has recently started its journey in Bangladesh. The media agency has marked its arrival by holding a ceremony at a city hotel in Dhaka recently. The media agency has previously obtained the responsibility

of media management services for Grameenphone.

MediaVest, founded in 1959, is a media specialist agency relating to advertising media selection services. MediaVest is based in New York City, with additional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. l

B4

Back Page

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Friday, September 5, 2014

Swiss economy most competitive once again; EU, US, Japan improve

LVMH, Google unite against fake online luxury goods

n Reuters, Geneva

n AFP, Paris

The European Union is becoming more competitive but Switzerland, Singapore and the United States are the three economies to beat, an annual survey by the World Economic Forum said on Wednesday.

The Global Competitiveness Report published by the Geneva-based body, which is most famous for gathering politicians and billionaires for an annual exchange of views at the Alpine resort of Davos, showed the same 10 countries filling the top 10 spots for at least the third year running.

Switzerland’s slick efficiency, innovation and macroeconomic stability kept it on top for a sixth year in a row, although it was marked down for the difficulty of finding qualified workers.

“A potential threat to Switzerland’s competitive edge might be the increasing difficulties faced by businesses and research institutions in finding the talent they need to preserve their outstanding capacity to innovate,” the report said.

The United States muscled into third place ahead of Finland and Germany, while Japan leapfrogged Hong Kong and the Netherlands to take sixth spot.

EU states such as Romania, Portugal and Latvia were among those rising up the ranks of competitiveness. Greece, which is still bringing up the rear for the EU, in 81st place globally, jumped 10 places up the rankings from 91st last year. Greece was helped by improvements in its goods and labour markets and a sharply reduced budget deficit, which improved the outlook despite still very high levels of government debt.

“All this suggests that the implemented reforms are starting to pay off,” the report said.

China climbed one rank to 28th,

French luxury products group LVMH and Internet search engine Google have agreed to work together to fight the sale of counterfeit goods online, the two firms said yesterday.

The agreement ends nearly 10 years of litigation over complaints by LVMH - owner of top luxury labels in everything from champagne to luggage - that the Google Adwords key words service helped counterfeiters sell their products on the back of LVMH brands.

LVMH is a leading group in the growing, global market for luxury products, but faces the mounting problem of copycat products sold at huge discounts.

The companies said in a joint statement that they would work together “to develop new ways of engaging con-

Yahoo adds ‘Style’ to digital magazine line-up A Swiss flag is pictured on a building in Geneva Russia jumped 11 to 53rd spot, while India slid 11 to 71st and became the least competitive BRIC economy, 14 places behind Brazil. Bottom-ranked this year was Guinea, lately in the news for being the source of the world’s most deadly Ebola outbreak.

The Forum bases its assessment on a dozen drivers of competitiveness, including institutions, infrastructure, health and education, market size and the macroeconomic environment. The report also factors in a survey among business leaders, assessing govern-

ment efficiency and transparency.

India has been sliding down the rankings since 2009, let down by basic healthcare and education, red tape, high business taxes, poor technology and a rigid labour market.

Russia’s new-found competitive edge was sharpened by improvements to domestic competition and business sophistication that came befornoe the Ukraine conflict.

Reverberations from that conflict - sanctions and the impact on the gas trade, with knock-on effects on public

REUTERS

funding - could blunt it again in the future, the survey said.

A major brake on competitiveness for many advanced economies, including the United States, Japan and many EU countries, was doubt about their macroeconomic environments.

In that category, the United States was ranked 113th worldwide, slightly better than 117th last year. The leaders in macroeconomic stability were Norway and Qatar, both blessed with energy bonanzas that have pushed GDP above $100,000 per head. l

n AFP, San Francisco Yahoo on Wednesday hit the Internet catwalk with a digital fashion magazine dubbed ‘Style.’

The online publication headed by print magazine veteran Joe Zee promised a fresh, sophisticated approach to fashion for people of all kinds.

“I had a mission to create a digital magazine that was a study in contrasts - accessible but aspirational, insider but inclusive,” editor-in-chief Zee said in a blog post.

“For me fashion is storytelling and Yahoo Style is what I hope will be the must-land destination for great and

Draghi under pressure of his own making to deliver ECB stimulus

Gold gains modestly from two- month low

n Reuters, Frankfurt

n Reuters, Singapore

The European Central Bank faces intense market pressure to take policy action later yesterday and risks losing credibility if it fails to back up a dovish message delivered by President Mario Draghi late last month.

Draghi ramped up expectations for the next today ECB meeting when, departing from his speech text, he told the Jackson Hole central bankers’ conference on Aug. 22 that markets had indicated inflation expectations showed “significant declines” in August.

He added that the ECB’s Governing Council would acknowledge these developments and, within its mandate, “use all the available instruments” to deliver price stability over the medium term.

“Draghi has increased expectations that the ECB is preparing to act again,” said Nomura economist Nick Matthews.

“Our reading of his speech is that his deviation (from his text) was important and significant and, we think, intended to signal that some further action was likely the next month.”

Draghi’s problem is the ECB is running out of weapons with which to fight the low inflation - running at just 0.3% - and stagnation gripping the 18-country euro zone. The ECB targets inflation of just under 2% over the medium term.

The one big weapon the ECB retains is quantitative easing (QE) - essentially printing money to buy assets. Though other central banks have used this tool, hawkish members of the ECB’s 24-member policymaking council are resistant.

“The barrier to QE is still very high,” one ECB source told Reuters last week.

Nomura’s Matthews thought that Draghi’s use in Jackson Hole of the term “all instruments”, rather than the “unconventional instruments” he referenced in the original text of the speech, put an interest rate cut on the table.

However, a Reuters poll pointed to no change in rates, which are already at record lows.

Gold inched up yesterday on technical and physical buying interest in Asia, but prices continued to hover near a 2-1/2 month low as brighter prospects for the U.S. economy and the dollar dimmed the metal’s appeal.

Investors were waiting for a European Central Bank meeting later in the day to see whether it will deliver a fresh round of policy stimulus, and its impact on the euro and the dollar.

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,270.10 an ounce by 0643 GMT. The metal fell to a low of $1,261.19 on Wednesday, its weakest since mid-June, before closing with a small gain.

“There is some technical buying after gold prices failed to retain losses below $1,265,” said a precious metals trader in Hong Kong. “We can see some fresh buying interest in the $1,260$1,270 range. Physical buying from Asia is also supporting.” Gold, seen as an alternative investment during times of geopolitical and financial uncertainties, has gained about 5% this year amid tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

But bullion investors continue to worry over strong US economic data and its impact on the dollar.

In recent days, a string of encouraging US economic data, along with a sell-off in the euro and the yen, has boosted the

DILBERT

sumers online whilst preserving the value of trusted brands and enhancing creativity...”

They said they would use their considerable resources “to tackle the advertising and sale of counterfeit goods online”.

For Google, the head of the business in southern and eastern Europe, Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, said: “We are very happy to reach this agreement with LVMH and to work together to tackle the advertising of counterfeit goods online and preserve the value of trusted brands.”

LVMH vice president Pierre Gode said the deal meant that “brands will be protected both online and offline”.

Google was found guilty in a French court in 2005 of counterfeit activities, unfair competition and providing misleading advertising. l

European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi speaks during the bank's monthly news conference in Frankfurt REUTERS

Limited options

Another policy option the ECB has flagged without yet launching is a programme to purchase asset-backed securities (ABS), with a view to stimulating this market and offering smaller businesses an alternative source of funding.

“It’s difficult to imagine the ECB turning up yesterday and doing very little,” said ABN Amro analyst Nick Kounis. “I think the ABS purchase programme is the absolute minimum.”

Draghi said in Jackson Hole the ECB’s preparations for an ABS purchase programme were “fast moving forward and we expect that it should contribute to further credit easing.”

The ECB has already committed to new bank funding plan, with the first so-called TLTRO operation set for Sept.

18, which it believes will help stimulate the economy. It may want to see how that plays out before taking any further action.

“The likely uptake from periphery banks in particular will be fairly aggressive we think,” said Owen Murfin, fund manager with BlackRock’s global bonds team.

As well as hinting at further ECB

policy action, Draghi used his Jackson Hole speech to urge governments to use fiscal policy and structural reforms to support the euro zone economy.

Many observers focused on Draghi’s comment that there was scope for governments to use fiscal policies to help growth as the main message of the speech.

ECB Executive Board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger disputed that reading on Wednesday, calling the focus on more growth-friendly government spending “a very one-sided” interpretation.

In remarks suggesting she would resist further significant ECB stimulus, Lautenschlaeger, a German, added: “For me the main message was that structural reforms are the most important tool to solve the problems that we currently have.”

Loose ECB policy is regarded with scepticism by many in Germany. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said last week that monetary policy has run out of tools.

Top bankers also expressed scepticism at a banking conference in Frankfurt on Wednesday: “The equation that ECB money means time is not valid anymore,” said Georg Fahrenschon, president of Germany’s Sparkassen savings banks association.

“The more time the ECB buys the more it exposes itself to growing political expectations,” he added.

Deutsche Bank Co-CEO Anshu Jain said his group was grateful for the steps the ECB has taken, but added: “We are getting to the point where much more wouldn’t make that big a difference.” l

dollar. A stronger greenback hurts dollardenominated gold as it makes the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies. SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund and a good measure of investor sentiment, said its holdings fell 2.69 tonnes to 790.51 tonnes on Wednesday.

US nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday will be closely watched for further clues about the economy and the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus. Yesterday, all eyes will be on the ECB policy meet. The ECB is under strong pressure to tackle stubbornly low inflation at a time when the conflict in Ukraine threatens to destabilise the region’s fragile recovery.

The euro on Wednesday recovered modestly from one-year lows against the dollar, but traders said euro bears were just taking a breather ahead of the ECB meet. Any further weakening of the euro would hurt gold.

“The ECB meeting is more likely to be gold-bearish than gold-bullish,” HSBC analysts said in a note. “Gold is likely to be more influenced by US unemployment data due at the end of the week and the general direction of the dollar.”

Among other precious metals, platinum and palladium - used in auto manufacturing - gained as US August auto sales were the highest for that month in more than a decade. l

stylish storytelling.”

The publication’s debut was accompanied by the launches of a “Fashion Bites” video series in which “tastemakers” banter about tips, tricks and secrets and the video series “Unbuttoned,” billed as candid round table talk about fashion industry truths.

Yahoo.com/style will stream live commentary and interviews on September 9 to spotlight New York Fashion Week, according to Zee. Silicon Valley-based Yahoo early this year dove deeper into being an Internet Age media company, with the introduction of online magazines focused on technology and food. l

Hollande, Draghi agree on threat from low growth, low inflation n Reuters, Paris French President Francois Hollande and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi agreed on Monday that low inflation and weak growth were threatening the European Union’s economy, an official in the president’s office said.

Draghi called last week for greater emphasis on fiscal stimulus over austerity - comments that irritated German leaders but were welcomed in France because they hinted at a shift away from a current emphasis on budgetary austerity.

“I think the diagnosis is a shared one,” an advisor to Hollande told reporters after an hour-long meeting between the Socialist president and Draghi at the Elysee presidential palace.

The two men shared the view that weak growth and dangerously low inflation in the European Union were problems that needed to be addressed, the advisor added.

“We need to work together on demand in Europe,” he said.

France has been singled out as a laggard in an otherwise tepid European recovery due to its weak growth rate, record-high unemployment rate and repeated delays in bringing its public deficit below EU targets. l

A woman tries out the Samsung Gear, a virtual reality simulator that uses the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for a screen at a media launch event on September 3, 2014 in New York City. The Note 4 features a 5.7-inch screen AFP