21 Sep, 2014

Ashwin 6, 1421 Zilqad 25, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 170

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages | Price: Tk12

B1 | BUSINESS

9 | WORLD

11 | OP-ED

14 | SPORT

FARMING BEGINS FOR BACTERIAFREE EXPORT VEGETABLES

MAN MAKING BILL GATES SO RICH

A REQUIRED ABOUT-TURN

ARSENAL’S QUICKFIRE TREBLE STUNS VILLA

JMB sought military skills from Maj Zia Leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team in a meeting at Kashimpur jail agreed to cooperate with each other

n Mohammad Jamil Khan As conspiracies of militant outfits Jamaat’ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team continue to unfold, intelligence agencies have found a strong hint which suggests that religious extremists in the country are receiving expertise from a fugitive army officer, Maj Zia, in reorganising, planning and conducting anti-state activities.

The sensational information was unearthed on the first day of police interrogation of seven JMB members including its acting chief Abdullah Al Tasnim, who were arrested from Ashulia early Friday.

Maj Zia remained fugitive since 2012 Intelligence sources say a high-level meeting between the JMB and the Ansarullah was held at Kashimpur high security jail three months back where both outfits agreed to share resources to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic State in Bangladesh.

“The meeting was held between JMB chief Saidur Rahman and Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Mufti Jashim Uddin Rahmania at Kashimpur high security jail some three months back where they pledged to work together,” a high official of the Detective Branch of Police told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The official claimed that the JMB’s actual plan was to include Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque alias fugitive Maj Zia with their operations, who is believed to be acting chief of Ansarullah Team from behind the curtains. It also wanted to use the charisma of Rahmania as a spiritual leader to boost the moral of the JMB operatives.

“The militants wanted to make sure that the name of Maj Zia will never surface so that he can manage the activities of the outfit from the background.

As Rahmania was a spiritual Islamic leader, the militants tried to use his charisma to attract people in favour of their activities,” the official added.

In 2012, the Bangladesh Army in a press conference unveiled that a retired Lt Colonel and his accomplice Maj Zia, then a serving officer on leave, had instigated some other army officers with fanatic religious views to engage in activities subversive of the state and democracy. It also said the duo also tried to reach several non-residential Bangladeshis to force a military coup in the country.

Maj Zia remained fugitive since the incident and had been trying to continue “subversive” activities against the army, the press statement added.

According to intelligence sources, the JMB also believed that the inclusion of Maj Zia to their outfit would help encourage its activists who were detached from the outfit due to various reasons.

Some intelligence reports suggest that Maj Zia had been hiding somewhere between Chittagong and Bandarban, while several other reports claim that he was now in Pakistan.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

BCSIR students swoop on some students of Willes Little Flower School yesterday as they came out of a programme organised by Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education at Bangabandhu National Stadium. The photo was taken from in front of Baitul Mukarram. More photos on Page 3 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Partner threatens to leave BNP-led 20-party alliance on condition n Abu Hayat Mahmud National Democratic Party (NDP), a component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, yesterday issued a 72-hour ultimatum for BNP chief Khaleda Zia on a five point demand including greater practice of democracy within the alliance.

The ultimatum comes at a time when there are allegations from BNP that the ruling Awami League has been trying to create a rift in the alliance by luring some of the partners to break away.

From a press conference at a city hotel yesterday morning, Alamgir Ma-

jumdar, acting chairman of one of the factions of NDP, issued the ultimatum.

“The alliance leaders [Khaleda Zia] must make her stance clear about India. Many decisions are being made without consulting the alliance members. There is no real political programme that reflect people’s needs and aspirations. There must also be better scope of practicing democracy within the alliance. The BNP must also make its stance clear about religion-based politics,” Alamgir said.

He also warned that they would leave the 20-party cartel and form a new

alliance if their demands were not met.

Later in the day, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called an emergency meeting with the secretaries general of all the alliance members at the Nayapaltan office.

Emerging from the meeting, Fakrul claimed that there had been no misunderstanding among the allies.

Although the Alamgir Majumdar-led faction of NDP did not have any representation in that meeting, Khandakar Golam Mortuza, leader of another faction of the party, was present there.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Turkey secures release of hostages Dhaka and Delhi agree held by Islamic State over 3 months on border fencing n Reuters

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Turkish intelligence agents brought 46 hostages seized by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq back to Turkey on Saturday after more than three months in captivity, in what President Tayyip Erdogan described as a covert rescue operation.

Security sources told Reuters the hostages had been released overnight in the town of Tel Abyad on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey after being transferred from the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa, Islamic State’s stronghold. Officials declined to give details of the rescue operation.

The hostages, who included Turkey’s consul-general, diplomats’ children and special forces soldiers, were seized from the Turkish consulate in Mosul on June 11 during a lightning advance by the Sunni insurgents.

Bangladesh, for the first time, has agreed with India for early completion of fencing along the Indo-Bangla border.

“They [Bangladesh and India] have also agreed on the need for early completion of fencing of the remaining vulnerable patches along the border,” said a joint statement after foreign minister level talks between the two countries in New Delhi yesterday.

Fencing between Bangladesh and India border, which is about 4,100 kilometres long, is the largest in the world.

India’s parliament approved construction of the border fence in 1986 and the construction began in 1989. Since 2000, Indian troops shot and killed nearly 1,000 people along the border.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Thursday went to New Delhi along with a high-profile delegation comprising seven secretaries at the invita-

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

An employee at Turkey’s consulate in Mosul is welcomed by her relatives at Esenboga airport in Ankara yesterday REUTERS

INSIDE 3 | News

Since April 2012, when the High Court had given RAB the task to investigate the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, the elite force has repeatedly sought more time to complete the probe citing different reasons.

4 | News

One out of the 95,319 patients admitted in 2013 died every hour at the country’s biggest public healthcare facility, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

5 | News

The female students of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) are facing an acute

crisis of accommodation as around 2,500 students are currently residing in its three female dormitories with the capacity 1,401.

6 | Nation

Officials and employees are hardly eager for renting government staff quarters as they are pricey, forcing the authorities to keep 70% of the quarters in an abandoned state verging on ruin in Natore district town for long.

8 | World

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown told British leaders yesterday that they must honour their promise to grant further powers to Scotland.

12 | Entertainment

Singer Syed Abdul Hadi was honoured at a reception programme on Friday, as a tribute to his illustrious career that helped shape the modern-day music industry of Bangladesh.

13 | Sport

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim held the overall team performance responsible for yet another demoralising series in 2014. The Tigers returned home from West Indies yesterday after getting beaten in all the ODI and Test series, while the only Twenty20 was washed out, and despite the result the wicketkeeper-batsman opined against big hauls in the side.

tion of his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and had a series of meetings with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior ministers.

Mahmood appreciated the measures taken by India to bring down the number of loss of lives at the border.

“Both sides agreed that the number should come down to zero,” the statement said.

About the Land Boundary Agreement, the minister noted that the ratification process following the signing of the protocol to the Land Boundary Agreement 1974 was underway.

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

Sushma expressed India’s appreciation for the cooperation extended by Bangladesh in security related matters, and welcomed Bangladesh’s  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

AL again initiates to reorganise party n Emran Hossain Shaikh The ruling Awami League has taken fresh initiatives to hold councils at its grassroots-level units including the districts though it had failed to do so since 2009.

Party President Sheikh Hasina yesterday declared formation of seven different teams to coordinate the long-due conferences of grassroots units with a view to strengthen the organisation.

Addressing a joint meeting of the party’s Working Committee along with the Advisory Council at her official residence Ganabhaban, the Prime Minister told her party colleagues to bring pace in organisational activities by holding the councils.

“Organisation is the key and it has to be well-organised,” she said stressing that new leadership should be nurtured.

“The seven teams will visit the districts for holding council sessions properly. They will have to solve the organisational problems to strengthen the party,” Hasina said.

According to party sources, Awami League took initiatives at least five times to complete all the grassroots-level councils including the district units after the party’s 18th central council – held in July 2009. However, the efforts failed due to internal feud in the party’s local units and inertia  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Pedestrians run for cover as Chhatra Shibir activists bring out a brisk procession in Rayerbagh area of Jatrabari in the capital yesterday in support of today’s Jamaat-sponsored hartal

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

China for giving BCIM an institutional shape

Private university passed lawyers’ quality questioned n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman China hopes that four member counn Tribune Report tries will agree to sign a framework Lawyer leaders from all over the country yesterday put a question mark over the quality of those who are being enrolled as lawyers after deceptively securing certificate from private universities.

They called into question the attitude of young judges who are being appointed under the judicial service commission.

They also criticised the latest amendment to the constitution, which has authorised the parliament to impeach judges on charges of misbehaviour and incapacity.

The views came up at a meeting held at the auditorium of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Bangladesh Bar Council organised the meeting over the existing situation in judiciary and the passage of 16th amendment bill to the constitution. Either presidents or secretaries of 35 bar associations of the country attended the meeting.

Shariful Islam, general secretary of Comilla Bar Association said: “Several private universities are providing law certificates by forging results. As a result, less-quality people are entering this profession. He urged the leaders to take steps against this.”

Nurunnobi, general secretary of Bhola Bar Association said: “Young judges are enrolling themselves without proper training. They do not know how to behave with the lawyers. At least two years training should be given to the newly appointed judges to do their job with dignity.” l

agreement in the second study group meeting to give the BCIM EC an institutional shape.

“We hope this meeting can work on the consensus of signing a BCIM framework agreement by the end of 2014 or early 2015 which will give formal institutional shape to BCIM Economic Corridor,” said QU Guangzhou, charge d’ affaires of the Chinese embassy, at a seminar yesterday.

The Centre for East Asia Foundation organised the seminar on BCIM EC and

Maritime Silk Route at a city hotel.

Bangladesh will host the second study group meeting in November in Cox’s Bazar.

Guangzhou said in a short-term, the priority should be focused on mechanism building and in a mid-term, early harvests should be achieved to bring visible benefits to four countries as soon as possible.

In a long-term, comprehensive and sustainable development should be the ultimate goal, he said. “The BCIM-EC is a long-term systematic project that cannot be completed overnight.”

Priority areas and early-harvest projects may include infrastructural

of some leaders responsible to address the conflicts.

The sources say after assuming office, many party leaders and activists from grassroots to central unit have been involved in activities to gain personally, rather than making the party stronger.

A secretary of Khulna division wishing anonymity said: “Despite the fact that we are in power, the party is weakening day by day. Now we have no intention to strengthen the organisation as we are busy to meet our own demands.”

According to the party charter, the council at every level should be held every three years, but there are numerous grassroots units including districts which did not see councils in two decades.

A big portion of the party leaders blamed the general secretary, Syed Ashraful Islam, for the failure to hold the grassroots councils. Terming Ashraf

Family members rushed to the steps of the plane which brought the freed captives to the Turkish capital Ankara from the southern city of Sanliurfa, where they had earlier been welcomed

by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Groups of supporters waved Turkish flags as Davutoglu hugged the consul-general and members of the diplomats’ families before addressing the crowd from the roof of a bus, saying the authorities had worked tirelessly for the hostages’ release.

“I thank the prime minister and his colleagues for the pre-planned, carefully calculated and secretly-conducted operation throughout the night,” Erdogan said in a statement.

“MIT (the Turkish intelligence agency) has followed the situation very sensitively and patiently since the beginning and, as a result, conducted a successful rescue operation.”

Speaking to reporters earlier in Azer-

for Bangladesh.

He urged the member countries to work together for setting up the economic corridor.

BCIM EC, an initiative under track II diplomacy, elevated to track I when China and India in May last year publicly announced using the framework to boost connectivity in the region and it was welcomed by Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque at a review seminar last week said Bangladesh would emphasise on creating regional public goods so that it has direct impact on the well-being of the people in the region. l

JMB sought military skills

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assurance that its soil would not be allowed to be used for terrorism against any country, particularly India.

Mahmood before his departure for New Delhi told reporters that he would seek an assurance from India that its soil would not be used against Bangladesh. But such an issue was not included in the 36-point joint statement.

The issue got prominence when Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said an Indian politician was accused of funding Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to create instability in Bangladesh.

About Teesta water sharing agreement, both the ministers reiterated their commitment to finalisation of the interim agreement for sharing of the waters of the Teesta and Feni rivers.

Bangladesh and India were sched-

uled to sign Teesta agreement in 2011, but it was not possible due to strong opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Indian side reiterated its earlier commitment that it would not take any unilateral decision on the Himalayan component of the proposed river Interlinking project which might adversely affect Bangladesh.

“The two sides also agreed on the expeditious holding of the 3rd meeting of the subgroup of JRC on Tipaimukh hydroelectric project and further exchange of data of the ongoing study,” the statement said.

The two sides agreed on the need to promote balanced bilateral trade and address para-tariff and non-tariff barriers.

“The Bangladesh side handed over a list of barriers to trade being faced by

a proficient politician, they think that had the secretary given more attention to the party activities, most of the local councils would have been completed.

Motiur Rahman, president of Sunamganj district unit Awami League, said they were ready to hold the council but did not see any initiative from the central committee.

“Initiatives were taken three times to hold the council when [late] Abdul Jalil was the party’s general secretary.

But all efforts were in vain due to internal conflicts of Abdus Samad Azad [former Presidium member] and Suranjit Sengupta [Advisory Council member],” Motiur told the Dhaka Tribune.

He claimed that not a single initiative was taken after Ashraf had taken chair as the party’s general secretary.

“He is a good man, his political decision is also unique but he does not move for the party,” Motiur said adding that the last district council had taken

place in 1997.

On May 14 this year, the Awami League Working Committee assigned Ashraf, also the LGRD minister, to finalise a roadmap to hold the district councils after discussions with the party’s divisional organising secretaries and joint secretaries.

Ashraf announced dates to hold councils in eight district units along with his own district Kishoreganj by July this year. But only the council to Munshiganj district unit has been held so far.

A senior leader of Kishoreganj district unit told the Dhaka Tribune that they heard about holding the council but were yet to take any preparation.

“We have ended councils in a number of upazilas, unions and ward units as preparation for holding the district unit council,” the leader said.

The last council of Kishoreganj was held in 1998 and it secretary Shamsul Haque died in 1999. On becoming the

Bangladesh to India.”

India welcomed the decision of Bangladesh to allocate land for a special economic zone for India and extend necessary cooperation to interested Indian entrepreneurs to invest in it, the statement said.

“The two sides looked forward to visits of the president of Bangladesh to India, the prime minister of Bangladesh to India and the prime minister of India to Bangladesh,” the statement said.

They agreed that in order to maintain the momentum of relations, it was necessary for senior officials to meet regularly.

“It was decided that bilateral meetings of the power, commerce and shipping secretaries would be held at an early date,” the statement said. l

speaker of parliament in 2009, Abdul Hamid left his position as its president.

After failing to hold the councils in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Awami League in December 2012 conducted its 19th central council, and within that time, the councils to only 12 out of 73 district units were held. At that time, more than half of upazilas, municipalities, unions and ward councils were due.

Party’s Joint Secretary Mahbub Ul Alam Hanif admitted that they could not hold the councils in keeping with the party charter. “Holding councils is a long process. As a democratic party, we need to follow all the due procedures.

“As we are in power, we could not give more attention for the party,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. “To some aspect, it is true that we were not able to hold the councils due to internal conflicts. But we hope to hold the district unit councils by December next year,” he added. l

Turkey secures release of hostages held by Islamic State  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

and $20 billion concessional loans to South Asian countries in next five years, which would bring new vigour and vitality into the development of BCIM-EC, the Chinese official said.

Myanmar Ambassador U Myo Myint Than said his country was taking an interest in the emergence of BCIM-EC. “Myanmar also expects to reap economic benefits in the flow of trade between our neighbours,” he said.

Myanmar is cooperating with other member countries to work on the concept of BCIM-EC, he said.

Gowher Rizvi, international affairs adviser to the prime minister, said setting up the BCIM EC was a high priority

Dhaka, Delhi agree on border fencing

Awami League again initiates to reorganise party  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

connectivity, trade and investment facilitation, industrial cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, he added.

As transportation and energy are posing considerable obstacles to closer regional cooperation, some mega projects on connectivity and power should be put on fast-track, the Chinese envoy said.

China has invited Asian countries to join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and most of them have indicated their readiness to join.

Chinese President Xi Jinping two days back announced that Beijing would provide $30 billion investment

baijan before cutting short an official visit, Davutoglu declined to give details on the circumstances of the hostages’ release, saying only that it was carried out “through MIT’s own methods”.

Turkish officials had repeatedly said efforts were underway to secure their freedom and that the hostages were in good health but had declined to comment further.

Three non-Turkish civilians who were taken in the same attack were also released in the operation on Saturday, a foreign ministry official said.

Independent broadcaster NTV said Turkey did not pay a ransom and that no other country was involved. There were no clashes with Islamic State militants during the operation, it said.

Without naming its sources, it said MIT had tracked the hostages as they were moved to eight different locations during their 101 days in captivity.

HAMSTRUNG Their capture had left Turkey, a

member of the NATO military alliance and a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, hamstrung in its response to the Sunni insurgents, who have carved out a self-proclaimed caliphate in parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq, just over the Turkish border.

The rapid and brutal advance of Islamic State, bent on establishing a hub of jihadism in the center of the Arab world and on Turkey’s southern fringe, has alarmed Ankara and its Western allies, forcing them to step up intelligence sharing and to tighten security cooperation.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Saturday tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds had crossed into Turkey over the past day after Islamic State seized dozens of villages close to the border.

The United States is drawing up plans for military action in Syria against Islamic State fighters, but Turkey had made clear it did not want to

take a frontline role, partly because of fears for the fate of the hostages.

The militants have beheaded two U.S. journalists and one British aid worker, using the tactic to put pressure on Western governments after U.S. air strikes helped halt Islamic State’s advances.

British and U.S. officials have said in recent weeks that their nationals had been killed by Islamic State militants in part because other countries were paying ransom money.

France was able to secure from Islamic State the release of four of its nationals in Syria earlier this year, after what President Francois Hollande said was help from other countries.

Hollande reaffirmed on Thursday that Paris did not pay ransoms or exchange prisoners for the release of its citizens who are held hostage overseas.

Officials will not divulge the number or nationality of hostages taken in Syria for fear of putting their lives at risk. l

It was learnt that banned outfit JMB had been following the operations format of international militant outfit Islamic State (IS) while Ansarullah Team follows al-Qaeda. Even Ansarullah Team followers, in their latest display of showing support for al-Qaeda, uploaded the Bangla version of al-Qaeda chief leader Ayman al Zawahiri’s video message on their website where he mentioned Bangladesh as a part of their target.

In last year, Ansarullah successfully managed to gain grounds as the law enforcers were busy tracking and cracking other militant outfits in the country including the JMB. Intelligence sources said Ansarullah now receives full support from al-Qaeda while several of its activists received training from the international terror group in conducting destructive and violent activities.

Ansarullah mainly started their activities with support of Ezaz Ahmed, a Bangladeshi descendent in Pakistan with close ties to al-Qaeda, while Maj Zia had been working as the planner and decision maker of the outfit, intelligence officials said.

It is learnt that all instructions and decision of Ansarullah have been given from Pakistan.

Besides, JMB chief Saidur’s eldest daughter Nasrin Akhter and her husband Javed Akhter, who are now reportedly staying in Korachi of Pakistan, have been

providing continuous support to the existing JMB members. Nasrin reportedly visited Bangladesh three years back to coordinate the total activities of the outfit after her father was arrested on May 25, 2010 in the capital’s Jurain area.

At the same time, other notable JMB leaders, including condemned convicts Salahuddin Salehin and Jahidul Islam alias “Boma Mizan,” who are reportedly staying in Bashirhat of West Bengal in India, have been in close contact with the JMB leaders and activists in the country.

Another DB official, who was involved in the interrogation, said the JMB also planned to recruit members from public and private universities to make their operations more technologically-sound and harder for the law enforcers to detect.

Initially, two universities were chosen for recruiting members – Dhaka University and North South University. Two arrested university students involved with the JMB were reportedly given the charge of recruiting new members for the outfit.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said: “We have unearthed some common grounds for Ansarullah Bangla Team and JMB members to work together.

The JMB members wanted to snatch Ansarullah chief Rahmania in a bid to boost the spirit of its operatives and reorganise their militant activities.” l

Partner threatens to leave  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Alamgir Majumdar has recently promoted himself to the post of acting chairman of NDP claiming to have removed Khandakar Golam Mortuza, the chairman of NDP. During yesterday’s press conference, Alamgir said: “As per decisions made in the meetings of the party’s presidium council on September 12 and executive committee on September 19, he [Motuza] was relieved of all his duties. The step was taken because of his activities that conflicted with the party’s ideologies and democratic values.”

Seeking anonymity, a leader of the alliance told the Dhaka Tribune that the ruling party had contacted some of the frustrated partners of the 20-party combine. “Those partners are now thinking about leaving the alliance,” he said.

Another leader of the combine said around four to five partners, who were mainly Islamist parties, had already decided to leave the alliance to form a new cartel of their own.

“We have not got any benefit from the BNP-led alliance in last three years.

The government is now fully settled in power. The alliance’s movement has also stopped. Most of the programmes called in the name of the alliance were actually meant for benefitting the BNP. That is why we will leave the alliance and form a new combine immediately,” the leader said.

Such breakaways are not new for the

BNP-led alliance. On August 24, a faction of the National People’s Party, led by its chairman Sheikh Shawkat Hossain Nilu, left the alliance. After the January national election, National Awami Party-Bhashani (NAP), broke away from the combine.

Some leaders from those two parties were present at yesterday’s briefing. Moreover, Sekander Ali Moni and A Rashid Prodhan, chiefs of alliance partners Bangladesh Islamic Party and Labour Party respectively, were also present at the presser.

There are rumours that A Rashid Prodhan has also been thinking about breaking away from the alliance. The BNP-Jamaat-led alliance that used to comprise four parties, turned into an 18-party unit in April 2012. Later, it expanded to 20 parties after factions of the Jatiya Party and Samyabadi Dal joined in.

When contacted, BNP Standing Committee Member Lt Gen (retd) M Mahbubur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that Mirza Fakhrul had already discussed issues with the leaders of the alliance partners. He listened to their proposals and demands and assured them of announcing all future programmes in consultation with them.

The BNP-led 18-party alliance was formally launched on April 18, 2011 at the Diploma Engineers’ Institution in the capital.

Kazi Zafar-led Jatiya Party and a faction of Samyabadi Dal made the 18-party a 20-party alliance. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Sunday, September 21, 2014

A clash between the students of BCSIR High School and Willes Little Flower School broke out during the 43rd Bangladesh National School and Madrasa Summer Sports Competition, organised by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education at Bangabandhu National Stadium. The altercation broke out over a trifle matter while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was entering the venue to hand out the prizes to the winners. At the end of the sporting event, which was supposed to forge and nurture camaraderie among the youngsters, BCSIR students swooped on the students of Willes Little Flower School with sharp objects and injured 4-5 students. The photos were taken from in front of Baitul Mukarram yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

SAGAR-RUNI MURDER

RAB gets more time to analyse DNA report n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Since April 2012, when the High Court had given RAB the task to investigate the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, the elite force has repeatedly sought more time to complete the probe citing different reasons.

Earlier, RAB told the media that the submission of the charge sheet had been delayed as they were yet to get the DNA report. Though they have got the report from the USA recently, now RAB says they need more time to analyse it considering sensitivity of the case.

Very recently, a Dhaka court has given the RAB time until November 2 to submit the probe report.

Sagar Sarowar, news editor at

Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were killed at their rented flat in the capital’s West Rajabazar on February 11, 2012.

While investigating the case, the Detective Branch of Police detained four suspects and interrogated around 40 people. As they failed to make any progress, the High Court in April 2012 handed the case over to RAB. Earlier, a Dhaka court fixed September 18 to submit the charge sheet but Investigation Officer Md Wares Ali Miah, also an assistant superintendent of police, failed to turn in the charge sheet on that day. He submitted a progress report instead and sought more time.

The report says: “RAB sent different types of samples to the USA for DNA

Two hospital staff held over death of woman after childbirth n Tribune Report Police detained two officials of a private hospital from the capital’s Jatrabari yesterday following the death of a woman after child birth.

The family members of the deceased alleged that the woman died on Friday night due to negligence in treatment.

Officer in-Charge of Jatrabari police station Oboni Sangkar Kar denied to disclose the names of the arrestees and their designation as no case was filed in this connection till filing of this report.

“Once the case is filed, we will let you know their names. The arrsted officials are also two of the owners of the hospital.” he said.

However, a police official, on assurance of anonymity, said the arresstees were known as Liton and Ripon.

The deceased, Tahmina Akhter, 20, was admitted at Al Madina Hospital in labor on Thursday night. Doctors conducted a surgery on Friday morning and a baby girl was born. Tahmina died around 12 that night.

Residential surgeon of National Hospital, Asma Jesmin conducted the surgery on contractual basis at Al Madina Hospital, said Ismail Hossain, husband of Tahmina.

“She conducted the surgery in a hurry and while leaving the hospital told us that my wife was alright. But when we went to see her in the afternoon, we found her suffering from unusual pain.

We requested the hospital authority to immediately call that doctor for a check up. But the doctor was then at Savar, attending a wedding reception.”

“The nurses and staffs of the hospital seemed really tensed and two of them told me that the surgeon had done something seriously wrong during the surgery causing the unbearable pain. Tahmina was bleeding profusely.” he said.

The surgeon came to the hospital around 12am and advised the family to take Tahmina to a clinic at Lalmatia for better treatment.

“We were suspecting that Tahmina was already dead. So, we took her to a doctor at Islamia Hospital at Kakrial on to the way to the clinic suggested.”

The doctors at Islamia Hospital confirmed that Tahmina had died three to four hours ago.

Upon verbal complaint, Jatrabari police recovered the body from the hospital and sent it to Sir Salimullah Medical College for autopsy.

Ismail said their newly born child was doing fine. She was with his mother-in-law. l

tests in a bid to unveil the clues and motives behind the twin murders. RAB got the DNA test report recently and is now analysing the results.”

He, however, did not mention the specific date of getting the results.

Asked about delay in the investigation, Wares Ali, also assistant director of investigation and forensic wing of RAB, denied making any comment without consent of the force’s media wing.

He only said they were conducting the investigation carefully upon directives from the higher authorities of RAB. In response, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Kumar Dey ordered the investigator to record statements of the couple’s only son Mahir Sarowar Megh and Runi’s mother and brother,

and scrutinise mobile phone records of the two guards who were working at the couple’s residence at the time of the incident.

He also sought the final probe report by November 2.

The court also said RAB could again interrogate accused night guards Palash and Anamul alias Humayun upon getting permission of the court, if it was necessary.

The IO could also seek information or evidence from journalists of different media and their leaders for the interest of proper investigation.

According to the progress report, in the autopsy report of Sagar, Dr Sohel Mahmud of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said the cause of death was haemorrhage and shock resulting from injures which were ante

mortem and homicidal in nature.

About the autopsy report of Runi, Dr Mahmud said: “No sign of forceful sexual intercourse was found on the deceased.”

On April 26, 2012, the remains of Sagar and Runi were exhumed from Azimpur Graveyard and taken to the DMCH morgue for viscera test.

The test report prepared on May 29, 2012 said they found no sedative, poison or any chemical used in killing the duo.

Contacted on Friday, Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of Media and Legal Wing of RAB, said: “It is one of the sensational murder cases and we are conducting the investigation carefully.”

He refused to give further information for the sake of proper investigation. l

Visiting Indian artistes to be under NBR scanner n Asif Showkat Kallol The National Board of Revenue will keep an eye on Indian artistes, who will be performing on Bangladeshi TV channels during Eid-ul-Azha, as well as entertainment firms organising the tours for possible income tax evasion, sources said.

Reports from the NBR and the national intelligence agency revealed that the organisers barely submit permission letters and accurate earning statements of the Indian artistes to the board, an act that is depriving the board of huge revenue.

A Finance Ministry official said the NBR rejected the Cultural Affairs Ministry’s proposal for imposing a maximum of Tk3,50,000 in tax on a visiting Indian artiste who comes with a 10-member group.

The Cultural Affairs Ministry’s proposal also said tax revenues would go up if the government reduced the rate of tax on what the Indian artistes would make from their performance.

In a recent letter, the NBR sought the Finance Ministry’s consent to arrange an inter-ministerial meeting at the ministry to be presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith. The letter read that the Cultural Affairs Ministry’s proposal to set tax was irrational and illogical.

The NBR usually sets a 30% tax

on earnings of any visiting artiste, especially singers. The airfare and living expenses of the performers are deducted from their earnings when NBR officials determine the tax.

NBR rejected the Cultural Affairs Ministry’s proposal for imposing a maximum of Tk3,50,000 in tax on a visiting Indian artiste who comes with a 10-member group The letter, sent by NBR Chairman Md Ghulam Hussain, also sought the finance minister’s consent on imposing tax for appearances on TV shows and open air concerts.

Cultural Affairs Secretary Ranjit Kumar Biswas told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday it was the Finance Ministry’s proposal, not theirs, to re-fix the Tk3.5 lakh limit. “We have taken an initiative to formulate a policy on the visiting artistes, especially those from India.”

“Permission given to Indian artistes to perform in Bangladesh is handled by Cultural, Finance and Home Ministries.

This is why the Cultural Ministry’s sole action will not solve the problems of the NBR,” he said.

According to the NBR letter, a total of 31 musicians and artistes, including Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu and music director Bappi Lahiri, made Tk25,00,000 during their recent visit to Bangladesh.

A couple of years ago, the total income of noted singer Asha Bhosle and her 20-member group amounted to Tk20,00,000 when they came to perform in Bangladesh. Shilpa Rao and another singer with their 13-member group earned Tk8,12,500. Kailash Kher and a Pakistani singer with their 24-member group made Tk15,00,000.

Monali Thakur, Abhijeet Sawant and their 10-member group made Tk4,00,000.

However, intelligence report said Asha Bhosle, Sonu Nigam, Mika Singh, Shreya Ghosal and Sunidhi Chauhan banks nearly Tk25-50 lakh each by performing at a single programme in Bangladesh.

Besides, Shilpa Rao, Alka Yagnik got Tk14-20 lakh, Monali Thakur and Lopamudra Mitra Tk8-10 lakh, and Iman Chakraborty, Saikat Mitra and Anupam Roy Tk4-5 lakh for attending TV programmes and concerts in Bangladesh, according to intelligence report.

Honey Singh, Pritam Chakraborty, Mika Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal make Rs4 lakh to Rs70 lakh for playback in a single Bollywood movie, according to the NBR letter. l

Details of registered doctors go online n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) has published the details of 70,000 registered doctors and dentists on its website.

The names and photos of the doctors, along with their addresses and registration numbers, are now available on www.bmdc.org.bd.

The country has around 76,000 doctors at present, with 69,000 MBBS doctors and 7,000 dentists. The database on the BMDC website, however, contains the details of 70,000 registered doctors, with 66,000 MBBS doctors and 4,000 dentists.

The BMDC, in a circular issued on September 1, urged all registered doctors to mention their registration numbers in the prescriptions, visiting cards and signboards to avoid any sort of legal harassment. The circular said a group of fake doctors were cheating the patients using phoney registration numbers in the recent time.

BMDC Registrar Dr ZH Basunia unveiling the list of registered doctors online said it was aimed at helping people verify the authenticity of the healthcare professionals.

“We have already got positive results of the initiative. Mobile court officials are now able to check the authenticity of doctors in just a few moments,” he added.

Deceivers impersonate real doctors

In the last two months, RAB arrested several people from different parts of the country who had no registration numbers but were practising as genuine doctors.

On April 17, the BMDC issued a circular to all doctors and dentists, directing them not to use any designation or academic attainment that is not recognised by the council.

Unrecognised qualifications

A considerable number of doctors allegedly claim themselves as specialists, and put a range of abbreviations in the nameplates and business cards to signify their medical qualifications.

The widely used abbreviations include PGT, BHS, FCPS, MD (in course), MD (part 1), MD (part 2), MD (thesis), MD (final part) and MS (in course).

Besides, doctors write the names of credentials they received from abroad such as FRCP, FRHS, FICA, FICS, FAMS and FIAGP, which are not recognised by the BMDC. Basunia said this is a practice aimed at deceiving patients, and also a violation of the BMDC rules. This is a punishable offence, he said. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, September 21, 2014

One patient dies every hour at DMCH, road accident a prime cause

Government to complete recruitment of factory inspectors by mid-October

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

n Mohosinul Karim

One out of the 95,319 patients admitted in 2013 died every hour at the country’s biggest public healthcare facility, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

The information was retrieved from the recently published Health Bulletin 2014 of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

According to the bulletin, 8866 patients had died while undergoing treatment at DMCH. More than 50% of total patients died due to transport accident, stroke, fracture and intracranial injury. The number of deaths on these four accounts was 1565, 1284, 890 and 882 respectively.

The percentage of death at DMCH was the highest, 9.3%, among all the public medical college hospitals.

Brigadier General Mustafizur Rahman, director of DMCH told the Dhaka Tribune that among all the public medical college hospitals, DMCH received the

DEATHS AT DMCH (TOTAL 8866) WITH REASONS Reason of Death Transport accident Stroke Fracture Intracranial injury Hypertension Assault by drug, medicaments Septicemia Pneumonia Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Number of Death 1565 1284 890 882 511 456 440 366 282

Death in % 17.65 14.48 10.04 9.95 5.76 5.14 4.96 4.13 3.18

Renal failure

279

3.15

largest chunk of critical patients. Most of the patients were first admitted to other public or private hospitals and later shifted to DMCH at terminal stage. That is why the number of death was higher than other public medical college hospitals.

However, several senior officials of DGHS said, while it was true that DMCH dealt with hundreds of critical patients, the number of deaths could be curtailed if the senior doctors were

more serious.

It is often alleged that in some departments of DMCH, junior doctors provide emergency treatment to critical patients in absence of senior doctors. The juniors are often not in the position to take necessary decisions quickly during urgency, they added.

According to the bulletin, the total number of deaths recorded at 12 public medical college hospitals including

DMCH in 2013 was 43,898.

Among them, 7508 deaths were counted at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, 5185 at Rajshahi, 4318 at Sylhet, 4316 at Rangpur, 3270 at Barisal, 2881 at Bogra, 1955 at Salimullah, 1783 at Faridpur, 1678 at Comilla,1448 at Dinajpur and 690 deaths at Suhrwardy.

Among the hospitals, the reason for highest number of deaths was birth asphyxia 10.8% in Chittagong, intra-ventricular haemorrhage of foetus and newborn 27.95% at Comilla, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute exarbation 6.73% at Barisal, vascular syndromes of brain in cerebro-vascular diseases 17.95% at Suhrwardy, vascular syndromes of brain in cerebrovascular diseases 23.89% at Faridpur, cardiac arrest 7.01% at Salimullah, intrauterine hypoxia 12.51% at Mymensingh, cerebro-vascular diseases 11.98% at Bagura, cerebellar stroke disease 20.17% at Dinajpur, stroke 9.36% at Sylhet, and stroke 24.69% at Rajshahi Medical College hospital. l

The government is set to complete recruitment of Class-I and Class-II category factory inspectors for the Directorate of Inspection of Factories and Establishment (DIFE) under the Ministry of Labour by mid-October to meet the demands of the International Labour Organisation and international buyers group.

The Bangladesh Public Service Commission has already called for an expression of interest from the qualified BCS aspirants who were not appointed in the cadre posts due to shortage of posts in the administration.

“The applications would be taken until September 30 by the PSC according to their requirement directorate.

Scrutinising the applications, the PSC will recommend the DIFE authority to recruit the candidates in the vacant posts.

They will be recruited immediate after getting the recommendation,” DIFE

4 held for adopting unfair means in JU admission test n JU Correspondent The authorities of Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday held four admission seekers for adopting unfair means in the admission test for 2014-15 academic sessions.

The arrested are Md Kaisar Ahmed, Nur Mohammad, Md Reza-e-Rabbi and Marzia Mim. They were held for exchanging their OMR (optical mark recognition) answer sheets during the exam.

Among them, Nur Mohammad was arrested upon suspicion of being a fake aspirant.

Invigilator Abdullah Hel Kafi said Md Kaisar was caught red handed while receiving answers through a mobile phone. Kaisar told the journalists that he had made a deal with a student named Rashed who was providing him the answers through text messages in exchange of Tk2 lakh.

JU proctor Tapan Kumar Saha said the matter was informed to the central admission test conduct committee.

When contacted, JU deputy registrar (education) Mohammad Ali said the committee would take action against the guilty very soon.

Yesterday the admission test was held for honours programmes under B unit which refers to the Faculty of Social Science. l

Moncho processions protest Sayedee verdict

n DU Correspondent

Factions of Gonojagoron Moncho brought out separate processions protesting verdict on Sayedee case yesterday.

Protesting the verdict on Saydee case and the attack by the Kamal Pasha group, the portion of Gonojagoron Moncho led

by Imran H Sarkar brought out a torch procession yesterday evening.

They brought out the rally around 6:30pm from Shahbagh and marched to Dhaka University’s TSC area. Among others Imran H Sarkar, Shongita Imam and Laki Aktar were present at the rally.

Imran H Sarkar told the Dhaka Tribune that in spite of several attacks, Gonojagoron will never retreat. Imran said: “We will continue our movement until our six points demands are fulfilled.” He also criticised the other two portions for hatching conspiracy against them.

Another portion of the Moncho, led by Kamal Pasha, also brought out a separate rally from Shahbagh intersection, right after the Imran group’s procession, protesting the verdict on Saydee case. l

A factions of Gonojagoron Moncho brings out a torch procession at Shahbagh yesterday, demanding the highest punishment for war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee who was recently convicted with life-term imprisonment MEHEDI HASAN

Skills for Life course certificates Barisal Income Tax Fair draws huge crowd, distributed at ULAB Tk26.52 lakh collected on the first days n Tribune Report

n Our Correspondent. Barisal

Certificates were given away to participants of the “Skills for Life” course on University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) Dhanmondi campus yesterday, where the Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam was as the chief guest, says a media release.

Each year the ULAB holds this unique campaign for the A-Level and HSC students free of cost and there were 57 participants this year.

The ULAB each year conducts the course, in which there were 57 participants this year, for the A-Level and HSC students free of cost to develop skills and values to the young generation, which they rarely find in their academic syllabus in Bangladesh. These skills will help them to become better citizens and improve their everyday lives, the release continued.

This campaign is sponsored by by the ULAB, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, Bangladesh Metro-

The 7-day Income Tax Fair organized

by National Board of Revenue (NBR) is continuing to receive huge response from the tax payers in Barisal city.

In the first four days of the fair, 1257 people submitted their income-tax return and paid Tk.26,52,605 through e-payment, said Proshanta Kumar Roy, tax commissioner of Barisal region.

A seminar titled “Rainwater Harvesting as an Alternative Water Resource towards Sustainable Water Management” was held at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Bashundhara campus yesterday.

The seminar was organised by School of Environmental Science and Management of IUB where Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud was present as the chief guest. The department’s Dean Prof M Ali Hossain made the key-

A a total 2,396 people received various services from the fair in the last four days. Of them 138 received new e-TIN from the fair.

Local source said the number of tax payers in Barisal had increased significantly in last one year. The number rose to 40,082 in 2013-14 from 30,580 in 2011-12.

For the current fiscal, a target of Tk180 crore has been fixed for Barisal

region. The collection in last fiscal was Tk140 core against the goal of Tk125 core.

When asked, tax payers said, they preferred such fair because of fast, easy and hassle-free service, which would take long time in traditional way.

The fair, which started at Barisal Ashiwini Kumar Hall premises on September 16 will continue till September 22. l

Fight for chicken supremacy at Nando’s n Tribune Report politan Police, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Center for Sustainable Development, and The Daily Star.

Among others, ULAB Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor HM Jahirul Haque, ULAB Registrar Lt Col Md Foyzul Islam (Retd) were present. l

Seminar on rainwater harvesting at IUB n Tribune Report

Inspector General Syed Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune last week.

The government has already approved 575 factory inspector posts in the new organogram of the newly formed DIFE. The DIFE already has 88 factory inspectors both Class-I and Class-II category. Of them, 39 inspectors have been working in the directorate and later, the DIFE recruited another 49 inspectors in three phases following the recommendation of the PSC. Syed Ahmed said: “The DIFE intends to recruit more 233 factory inspectors for the directorate. It will be completed by mid-October according to the assurance of the PSC.” “It will raise the number of factory inspectors into 321, though demand of the ILO and international buyers group is 222 at present. We want to make the DIFE as functional and use it to improve the standard of the sector,” he added. l

note address, a media release said.

Prof Ali said almost 90% of domestic and irrigation water are extracted from underground water. This leads to depletion of the water table by two to three meters a year. “If we do not take proper action and have alternatives, the country may, by 2030, turn into desert land due to water crisis. Rainwater harvesting is a promising alternative source for meeting the water demands for irrigation and domestic use,” he said.

The minister appreciated the move of IUB’s water resource management. l

The fight was intense among 35 grillers from the various outlets of Nando’s in Dhaka. They were fighting for a chance to represent Bangladesh in the upcoming World’s Best Griller competition in London, UK. Their weapons were identical – the juicy tenderness enhanced by original mild peri peri sauce in every layer of meat. They had the entire kitchen at their disposal and just 15 minutes to create the most authentic peri peri chicken.

Yesterday, at the Grand Finale of the Nando’s Master Grillers Challenge at the chain restaurant’s Gulshan outlet, the ultimate race was between four top chefs. They emerged as the best grillers of their respective branches and qualified for the final.

Eventually, HM Zahidul Islam Rajib from the Nando’s Banani outlet, emerged the winner. A majority of the seven distinguished judges agreed that the chicken he had grilled was the best of the lot.

KSM Mohith-ul Bari, associate operations director of Nando’s, said: “Nando’s is all about chicken. That is why the challenge is to serve the best

Winner HM Zahidul Islam Rajib with the judges and guests of the Master Grillers Challenge at the Nando’s Gulshan outlet yesterday COURTESY of the juicy tenderness of chicken every time. The Master Grillers Challenge was organised to motivate the chefs, who work day in and day out to give the best chicken experience. If they grill the best possible chicken, then we

are doing our work right to satisfy our customers.”

Singer Mehrin Mahmud and media personalities Farhana Nisho and Nahid Osman were part of the judges panel at the event. l

Harvard Business Day seminar at SUB n Tribune Report The Sixth Harvard Journal Day seminar was recently organised by the State University of Bangladesh (SUB) to improve leadership quality, positive lifestyles and professionalism. Dr AM Shamim, President of the Board of Trustees of the university was present as chief guest. Prof Ali Ahsan, Assistant Professor Nipa Saha and Senior lecturer Sifat Kamal of the department of Business Studies focused on “Total Leadership, Managing Yourself and Time Management”, said a press release.

“Total leadership is to achieve various management skills; cultivate simplicity as a strong element and eliminate complexity,” Prof Ali said. l

C unit admission test at JU rescheduled n JU Correspondent The admission test of the C unit of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Jahangirnagar University for 2014-15 academic session has been rescheduled due to hartal called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

“The admission test of ‘C’ unit under the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of 2014-15 academic session, which was scheduled to be held on Monday, will be held on September 27 [Saturday],” said an emergency press release sent from JU public relations office yesterday night.

The seat plans and time schedule remain the same, the release added.

JU deputy registrar [education] and central admission test conducting committee’s secretary member Mohammad Ali confirmed the reschedule, saying the Monday admission test was shifted to September 27 because of unavoidable reasons.

The university authorities have already rescheduled the admission test of the D, E and G’ units owing to the two-day long hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami. Updated news of the admission test including exam schedules, seat plans are available on university website: www.juniv.edu l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Accommodation crisis hits female students at BAU

Shipping Minister calls Mohiuddin’s demands irrational n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday termed the recent movement of former Chittagong Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury for saving the Chittagong port “irrational.”

He said those who have been conducting movements in the name of saving the port were not doing so in reality.

“We sat with him [ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury] to talk about his 10-point demands. He could not show rationality of the demands during discussion. In fact his demands are irrational,” the minister said while inaugurating excavation of a connecting canal of Karnaphuli River.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has started excavating connecting canals, Chaktai and Rajakhali, with its newly procured equipment Water Master-Classic-4 with an aim to remove water-logging from the city.

Shahjahan Khan said the Karnaphuli would not be allowed to turn into another Buriganga. Water-logging problem would be removed from the port city by retrieving the canals, he added.

Referring to a recent comment of Mohiuddin Chowdhury, president of ruling Awami League Chittagong unit, he said those who are saying that the Chittagong Port has been in the clutch of the “mafias” were not telling the truth.

Mohiuddin Chowdhury recently gave a one-month ultimatum to take necessary measures against corruption in procurement of the Chittagong port and removal of container operator Saif Power Tech from the port.

CPA Chairman Nizamuddin Ahmed, Chittagong Mayor M Manjur Alam, Chairman of the National River Protection Commission Ataharul Islam were present at the inauguration among others. l

Female freshers to be enrolled as 'nonresidents' from 2014-15 academic sessions posi Rabeya Hall. n BAU Correspondent “Many students have to stay on the The female students of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) are facing an acute crisis of accommodation as around 2,500 students are currently residing in its three female dormitories with the capacity 1,401.

The authorities of the residential university have declared that for 2014-15 academic sessions, female students will be enrolled as “non-residents” as no seat is available in the female dormitories.

However, if any seat is vacated afterwards, the students will be provided with a placement, prioritised by their academic results.

The university has three residential dormitories for female students while nine for male students. The number of female students has been on rise in recent years, according to BAU administration office.

In 2004, the percentage of female students was only around 25 which stands at 45 at present.

Out of the 1000 students who were enrolled during the last academic session, 444 were female.

Three female dormitories – Sultana Razia Hall, Taposi Rabeya Hall, and Sheikh Fazilatunnisa Mujib Hall – has seating capacity of 537, 512 and 352 respectively.

A number of students in these halls said they were passing days in uncertainty as they were not sure when they would be provided with seats.

The junior students are being compelled to reside in common rooms, TV rooms and even in the prayer rooms while the senior students are sharing beds with room mates seeing no other way, said sources in the halls.

“I am staying in the TV room where the hall authorities have erected a hard-board divider to make a section,” said Suborna, a first year student of Ta-

floor amid manifold problems. I cannot concentrate on my study, as a result, I am cutting poor marks,” she said.

“It is not possible for me to stay outside the university by renting an apartment. Many of us frequently fall sick because of the congested atmosphere and lack of other facilities,” said Roshni, a student of Sheikh Fazilatunnisa Mujib Hall who resides in a common room.

Majority of the rooms have double students than their capacities, claimed a number of students residing in the halls.

In BAU’s last convocation held in 2011, the then Chancellor of the university late President Md Zillur Rahman promised to provide assistance for building two new female dormitories to combat the accommodation crisis, however, the promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Last year, the BAU authorities tried to convert Isha Khan Hall, a dormitory for male students, into a female dormitory but could not do so amid strong protest from the male students.

In December 2013, the university authority, laid foundation of a five-storey female dormitory with seating capacity of 600. Although the project is scheduled to end by June 2015, the construction work is yet to start.

When contacted, BAU Chief Engineer Shahin Islam said planning and design of the hall was completed and the construction work would start by this month.

BAU Vice-chancellor Prof Md Rafiqul Haque, expressed hope that accommodation crisis would soon be solved upon completion of the new female dormitory.

He sought funds from the authorities concerned for building more female dormitories in the largest agricultural university of the country as well as the South-Asian region. l

4 injured in boat engine explosion n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Amid constant downpour most of the roads remain gridlocked yesterday. The photo was taken from capital's Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

CU BCL blockades shuttle train n CU Correspondent

A faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Chittagong University (CU) unit yesterday blockaded the campus-bound shuttle train at Sholoshahar Railway Station at the city’s Sholoshahar area protesting a pickpocketing incident.

The blockade suspended shuttle train communications for three hours till 9:30am, sources at railway station told the Dhaka Tribune.

Witnesses and police sources said a group of snatchers took away a cell phone from a student at Sholoshahar station at around 8:00pm on Friday night while a BCL man, Jimel, a 3rd year

student of History department, chased them and held one of the muggers.

Later the mugger, Khohon Chouwdhury, was handed over to the police.

'Other members of Khohon's swooped on Jimel with sharp weapons when he was boarding shuttle train' “Angered over the incident, other members of the Khohon's swooped on Jimel with sharp weapons when he was board-

ing the campus bound shuttle train at around 8:30pm, leaving him critically injured,” said Yasin Faruk, officer-incharge of Railway Station police outpost.

On information, police rushed to the spot rescued the BCL men and sent him to Chittagong Medical College Police Hospital (CMCH), the OC added.

Later, a group of BCL men barricaded the first shuttle train in the morning at around 7:30 am protesting the attack on Jimel.

MA Malek, former assistant secretary of CU BCL unit, said the agitating BCL men had withdrawn the barricade following assurance from the university authority. A case was filed in connection with attack, said OC said. l

JaPa factional clash injures 30 n Tribune Report At least 30 people were injured in a clash between two groups of Jatiya Party at Shapla Chattar in the town yesterday.

Police and witnesses said leaders of newly-formed district and city unit committee of Jatiya Party gathered at party Chairman HM Ershad's home at New Senpara as section 144 was imposed in and around the Public Library following convening separate meetings by two factions.

On the other hand the leaders and activists of the defunct committee gathered at Central road party office.

When a procession of the new committee which brought out from

Female cadets join oceangoing vessel for the first time

WEATHER

HEAVY RAIN

n Tushar Hayat For the first time in the history of the country, two female cadets yesterday joined their jobs on MV Banglar Shikha, a vessel owned by state-run Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.

Shipping minister Shahajahan Khan handed over the appointment letters to engine cadet Lovely Das and deck cadet Beauty Akter at a ceremony held at the jetty of Chittagong port. 11 other female cadets, who are on the row to join their job in phases, were also present at that time.

According to port sources, the MV Banglar Shikha had been engaged in ferrying containers between Chit-

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:57PM SUN RISES 5:47AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 30 31 29 28 28 29 30 30

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 26 26 26 26 25 25

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

33.0ºC Rajshahi

23.9ºC Rangamati

n UNB

PRAYER TIMES 4:32am 5:46am 11:52am 4:14pm 5:56pm 7:12pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

tagong and Mongla ports and it would sail out for Mongla today.

Shahajahan Khan said joining of the two female cadets had created a history in the country. Eleven other female cadets would be posted on five stateowned vessels in phases, he added.

Also present at the ceremony, Chittagong Port Authority chairman Nizamuddin Ahmed announced to provide scholarships from the port authority to all the 13 females cadets.

According to the Marine Academy sources, 13 female cadets have graduated from the academy for the first time in December 2013. Earlier there was no provision for women to enroll in the academy. l

Payment of wages, festival bonuses by Sept 25 demanded

Source: Accuweather/UNB

Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

Ershad's residence reached at Shapla Chattar at 12 noon, the defunct committee members threw cocktails at their opponents.

Later, a chase and counter chase took place, left 30 from both groups injured. Police brought the situation under control around 12:45pm.

Police have been deployed at different important points in the town including Jatiya Party office, said Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Qauder Jilani.

Earlier, the district administration imposed section 144 in and around the Public Library as two groups of JP called their respective meetings at the same venue and time. l

At least four fishermen were injured and several others went missing as a fishing boat was gutted in a fire caused from an engine explosion on Karnaphuli River in Chittagong city’s Fisherighat around 10:55am yesterday.

The injured Md Liton, 30, Nuruddin, 43, and Akbar, 20 were admitted to Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit and Alamgir, 45, was under treatment in Casualty ward of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Liton was in a critical condition as 90 percent of his body was burnt, said Sub-inspector (SI) Jahirul Islam, in-charge of CMCH Police Outpost, quoting the doctors.

Quoting fishermen of other vessels, Assistant Town Sub Inspector (ATSI) Shahidur Rahman of Kotwali police station said about 20 fishermen were on that boat, four of whom were rescued, while some others managed to reach the bank by swimming.

“I heard from the nearby fishermen that about five fishermen from the affected boat went missing.

When informed, a fire fighting unit and a coastguard team went to the spot and extinguished the fire, said DAD Jasim Uddin of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters in Chittagong. l

Disappointed, workers of Akik Apparels Ltd agitate in front of the BGMEA office yesterday demanding two-months' overdue wages. The factory closed down ahead of Eid-ul-Azha without paying the workers wages and bonuses SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Garment Shramik Sanghati Federation yesterday demanded the payment of wages, unpaid dues and festival allowances of readymade garment workers

by September 25.

The demand came at a human chain staged by the group in front of the Jatiya Press Club.

Addressing the protest, the organi-

sation’s General Secretary Smriti Akter said the workers of Mamun Garments BD have not been paid their overtime bills of June-July and salaries of August.

She alleged that the factory authorities deducted Tk500 from the workers’ wages every month citing insurance payment, though they were yet to get any insurance money. The organisation also demanded a 10-day holiday for workers on the occasions of Eid and Durga Puja. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Natore govt staff quarters in ruins Now most of them are left with nothing but basic structures n Our Correspondent, Natore

in the town. Of them, 30 have been in an abandoned state, six rented and seven others grabbed by locals for a long time.

The abandoned quarters have become the dens of drug addicts, who are also stealing doors, windows and other furniture and selling them out. Now these staff quarters are almost left with nothing but their basic structures, they said.

The sources added that the rent of a staff quarter flat between Tk 6000 to 12000 is too much for an officer or employee and so they do not rent government quarters. Rather, they go for private quarters, which are affordable to them.

They suggested that the govern-

ment should repair the abandoned staff quarters and reclaim the grabbed ones and reduce the rent rate, paving the way for adding lakhs of taka to the state’s coffer every year.

To be specific, 32 quarters are under the PWD, four under the Power Development Board (PDB) and seven others under Natore Railway Authority.

Of the PWD quarters, 14 are situated at Palpara and Borgachha area in the town. Of them, 12 are categorised as A and 2 others as B. Again, of the quarters, 12 have been in an abandoned state for a long time.

Twelve quarters are under PWD at Rajbari area. Of them, two are used by staff while the rest have been in an abandoned state for long.

There are also six PWD quarters at Kandivituwa Moholla, of which four have been abandoned. Besides these, four PDB quarters have been in an abandoned state at Alaipur for ages.

Out of seven quarters under the railway authority, three quarters have been being gabbed by local kitchen traders and four others by locally influential people at Station Bazar for a long time.

PWD Executive Engineer Moshiur Rahman was asked about this all, he admitted and said: “We have already urged the higher authority to repair the quarters soon. If so, the government can earn at least Tk3 lakh per month.” l

Farmer killed by robbers in Gazipur n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Panic grips locals as 4 rapes reported in eight days

A farmer was stabbed to death and two others were injured by robbers during a robbery at Kajaldighi Uttarpara village in Kapashia upazila yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Mafiz Uddin, 50. Sources said a gang of robbers swooped on the house of Rafiq and gunned down, Mafiz leaving him dead on the spot. l

n Our Correspondent, Savar

Officials and employees are hardly eager for renting government staff quarters as they are pricey, forcing the authorities to keep 70% of the quarters in an abandoned state verging on ruin in Natore district town for long.

Sources in the Public Works Department, which oversee government staff quarters, said there are 43 staff quarters

If the quarters are repaired, the government can earn at least Tk3 lakh per month

Rubber plantation officer abducted n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari

Sara Farm Manager Md Jabed Jahangir and Manging Director (MD) Md Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury of Maradul rubber plantation in Manikchari upazila of Khagrachari district have been abducted from their workplace by 8/10 unknown armed miscreants on Friday. l

Dhamrai upazila residents are living in fear as four incidences of rape, three involving schoolgirls, were reported in different areas in the last eight days.

Police are yet to arrest any in the notorious incidents.

On September 11, a class IX student was molested in her school in the upazila town, and was later admitted to a local hospital in a critical condition.

On the same day, a former primary school teacher violated a class II student on a crop land at Balitha village alluring her with chocolates. Being angered by the incident, the locals brought out a procession demanding exemplary punishment to the rapist.

On September 13, a youth along with his friends raped a schoolgirl at Singri village.

On September 17, a brick kiln worker

The picture shows a government staff quarter in a run-down state in Natore district town

was gang raped in broad daylight in her workplace of Noyachar village of the area.

In the aforesaid incidents, police visited the scenes and cases were launched with the police station.

A businessman in Patantula village said he has himself started accompanying her daughter on her way to school.

Besides, the rape inside the classroom has shaken the confidence of the parents, he opined.

Dhamrai police station OC Firuz Talukder said he visited the spots and they were trying their best to arrest the culprits who brought about the heinous incidents of rape.

Dhamrai upazila Education Officer Dawlatur Rahman acknowledged the scare, saying he has already requested the UNO concerned to take prompt action against the alleged rapists so that the guardians would feel safe in sending their children to schools. l

32 Jamaat men arrested n Our Correspondent, Shatkhira

At least 32 Jamaet-e-Islami leaders and activists were arrested from different upazilas of the district yesterday.

Six of the arrested were from Shatkhira Sadar, nine from Shyamnagar upazila, three from Talar upazila, three from Kolorowa, two from Debhatar upazila and two from Patkelghata upazila.

Shatkhira Additional Police Super Modasser Ali said the drive to arrest the accused was conducted from Friday night till Saturday morning. l

Housewife ‘beaten’ to death in Panchagarh n Our Correspondent, Panchagarh

The picture shows people under the banner Gaibandha Nagorik Parishad form a human chain in the town yesterday protesting against electricity load shedding in the district DHAKA TRIBUNE

Child Kidnapped in Chuadanga n Our Correspondent, Chuadanga

Factories closed over worker’s death

A child was kidnapped by a man named Maqbul Hossain in the Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga on Friday.

The kidnapped boy was Abdullah, 6, the son of Abdul Khalek from Koshaghata village of the upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Damurhuda police station said Maqbul took Abdullah along with his own sons to visit Mujibnagaron Friday afternoon. When the family members of Abdullah called Maqbul in the evening, he said they were returning, but when he was contacted again by worried guardians at night, Maqbul said he had kidnapped Abdullah and demanded Tk5 lakh as ransom.

The OC also said they were working to rescue the boy. l

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Garment factories in Bhogra bypass area of Gazipur were closed for the day when a worker died and 26 others fell ill allegedly after drinking contaminated water in the factory yesterday.

Shahidul Islam, sewing operator of Masstrend Garments, said the workers fell ill after drinking water in the factory around 8:30am and one of them Shahida Begum, 30, died after a while.

However, Sheikh Tahmina Parvin, manager of the factory said Shahida fell ill suddenly and when she was taken to Tayrunnesa Medical College Hospital, the duty doctors declared her dead.

When the news reached the factory,

other workers became ill out panic. The sick workers were sent to different hospitals, where two of them were admitted and four others were released after giving first aid. The news of death from drinking contaminated water was not correct, Tahmina added.

Sub-inspector of Joydebpur police station Shahidul Islam said police went to the factory to prevent any untoward situation. Masstrend Garments, along with three other garment factories in the same premise, was declared closed for the day by the authorities.

The authority provided Tk2 lakh of Shahida’s insurance and arranged for sending the body to her native village in Trishal, Mymensingh. l

A housewife was allegedly beaten to death on Friday evening by her husband over dowry at Gederguri village in Boda upazila of Panchagarh.

The victim was identified as Mukti Rani, 25, wife of Anikul Chandra Roy, 29, of the same village.

Police arrested the accused husband Anikul Chandra Roy on the same night.

Police and local sources said, Mukti Rani, daughter of Goynath Chandra Roy of Chorpara village in Atwary upazila was married to Anikul Chandra Roy, son of Naresh Chandra Roy five years ago.

Since their marriage the couple frequently fought over dowry as Mukti’s father did not pay the total amount agreed upon earlier.

On the fateful day, at one stage of altercation Anikul started to beat Mukti with a bamboo stick leaving her dead on the spot.

Upon receiving information, police went to the spot, recovered the body and sent it to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital for autopsy.

Victim’s father Goynath Chandra Roy filed a murder case with Boda police station against Anikul chandra Roy and three other persons of his (Anikul’s) family, officer in-charge of the police station Md. Mojnur Rahman said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BAT Managing Director Shehzad Munim shares the story of his journey

Career

Battle of Minds ‘14 kicks off at IBA n Murshidul Hasan

T

Head of HR Rumana Rahman speaks to the students

Although the competition is a recruitment tool for BAT Bangladesh, it is unlike any other business competition. In the competition, participants from top universities of Bangladesh go through real-life challenges of working in a multinational company

Understanding stock talk n Career Desk Bid - The price a buyer is willing to offer for shares in a company.

Blue Chip Stocks - Stocks of leading companies with a BIZ reputation for stable VOCAB growth and earnings.

Bond - Certificate issued by companies and governments to their lenders.

Capital - Money and other property of companies used in transacting the business.

Capital stock - All shares representing ownership of a company.

Commodities - Products such as agricultural products and natural resources (wood, oil and metals) that are traded on a separate, authorised commodities exchange.

Dividend - A portion of a company’s earnings that is paid to the shareholders/stockholders on a quarterly or annual basis.

Equity - The value of stocks and shares; the net value of mortgaged property.

Equities - Stocks and shares that represent a portion of the capital of a company.

Futures - Contracts to buy or sell securities at a future date.

Insider - All those who have access to inside information concerning the company.

Insider dealing/trading - Buying or selling with the help of information known only to those connected with the business.

IPO - Initial Public Offering - selling part of a company on the stock market.

Issue - Put into circulation a number of a company’s shares for sale.

Mortgage - Agreement by which a bank or building society lends money for the

purchase of property, such as a house or apartment. The property is the security for the loan.

Mutual fund - Savings fund that uses cash from a pool of savers to buy securities such as stock, bonds or real estate.

Par value - Nominal face value.

Penny stock - Shares selling at less than $1 a share.

Securities - Transferable certificates showing ownership of stocks, bonds, shares, options, etc.

Share - The capital of a company is divided into shares which entitle the owner, or shareholder, to a proportion of the profits.

Share certificate - Certificate representing the number of shares owned by an investor.

Shareholder - Owner of shares.

Speculator - Someone who buys and sells stocks and shares in the hope of making a profit through changes in their value.

Stock - Shares (portion of the capital of a business company) held by an investor.

Stockbroker - A licensed professional who buys and sells stocks and shares for clients in exchange for a fee called a “commission.”

Stockholder - Person who owns stocks and shares.

Trader - Investor who holds stocks and securities for a short time (minutes, hours or days) with the objective of making profit from short-term gains in the market.

Investment is generally based on stock price rather than on an evaluation of the company.

Trading session - Period during which the Stock Exchange is open for trading.

Venture capital - Money raised by companies to finance new ventures in exchange for percentage ownership.

7

Sunday, September 21, 2014

he wait is over for the most exciting business competition of the year. Battle of Minds ‘14 kicked off this year at the auditorium of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka last Wednesday, September 10. With the slogan “Are you next in the Legacy of Leaders?” previous BBA graduates of IBA who are working for British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh came to their university campus to motivate the talented youth.

The excitement of participating in the prestigious business competition was felt within students throughout the auditorium. Sajeed Alam, a student of BBA 20th batch of IBA, said: “Battle of Minds is very structured with a thorough assessment and a very lucrative performance appraisal system. A job with BAT Bangladesh thereafter, or any prospect of being involved is quite interesting.”

Assistant Professor at IBA Ms Homayara Ahmed took to the stage first, prompting silence from the entire auditorium. She welcomed the room full of excited students from the 19th to 21st BBA batches to the ceremony, praising their earlier achievements and hoping for more successes to come.

IBA Director, Professor Iqbal Ahmad was then given the floor by Ms Homayara. He expressed his pride that various managerial positions at BAT Bangladesh are represented by IBA students.

He said: “Those who are working at BAT Bangladesh are similar to you except that they have experience and corporate attributes. They are here to train you in the ways of the corporate world.”

He emphasised how the programme will give the students a flavour of working in one of the top multinational companies (MNC) in Bangladesh, nurture their skills, and that a number of them will be recruited from the competition.

Ms Homayara expounded the necessity of choosing a company to work for based on mentors and organisational culture.

A short video captioned “Champions return home” featuring all alumni of IBA working for BAT Bangladesh was then showed to the audience which was received with tremendous applause.

The ceremony was brought to life by an inspiring and humble speech by Managing Director of BAT Bangladesh Shehzad Munim, also from the BBA 1st batch of IBA and the first Bangladeshi to hold the top position in the 103-yearold company. He expressed his pride in returning to IBA after so many years.

He said: “You should feel proud as students of IBA, as you are getting the best business education of Bangladesh. The ambiance, teaching quality and uncertainty that you are faced with in IBA are planned. This prepares you to tackle any challenge thrown at you. The world is not a perfect place and you should be ready.”

Shehzad Munim then took the audience through his career path, from joining BAT Bangladesh after graduation in 1997, becoming brand manager, joining the New Zealand team operations as head of brands, moving to Australian operations, and coming back to Bangladesh as head of marketing in 2007. In July 2010, he became the area head of marketing – South Asia, and finally realising his dream as managing director of BAT Bangladesh since October, 2013.

He asked the students to dream big, stay hungry, and to keep pursuing new challenges. He then handed the stage over to the recent recruits of BAT Bangladesh, Fayruz Ahsan and Jawaad Bin Hamid from the BBA 17th batch of IBA. Fayruz Ahsan in his speech said: “A few years ago, I was sitting amongst you. It was a very big decision for me to choose a career path. However, I am

glad to have made the right decision. I have found that BAT Bangladesh is the best learning institute in Bangladesh. At BAT Bangladesh, you either accomplish tasks or learn how to do them. There are times when you will be wrong, however you are given opportunities at all stages to learn and correct yourselves.

Marketing HR Executive Jawaad Bin Hamid shared his experiences with the company next. He expressed his enthusiasm about how he was given bigger challenges consistently. Also, at BAT Bangladesh, the work culture is such that

There is chance for all contestants to be called upon for joining BAT Bangladesh in various entry-level positions you can ask anyone for help. You will come out as a better person who is more knowledgeable than the one who went to your seniors for guidance. Indeed, you are pushed further continuously to exceed even your own expectations.”

The speech ended with massive applause, and a video about the organisational culture was shown on the big screen.

Afterwards, Adrita Datta, Talent Manager of BAT Bangladesh announced the official commencement of Battle of Minds 2014. She also explained how Battle of Minds gives a feel of a real-life experience of working in one of the biggest MNCs of the country and can act as a great transition platform to get the students prepared for their work life.

Adrita, then shared the key information to join Battle of Minds 2014 and encouraged participation of the students.

HR Business Partner and Ex-Project Manager of Battle of Minds Md Jahid Shafique next appeared on stage. He said: “Battle of Minds is a competition that challenges you in representing your education institute on the national level encompassing more than two thousand students from all the reputed universities of the country.”

The last speaker for the day was Rumana Rahman, Head of HR of BAT Bangladesh. Rumana in her speech shared a few unique attributes of the company – freedom of speech and the care from the company. She asked the students to be always humble about themselves.

Finally, the BAT Bangladesh team took on the stage to have an open discussion with the students. In the discussion, various questions from students about work culture, trade marketing, relationship with retailers, and recruitment criteria were answered.

The session was concluded by Rumana Rahman wishing the students the best for taking part in Battle of Minds 2014!

Although the competition is a recruitment tool for BAT Bangladesh, it is unlike any other business competition. In the competition, participants from top universities of Bangladesh go through real-life challenges of working in a multinational company. Moreover, contestants who do not make it to the final stages also end up gathering necessary skills to compete for high-demand positions in top multinational and local companies. There is a chance for all contestants to be called upon for joining BAT Bangladesh in various entry-level positions.

For participating in Battle of Minds, undergraduate students will have to visit the BAT Bangladesh career website.

The registration will continue from September 15 to October 15, 2014. It is mandatory to have accounts in Twitter and LinkedIn for interested participants. l

Reap what you sow from networking n Ahsan Sajid

As a career starter, the idea of networking is synonymous to job search. Everybody knows that to get a job, you must be plugged into a network that will push your CV on top of the right desk, in front of the right eyes.

Once you’ve landed the job, networking seems less important. But it is a 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week process, a two-way channel of giving and getting. It is not a skill you turn on and off.

Building yourself an effective network depends largely on what you can do for others. Do not be a fair weather friend. Nobody is going to return your call when you ask for something, unless you have done something for them first. Here are seven simple networking tips to give you the edge.

Be on time

There is no fashionably late. Showing up early is a much better strategy: things will be calmer and quieter and people won’t have settled into groups yet, giving you the opportunity to set the tone for conversations.

Keep it light

Networking is all about relationship building. Keep your exchange fun, light and informal. The idea is to get things started, not seal the deal. Don't try to plug your product or make a sale. What you are selling is a good conversation.

Ask questions

Don’t wait to be approached, simply walk up to a person or group and say

BIGSTOCK

something like “May I join you?” or “What brings you to this event?” Listen intently. However, don’t insert yourself into a group of friends or a conversation that already looks too heated.

Share the passion

The easiest way to win someone over is with your enthusiasm for your work.

Tell a story about why you were inspired to work in your field, if the situation permits. Passion is contagious; when you get others to share their pas-

sion, you stay in their minds.

Roll with the flow

Many who dislike networking often try to commandeer the discussion to be at ease. Instead of doing this, find a way to insert yourself into the ongoing discussion. The most successful networkers make others feel special instead of only talking about what they care about.

Smile

It’s the simplest but most overlooked

tool. It puts you at ease if you’re nervous and it makes you seem warm, approachable and inviting.

Follow up

Networking is where the conversation begins, not ends. Ask the people that you have hit it off with how you could stay in touch. Get in touch within 48 hours of meeting them; reference something you discussed so your contact remembers you, so they remember you easily and take it from there. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Gordon Brown for honouring pledge to grant Scots powers n Reuters, Edinburgh Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown told British leaders yesterday that they must honour their promise to grant further powers to Scotland after voters backed staying in the United Kingdom in an independence referendum.

Just days before the Sept. 18 vote, Brown appeared to be making British policy by announcing that laws granting further devolution to the Scottish parliament would be drafted by the time Scots celebrate the birthday of their most revered poet, Robert Burns, on January 25.

“The eyes of the world have been upon us and now I think the eyes of the world are upon the leaders of the major parties in the United Kingdom,” Brown

told supporters in Fife, Scotland.

“These are men who have been promise makers and they will not be promise breakers and I will ensure as a promise keeper that these promises that have been made are upheld,” he said.

During the campaign, Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg promised to guarantee Scotland high levels of state funding and grant Scots greater control over healthcare spending.

After Scots rejected independence, Cameron said the issue of Scottish independence had been settled “for a generation” but pledged a swift constitutional shake-up for all parts of the United Kingdom. l

Pro-union protestors chant and wave Union Flags during a demonstration at George Square in Glasgow, Scotland

REUTERS

In Scotland’s No, an emphatic Yes for change in Britain The UK’s regional make-up The UK has promised Scotland greater devolution. Now the other assemblies may seek greater autonomy for themselves Timetable for Edinburgh’s new powers (Tax, spending, welfare)

SCOTLAND

Regional assembly with devolved powers

October Proposals published North East England November Voted ‘No’ to Consultation a regional ends assembly in 2004

Edinburgh

N. IRELAND

Belfast

ENGLAND

No separate assembly

WALES Cardiff

LONDON

Jan 25, 2015 Draft law After May, 2015 Parliament to vote

Source: British government, gov.uk

NEWS BITES

Putin considers plans to remove Russia from global internet

n Reuters, Montreal

Russia may remove itself from the global internet to protect itself against perceived threats from the west, a Kremlin spokesman suggested on Friday. The Krelmin dismissed accusations it aims to isolate the Russian internet, and insists it is merely concerned with protecting its national security - particularly as relations with the west have reached their lowest since the Cold War. However, the country has recently passed several laws targeting internet use, which include making popular bloggers register as media outlets, and forcing websites to store the personal data of Russian users. Earlier on Friday, influential business daily Vedomosti reported that global internet logistics would be the core subject of Putin’s Security Council meeting next week. At Monday’s meeting, Putin is expected to discuss plans to disconnect Russians from the web. l

The United Nation’s civil aviation body, currently wrestling with how to help airlines maintain safety over conflict zones, is taking first steps toward protection for commercial vessels in space.

Commercial space travel took a big leap this week after the US space agency NASA awarded a combined $6.8bn to Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to build commercially owned and operated “space taxis” to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

The NASA contract allows Boeing to sell rides to tourists; SpaceX already planned to offer trips to tourists, but did not say if it would fly tourists on its NASA missions .

“We’re starting to look at (suborbital space travel) more closely,” said a representative on the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) govern-

n

Scotland chose decisively against independence on Thursday, but it was not a vote for the status quo in Britain, according to a report by the New York Times.

The debate over regional and national autonomy that was set off by the Scots has just begun, and it promises a constitutional shake-up in the United Kingdom, which remains intact but by no means fixed or unchallenged.

While the outcome of the vote was met with tremendous relief from Downing Street and Buckingham Palace to Brussels and Washington, Britain was also awakening to the realization on Friday that it had agreed to grant the Scots considerable new powers to run their own affairs. Prime Minister David Cameron now faces a broader debate over the centralization of power in London, uncertainty over Britain’s place in Europe, intense budget pressures, and fissures within his own Conservative Party as he heads toward a general election in the spring.

Nearly 45% of Scots voted on

Thursday to abandon the United Kingdom forever, but when the ballots from all 32 voting districts were tallied early Friday, the “no” campaign had won 55.3% of the vote, ensuring a more powerful Scotland within Britain.

The victory of the “Better Together” camp was ensured late in the campaign when all three main political leaders from Westminster - Cameron, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg - jointly promised “extensive new powers” to the Scottish Parliament over taxing, spending and welfare, while also pledging to continue the budget allowance Scotland gets, a generous allowance per capita compared with what the rest of Britain receives.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, who led the independence fight, called for reconciliation Friday and then, visibly dejected, announced he would step down in November. But he made it clear that Scotland would hold the party leaders to their promises, which Parliament must turn into law, even if the three parties have not quite

ing council who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Montreal-based ICAO will hold its first conference on issues related to commercial space travel in early 2015 and will discuss whether it should expand its governance to include oversight of suborbital space travel.

ICAO has come under criticism for not warning of the risks to commercial aircraft over conflict zones after a Malaysian airline was downed over eastern Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people aboard.

The 191-member agency is not responsible for opening or closing airspace, a task left to individual states.

Industry experts said ICAO, which promotes the development of global civil aviation including air transport standards, should play a role in planning for the retrieval of space debris, for instance, at a time when private enterprise is eyeing the final frontier.

“People have just begun to think about it, but how it is to be instituted is not clear yet,” said Prashant Sukul, India’s representative on ICAO’s governing council. “If it’s not ICAO, then who is it going to be?”

Sukul, one of a handful of representatives hoping to replace retiring secretary general Raymond Benjamin in 2015, said he is campaigning on a “space platform.”

Discussion aimed at broadening ICAO’s mandate is in initial stages and could take years to apply. Sukul acknowledged the challenge space represents for an agency that can take years to tackle key issues on Earth.

After a Korean airliner was shot down in 1983 by the Soviet Union, it took 15 years for an amendment to be added to ICAO’s founding articles - the Chicago convention - that said states should not shoot down civilian airliners. l

THE COLOUR RUN

AP, Washington

The Secret Service is coming under renewed scrutiny after a man scaled the White House fence and made it all the way through the front door before he was apprehended. President Barack Obama and his daughters had just left the White House on Friday evening when the intruder climbed the north fence, darted across the lawn and into the residence, where agents nabbed him. The security breach triggered a rare evacuation of much of the White House. Secret Service officers drew their guns as they rushed staffers and journalists out a side door.

For the Secret Service, the incident was a devastating episode that prompted fresh questions about the agency and its ability to protect the president.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security, called it “totally unacceptable” and said the incident was just one of a string of security failings on the Secret Service’s watch. “Unfortunately, they are failing to do their job,” said Chaffetz. l

agreed on the details.

Cameron was faced with criticism from his own Conservative Party about the blithe manner of the promising and the possible expense. More interesting, perhaps, many legislators said that if Scotland received still more power over its finances, it was time for England to gain more, too. Some even suggested a separate English parliament, like the ones in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

One of the great anomalies of the British system, as it has developed, is that England is subject to the laws of Parliament in which Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish legislators vote. But Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own parliaments that rule, without any English say, on many important regional matters.

Cameron on Friday vowed to fix that, saying: “We now have a chance - a great opportunity - to change the way the British people are governed, and change it for the better.”

He gave no specifics but said: “Just as Scotland will vote separately in the Scottish Parliament on their issues

of tax, spending and welfare, so too England, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, should be able to vote on these issues.”

And all that, he asserted, “must take place in tandem with, and at the same pace as, the settlement for Scotland,” with draft legislation supposedly ready by January, which is considered unlikely, given that it must be negotiated with all three main parties. But few expect such important legislation to be enacted before the general election in May. Cameron also has an eye on the general election, his own restive party, the rise of the English nationalist United Kingdom Independence Party to his right and, to his left, the uninspiring performance of his opponent Miliband in arguing for continued union in Scotland.

Cameron clearly sees another advantage to an English parliament. Given his party’s relative strength in England, it would tighten the Conservatives’ grip on power even with left-wing Scotland, with 41 Labour members of Parliament, remaining in the United Kingdom. l

UN aviation body to mull space Syrian Kurds flee to safety as space taxis ready for flight Turkey as IS advances

n Agencies

Fence-jumper gets into While House

n Agencies

n Reuters, Suruc, Turkey Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds crossed into Turkey yesterday, fleeing an advance by Islamic State fighters who have seized dozens of villages close to the border and are advancing on a Syrian town.

Turkey opened a stretch of the frontier on Friday after Kurdish civilians fled their homes, fearing an imminent attack on the town of Ayn al-Arab. Islamic State is now within 15 km (9 miles) of the town, also known as Kobani, according to a Kurdish commander on the ground.

Islamic State’s advances in northern Syria have prompted calls for help by the region’s Kurds who fear a massacre in Kobani. The town sits in a strategic position on the border and has prevented the radical Sunni Muslim militants from consolidating their gains across northern Syria.

Deal reached on enforcing Ukraine ceasefire n Agencies

Competitors are showered with colour powders as they participate in the Color Run in Brighton, southern England. Inspired by the Hindu Holi festival, participants took part in a 5 km run dotted with locations where coloured powders are thrown over the runners REUTERS

“Clashes started in the morning and we fled by car. We were 30 families in total,” said Lokman Isa, 34, a farmer who had crossed into Turkey.

He said Islamic State fighters entered his village, Celebi, with heavy weapons and the Kurdish forces battling them only had light arms.

“They have destroyed every place they have gone to. We saw what they did in Iraq in Sinjar and we fled in fear,” he told Reuters in the Turkish town of Suruc.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told CNN Turk television on Saturday that 45,000 Syrian Kurds had crossed a 30-km section of the border since Turkish authorities opened it on Friday.

Kurdish forces have evacuated at least 100 villages on the Syrian side since the Islamic State onslaught started on Tuesday and have abandoned control of scores as the militant group gained ground. l

Participants in Ukrainian peace talks have agreed to create a buffer zone to separate government troops and pro-Russian fighters, as well as withdraw foreign fighters and heavy weapons from the area of conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The deal reached early on Saturday by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Moscow-backed rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) marked an effort to add substance to a ceasefire agreement that was signed on September 5 but has been frequently broken by clashes.

The new deal signed after hours of talks that dragged late into the night envisages setting up a buffer zone that would be 30 kilometres wide.

They said after the talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk that all heavy weapons should be withdrawn from that zone.

The negotiators also reached agreement on the withdrawal of all foreign

fighters and mercenaries - a diplomatic reference to Russians fighting alongside the rebels.

‘Mercenaries on both sides’

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of fuelling the insurgency in the mostly Russian-speaking Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine with weapons and soldiers.

Moscow has denied that, saying that Russians who joined the mutiny did so as private citizens.

Pressed to comment about the agreement on the withdrawal of foreign fighters, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov, who represented Moscow in the talks, said that “those whom we call mercenaries are present on both sides.”

He said that the OSCE should control the pullout of foreign fighters.

Heidi Tagliavini, an OSCE envoy at the talks, said that the group’s monitors will be deployed to the buffer zone to monitor the deal. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Afghanistan to reveal long-awaited results today

Bilawal vows to take entire Kashmir, India rebuffs comments Weeks spent auditing the runoff results after allegations of fraud n Agencies Dawood Sultanzoi, a Ghani Ah- Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the gen-next leave and prepare for another meeting n AP, Kabul in which our jihadi leaders, elders and madzai supporter and campaign mem- politician of Pakistan, has said that his Afghanistan’s drawn-out presidential election may finally be coming to an end.

Nearly six months after Afghans cast ballots in a first-round vote, the country’s election commission on Saturday said it would announce final, audited results on Sunday from a two-man runoff held in June.

UN and Afghan election officials spent weeks auditing the runoff results after allegations of vote fraud, a common occurrence over Afghanistan’s last two presidential elections.

The announcement that vote results are coming would appear to override one of the negotiating stances of candidate Abdullah Abdullah: that vote results are not released because, he contends, undetectable fraud invalidates the results.

Despite the recount and audit, the drawn-out race does not appear to be coming down to a precise vote tally.

Rather, high-stakes negotiations will settle the country’s power structure.

Boiled down to their simplest formula, the talks pit the northern power brokers backing former Foreign Minister Abdullah against the southern and eastern Pashtun supporters of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister and World Bank official.

President Hamid Karzai excused himself from a memorial ceremony in honor of a deceased former president on Saturday to prepare for what is hoped to be the final agreement on a national unity government.

“If you give me permission I want to

candidates will attend and we will have good news for the Afghan nation, God willing,” Karzai told the gathering.

As of mid-Saturday evening, though, a campaign aide to Ghani Ahmadzai said a meeting between the candidates had not yet begun and it wasn’t clear if one would be held.

Despite the recount and audit, the drawnout race does not appear to be coming down to a precise vote tally. Rather, highstakes negotiations will settle the country’s power structure The two candidates have been negotiating a deal that would divide responsibilities between the president and the newly created office of chief executive.

Those talks have been dragging on for weeks despite two in-person visits by US Secretary of State John Kerry and many follow-up phone calls.

“Everything right now is a green light. Hopefully it will be announced” in the coming hours, said an Abdullah campaign official who insisted on anonymity because he wasn’t an authorized campaign spokesman.

‘Modi too shrewd to be derailed by nationalist symbolism’ n Agencies Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “far too shrewd” to be distracted by nationalist symbolism which would derail his growth agenda and embroil him in unwanted controversies, well known Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria suggests.

But Zakaria, who interviewed him for CNN last weekend, also wonders in an opinion piece in the Washington Post if the problem with the new Prime Minister “turns out to be not that he is too bold but rather that he is not bold enough.”

Modi “radiates confidence,” writes Zakaria. “The public lauds him, world leaders court him and the Bombay Stock Exchange continues to soar.”

“But will this moment of euphoria translate into lasting gains? Can India become the world’s next economic powerhouse?” he asks.

“Modi is extremely intelligent and focused but is different from most leaders,” Zakaria writes noting that the Indian leader’s “worldview has been shaped almost entirely from experience rather than formal schooling.”

Noting that “Modi is passionate about hygiene” and during the election campaign stressed that “India needed toilets first and temples later” Zakaria called it “a significant statement because Modi is seen as an ardent Hindu nationalist.”

China shuts 1.8m accounts in pornography crackdown n Reuters, Beijing China’s Cyperspace Administration has closed nearly 1.8 million accounts on social networking and instant messaging services since it launched its anti-pornography campaign in April, state news agency Xinhua reported yesterday.

The campaign has been focused on shutting down websites showing pornography and services used to solicit prostitution.

Most of the accounts closed were associated with microblogs, smart phone app WeChat and the instant messaging service QQ, Xinhua quoted the Cyberspace Administration as saying.

Many of the accounts were shut down by the companies owning the apps themselves after public complaints, Xinhua said. There was no immediate comment from any of the companies involved. l

His Bharatiya Janata Party “platform still contains plans to build a temple in Ayodhya on the grounds of a destroyed mosque, an issue that has been extremely divisive in the country,” he wrote.

“My sense, based on our conversation, is that Modi is far too shrewd to be distracted by nationalist symbolism, which would derail his growth agenda and embroil him in a series of controversies that he does not seek.”

Modi has also handled the international stage deftly, the internationally regarded journalist suggests. “He is straightforwardly pro-American and seems to harbour little ill-will toward Washington for having refused to give him a visa for almost a decade,” he wrote.

“Where Modi has underperformed, surprisingly, has been in his core competence — economics,” Zakaria wrote suggesting “he has been slow to announce major reforms.”

“The stalled reform agenda might actually be an outgrowth of Modi’s great strength, his pragmatism,” he wrote suggesting “India has many bottlenecks, and delaying major and needed reforms may come back to haunt Modi.”

“Already, Modi’s honeymoon is coming to an end at home,” Zakaria writes citing BJP’s “surprisingly poor” performance in a series of byelections. l

ber, was more measured, saying there was not yet a definitive deal early Saturday evening. “It’s been so volatile it’s hard to predict anything anymore,” he said.

Ghani Ahmadzai is believed to be leading in the official vote count with roughly 55%, though both candidates have said they are committed to a power-sharing government regardless of the election outcome.

Abdullah wants the chief executive to chair Cabinet meetings and for both candidates to sign off on the appointment of high-level government positions. Ghani Ahmadzai has said he believes the constitution mandates that the president lead Cabinet meetings.

The US has been pushing for a resolution so the next president can sign a security agreement that would allow about 10,000 US forces to remain in the country after combat operations wrap up at the end of the year.

Fears have been raised that if talks break down the chances of violence increase. Nasrullah Arsalai is an Abdullah campaign manager, but in an interview this week he urged both sides to make concessions and compromises.

“They need to be responsible, act responsibly,” he said. “This is not about Dr. Ghani and Dr. Abdullah. This is about Afghanistan. This is about the interest of our allies. This is about all the efforts of these 13 years. This is all about the sacrifices of Afghans and our allies have made. For that reason they need to be responsible.” l

9

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would take entire Kashmir from India. Bilawal, in his 20s, was addressing the party workers in Multan region in Punjab on Friday.

“I will take back Kashmir, all of it, and I will not leave behind a single inch of it because, like the other provinces, it belongs to Pakistan,” said the scion of highly influential Bhutto family.

When Bilawal made these remarks, he was flanked by former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Asharaf. Bilawal, who has announced plans to contest next general elections in 2018, heads the secular Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which officially wants good ties with India.

His mother, former slain premier Benazir Bhutto, was twice elected as prime minister while his maternal grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who founded the PPP in 1967, also served as prime minister in 1970s.

Bilawal’s father Asif Ali Zardari was Pakistan’s president from 2008 to 2013.

Meanwhile, India termed as “far from reality” the comment of Zardari that his party will get back entire Kashmir from it, and asserted that the integrity and unity of the country was “non-negotiable.”

“We are in the process of looking forward and looking forward does not mean that our borders will be changed.

We made it very clear that as far as we are concerned, the integrity and unity of India is non negotiable,” a spokesperson for the external affairs ministry of India said. l

This is the man making Bill Gates so rich

Michael Larson

n Agencies Bill Gates is worth an astounding $81.6bn and he keeps getting richer every year. His secret weapon is a man you have probably never heard of: Michael Larson.

Gates hired Larson 20 years ago, when his net worth was a relatively paltry $5bn.

Larson runs Gates’ personal investment company Cascade Investment LLC, funded solely by Gates.

At one time, Gates wealth depended solely on Microsoft. But for years he’s been selling off his Microsoft stake. The common perception is that he’s been using the proceeds from those sales directly for charity. That’s not entirely how it works.

Although Gates makes his own investments in tech, it is Larson, through Cascade, who has taken Gate’s money and diversified it. Gates now has vast holdings in real estate and non-tech companies like the Canadian National Railway Co., AutoNation Inc., and Republic Services Inc. It is these vast holdings that help fund the Gates’ donations. And although Gates has

given an astounding $38bn to his charitable foundation, thanks to Larson, he’s getting richer faster than he can give his money away. His $81.6bn is nearly $6bn more than it was as of March 2014, when he was worth $76bn. And $76bn was $9bn more than he was worth in March, 2013.

In February, Gates celebrated 20 years of this partnership by throwing a gala to honor Larson at his Seattle mansion, reports the WSJ. It was a rare occasion where the two men socialized with each other. Apparently, they aren’t buddies and don’t hang out much, sources told the Journal. At the party, Gates told guests he has “complete trust and faith” in Larson, meaning that Larson invests Gates’ money, buying and selling, with completely autonomy. And he does it all under a cover of such ferocious secrecy that he’s been nicknamed “the Gateskeeper.”

Although publicly traded companies do reveal when Cascade has invested heavily in them, Larson has all sorts of tricks for keeping Cascade’s and Bill Gate’s names out of other investments. l

PA K I S TA N P R OT E S T R AG E S O N

Supporters of the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, chant slogans during a protest in Islamabad. Pakistan’s opposition leaders yesterday ordered their supporters to resist any government attempt to quash their protests against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, deepening a political crisis in the coup-prone nation REUTERS

Japan to restart whaling American imprisoned in N Korea despite IWC ruling tried to become ‘second Snowden’ n Agencies The Japanese government has vowed to restart its controversial whaling programme in the Antarctic next year, BBC reported.

The move comes despite the International Whaling Commission’s vote on Thursday that the programme is illegal because it is not for research purposes and should stop.

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the IWC’s decision was “regrettable.”

Japan maintains its annual hunt is solely for research. But the meat from the slaughtered whales is sold commercially in Japan.

Participants at the IWC’s meeting in Slovenia passed the non-binding resolution with a 35-20 majority.

It was adopted from an International Court of Justice ruling earlier this year stating that Japan’s hunt did not meet the requirements to be “scientific.”

That forced Japan to call off its 20142015 hunt in the Southern Ocean. It still carried out its smaller hunt in the Northern Pacific.

Suga said Japan would work on meeting the strict conditions under which scientific whaling is allowed.

“We are now carrying out preparations for a new plan for scientific whaling to resume in the 2015/2016 year, a plan that takes the International Court ruling into account,” he said.

“Our actions are based on international law, scientific fact and the international whaling treaty.”

Japan started its whaling programme in 1987, a year after an international moratorium was enacted. The ICJ says Japan has caught some 3,600 minke whales since its current programme began in 2005.

It has faced global outrage, including from the US and Australia, with critics saying the programme is a front for commercial whaling. l

n Reuters, Seoul An American recently sentenced to six years hard labor by a North Korean court pretended to have secret US information and was deliberately arrested in a bid to become famous and meet US missionary Kenneth Bae in a North Korean prison, state media said yesterday.

Matthew Miller, 25, of Bakersfield, California, had prepared his story in advance and written in a notebook that he was seeking refuge after failing in an attempt to collect information about the US government, state media said.

“He perpetrated the above-said acts in the hope of becoming a ‘world famous guy’ and the ‘second Snowden’ through intentional hooliganism,” KCNA said, referring to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking secrets of its surveillance programs.

“This is an intolerable insult and mockery of the DPRK and he therefore, deserved punishment,” KCNA said, using the North’s official DPRK acronym.

Miller’s case was exacerbated by the fact that his actions followed “reckless remarks” by US Secretary of State John Kerry that described reclusive North Korea as a ‘country of evil’ Miller was arrested when he tore up the tourist visa he used to enter the isolated country in April, state media said at

the time. He was sentenced to six years hard labor by a North Korean court last Sunday.

“The results of the investigation made it clear that he did so not because of a simple lack of understanding and psychopathology, but deliberately perpetrated such criminal acts for the purpose of directly going to prison,” state media said.

Miller’s case was exacerbated by the fact that his actions followed “reckless remarks” by US Secretary of State John Kerry that described reclusive North Korea as a “country of evil,” state media said.

Kerry in February criticized North Korea as an “evil place” following the publication of an extensive human rights report by United Nations investigators who said North Korean security officials should be tried for crimes related to the systematic starvation, torture and imprisonment of North Koreans. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, September 21, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Bangladesh should take a lead on climate change

T

oday’s global People’s Climate March sends an important signal to world leaders gathering for the UN Climate Summit on September 23.

With evidence growing of the speed of climate change, Bangladesh faces huge threats as rising water levels may permanently inundate entire districts of our low-lying country.

As a nation on the frontline, Bangladesh should take a lead in supporting proposals for globally coordinated taxes on the use of fossil fuels.

Without a worldwide clean energy revolution to reduce per capita growth in greenhouse emissions and to provide more sustainable sources for economic growth, our ability to adapt and improve resilience will be severely compromised.

Economists and environmental scientists have argued that every country needs to start taxing the consumption of fossil fuels. Taxes on fossil fuels would make renewable energy more competitive in comparison to fossil fuels and stimulate investment in renewable energy to reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.

There is a widespread misconception that taxes on fossil fuels would be unpopular as they would reduce the purchasing power of consumers.

However such taxes can be imposed in a “revenue-neutral” manner, by reducing other consumption taxes like VAT and import duties, when taxes are imposed on fossil fuels.

Moreover in a Bangladeshi context, we could actually save much taxpayer money by cutting wasteful subsidies on power and gas. These funds could be freed for investment in education and development.

Our government must work to cut our own dependence on fossil fuels. It should also use this global forum to bolster support for coordinated international action.

As a nation on the frontline, Bangladesh should build support for co-ordinated action

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

Hindus demand 3-day Puja holiday September 13

shehabur rahman Bangladesh is one of the few countries who has a holiday for every religion. I live in the USA and I don’t get a holiday for any Eid. Mephisto Durga puja is arguably the most celebrated of all religious festivals of Bengali Hindus. If Muslims can

Traffic rules

September 14

Nazmul Khair As long as people remain uneducated about local laws, this will keep happening.

Films are largely men-centric: Prosun Azad September 14

T

he Ethiopian government recently provided 100 hectares of land to an apparel manufacturer for the construction of a large $150m garment factory.

Our government should be emulating this type of approach to facilitate the construction of more modern factories.

It is well known that the Bangladeshi government owns or controls significant amounts of idle or unproductively used land. Many state bodies and state controlled enterprises occupy large amounts of under-utilised lands in Dhaka, Chittagong, and near the DhakaChittagong highway.

The opportunity costs of failing to productively use this land are huge. There is great demand for land in our business sector and potential investors.

Our government should actively consider leasing or selling more of these lands to the garment and textile industries.

These lands can then be developed into much-needed RMG parks and industrial zones. This will help factories to cost-effectively relocate from unsafe multi-storey buildings and to attract new investment.

Such efforts need to be backed up by improved infrastructure and communications to make it easier for factories to relocate. The demand and potential already exists. What is needed is a more pro-active approach by the government.

With many competitor nations undertaking considerable efforts to attract investment, the government cannot afford to allow land it controls to be left idle or in the hands of unproductive enterprises.

It should speed up initiatives to make more productive use of state controlled land for the benefit of the economy.

The opportunity costs of failing to productively use this land are huge

Guru I did not know she was the daughter of police officers.

Minister: Laws do not allow punishment of RMG owners

Eviction drive near Karwan Bazar rail track September 12

sahmed001 Simply evicting the bazaar is a pointless exercise.

Someone makes money from it. It is imperative that the authorities follow the money trail and arrest the people who are leasing the lands. After all, the sellers were promised protection by these people and they should be compensated for their loss of livelihood and lives by the very people who sold them a spot on dangerous land.

Run against Blatter or shut up: Dortmund CEO September 13

September 14

Nischintapure Nribiggani “The government is trying its best to keep pressure on owners and force them to pay the due wages.”

The law does not permit bringing accused RMG owners to justice, so the government decided to unlawfully award them with insurance money, instead of making amendment to the legal system. What a joke!

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

have multiple-day holidays during Eid, why can’t our Hindu compatriots get the same privilege? This can be granted to our ethnic cousins without breaking the bank if, for example, they are allowed to opt out of other lesser holidays accorded to followers of other religions. Holidays like Buddha Purnima and Ashura/Maharram come to mind. The government should actively consider granting them this holiday.

Rahman Mahbub Are the tenants (though not legally) who hired the place for a living really responsible for the fatal incident? Why are not the culprits, who actually rented the place, arrested yet? It will not be wise for the respective authorities to consider the public to be so stupid that they are not aware of such rental sprees to gain access into unlawful monetary profit by unscrupulous elements in the capital city. In line with their (the railway authorities’) current eviction effort, they should also prove the credentials of their professional spirit by bringing those responsible for every single incident to justice from now on.

Use idle state land for RMG

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents R so fill R every time the figure 3 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it 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.

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

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Partly open (4) 3 Water pitcher (4) 7 Tool (3) 8 Break out (5) 11 Let fall (4) 12 Letting contract (5) 13 Watchful (5) 15 Agitate (4) 18 Becomes firm (4) 19 Portion (5) 20 Musical drama (5) 21 Chess piece (4) 23 Nuisances (5) 24 Greek letter (3) 25 Indicates agreement (4) 26 Refuse of grain (4)

DOWN 1 Sports enclosures (6) 2 Talisman (6) 4 Armed conflict (3) 5 Foreign-looking (6) 6 Corded fabric (3) 9 Individual (6) 10 Make lace (3) 11 Longing (6) 14 Smooth and even (mus) (6) 16 Tantalising puzzle (6) 17 Sanity (6) 19 Vigour (3) 21 Female swan (3) 22 Bundle of notes (3)

rye relb “The 78-year-old Blatter, who has headed FIFA since 1998, announced this week he would run for a fifth term despite mounting criticism over alleged corruption and FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.”

Qatar. lolol The land of slaves and slave labour. What a joke.

CALVIN AND HOBBES Dam repairs in Joypurhat September 14

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

PEANUTS

Hussain Ahmed “The people of Kalai upazila in Joypurhat repair a dam beside the half-kilometre stretch of Chandail-Jhamutpur road which has recently been damaged.”

An example of the hardship the people of Bangladesh continue to face.

Tongi garment factory catches fire September 14

Mahmid Abdullah “The cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately.”

And again.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, September 21, 2014

A required about-turn every other day due to the sporadic violence that caught the nation for a very long time.

Now, after passing more than eight months of the new year, the “balance sheet” of Bangladesh clearly indicates how the religion-based politicians have exploited their religion for their personal gain. The convicted war criminals have used their identity as the leaders of the largest Islamic party of Bangladesh to show the world that the Bangladesh government has actually cracked down on Islam. Also, that they are being tried not because they were involved in heinous crimes during the 1971 war of secession, but because they are religious leaders!

On the other hand, the Hefazat-e-Islam, who were driven out of the capital on May 6 of last year after an abortive attempt to seize the capital demanding the establishment of fundamentalism in Bangladesh, also made a plea to the Muslim world to save the Muslims of Bangladesh.

Time to cut loose from religion-based politics?

P

n Aaqib Md Shatil rior to the Indian sub-continent campaign, with a view to looting the enriched temples and forts of India, Emir Timur – popularly known as Timur the Lame – declared the expedition as a jihad against the non-believers of India and decided to ransack the Indian temples as, according to him, those were the places where the sins occurred the most. In the same way, Timur successfully utilised Islam throughout his regime to conquer and rule a vast portion of Central Asia.

Though Timur Lang, who declared himself the sword of Islam, is an ideal example of using religion as an apparatus to govern for a very long time unopposed, most of the ruling elites of the countries that belong to the Muslim Ummah had frequently exploited Islam as a political weapon to ensure the longevity of their regime as well as a way to gain immense popularity

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

among the masses. In many cases, the religion-based parties used the sentiments of the youths to attain the goals of their leaders.

In Bangladesh, the circumstances are quite the same. Most of the parties within the ruling alliance led by the Awami League have been differing in religion-based politics since the inception of the 14-party alliance. Apart from them, all the left-leaning parties were seen opposing religion-based politics while the BNP has never vocally opposed the ideology of religion-based political parties.

The alliance led by BNP has always been a safe haven for religion-based political forces. The BNP has never unravelled any clear stand on the question of the existence of religion-based political parties in a country like Bangladesh. Tarique Rahman, the senior vice-president of the party broke the mold on its 36th founding anniversary.

He stood against the existence of religion-based politics quoting his fa-

ther Ziaur Rahman at an event in East London. Tarique Rahman’s belated realisation about religion-based politics can be seen as a fresh blow, especially after 2013.

Last year can be considered as one of the most crucial years for Bangladesh. The verdicts given against the Jamaat leaders for their involvement in criminal activities during the ninemonth-long struggle for liberation enraged both the progressives and radicals of the country.

In February, a large number of people gathered in Shahbagh opposing the tribunal verdict of life imprisonment of Abdul Quader Molla – a central leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami who was also convicted for various crimes against humanity, and compelled the government to amend the law to ensure the death of Abdul Quader Molla.

The amendment of the law was followed by some tribunal verdicts against some other central leaders of the same party. All of them but the

An isolated Israel n Sushovan Dhar

F

inally, on August 26, after 50 days of “war,” the two sides have agreed to a permanent ceasefire.

The hapless population residing in the Gaza Strip would be able to live without the deafening roars of Israeli missiles or the bombs. Have the gates of hell finally closed for them?

After more than seven weeks of deadly and destructive aerial bombing and ground operations targeted towards the Gaza Strip that left Palestinians further immiserated, the State of Israel was forced to agree to a ceasefire. An agreement between Hamas and the Israeli government was ultimately brokered by the Egyptians.

This ended the “Gaza War,” which in reality is only another gruesome attack by the Israeli armed forces against the Palestinian people.

These attacks clearly manifest that the State of Israel, backed by the United States and other Western powers, is the regional aggressor whose current actions have claimed the lives of 2,138 Palestinians, left 10,300 wounded, and completely blighted Gaza.

However, it is difficult to understand the Palestinian celebrations on the streets in spite of the losses and amidst the ruins of destruction. No, a deeper probe into the issue reveals that even under these gruesome military attacks, Palestinians have heroically resisted and have gained partial victory. Israel today stands exposed as never before.

Israel may still have the audacity to continue its criminal policy of coercive ethnic cleansing, but around the world it is getting isolated, increasingly. The UN Human Rights Council, in its resolution of July 23, decided to set up a commission to launch an international and independent inquiry which will investigate “all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Gaza Strip in the context of military operations conducted since mid-June.”

Israel couldn’t not expect such a straight slap in its face. The Geneva-based 47-member council con-

demned the “widespread, systematic, and gross violations of international human rights and freedoms arising from the Israeli military aggression in Gaza” in the strongest terms. None of the members except the US dared to vote against the resolution. 29 nations including India, Russia, Mexico, and Kenya, with whom Israel has close diplomatic ties, couldn’t oppose the resolution, but voted for it.

The result of this action was a political and military defeat for Israel

Israel’s wishes to receive an endorsement by the European members of the council received a jolt when eight European members including UK, Germany, and Italy decided to abstain.

Even, the BJP-led, right-wing Indian government seeking even closer ties with another terrorist state (Israel) in its “fight against terror” had earlier refused a resolution in the Indian parliament condemning Israeli atrocities.

However, it was compelled to vote for the council resolution. Israel stands even more isolated today.

Global protests

The attacks by Israel sparked a global backlash. Despite media attempts, the genocide was hardly concealable.

Large protests and opposition to this brazen aggression erupted all across the world. Even Israel’s allies were forced to express their displeasure with the situation, pressurised by reactions back home.

July 21-27 witnessed millions on the streets around the planet protesting the Israeli aggression and demanding an end to the war in Gaza. At home, over 5,000 members of Israeli civil society and part of the anti-war move-

90-year-old Ghulam Azam were initially told to walk the gallows for their crimes against humanity that agitated the biggest fundamentalist group of Bangladesh, who got involved in widespread vandalism all over the country.

But the event that shook the whole nation was the rise of a fundamentalist group who can gather millions of people with a call of solidarity – Hefazat-e-Islam, the custodian of Islam.

The country experienced how an organisation from a remote area can block the capital of the nation for a day. Hefazat-e-Islam assembled hundreds and thousands of people in the capital and demanded blasphemy laws as well as the execution of the bloggers who crowded at Shahbagh, as according to them those bloggers were anti-Islam atheists.

Interestingly, one year later, hardly anyone can remember what happened last year – one of the deadliest years as the country turned into a valley of death. In 2013, someone had to die

gent group al-Qaeda has also been lured with their appeal and decided to spread their tentacles in Bangladesh.

Ayman al-Zawahiri in his speech mentioned that the new wing would rescue Muslims of Bangladesh from injustice and oppression.

After the call of Zawahiri, a rethink on the stand about the existence of religion-based political parties in Bangladesh from the political leaders of both camps had become a necessity.

Political leaders should be prudent enough to realise the need of cutting ties with religion-based politics.

And in the case of BNP, the leaders should go through the results of upazila polls and the incidents during their movement. Many BNP activists and even leaders had to die during the protests that ultimately helped the Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat has won in the local government elections from many areas that once belonged to BNP. While Jamaat frequently offered radical ideology among the youth, BNP

One year later, hardly anyone can remember what happened last year – one of the deadliest years

However, their appeal was eventually accepted by the international media.

Many prominent news agencies are still labelling the war crime-convict Jamaat leaders as Islamic leaders, which helped to create immense pressure on the government in favour of the war criminals.

After experiencing frequent bloodshed in 2013 after every single verdict against the war crime-accused Jamaat leaders, the government seems to be gone into hibernation on this issue this year.

On the other hand, many international and non-government organisations that work for Muslims have provided formidable financial assistance to the Hefazat-e-Islam leaders, making them rich overnight. But the most alarming part is that the insur-

was seen engaged in factional infightings and converting themselves into an Islamic outfit.

Youths hailed in an anti-Awami League and pro-Islamic environment used to join BNP’s student front in the 80s, but now they opt for Jamaat as they cannot find any difference between the basic characteristics between the two parties.

If AL is the political rival of BNP, Jamaat is its ideological rival that will turn BNP into a weaker party someday. It is high time for BNP to cut ties with religion-based politics. Tarique Rahman has given the push, other BNP leaders should proceed now. l Aaqib Md Shatil is a blogger and member of Dhaka University Model United Nations Association.

Showing off holiness ment took to the streets in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the occupation and the siege of Gaza.

Many Latin American countries condemned the Israeli invasion, and some even recalled their ambassadors as a mark of protest. Denmark, Finland, and Norway backed the Palestinians with substantial medical aid.

The Turkish prime minister is known to have stated this “surpassed Hitler in barbarism.” There were protests from many other countries including resolutions of condemnations adopted at the national parliaments or senates.

Intellectuals, famous artists, human rights activists reacted like never before, outraged and opposing this destruction. Due to this, Israel could not gain any political mileage while, despite all the deaths and destruction caused, and some punches in its military apparatus, Hamas eventually strengthened its political prestige.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel gained popularity around the world, especially in Europe. This campaign, started by a wide range of Palestinian organisations in 2005 taking inspiration from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the BDS movement is today a widespread international effort.

The balance sheet

To sum up, the result of this action was a political and military defeat for Israel.

It is not only critics of Israel who say this. Even the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz acknowledges this. Using footballing analogies, it sums up the balance sheet of the 50-day invasion with the headline “Hamas 1, Israel 0.”

Another analyst, Ari Shavit states that the “secret weapon of Hamas” was being successful in undermining the foundations of the support for Israel in the five continents. It is no coincidence that the crisis is already incubating the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu and is now deepening, reports Haaretz. The Palestinians have every reason to celebrate. l Sushovan Dhar is an activist. He is based in Kolkata.

n Mushfique Wadud

I

met an interesting person the other day. He was in his late 40s, and clad in a religious get-up – an Islamic cap, long beard, and a sign on his forehead which hints that he is very regular in tending to his five-time prayers. I use the term “interesting” in referring to him, as I found contradictions. He was showing every sign that he follows his religion strictly, but when it came to religious teachings about his professional life, he was not very concerned.

The minimum bribe he charges a client is Tk10,000. You have to wait months for a document from him, but if you give him Tk10,000, the work will be done in a week or two. He kept saying “amar jonno dowa korben” (please pray for me). I asked him the other day: “But do you think my prayers will do you any good, as you make your living on bribes?”

Hearing this question, he stared at me. “How can you say this?” he asked.

I was frightened at first, as I needed to get my work done, and replied, “I was just being funny.” “Listen, the money goes to my boss’s pocket as well, I have no alternative.”

He tried to convince me that he was not doing a bad thing, and that it would not hamper his journey to heaven. I thought a lot about his explanations, and was frightened. If all pious people thought this way, it would be a disaster.

This is not an isolated case. You will meet this kind of people everywhere in this country. Here, a religious life and bribe-taking go side by side. So many people hide under religion and do things that are forbidden by it. You will see no space available in mosques during religious events, but when it comes to helping others, giving food to homeless people, or simply giving up bad deeds, you won’t see that level of competition.

Last Ramadan, I met another interesting person at a different office. He was taking a bribe from a client and saying: “Speak less. I am fasting. Don’t cause trouble to my fasting.” The person who was giving the bribe suddenly spoke up: “Do you think your fasting

will be accepted when you live on bribes?” Why don’t we follow religious teachings of not doing bad things, like not to do injustice to people, not to cheat people? But when it comes to the rituals, we are all in competition with each other. Isn’t it all to show off ?

I remember one of my friends during my university days. He had the beard, the cap, and a mark on his forehead. This friend also happened to be the son of a top government official.

The problem with this religious youth was his pride. He used to consider it a bad thing to speak politely with people who, according to him, were of a lower grade, like rickshaw-pullers, waiters, and class IV employees of the university.

That friend of mine often complained to me: “Why do you maintain a good relationship with these people?” Every time I heard that question, I thought to myself: He is religious in appearance, but not on the inside.

We have many such people in this country, who are good at performing the rituals, but are not good at upholding the spirit of religion. When I see people saying their prayers, blocking Dhaka’s roads, I think to myself, if we have so many religious people here,

Not-so-pious actions

why are we at the bottom of the Corruption Perceptions Index?

Why are so many children out on the streets? I don’t find any explanation. Doesn’t Islam teach us to help the poor, to give up wickedness? It might seem like a generalisation, but I have found that a good number of people with a typical religious appearance are not actually good people. These are the people who deceive others the most, sell adulterated foods, or are just impossible to deal with.

I’ve heard that some restaurant owners and food hawkers grow beards so that people trust them, seeing how the people of this country have the notion that religious people will not do anything to harm them. But some people with a stereotypical religious appearance are destroying that trust.

In my opinion, the first thing for any religious person to do is to follow the teachings of their religion. They should ensure that they don’t harm others, and don’t do injustice to others. If we cannot be good human beings, being good at religious rituals will do us no good. l Mushfique Wadud is an education reporter at the Dhaka Tribune.

BIGSTOCK

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Sunday, September 21, 2014

ANGELINA JOLIE to start 4th directorial venture ‘Africa’ n Entertainment Desk Actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie has been hired to direct “Africa,” a feature film about paleoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey and his campaign against ivory poachers that threaten Africa’s elephants.

The film, Jolie’s fourth directorial effort, is from Skydance Productions, the company behind recent “Terminator” and “Mission: Impossible” films. The screenplay is from Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for “Forrest Gump.”

“I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life,” said Jolie in a statement.

Jolie added: “Leakey emerged from the violent conflict with elephant poachers with a deeper understanding of man’s footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him.”

Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison said: “It is very close to my heart, and I know that it will exceed my expectations in Angelina’s hands.”

Jolie will be joined by cinematographer Roger Deakins, who also worked on her next release “Unbroken,” a Universal Pictures biopic of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner turned war hero that opens in December.

Universal said in July that it acquired worldwide rights to Jolie’s “By the Sea,” a drama in production, written and directed by the actress who is also co-starring with husband Brad Pitt. l

Akram Khan, silhouetted against a lantern behind a transparent piece of cloth, performs during the show of his dance solo “Desh” (Homeland) at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.

The internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer of Bangladeshi descent made his stage debut in the country on Friday and left a houseful audience mesmerised RICHARD HAUGHTON

Goethe Institut remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall n Entertainment Desk In celebration the 24th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, a three-day-long film screening has been arranged by the Goethe Institut, Dhanmondi.

The programme will show “Barbara,” directed by Christian Petzold, “Sun Alley,” directed by Leander Haussmann, and “The Lives of Others,” directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The show starts at 6pm, on September 21, 22, and 23 respectively.

The films on the separation between the former German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as

Film Barbara will be screened on the opening day life in the two very different societies of the same nation which suffered from the EastWest divide. As part of the process that tore the “Iron Curtain” apart in 1991, the occupied territories of East and West Germany were reunified as the Federal German Republic on October 3, 1990. l

Bengal Art Lounge celebrates three years through retrospective n Entertainment Desk Bengal Art Lounge is celebrating and commemorating it’s three-year-long journey so far through “2011- 2014, A Retrospective,” a collection that recollects a selection of artworks those have previously been on display at the venue before.

The program has been inaugurated yesterday and it continues until September 30.

Consistent with the gallery’s endeavour to create connections between new and established forms of artistic expression, this retrospective refutes traditional categories. Artworks by young artistes and seasoned masters are intertwined here irrespectively of style, genre, or school of influence.

The artists featured in the exhibition include Monirul Islam, Qayyum Chowdhury, Rokeya Sultana, Dhali Al Mamoon, Syed Jahangir, Niamul Bari, MM Maiz, Mustafa Jamil Akbar Shamim, Maksuda Iqbal Nipa, Vinita Karim, Wakilur Rahman, Ranjit Das, Mohammad Hasanur Rahman, Salzar Rahman, Jon DenHartigh, Preema Nazia Andaleeb. l

Exhibition

Alo Adharir Golpo Time: 3pm – 8pm Drik Gallery, House 58, Road 15A (New) Nilabho Joler Rodey

By Shammin Sultana Munni Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Centre, Rd No 7, Dhanmondi Solo Art exhibition by Murtaja Basheer Time: 11am – 8pm Galleri Kaya, Uttara

Syed Abdul Hadi honoured n Entertainment Desk Singer Syed Abdul Hadi was honoured at a reception programme on Friday, as a tribute to his illustrious career that helped shape the modern-day music industry of Bangladesh. The programme, titled “Gaane Gaane Gunijon Sombordhona,” was part of an initiative by Citibank NA to recognise the contribution of one singer every year.

Rokia Afzal Rahman, a former adviser of caretaker government, Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, renowned singer and musician, and Rashed Maksud, the managing director of Citibank NA, were present at the reception. Abdul Hadi was presented with an emblem, an honourary cheque and his portrait.

Earlier, the event paid tribune to the recently demised legendary singer Firoza Begum by observing a minute of silence. Syed Abdul Hadi, in his reac-

Colours of Friendship Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Centre, Rd No 7, Dhanmondi Only Connect. Edition One Time: 12pm – 8pm Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct Karwan Bazaar

Syed Abdul Hadi renders song at the programme SADIA MARIUM

SHAHID KAPOOR explains why Indian films don’t win Oscars n Entertainment Desk

Shahid Kapoor, currently busy promoting his upcoming film “Haider,” says that Indian movies don’t make it to the Academy Awards as Bollywood does not make films for a global audience.

“We are a huge industry on our own. We are second largest in the world, in terms of making movies. I think we focus on the audience we are making our films for. Our sensibilities are very different from Hollywood films. That is why there are very few films that work here as well as internationally,” says Shahid.

The actor adds that people “do a film in India, thinking that it will go to the Oscars. I find it stupid. I have to do a film here for the people in In-

dia. I’m not doing my current film because it’s going to get nominated somewhere. I am doing it because I want people in this country to like it,” says Shahid.

He says that often, parallel cinema hits the jackpot. “Sometimes you see a lot of films that are not considered mainstream and tend to get picked up (for the Oscars) because those film-makers don’t have worries like, ‘How will I make the people of this country like it?’ They make cheaper, smaller and tighter films, and want to experiment with the kind of audience that might like it,” says the actor. l

Slumdog Millionaire scriptwriter pens for next project of Life of Pi director n Entertainment Desk

Shreyoshi Time: 12pm – 8pm Gallery Twenty One

tion, remarked that he had no “serious intention” to enter the world of music in his early life. He had “only passion” for music, he said, but failed to remember exactly how and when he started singing.

“When I started, the condition in our society was not conducive to one’s dream for taking music as a career option. I served as a government officer and also as a teacher, but for me, music remains a life-long passion.”

Mustafa Zaman Abbasi recollected his moments with the singer and said, “Hadi is the most celebrated singer of our time after Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. I admire him like my own brother.”

Toward the end of the programme, the singer was requested to sing for the audience and he obliged, though initially refusing to do so citing “mental disturbance.” He rendered two Tagore songs. l

Essence of Nature

By N S Chowdhury Dancy Time: 11am – 6pm La Galerie, Alliance Francaise

Film

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes How to Train Your Dragon 2 Most Welcome 2 Guardians of the Galaxy Alpo Alpo Premer Golpo Time: 10am – 10pm Star Cineplex, Level 8, Bashundhara City

“Life of Pi” helmer Ang Lee has found his next directorial vehicle in the adaptation of Ben Fountain’s satirical novel Billy Lynn’s “Long Halftime Walk.”

“Slumdog Millionaire” scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy penned the script of this film.

The story of the film centres on a 19-year-old soldier Billy Lynn who survive a battle in Iraq that is captured by embedded news cameras, making him a hero. Back home in the US, he embarks on a promotional tour that culminates at the half-time show of a Thanksgiving

Day football game in Texas before they are returned to the war, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The film will mark Rothman and Lee’s fifth collaboration. They worked together on “The Wedding Banquet” when Rothman was with Sam Goldwyn Films. Their most recent venture “Life of Pi,” an India set drama about a boy adrift in the ocean with a Bengal tiger, grossed USD600 million at the worldwide box office.

“I’ve had a relationship with Ang for 25 years. He’s easily turned down 100 movies since Pi. But that’s where patience and persistence come into play,” Rothman said.

The film will be produced by Lee, Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell and by Film4, which originally optioned the book. Lee is reuniting with Tom Rothman for his TriStar Productions and Film4 for the project.

“I am very excited to be going back to work and to be collaborating with my old friend Tom Rothman. The most important thing to me is storytelling, and Billy Lynn’s ‘Long Halftime Walk’ is a story that immediately gripped me.

I look forward to starting the creative process with this extraordinary team of collaborators,” Lee said. l

Did you know?

Victor Wanyama has become the first Kenyan to score a goal in the English Premier League

Sport

14 Arsenal’s

quickfire treble stuns Villa

Sunday, September 21, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

14 Van Gaal keen

15 ISL will lift

on Ronaldo return

Mushfiq against big hauls

With the only century for the Tigers in the two-Test series, Mushfiq said, “Our batsmen were dismissed in a very important situation of the game and we also did not get the breakthroughs when needed.”

When asked if there will be a change in captaincy for different formats,

Our batsmen were dismissed in a very important situation of the game and we also did not get the breakthroughs when needed Mushfiq said the board will decide it and, “After every loss the team, especially the captain has to answer the questions.”

Meanwhile, the young left-arm spinner Taijul Islam who bagged a five-for on debut during the first Test said, “Making a Test debut outside the country is always challenging and it’s a milestone for me. It’s difficult for a spinner to bowl on those conditions. Still I have a lot to learn and I will try to implement those in future as well.” l

Bangladesh team manager and selector Habibul Bashar (L), captain Mushfiqur Rahim (R) and Taijul Islam (2R) walk out of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after arriving from West Indies yesterday MUMIT M

Japan maul Bangladesh in hockey Poor result in women’s shooting Naveed Alam as the 0-9 defeat to South n Shishir Hoque Korea in the Asia Cup hockey last year Japan spilled water over all the hard work of the Bangladesh hockey team as the latter were crushed by the title contenders 8-0 in their opening match of the 17th Asian Games at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium in Korea yesterday.

The defeat also meant the hope of finishing 5th or 6th in the event got slimmer for Bangladesh who have been preparing for the Games for the last three months. Though Bangladesh won the World Hockey League Round-1, facing Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, the 30th ranked side were not able to trouble their stronger opponent at all.

It was also Bangladesh’s second biggest defeat under the 13-month reign of Bangladesh’s Pakistani head coach

tops the chart.

Bangladesh began poorly and the situation went from bad to worse as the match rolled on. They conceded five goals in the first three quarters of 45 minutes and three more in the fourth and final quarter. Despite winning five penalty corners Bangladesh possessed zero threat.

Substitute goalkeeper Abu Sayeed Nippon, who replaced Hockey World League hero Ashim Gope, made five brilliant saves to save further blushes.

“It is totally an unexpected result.

Japan are 13th in the ranking and they are obviously stronger than us but I expected the margin should be 5-2,” said Naveed after the match.

Bangladesh will play their second group match against Malaysia today before facing Singapore on September 23.

Meanwhile In the other events, Bangladesh shooters also staged a poor

Indian football: Del Piero

Bashar’s contrasting Caribbean tour n Mazhar Uddin

Captain blames overall team performance behind the dismal result achieve wins against the better opposin Mazhar Uddin tion which we couldn’t do,” he added.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim held the overall team performance responsible for yet another demoralising series in 2014. The Tigers returned home from West Indies yesterday after getting beaten in all the ODI and Test series, while the only Twenty20 was washed out, and despite the result the wicketkeeper-batsman opined against big hauls in the side.

“If we need to change it should be the combination of the side and the team should be selected on the basis of our opposition and conditions,” said Mushfiq at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. “Before touring the West Indies we tried to do such things but we did not get the results.”

“We will try against Zimbabwe again and I think it’s better to work with the same set of players and help their form return rather than replacing the cricketers as this is not a solution to change players,” he said.

“We started well in the first ODI but could not finish it while in the second match we could have chased down the target, but again we failed. Same happened in the Test matches – we started reasonably well but failed at the end.

We need to play consistent cricket to

13

display as Armin Asha finished 33rd among 52 shooters in the women’s 10meter air pistol event while her compatriots Ardina Ferdous and Sinthia Naznin Tumpa completed in 40th and 41st positions respectively.

Kim Jangmi of South Korea clinched gold medal while her compatriot Jung Jeehae won the silver as Guo Wenjun of China secured bronze.

In the trap men’s qualifying round, Bangladesh’s Quaysoor Miah finished 45th among 46 competitors.

On the other hand, 10 Bangladeshi weightlifters, who participated in a 10day training camp in Incheon provided

by South Korean Weightlifting Federation, were included in the Asian Games contingent just a day before the opening ceremony.

Mollah Sabira Sultana and Mostain Billah are scheduled to take part in the women’s 53kg and men’s 62kg weight category respectively today. l

Bangladesh registered their first Test draw in West Indies 10 years ago under the captaincy of Habibul Bashar.

One of the most successful captain and batsman in Bangladesh’s 14-year Test history, Bashar was also a part of the contingent that returned from the Caribbean islands yesterday, but this time he acted as the team manager and came home with handful of disappointments.

Bashar’s fighting knock of 113 in the first innings of the first Test in 2004 enabled the Tigers to force a memorable draw against the full strength Caribbean side. He retired from international cricket in 2008 and played domestic cricket for two more years before he was appointed as one of the three national selectios.

“Actually its two different roles (player and manager) and you cannot compare the work. However, we never expected such performance and we all are disappointed after this tour. We kept on repeating some mistakes throughout the tour, but I am sure we will overcome them in future,” said Bashar.

Bangladesh lost the first Test match by 10 wickets in spite of playing eight genuine batsman in the XI. “We tried to experiment during the first period of the tour as the team was under performing. And the previous team combination was also not working for us so we tried to do something new which did not clicked for us,” he said. The 42-yearold informed they are giving time for the coach Chandika Hathurusingha to settle in and try his strategies. l

Razib, Niaz win in first round n Tribune Desk

Gazi returns after getting action tested

Grandmasters Enamul Hossain Razib and Niaz Murshed registered victories in the first round of the Berger Paints National A Chess Championship while other two GMs Abdullah Al Rakib and Ziaur Rahman played out a draw at the Media Centre of Bangladesh Olympic Association yesterday.

Enamul Hossain Razib of Bangladesh Navy beat CM Sohel Chowdhury of Leonine Chess Club. Razib with black pieces took Sicilian Defense and won the game after 39 moves.

Niaz Murshed of Mohammedan defeated Fide Master Rezaul Haque of Access Group. Niaz played with black pieces in irregular opening game and won after 58 moves.

International Master Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar of Bangladesh Navy beat Masum Hossain of Fire-Service & Civil Defense while FM Nasir Ahmed of Bangladesh Navy beat Golam Mostaf Bhuiyan of Mymensing DSA. l

n Mazhar Uddin Off-spinner Sohag Gazi returned home yesterday after getting his bowling action tested at the Metropolitan University in Cardiff, England on Friday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket operations manager Sabbir Khan informed that the bowling test went well for the off spinner. “I spoke with Gazi on Friday just after his bowling test in Cardiff and he informed that the test went well and he returned to Bangladesh today (yesterday) at 5.20 in the afternoon,” said Sabbir yesterday.

The off-spinner’s bowling action was questioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the second ODI against West Indies and he returned ahead of the Test series to undergo his bowling test and fly for Cardiff on September 17.

According to the ICC rules the result of the bowling action test is scheduled

to give within 14 days after test but Gazi will be receiving his bowling test result in 20 days.

Meanwhile, Al Amin Hossain will also fly to the United Kingdom on October 1 after the fast bowlers bowling action was also questioned by the ICC after the first Test against West Indies.l

Sheikh Russel off to a flier n AFC

Scenes from the Boat Race held at the Balu River, Beraid Union, in capital’s Uttar Badda yesterday. Nine boats from different districts participated in the event organised by the Braid Union Krira Shangstha MUMIT M

A second-half header from Kinglsey Chigozie was enough to give Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra Limited all three points in the AFC President’s Cup opener, in a hardfought 1-0 win over FC Erichim of Mongolia at a scorching Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday.

Although Sheikh Russel were pegged back for long spells in the first half of the Group B opener, Nigerian forward Chigozie rose highest on 65 minutes to head home and give the tournament debutants from Bangladesh all three points in Colombo.

While FC Erchim had arguably edged the first half, they faded badly in the second period and now must regroup for Monday’s meeting with DPR Korea’s Rimyongsu Club.

“I am not satisfied with the performance despite the win but that’s maybe because of the hot weather it was difficult to play to their full potential,” said Sheikh Russel coach Sheikh Mohammad Zakaria, with the Bangladeshi side now due for a three day rest period before continuing their campaign against Rimyongsu on Wednesday.

“I told the players at half-time not to worry about the goalless score line and to play their normal game and the goal would come.

“I am convinced, though, that my team will be able to raise their game for the subsequent fixtures.”

In a fast opening to the tie, Sheikh Russel forward Jahid Ameli had sounded an early warning of his goal threat after only two minutes with a free kick curled narrowly over from 20 yards out.

And just eight minutes later the same player had the ball in the net, but Ameli had strayed offside before turning in Anower Hossain’s cross at the back post.

At half-time, Sheikh Russel coach Zakaria’s tactical switch paid dividend after he brought on Mohammed Morad to take over the right flank of his backline and quell the dangerous 18-year-old playmaker Tuguldur Munkh-erdene who was behind much of Erichim’s good work.

A clumsy challenge by Davaajav Battur on Ameli on the left edge of the penalty area was clinically punished as Mithun Chowdhury’s resulting freekick found the towering form of Chigozie at the back post, and the striker powered his header down past goalkeeper Ariunbold Batsaikhan.l

14

Sport

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Gaal keen on Arsenal’s quickfire Van Ronaldo return treble stuns Villa n AFP, Manchester

n AFP, London

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck (C) celebrates scoring their second goal during their English Premier League match against Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England yesterday AFP

Arsenal stopped Aston Villa going top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win on Saturday.

Villa had conceded just one league goal in their previous four league matches but all that changed as Arsenal fired in three inside four minutes at Villa Park.

The much-criticised Mesut Ozil put the Gunners in front in the 32nd minute and former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck scored his first Arsenal goal two minutes later before Villa’s Aly Cissokho turned the ball into his own net.

Meanwhile Newcastle moved off the bottom of the table and eased the pressure on under-fire manager Alan Pardew by coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Hull, with substitute Papiss Cisse scoring both the Magpies’ goals.

Southampton won 1-0 away to a Swansea side who had to play more than half the match a man down after Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony was sent off.

QPR and Stoke shared the points in a 2-2 draw at Loftus Road while honours were also even in the goalless draw between Burnley and Sunderland.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had been forced to defend Germany World Cup-winner Ozil, a club record £42 million ($76 million) signing from Real Madrid last term, after the playmaker came under fire again following another uninspiring display in the Gunners’ 2-0 Champions League defeat at

Borussia Dortmund in midweek.

But, played in by Welbeck, he made no mistake with a side-foot chance to put Arsenal ahead against Villa.

Minutes later, the roles were reversed when Ozil’s cross found Welbeck, who fired the ball into the roof of the net. A stunned Villa then saw Kieran Gibbs’s cross-shot turned into their net

by Cissokho, with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain waiting to pounce.

In Saturday’s early match, QPR narrowly avoided their fourth Premier

RESULTS Aston Villa

0-3

Arsenal Ozil 32, Welbeck 34, Cissokho 36-og

Burnley

0-0

Newcastle

2-2

Cisse 73, 87

QPR

Hull Jelavic 49, Diame 68

2-2

Caulker 42, Kranjcar 88

Swansea

Sunderland

0-1

Stoke Diouf 11, Crouch 51

Southampton Wanyama 80

League defeat of the season as a fine late equaliser from Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar rescued a 2-2 draw with Stoke at Loftus Road.

Mame Biram Diouf opened the scoring for visitors Stoke and, following Steven Caulker’s equaliser, it was Peter Crouch who restored Stoke’s lead against his former club. But with just two minutes remaining, former Tottenham midfielder Kranjcar scored his first goal since January. l

Manchester United manger Louis van Gaal said Friday he would like to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford but accepts that Real Madrid would be reluctant to sell the Portuguese winger There has been renewed speculation that United could make a move for the 29-year-old, who left Old Trafford for the Spanish capital in an £80 million move ($131 million, 102 million euros) in 2009.

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has claimed Ronaldo is disillusioned with life at the Bernabeu due to the club’s transfer policy.

Van Gaal likened Ronaldo to Radamel Falcao, who has joined United on loan from Monaco, as a top player that United would always be keen to sign.

But he concedes that Real, who gave Ronaldo a new five-year contract 12 months ago, would be unlikely to allow him to leave the Bernabeu.

Asked about the speculation, the Dutchman said: “Yes but it’s always a discussion in the papers and I don’t think the media shall buy Ronaldo.

“When it is possible, what I said with Falcao, players like Ronaldo give a lot extra to selection or to a team but I don’t think Real Madrid shall sell him.”

Colombia striker Falcao came off the bench for his debut in the 4-0 Premier League win over QPR last weekend - United’s first competitive victory under van Gaal. The United boss started that game with Juan Mata playing behind Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, with Angel di Maria in a deeper midfield role.

Van Gaal was adamant Friday that Falcao and van Persie were not simply in a straight fight for one of the forward berths alongside Wayne Rooney. l

Pellegrini takes aim at Chelsea Suarez already a good

Costa will face City vows Mourinho n AFP, Cobham n AFP, Manchester Diego Costa will face Manchester City on Sunday despite Jose Mourinho admitting the Chelsea striker needs rest to clear up a hamstring problem.

Mourinho revealed this week the forward started Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Schalke on the bench because Costa’s condition means he is unable to play more than once a week.

But the striker - who suffered the injury during the recent international break with Spain - will return to the starting line-up at the Etihad Stadium as Chelsea seek to extend their perfect start to the Premier League season with a fifth successive win.

“Diego is not in the best conditions, but he will start the game,” Mourinho told reporters at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, south of London, on Friday.l

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes ending Chelsea’s 100 percent Premier League record would mean his side had made a decent start to their defence of the English title.

City haven’t won since overwhelming Liverpool, last season’s runners-up, 3-1 on August Bank Holiday Monday with what looked at the time a benchmark performance.

Since then, they have lost at home to Stoke, drawn at Arsenal and lost to a last-minute goal at Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek.

But Pellegrini prefers to look at the other side of the equation as he tries to get the better of old foe Jose Mourinho, who masterminded a classic 1-0 win

at City in February as part of a double over the champions last season.

“They (Chelsea) have started very well. They are playing very well also,” Pellegrini said Friday. “I think that we didn’t start badly, although maybe the game we lost here against Stoke was an unusual game.

FIXTURES Everton Leicester City Man City Tottenham

v v v v

Crystal Palace Man United Chelsea West Brom

“We must win our next game at home and with that we will be two points behind the leader and that for me will be a very good start after playing Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.”

While Mourinho acknowledged the meeting with City carries an extra significance, he warned against placing

too much on the outcome of the match.

“We don’t play against them. We play against 19 teams and, for the title, it’s not just City. There are other teams in this race. It’s not a situation of Chelsea or City, City or Chelsea. Other clubs have the same ambition.”

Christian Eriksen is targeting West Bromwich Albion’s visit to White Hart Lane on Sunday as the game that will deliver Tottenham Hotspur’s first victory in four matches.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has suggested Wayne Rooney has “privileges” as he prepares his side to travel to Leicester on Sunday.

United got their season up and running with a 4-0 Premier League win over QPR last weekend - van Gaal’s first competitive victory since moving into the hot seat at Old Trafford - and they will hope to continue that form against another newly-promoted side at the King Power Stadium. l

signing, says Enrique n AFP, Madrid Barcelona boss Luis Enrique believes Luis Suarez has already proved his worth despite not having even played a competitive game since his £75 million move from Liverpool.

The Uruguayan will still be unavailable for over a month after receiving a four-month ban for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in June.

Suarez could make his debut in Enrique’s first El Clasico in charge of Barca away to Real Madrid on October 25.

And Enrique believes the 27-year-old’s attitude in training has already made him an important signing for the club.

“He is adapting and waiting for his opportunity. He is training as if he

could play tomorrow and that was our objective.

“Already, even without playing, I think he is helping us and has been a good signing.”

However, the former Celta Vigo coach still received criticism for mak-

FIXTURES Real Sociedad Villarreal Cordoba Levante

v v v v

Almeria Rayo Vallecano Sevilla Barcelona

ing nine changes as the Catalans struggled past APOEL Nicosia 1-0 to open their Champions League campaign on Wednesday.

There are likely to be another wave of changes for Sunday’s trip to bottom of the table Levante.l

Paderborn go top as Bayern held n AFP, Berlin Promoted Paderborn were flying high Saturday as they led the Bundesliga with another victory while Bayern Munich slumped to a goalless draw at Hamburg.

Elias Kachunga scored in the 71st minute and Moritz Stoppelkamp added another after 93 minutes to beat Hanover 96 2-0 to improve to eight points.

Munich were unable to get the better of a Hamburg team under new coach Joe Zinnbauer playing out a 0-0 draw in Hamburg.

The reigning champions also have eight points from four games but are sitting third behind Paderborn and Hoffenheim on goal difference.

Paderborn’s time atop the league

RESULTS FB Stuttgart

0-2

Hoffenheim

Modeste 15, Elyounoussi 84

4-2

Werder Bremen

Baier 14, Verhaegh 45+3-P, Werner 77, Matavz 90+3

Selke 3, Di Santo 56-P

Hamburg

0-0

Bayern Munich

SC Paderborn

2-0

Hanover 96

FC Augsburg

Kachunga 71, Elyounoussi 84

Schalke 04 Choupo-Moting 40, Draxler 50

2-2

Frankfurt Meier 15, Russ 24

could be limited to a few hours however as Borussia Dortmund, who have six points, are playing later at Mainz 05.

Hoffenheim remained near the top of the table with eight points without a loss after a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart, thanks to goals by Anthony Modeste

Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez (L), forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Javier Hernandez celebrate after scoring during their Spanish La LIga match against RC Deportivo de la Coruna at the Municipal de Riazor stadium in La Coruna yesterday AFP

after 15 minutes and Tarik Elyounoussi in the 84th.

Werder Bremen’s streak of coming back from deficits to collect points was snapped as Augsburg won 4-2 at home.

Werder Bremen jumped ahead through 19-year-old Davie Selke in the third minute. But Daniel Baier equalised after 14 minutes and Paul Verhaegh gave the hosts the lead in the 44th from the spot.

Franco Di Santo equalised for Bremen on a penalty in the 56th minute.

But Tobias Werner gave Augsburg the lead again in the 76th. And Tim Matavz added a fourth goal three minutes into stoppage time.

Schalke’s struggles continued with a 2-2 draw at home in a hot-headed clash against Eintracht Frankfurt where two Schalke players and one Frankfurt player saw red. l

Hamburg midfielder Lewis Holtby (L) and Bayern Munich midfielder Pierre Hojbjerg vie for the ball during their German Bundesliga match at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, northern Germany yesterday AFP

Ronaldo, Bale, Hernandez lead Real to eight-goal rout of Deportivo

‘Italian players hound referees’ n AFP, Milan

n AFP, Madrid

Inter Milan defender Nemanja Vidic has admitted he is still getting used to the nuances of the Italian game, including seeing fellow players lobbying match officials for favourable decisions.

Inter travel to Palermo on Sunday hoping to build on a promising start which saw Walter Mazzarri’s men put seven unanswered goals past Sassuolo.

“I still have to adapt because I’ve come to a new country. I’m learning about Italian football and the way the referees manage the game, but also the players and how they play here,” Vidic told reporters on Saturday.

“I think sometimes players make the referees’ job difficult by creating situations, asking for penalties and fouls. l

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid equalled their biggest ever away win in La Liga with a 8-2 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna on Saturday.

Ronaldo opened the scoring with a fantastic header from Alvaro Arbeloa’s cross, but the Portuguese was upstaged

by James Rodriguez and the Colombian doubled the visitors’ advantage with a sumptuous left-footed effort that curled into the top corner.

A goalkeeping howler from German Lux then allowed Ronaldo to fire into an empty net to make it 3-0 before the

break, but Depor did manage to pull one back when Haris Medunjanin converted from the penalty spot after Sergio Ramos was adjudged to have handled.

However, Gareth Bale struck twice

RESULT Deportivo Medunjanin 51-P, Toche 84

2-8

Real Madrid

Ronaldo 28, 41, 78, Rodriguez 36, Bale 66, 74, Hernandez 88, 90+2

in the final 25 minutes before Ronaldo rounded off his hat-trick to ensure Real bounced back in style after suffering consecutive defeats to Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid in their last two league outings.

Toche headed home a late consolation for the hosts, but Javier Hernandez rounded off a fine day for Real when he volleyed home his first two goals for the club since joining on loan from Manchester United. Depor’s resistence was broken just before the half hour mark, though, as Ronaldo leaped to meet Arbeloa’s cross and directed a fine header into the far corner from 15 yards out.

Lux was badly at fault for Real’s third goal, though, as he raced off his line to close down Benzema and despite bringing down the Frenchman, referee Pedro Jesus Perez Montero allowed play to continue so Ronaldo could double his tally for the afternoon by rolling the ball into an empty net.l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Platini plans to keep luxury gift, make charity donation n Reuters

QUICK BYTES

Assou-Ekotto gets three-match ban for Anelka backing Tottenham Hotspur defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto was banned for three games and fined by the Football Association on Friday after sending Nicolas Anelka a message of support following his controversial ‘quenelle’ gesture last season. Former France striker Anelka made the gesture -- widely regarded as anti-Semitic -- having scored for West Brom against West Ham on December 28. The Baggies later sacked Anelka following their own internal investigation. Assou-Ekotto was charged after sending a tweet to Anelka congratulating him on the gesture. He will now serve a ban and pay a £50,000 ($82,000, 64,000 euros) fine. Hull striker Yannick Sagbo previously served a two-game ban and was fined £15,000 after also publicly backing Anelka, while Samir Nasri and Mamadou Sakho escaped with warnings for similar offences. But Cameroon international Assou-Ekotto, on-loan at QPR last season and now omitted from Tottenham’s Premier League squad, will face a more severe punishment, with the FA, English football’s governing body, confirming the details on their website. “Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, Benoit Assou-Ekotto has been suspended for three matches and fined £50,000, subject to any appeal, after he denied an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3,” the FA said.

–AFP

Brandao appeals against head-butting ban Bastia striker Brandao is appealing against a six-month ban for head-butting Paris St Germain midfielder Thiago Motta, the Brazilian’s lawyer said on Friday. “The sanction appears to be disproportionate,” Olivier Martin told sports daily L’Equipe’s website (www.lequipe.fr). “The player, whose career can be threatened by this decision, has decided to appeal.” It was the second time in two seasons the former Olympique de Marseille player has been suspended for foul play. Brandao also received a three-match ban last season for elbowing another PSG player, Yohan Cabaye. Security camera footage broadcast on French television after this season’s game, and replayed repeatedly, showed Brandao standing near the middle of the corridor outside the changing rooms at the Parc des Princes after the Corsicans’ 2-0 defeat by the Ligue 1 champions. Facing the camera as Thiago Motta strides into view, Brandao, who was replaced during the game after picking up a yellow card, calmly takes two steps forward before leaning in to make contact with the Italy international’s face.

–Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports 6:00AM Asian Games 2014 Ten Action French League 1 9:00 PM Lille SA v Montpellier 1:00 AM Paris Saint-Germain v Olympique Lyonnais Sony Six 6:30PM World Kabaddi League 2014 Jallandhar- Day 16 Neo Prime 7:30PM German Bundesliga VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer 04 Leverkusen 9:30PM FC Koln v Borussia Monchengladbach Star Sports 1 Champions League T20 4:30PM Cape Cobras v Hobart Hurricanes 8:30PM Kolkata Knight Riders v Lahore Lions Star Sports 2 5:30 PM FIA F1 World Championship Main Race: Singapore Barclays Premier League 2014/15 8:50PM Everton v Crystal Palace Spanish La Liga 10:55PM Cordoba FC v Sevilla FC 12:55 AM Levante v FC Barcelona Star Sports 4 Barclays Premier League 2014/15 6:20PM Liecester City v Manchester United 8:50PM Manchester City v Chelsea 12: 40 AM Palermo v Inter Milan

15

Cara Black (R) of Zimbabwe and Sania Mirza of India hold their trophy, a traditional Japanese battledore, as they pose for photographs after defeating Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in their Pan Pacific Open women’s doubles final tennis match in Tokyo yesterday REUTERS

Hosts South Korea set medal pace n AFP, Incheon Hosts South Korea were the Asian Games’ surprise first-day medal leaders on Saturday but they had to share the limelight with China and record-breaking North Korea.

South Korea won titles in cycling, fencing, equestrian and wushu to narrowly top the medals table ahead of China as the Olympic-size event rolled into action in Incheon.

They got off to a rocky start when China, led by the unheralded Zhang Menyuang, beat them to the Games’ first gold in the women’s 10 metre air pistol.

North Korea’s Om Yun-Chol set the first world record of the Games when he beat his own clean and jerk best with 170kg in the 56kg class.

But victory in the men’s team sprint

and men’s epee late in the day took South Korea to five golds, ahead of China on overall medals won.

Saturday was the start of 15 days of competition involving 9,500 athletes from 45 nations, and with 439 gold medals on offer across 36 different sports.

China, who won a record 199 gold medals at the 2010 Games, led the table for most of the day before being caught

by South Korea.

Army sharpshooter Jitu Rai held his nerve on the final shot to snatch 50m pistol gold from Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Phuong and put India amongst the golds.

And China’s Zhong Tianshi rode to victory in the women’s team sprint, a day before she challenges Hong Kong’s Olympic medal-winner Sarah Lee Waisze in the keirin.

While 18 gold medals were contested in venues scattered across South Korea’s third city, Jakarta was rubber-stamped as host of the next Asiad

in 2018.

Olympic president Thomas Bach told the Olympic Council of Asia’s general assembly that bids for future Summer and Winter Games must address the issue of “sustainability”.

Through hosting Asiad, Incheon has become South Korea’s most indebted city and Vietnam pulled out of organising the next Asian Games because of the cost involved.

China’s Zhang is only ranked 29th in the world but after helping win the team 10m air pistol title, she beat South Korea’s hot favourite Jung Jee-Hae into second place.

Chinese coach Wang Yifu said her triumph was doubly impressive as organisers had “deliberately” arranged the 10m air pistol as the first event, hoping for a home victory.

The UAE suffered a blow when its three-strong judo team was expelled from the Games for breaching eligibility requirements.

Mihail Marchitan, Ivan Remarenco and Victor Scvortov were sent home from because they failed to meet an Asiad three-year residency rule for naturalised citizens.

Thailand’s equestrian princess Sirivannavari Nariratana was down the field in the dressage, but there was an emotional team win for South Korea’s Kim Hyun-Sub, whose uncle was crushed to death by his falling horse at the 2006 Asiad.

On day two, Chinese swimming superstar Sun Yang will meet South Korea’s Park Tae-Hwan in the first of three explosive races in the pool.

And China will want to find an immediate response after coming off second best to South Korea on the first day of full competition.

“We have been leading both medal and gold medal tables at nine straight Asian Games,” said China’s delegation chief Liu Peng. “We certainly want to keep winning this time.” l

Uefa president Michel Platini has said he intends to ignore FIFA requests and not return a luxury watch valued at 25,000 Swiss francs ($26,600), given to him by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

Instead, he said on Friday in British media reports, he will make a donation for the same amount to a charity.

“I’m a well-educated person,” he said. “I don’t return gifts.”

FIFA has asked officials who received one of the 65 limited-edition Parmigiani Fleurier watches to return them by Oct. 24 to avoid action being taken by its ethics committee. FIFA said receipt of such valuable gifts broke its code of ethics.

“I was very surprised by the press release of FIFA,” a critical Platini was quoted by The Guardian (www. theguardian.com). “I think that the best thing would have been to call us, to say that the ethics committee has done ‘so and so’ and they’re not pleased.

“But if the ethics committee was not pleased, they should have told us that four months ago in Brazil, when we received the watches. They were aware that we were receiving these watches because everybody received them.” l

Uefa probe Partizan over anti-Semite banner n AFP, Paris Uefa have opened disciplinary proceedings against Partizan Belgrade after a number of their fans displayed an anti-Semitic banner during Thursday’s Europa League tie with Tottenham.

A huge banner bearing the words “Only Jews and Pussies” was displayed throughout the opening group match in the Serbian capital which ended in a goalless draw. North London club Tottenham have long enjoyed close links with the Jewish community.

“Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against FK Partizan for racist behaviour of their supporters, field invasions by supporters, setting-off of fireworks and use of laser pointer,” UEFA said in a statement Friday.

“The case will be dealt by the UEFA control, ethics and disciplinary body on October 3,” European football’s governing body added.l

Wenger wary of foreign ISL will lift Indian football: Del Piero n crackdown Reuters, New Delhi

n AFP, London Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned that proposals by the Football Association to cut the number of players from outside the European Union could dilute the quality of the English game.

England haven’t won a major tournament since lifting the World Cup on home soil in 1966 and bowed out of this year’s edition in Brazil without winning a match.

FA chairman Greg Dyke’s England Commission has made proposals to reduce the number of overseas players by up to 50 percent, including banning clubs sending such players out on loan and preventing teams in the Football League, which runs the three divisions immediately below the lucrative top-flight Premier League, from signing them at all.

As Britain is a member of the Euro-

pean Union, it must abide by its rules on the free movement of peoples between member states.

But the FA’s planned restriction on non-EU footballers would also mean only players from the top 50-ranked countries in the world could be signed unless the transfer fee is more than a fixed figure, either £10 million ($16 million, 13 million euros) or £15 million ($25 million, 19 million euros).

During his 18 years in charge of Arsenal, French boss Wenger has often been criticised for preferring to sign non-British players although his current squad includes the England quartet of Calum Chambers, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Wenger accepted Dyke was right in one respect but warned against “artificial protection of the mediocrity”.l

Alessandro Del Piero’s two-year Sydney FC stint helped raise A-League’s profile and the former Juventus great is confident of making a similar impact as the face of the Indian Super League (ISL), which kicks off next month.

After 19 trophy-laden years at Juventus and the Australia sojourn, Del Piero landed in New Delhi on Thursday, making an unlikely stop on an illustrious career as a ‘marquee’ player of ISL’s Delhi franchise as well as the league’s brand ambassador.

“A-League experience was very good,” said the Italian who turns 40 in November. “I spent great two years in Sydney... I’m very privileged because everything incredibly moved forward in the league - the crowd, the TV interest, the money situation.”

All of that he now wants to replicate in India, a cricket-mad country of 1.2 billion that currently ranks an embar-

rassing 158th in FIFA order.

“I hope so, this is the target, but the task is different you know,” Del Piero said. “The league in Australia was al-

Italian footballer Alessandro Del Piero signs autographs for fans at IGI Airport in New Delhi on Thursday AP

Wozniacki, Ivanovic reach final n AFP, Tokyo

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia ousted top seed Angelique Kerber in straight sets Saturday to reach the final of the $1 million Pan Pacific Open against US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki.

Third seed Ivanovic charged back from 3-5 down in the first set to beat the 26-year-old German favourite 7-5, 6-3 in the semi-finals.

Denmark’s Wozniacki, seeded second and looking to get over her loss to world number one Serena Williams in the US Open two weeks ago, outplayed Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in two and a half hours.

“I started a little bit slow but after the break I tried to get more explosive and moving a little more,” Ivanovic said of her second broken serve which put her 2-1 down at the start of the match.

She did not lose any more serves and broke world number eight Kerber

four times altogether.

“It was for sure a tough match,” said Kerber. “We played great but she (Ivanovic) was able to catch the important moments.”

Wozniacki, 24, broke Muguruza’s serve five times but lost hers four times in a marathon match spiked with long rallies.

“I kept fighting. It was a very competitive match,” said Wozniacki, who was the world number one in 2010 and 2011, now ranked ninth after returning to the top 10 with her US Open performance.

“I just tried to stay in there and in the end I think maybe I had a little bit more energy than what she had.”

Muguruza, aged 20 and ranked 26th, beat Wozniacki in their two previous encounters, taking an Australian Open round of 32 clash 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in January.

Wozniacki, the 2010 Pan Pacific Open champion, broke the Spaniard’s

ready in, this is a new step. We want to take great first steps. This is a completely new challenge and I hope this league can be good for the national team.” l

serve in the 10th game to take the first set after surviving nine break points on her own serve.

But she lost serve three times in the second set and lost the first two games in the decisive set.

Wozniacki rallied back to take six straight games, breaking her opponent three times. An increasingly erratic Muguruza served and shot a forehand wide on match point.

“She broke me at the start of the third. But I knew I was right there. I had just to keep going and I was still believing in myself,” said Wozniacki, who has 22 career WTA titles including the lower-tier Istanbul Cup this year.

Muguruza later teamed up with fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the doubles final. But they lost to defending champions Cara Black of Zimbabwe and India’s Sania Mirza 6-2, 7-5.

Top-seeded Black and Mirza earned the prize money of $44,835. l

Pliskova and Lepchenko set up Korea showdown n Reuters, Seoul Second seed Karolina Pliskova and American Varvara Lepchenko will battle it out for the Korea Open title after both players rallied to hard-fought victories in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Pliskova, ranked 32 in the world, came back from a set down to beat Russian wildcard Maria Kirilenko 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-3.

Czech Pliskova will be hoping it will be fourth time lucky after having lost three singles finals in 2014, the latest against Germany’s Sabine Lisicki at the WTA Hong Kong Open last Sunday.

“I feel really happy. I know that I probably might not look very happy, but I almost lost the match, so I’m very happy to be in the final again in two weeks. Hopefully I can win this one,” Pliskova said.l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Six held over Moghbazar murders n Tribune Report

The Rapid Action Battalion has claimed to have arrested six people in connection with the sensational triple murder in the capital’s Moghbazar over grabbing of railway land on August 28.

The arrestees are Al-Amin, Saifullah Siam, Romjan Ali, Rubel Mia, Maruf Hossain and Shafin Lasker – all aged between 21 and 26.

Of them, Ramjan is a listed accused in the case filed with Ramna police station. RAB claims Al-Amin and Siam are close associates of Zisan, a listed criminal of the capital.

During primary interrogation, they confessed to their involvement in the killings, Maksudul Alam, assistant director of RAB’s legal and media wing, claimed at a press conference at its headquarters.

Members of RAB 3 captured them acting on a tip-off during raids at different places in Munshiganj and the capital conducted since Friday night.

Two pistols and three knives were also recovered from their possessions.

“We first detained Al-Amin from Munshiganj. According to information gleaned from him, today [yesterday] Siam and Ramjan were held from a slum of Motijheel T&T Colony,” Maksud said.

RAB members detained the three others from another hut of the slum when three machetes were recovered.

The RAB official claimed that the killing had taken place over a previous feud centring grabbing of a piece of government land. “The killers were planning to kill some other people following the triple murder.”

Three people were shot dead and another injured when a group of assailants attacked them at a house in Sonalibagh of Moghbazar on August 28.

Eighteen days into the murders, Kailya Babu, the main accused, was shot dead in a so-called “gunfight” with the DB police men in the capital.

The murder case was filed against 15 named persons including Shah Alam alias Kailya Babu and six other anonymous people.

Police claim that there has been an intense rivalry among three alleged local land grabbers and extortionists – Kailya Babu, Kalachand and Rony.

On August 30, the DB arrested three of the accused while two among them – Faruk Shamim Hossain, 32, and Sohel Khan, 28 – were close associates of Kailya Babu.

Later, Faruk and Sohel were placed on a five-day remand each where they reportedly confessed to their involvement with the killing. l

A bus driver assistant inhales adhesive fume locally known as “Dandi” on the rooftop of the bus as it was stuck in a jam. The photo was taken from the capitals’ Mirpur

RAJIB DHAR

Youth rescued from floating sack finally opens his mouth PM hints legal action n Mohammad Jamil Khan

they tried to set up in business, they finally started selling fruits in Badamtali area, he said.

Sohel used to live in a mess in Boubazar area of Keraniganj. A couple of months back, Sohel started working as a construction worker in Jinjira area.

Quoting his son, Jalal said some youths put Sohel inside a plastic sack and threw him into the river on Thursday. The youths thought that he was dead as they beat him up mercilessly with local weapons, he added.

Truck driver Siddique Hossain, who lives in the area, spotted the sack, rescued Sohel in an unconscious state and took him to the hospital in a critical condition, said Jalal. Soon after the incident, he said, some policemen came from Chawkbazar police station, but they did not come back yet.

He claimed that the attackers tried to kill his son once again. “We will file a case in this regard after Sohel gets well,” he added.

Azizul Islam, officer-in-charge of Chawkbazar police station, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday evening that as the jurisdiction came under Keraniganj police station, their officials would not investigate the case.

But Mohammad Mojibur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj model police station, said they came to know about it from journalists. “We know that Chawkbazar police are looking into the matter. We will definitely investigate the case if anyone files complaint to us,” he added.

No case was lodged and no arrest made in this regard till filing of this report on yesterday evening. l

against Khaleda

Even after two days, police are yet to take any decision about who will investigate the matter regarding the rescue of a youth from a floating sack in the Buriganga River.

Both Chawkbazar and Keraniganj model police stations are playing blame game and trying to hand over the investigation charge to each other, leaving the mystery behind the incident unsolved.

However, victim Mohammad Sohel, 25, who is now undergoing treatment at Casualty Ward of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, finally gave a hint about the attack on him.

Sohel in a low voice told the Dhaka Tribune that he lent Tk20,000 to one of his co-workers Amin, a resident of

Shahidnagar in Keraniganj, around six months back. But Amin was not paying back the loan even after repeated requests, he said.

On Wednesday evening, Sohel said, Amin asked him to come to Shahidnagar saying that he would pay the money back. Sohel was waiting until 11pm as Amin told him that a man would come and pay off the loan, he said.

Later, Amin took him to a solitary place where eight youths along with Amin started beating him up. Later, they took him to a vacant room where he lost consciousness and found him in the hospital bed next morning, Sohel added.

Victim’s father Jalaluddin Howlader said Sohel and his elder brother came to the capital from their native village in Patuakhali five years back. Although

PM flies to US to attend UNGA n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Economist: Court strengthens Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dominance

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Dhaka today for New York to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly with about 180 people as members of her entourage.

The prime minister will stay in New York until September 28.

Hasina would deliver her speech in Bangla at the UNGA on September 27.

The theme of this session is Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda.

In addition to a series of UN events, Hasina will have sideline meetings with head of governments of India, Norway, Nepal, Qatar, Belarus, Chile and other countries.

Hasina will attend the Climate Summit 2014 and speak about her government’s initiatives on adaptation in Bangladesh and the need for finance, technology and capacity in this regard.

The United States will arrange a Peacekeeping Summit on September 26 where Hasina will be one of the co-chairs. The other co-chairs are US Vice-President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Ruanda President Paul Kagame.

She will also attend a programme of Global Education First Initiative as Bangladesh is one of the champion countries among GEFI members.

The Bangladesh mission in the UN will organise a programme at the UN headquarters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s membership in the UN. Foreign, finance, health, expatriate, environment and food ministers, parliament members including former foreign minister Dipu Moni, senior government officials, eminent citizens including journalists, and a business delegation will accompany the prime minister.

Hasina since January 5 visited Myanmar, China, Japan and the United Kingdom. l

n Tribune Report The Supreme Court ruling that rejected Khaleda Zia’s appeals in two corruption cases against her and others including her elder son, has reinforced the dominance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, The Economist reports.

Published yesterday on its website, the report claims that Hasina had put the BNP chairperson under house arrest and barred the BNP’s electoral ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, from running.

With no opposition, it was a shoo-in for Hasina’s Awami League, it says.

The UK-based magazine claims that the government has continued to capture the courts, silence media critics and tinker with the constitution to perpetuate its rule.

It says Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, also a special envoy to the prime minister, acts as the loyal opposition.

“Without an effective opposition, she is under little pressure.”

The report also states that despite a “deeply flawed election,” many countries including India, Russia and China are extending supports to the Awami League government.

Regarding the corruption cases, it says the recent ruling clears the way for Khaleda to stand trial. The prosecutors accuse her of having siphoned off cash from charitable trusts set up in memory of her late husband, Gen Ziaur Rahman. “If found guilty, the country’s second-most-powerful woman could face time in jail.”

The court ruling comes eight months after she won an unprecedented second term in an election boycotted by Khaleda’s BNP. “After a nervous start and amid calls for fresh polls, her government has hit its stride. Some sympathisers argue that Sheikh Hasina’s rule is justified, if

only because of her success in developing the economy. Poverty has fallen rapidly since her return to power in 2009.

“The economy is now twice as big as when the kleptocratic and incompetent rule of Khaleda Zia’s government ended in 2006 – the moment the army locked up both battling begums.”

After its coup, the army discovered that governing was less enjoyable than it had imagined. It has since taken a back seat. “It earns a handy $500m a year from its UN peacekeeping missions, the arms budget has grown nicely, and new additions to the army’s business portfolio include yet another luxury hotel as well as a cattle ranch.”

At the same time, Hasina’s government has “continued to capture the courts, silence media critics and tinker with the constitution to perpetuate its rule.”

It has a two-thirds majority in parliament, and its ally JaPa of former dictator Ershad acts as the loyal opposition.

On September 17, parliament passed a constitutional amendment to give it the authority to fire judges.

“The BNP has little choice but to wait until the next general election, which need not take place until 2019.

Its claim that the Awami League is imploding is wishful thinking. Although the economy has recently slowed, the banking sector is in bad shape and law and order is shaky, no full-blown crisis is in sight.”

Terming the ruling government “shrewd in some respects,” the report says the government has kept pending the long-overdue verdicts of the war crimes tribunal.

On September 17, the Appellate Division commuted a death sentence for Sayedee to imprisonment until death.

Mentioning that all those charged

for war crimes are members of Jamaat, the report says: “Sayedee’s sentencing for war crimes last year triggered a wave of fatal street unrest. This latest ruling, along with, in effect, a suspension of the war crimes trials, hints that they [Jamaat] have outlived their usefulness as a political tool.”

The report also mentions about a recent opinion poll to say: “Perhaps surprisingly, the government is now considerably more popular than it was before the election.”

‘The BNP has little choice but to wait until the next general election, which need not take place until 2019’ The Economist says: “How the BNP climbs back into contention will remain unclear for some time. Out of parliament, its politicians rely on thugs for personal protection that was once provided by the state.”

Flanked by advisers who were once close to her husband, Khaleda insists that boycotting the general election was the right thing to do. “She suggests that party reform is in the works and that her son, [Senior Vice-Chairman] Tarique Rahman, in exile in London, will make a political comeback.”

Khaleda declares that she is not interested in revenge – unlike “that lady,” says the report.

Although Tarique’s return would inject some younger blood into the party, his elevation would divide the BNP at home and isolate it abroad, says the report. Citing a US embassy cable published by WikiLeaks, it says: “Much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be

n Emran Hossain Shaikh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday hinted that legal action might be taken against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for trying to create an unstable situation in the country.

She made the indication while addressing party leaders at a joint meeting of the ruling Awami League's Advisory Council and Party Central Working Committee at her official residence Gonobhaban in the capital.

On BNP's call for a hartal on Monday, the premier said that although BNP had no courage to move for agitation, they were much inspired by Jamaat's recent hartals.

“They want to make unrest the

blamed on Tarique and his cronies.”

However, Tarique’s defenders claim that the corruption of which he is widely accused was in fact carried out by those who abused their connections with him.

Regarding ties of some countries with the Hasina government after the January 5 election, the report says: “Not relishing a return of the BNP’s mother-son duo – which, among other things, turned a blind eye to the Islamist fringe – foreign governments are content to do business with Sheikh Hasina.

“India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has nothing like the close ties with Sheikh Hasina that were forged by the Gandhi dynasts of the country’s recently defeated Congress party. Still, he is keen for relations with Bangladesh to be solid, emphasising economic ties and a common front against Islamist militants.

“China has submitted an open-ended offer of aid so long as it gets a seaport. Japan has just pledged $6bn in loans. Russia and Bangladesh are conducting a feasibility study for two nuclear power plants – though doubts exist about whether they will ever be built. Foreigners have put in bids to launch a Bangladeshi satellite, to be named after the prime minister’s father and the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

To conclude, the report says: “All, in other words, is set fair for Sheikh Hasina, despite a deeply flawed election.

Without an effective opposition, she is under little pressure. Only if the prime minister feels that winning a third straight term in 2019 looks unlikely might she call an early poll in the hope of prolonging her dynasty’s rule. One begum is winning the endless battle – for the time being.” l

country and these hartal is part of their design. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia would be sent to jail if needed,” several Awami League leader told Dhaka Tribune quoting the PM. During the meeting, the party leaders approved four district committee, namely Chittagong north, Chittagong city, Lalmonirhat and Kurigram. Besides, it also decided to divide its Dhaka City Unit into two.

Meanwhile, party central leader Abdur Rahman criticised the party's associate body Chhatra League for their involvement in recent controversies saying the activities of Chhatra League were conflicting with the image of government and as well as of the party. l

Jamaat’s strike today, BNP’s tomorrow n Tribune Report Jamaat-e-Islami is set to observe 24hour countrywide strike today protesting the Appellate Division’s verdict that gave Jamaat’s top leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee imprisonment until death.

The strike begins at 6am today.

Jamaat’s acting Ameer Mokbul Ahmed and its acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman, in a joint statement, declared the strike, immediately after the verdict was pronounced on Wednesday.

Supporting the Jamaat’s strike, activists of Jamaat and its student wing Chhatra Shibir yesterday brought out a procession at 2pm in the city’s Rayerbagh area creating panic among the locals. The Jamaat-Shibir men held the procession for around 10 minutes and created fire on the road by using fuels.

On the other hand, the BNP-led 20-party alliance has called for a dawnto-dusk nationwide strike tomorrow protesting the 16th amendment of the constitution that empowers the parliament to impeach judges.

The announcement was made by the BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at party’s Gulshan office yesterday. The muchtalked-about 16th amendment drew wide criticism from the opposition and other civil society groups who cited it would hurt the independence of judges, hence hamper the rule of law.

Earlier on September 17, the parliament got back the power to impeach judges through passing the 16th amendment bill in the third session of the tenth parliament. The bill was passed in the House by 327-0 votes as per the recommendation of the concerned parliamentary standing committee.

The government amended the constitution with a view to restoring the 1972 constitution. 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 Banks spend more on IT, hoping the cloud is silver-lined

B4 Three quarters of

Japanese firms prefer a stronger yen: Reuters poll

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Farming begins for bacteria-free export vegetables

Betel leaf will also be produced on contract basis to enter EU market to make them free from bacteria. The n Asif Showkat Kallol name of solution is Salmosan Sol-A. The government has started contract farming to produce salmonella bacteria-free betel leaf, vegetables and lemon in Narsingdi district as per the European Union action plans.

Agricultural ministry officials said the EU has set up four time-bound action plans for Bangladesh to ensure the entry of bacteria-free farm products including betel leaf into its market.

The agriculture ministry will enhance facility to inspect crop fields and implement appointment of inspectors The contract farming has started in the district with the help of the DAE, BARI, BAGC and the Hartex Foundation.

Bangladesh Agriculture University has found a solution to prevent salmonella bacteria in the produces.

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has already signed an agreement with the vegetable farmers.

An inter-ministerial meeting recently decided to form a 13-member committee headed by additional agricultural secretary who is also DG of seed directorate. The committee will monitor the process.

Prof M Bahanur Rahman of microbiology and hygiene department of BAU, who was involved in finding bacteria-free solution, advised the government to set up a central processing unit in Dhaka.

He said the betel leaf produced in the fields will be brought to the unit

The government needs not touse much of its fund to get bacteria-free betel leaf and vegetables from the unit, he said.

According to the meeting sources, the EU action plans are - contract framing, stopping fake phytosanitary certificates, developing inspection facilities and collection of laboratories equipment within the current fiscal year.

The agriculture ministry will enhance facility to inspect crop fields and implement appointment of inspectors for the period from September 15 to January 30 next year.

The ministry has already appointed two inspectors. It said 10 more inspectors will be appointed within a short time.

It will procure the machinery and experiment on equipment of 10 laboratories across the country within FY20142015 to raise the phytosanitary facilities.

The fake phytosanitary certificates are being used by some unscrupulous betel leaf and vegetable exporters to the international airport.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Commerce, National Board of Revenue, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and the exporters’ association are jointly certifying the products for export after the allegations of using fake certificates.

Vegetables like brinjal, gourds and betel leaf were being exported to the EU market showing fake certificates.

Besides, the agriculture ministry has started checking every consignment of agricultural products going to the EU market at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The exportable betel leaf and vegetables from the country will be checked at three prominent laboratories in Bangladesh before shipment. l

Visitors sit around a table to complete paper works for registering and submitting income tax returns at the Income Tax Fair at Officers Club, Dhaka yesterday

Tax fair: NBR bags Tk1,097cr revenue in 5 days n Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has so far been able to manage around Tk1,097 crore as income tax from the ongoing National Income Tax Fair that began on September 16 across the country.

In the last five days, the taxmen collected Tk1,097 crore from a total of 90,793 tax returns filed at the fair. The NBR served around 4,49,793 taxpayers and service seekers.

A total of 18,537 people was registered with the electronic taxpayers identification number (eTIN), out of which, 10,795 people were new taxpayers while 7,742 people took new eTIN, replacing their old 10- digit TIN numbers.

From September 16, all the fair ven-

Frozen food production far short of international demand n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The export volume frozen foods declined by nearly 6% to over 55,000 metric tonnes in the last financial year compared to the FY2012-13 due to production shortfall of fishes, specially shrimps and the imposed export ban on other white fishes.

In June-July of 2013-14, Bangladesh had exported 55,074 tonnes of frozen foods, which was 58,493 tonnes in the previous financial year.

In terms of value, the overall frozen food exports in the last fiscal year, however, rose by over 17% to US$638m compared to $550mn in FY2012-13 mainly due to the rise in global prices of shrimps.

“The country’s fish production is now lower than that of our export demands,” Golam Mostafa, former president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA), told the Dhaka Tribune.

“As we are suffering from huge fish shortage now-a-days, we can hardly process 20% of the raw materials against our installed capacity,” said Mostafa.

The export quantity also declined due to the lack of government’s cash incentives for the exporters of white fish in last year, he said.

The government used to provide cash incentives for the frozen fish exporters, but there was no such incentive during last year for white fish exports, which also help in declining the trend of our export quantity, he added.

The government used to provide 10%

FROZEN FOOD EXPORT TREND IN QUANTITY 81,790 59,004

58,504

-10 09 0 2

11 1020

2 11-1 20

cash incentives for the export of both shrimps, which is now 5% for white fish.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will hold a multi stakeholders meeting to discuss on how to improve production of fishes and solving the financial cries today.

The meting will also discuss as to how the semi-intensive shrimp culture can be spread among the farmers across the country as this project has seen success in Cox’s Bazar area.

“The country produces less shrimps than its capacity due to lack of modern cultivation process and uses of traditional methods,” said BFFEA President Amin Ullah.

The pilot project titled “Semi Incentive Cultivation Method” was under-

DHAKA TRIBUNE

58,493

13 120 2

55,074

14 1320

taken to increase shrimp production.

We have seen success and also have a plan to spread this project among the farmers across the country, he added.

According to the sector people, frozen fish export earnings has declined as the government has imposed export ban on white fishes like hilsa fish.

There are 130 shrimps processing plants in the country, of which around 35 plants directly export while 78 processing plants are approved by Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points.

According to BFFEA, Bangladesh currently produces around 85,000 tonnes of shrimps per year. A total of 27,6492 hectre land is being used to cultivate shrimps in Khulna and Chittagong division. l

ues across the country witnessed a huge crowd as the fair was providing one-stop services, officials said.

There have been allegations that the tax officials sometime harass the taxpayers while filing their income tax returns or seeking any services in tax offices. As the taxpayers never face any sort of situation in the fair, the income tax fair has become a long-desired occasion where they can receives services in a client-friendly manner.

Though there were some mismanagement in the last year’s fair, but no such incidents took place this year as the board was able to take all the precautions well ahead of the fair.

NBR member Bashir Uddin Ahmed said the tax officials across the country

are sincerely providing smooth services at their utmost conveniences, as there were no complaint received as of Saturday.

The NBR organised the fair in all the 57 districts and seven divisional headquarters this year to create awareness among the people about their responsibility for paying taxes and to help the taxpayers getting different services.

The number of the service seekers and the collection from the fair is increasing every year,” he said.

The NBR introduced the tax fair in 2010 aimed at providing tax-related assistance and motivating people to contribute to the national exchequer.

The board has organised the fair in 42 districts yesterday, including Dhaka

where a total of 1,02,954 taxpayers has received different services including filing income tax returns, eTIN registration, correction of eTIN, e-payment and other information related to tax payment.

In the fifth day, a total of 1463 people was registered with eTIN while 932 people took eTIN replacing the old one, The board has collected over Tk165.49crore yesterday from 21039 filed returns.

This year the fair is being held at all the seven divisional headquarters and 57 districts. The divisional headquarters are holding it for seven days while 54 districts for four days. The fair, which remains open for the visitors from 10am to 5pm, will conclude tomorrow (Monday). l

JCI awards 3 young entrepreneurs n Tribune Report The Junior Chamber International (JCI), a non-profit membership organisation, has awarded three creative youths for their innovative entrepreneurship projects under three categories – social initiative, e-commerce and industrial development.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed handed over the awards to the entrepreneurs at a function held at a city hotel on Friday. The JCI awarded the entrepreneurs with “Creative Young Entrepreneurs Award 2014”.

The three youths, who received the awards for their outstanding contribution in shaping the economy based on the innovation, creativity and impact of their projects, are Summit Group Director Ayesha Aziz Khan, Amar Desh Amar Gram Managing Director Sadequa Hasan Sejuti and Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) founder and president Ejaj Ahmad.

The award was given to the three creative youths, as they have started a new business using their creativity in product development, service development, and also in their approach to the market access.

Amar Desh Amar Gram is a platform involving 80% of the rural people, who are seeking and taking advantages or opportunities or working together to solve their problems and therefore empowering them to turn their dreams into reality.

The typical activities of the project includes access to local government, networking facilities, local training, computer education for development,

access to country web portal, supporting e-commerce platform etc.

Another award recipient project BYLC aims to create an inclusive, tolerant and just society by training the next generation home-grown leaders.

Since its inception in 2009, there are 2000 BYLC alumni, who have logged over 25000 community service hours, and many of which have gone to leadership roles across the country.

Entrepreneurship is a must for making Bangladesh a middle income country Addressing the ceremony, the commerce minister said: “Bangladesh is growing as one of the 11 fastest growing country. I personally believe that you, the youths are so capable to take over the charge of the economy a day.”

State minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak noted that the award recognised the wonderful contribution of the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh.

“JCI is promoting entrepreneurship among young community, which is the engine for economic growth. Entrepreneurship is not encouraged in our society as most of the parents do want their children to become doctor, engineer and civil servant etc. That is why the young force always runs after lucrative jobs,” he said.

He pointed out that one third of the country’s population is in between 15 years and 35 years while another third is below 15 years and two third is under 35 years.

“To become a mid-income country, we have to ensure best utilisation of our youth force. It is more important for government to create, promote and ensuring proper atmosphere for youth empowerment.” he added.

JCI National President 2014 Amzad Hussain said still there is a huge need of creating more entrepreneurs to make Bangladesh a mid-income country.

“We should not forget the contribution of small enterprises, which is 25% of our GDP. But the question is who will create this entrepreneur. Idea and initial capital are the two major obstacles in creating new entrepreneurs,” pointed out Hussain.

He also said the JCI is promoting ideas and the end of this year, it is planning to launch JCI plan competition to generate ideas and is also planning to make a short training programme for people from where they (youth) can learn entrepreneurship and business for setting up a new company or international trade.

He urged all his members to step forward and start an investors club where the JCI members can promote and invest in these new ideas.

JCI is a nonprofit organisation of young active citizen’s age in between 18 and 40 years, who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities. The organisation has membership in 120 countries across the world. l

Style Craft asked to stop production in risky part n Tribune Report The review panel on fire and building safety yesterday asked Style Craft in Gazipur to suspend production in a certain part of the five-storey building.

The experts committee found weakness in the edge columns of the five-storey building used by

the Style as a readymade garment unit.

According to the panel, around 25% of rounding floor needs evacuation as there are structural flaws and the occupancy would not allow the load over 2 kilo newton per square metre.

The committee comprising representatives from the government,

Accord on Fire and Building Safety, Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety, BUET and the BGMEA visited the factory on Saturday after an Alliance recommendation.

“The experts of panel found weakness in the edge columns of the building and asked owners to evacuate a certain portion adjoining to the columns,” said Syed

Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment.

He said the factory owners have also been directed to conduct detail engineering assessment within six weeks to be confirmed about the strength of the building.

The factory employs 4,850 workers. No workers will lose job as the

factory will remain open except for the certain portion.

Alliance, the north American buyers platform, also recommended inspection to Maggie and Liz, a RMG factory in Chittagong, as it found structural faults, said an official involved with the panel.

He said the panel will sit today to decide on making inspection. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bull-run sweeps over stock market

CSE key features September 14-18, 2014

DSE GAINERS

Turnover (Million Taka)

Traded Issues

310

n Tribune Report

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

136

SummitAlliancePort.-A Navana CNG-A Beximco Pharma -A ACI Formulations-A ACI Limited- A Orion Pharma-N Delta Life Insu. -A Anlima Yarn -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A Brac Bank -A

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

169

mand from private sector.

IDLC Investments in its weekly market analysis said: “Sustaining positive trend across the market continued amid optimism among the investors.”

It said the hope of grabbing positive return and reversal of last few years’ dimmed market scenario kept market sentiment upbeat throughout the week.

With strong dominance of multinational companies, the bourse moved ahead further last week, riding particularly on positive sentiment from investors’ end, it said.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market stayed above this level for few days so that they felt confident that the market will sustain above 4,850-level.

Among the major sectors, telecommunication posted the highest gain of 7.6%. It was followed by pharmaceuticals which advanced 3.7%.

Banks and, food and allied sectors soared more than 3% each. Fuel and power, and non-banking financial institutions also registered modest rally with almost 2% gain each.

Losers outpaced gainers as out of 310 issues traded, 150 declined, 140 advanced and 20 remained unchanged on DSE floor during the past week.

MJL Bangladesh led the week’s top turnover chart for the second straight week, with shares worth Tk270 crore changing hands, followed by BSRM Steels, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Limited and Grameenphone. l

The stock market witnessed a bullish mood in the past week as investors pumped fresh funds on expectation of falling bank interest rate further.

Engineering, pharmaceuticals and power stocks continued to dominate the trading in the week that ended Thursday, jointly accounting for almost 50% of the total DSE turnover.

The benchmark DSEX gained 190 points or 4% to end at 4,866, which is all time high and extending its gaining streak for the fourth straight session. The index was replaced by DGEN on January, 2013.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index jumped 113 points or 6% to 1,786. The DSE Shariah Index closed at 1,147, soaring 46 points or 4%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index - CSCX – surged 323 points or 3.7% to close at 9,080.

The DSE achieved another milestone in turnover last week crossing the Tk1,000 crore-mark after 14-months. So far, it was the highest single-week turnover recorded during the year 2014.

The week’s daily turnover averaged Tk900 crore, registering an increase of over 60% over the previous week’s average of Tk573 crore.

Analysts said long positive trend of the market and recent low bank interest rate might be the reason behind such steep rally. Over the last few months, bank interest rate continued to fall due to its sagging de-

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS Company FAR Chemical-N Shurwid Ind. -N BD. Autocars -Z Bangladesh Lamps -A Khulna Printing-N Midas Financing-Z Rahima Food -Z Meghna Con. Milk -B JMI Syringes MDL-A Libra Infusions-A

Closing (% change) -26.52 -18.30 -13.76 -13.18 -12.34 -12.16 -11.51 -11.24 -10.70 -10.66

CSE LOSERS Company FAR Chemical-N Shurwid Ind. -N Islami Ins.BD-A ISN Ltd. -Z Khulna Printing-N Bangladesh Lamps -A Provati Insur.-A Paramount Insur-A Midas Financing-Z Tung Hai Knitting -N

Closing (% change) -26.33 -18.90 -14.46 -13.68 -12.99 -11.64 -11.61 -11.11 -10.00 -9.88

4866.19103

(+) 4.07%

1899.31499

(+) 6.31%

15030.3421

(+) 4.00%

12134.5919

(+) 4.69%

9080.5650

(+) 3.68%

Average (% change) -25.87 -20.28 -14.23 -12.28 -12.16 -12.40 -13.07 -10.51 -9.03 -9.47 Average (% change) -24.84 -19.73 -14.62 -14.50 -12.54 -11.68 -11.30 -8.75 -10.00 -9.86

Closing average 39.37 39.42 25.73 118.19 27.31 13.00 41.65 8.00 166.46 395.67

Closing average 39.60 39.58 20.67 10.26 27.28 118.37 19.86 18.25 13.50 23.04

Weekly closing

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Weekly high

38.80 38.40 25.70 117.90 27.00 13.00 41.50 7.90 165.20 395.70

Weekly closing

47.00 47.50 28.70 139.00 31.50 14.80 49.00 9.10 193.00 461.70

Weekly high

38.90 38.20 20.70 10.10 26.80 118.40 19.80 17.60 13.50 22.80

900,945,751

Number of Contract

48.30 47.00 22.90 11.20 31.20 137.00 21.50 20.20 15.00 25.70

800,631

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,588.72

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.38

CSE key features September 14-18, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

2,854.69

Turnover (Volume)

67,544,038

Number of Contract

95,010

Traded Issues

258

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

120

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

136

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,487.13

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.15

Turnover in million

37.70 38.10 25.60 116.00 26.60 13.00 41.20 7.40 164.00 390.00

Weekly low 38.50 37.90 20.70 10.00 26.50 116.00 19.20 17.60 13.50 22.50

Latest EPS

133.203 308.557 1.306 29.462 273.890 0.349 10.958 0.429 83.417 6.331

Turnover in million

25.67 24.13 23.58 23.50 22.18 22.13 19.58 18.44 18.28 18.08

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Closing (% change)

Company

45,982.79

Turnover (Volume)

Sunday, September 21, 2014

2.88 0.75 0.08 1.12 1.31 -6.91 -1.01 -4.85 4.50 4.20

Latest EPS

17.212 51.491 0.210 0.240 45.668 1.271 0.484 2.575 0.029 38.393

2.88 0.75 1.70 0.20 1.31 1.12 1.52 1.18 -6.91 0.60

Latest PE 13.7 52.6 321.6 105.5 20.8 -ve -ve -ve 37.0 94.2

Latest PE 13.8 52.8 12.2 51.3 20.8 105.7 13.1 15.5 -ve 38.4

Closing (% change)

Company ACI Formulations-A SummitAlliancePort.-A Beximco Pharma -A ACI Limited- A Navana CNG-A Orion Pharma-N Delta Life Insu. -A Brac Bank -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A BSRM Steels-A

27.27 25.00 24.73 22.55 22.53 20.60 19.06 19.03 18.28 17.23

Average (% change) 23.58 21.23 19.74 30.18 22.76 18.09 24.99 24.38 16.52 18.34

Closing average

Weekly closing

37.58 69.45 66.54 177.77 472.81 54.77 173.65 30.25 54.60 32.00

Average (% change) 31.37 25.50 19.79 23.36 21.46 16.62 24.90 19.31 16.64 16.30

Closing average

Weekly high

37.70 71.50 67.60 169.20 463.90 56.30 169.20 28.90 55.00 32.00

Weekly closing

177.75 37.75 66.47 471.80 69.56 54.44 173.65 31.94 54.19 111.96

Weekly low

38.50 71.70 69.90 185.00 483.00 56.60 182.00 31.10 55.40 32.40

Weekly high

172.20 37.50 68.10 463.10 70.70 56.20 168.00 31.90 55.00 113.60

Turnover in million

27.00 53.00 49.30 126.00 365.00 41.50 132.00 22.80 42.00 24.30

Weekly low

186.00 39.40 69.00 482.00 71.10 56.40 181.90 32.50 55.00 114.70

Latest EPS

342.623 677.865 1890.983 851.902 1096.428 751.243 1137.121 68.178 285.365 511.609

Turnover in million

131.00 27.00 54.50 381.00 57.90 45.90 130.00 26.70 46.50 100.00

Latest PE

0.96 4.56 3.94 3.36 9.22 6.06 2.92 0.80 2.80 2.91

39.1 15.2 16.9 52.9 51.3 9.0 59.5 37.8 19.5 11.0

Latest EPS

45.151 18.908 93.952 37.878 26.717 59.327 85.491 16.222 9.623 132.387

Latest PE

3.36 0.96 3.94 9.22 4.56 6.06 2.92 2.91 2.80 4.80

52.9 39.3 16.9 51.2 15.3 9.0 59.5 11.0 19.4 23.3

Weekly news from trade server AGM/Dividend CENTRALPHL: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% cash dividend and 15% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. The Board has also decided to increase the Authorized Capital of the Company from Tk. 100.00 crore to Tk. 300.00 crore subject to the approval by the shareholders in EGM. The Board has further decided to issue rights share @ 2R:5 at par on paid up capital after considering bonus shares subject to the approval by the shareholders in EGM and the Regulatory Authorities. The purposes of the Rights Issue are to repayment of outstanding loan, business expansion through product diversification and for working capital.

Date of AGM & EGM: 23.10.2014, Time of AGM and EGM: 10:00 AM & 10:45 AM respectively, Venue: Ansar-VDP Academy, Shafipur, Kaliakoir, Gazipur. Record date for AGM & EGM: 29.09.2014. Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC. The Company has also reported net profit of Tk. 152.26 million, EPS of Tk. 2.14, NAV per share of Tk. 20.00 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.04 for the year ended on June 30, 2014 as against Tk. 77.84 million, Tk. 1.62, Tk. 12.24 and Tk. 1.68 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

MATINSPINN: The Board of Directors has recommended 25% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.10.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Factory Premises of Matin Spinning Mills

Ltd. at Sardaganj, Kashimpur, Gazipur.

Record date: 02.10.2014. The Company has also reported EPS (weighted average method) of Tk. 4.24, EPS (Fully diluted basis) of Tk. 3.26, NAV per share with revaluation reserve of Tk. 39.42, NAV per share without revaluation reserve of Tk. 29.21 and NOCFPS of Tk. 11.06 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: SAIHAMCOT: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st July 2014 (May'14 to July'14), the Company has reported profit after tax of Tk. 54.48 million with EPS of Tk. 0.40 as against Tk. 57.66 million and Tk. 0.43 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

TUNGHAI: (H/Y): As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on 30.06.14 (Jan'14 to June'14), the Company has reported net profit after tax {including other income/ (loss) of Tk. (7.58) million} of Tk. 36.72 million with EPS of Tk. 0.77 as against Tk. 33.44 million and Tk. 0.74 for the same period of the previous year. However, EPS {excluding other income/(loss)} was Tk. 0.93 as on 30.06.14 (Jan'14 to June'14).

Whereas net profit after tax {including other income/(loss) of Tk. (7.69) million} was Tk. 24.47 million with EPS of Tk. 0.49 for the period of 3 months (Apr'14 to June'14) ended on 30.06.14 as against Tk. 21.84 million and Tk. 0.48 respectively for the same period of the previous year. However, EPS {excluding other income/(loss)} was Tk. 0.65 as on 30.06.14 (Apr'14 to June'14).

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: ACI: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the proposal of ACI Motors Limited, a subsidiary of Advanced Chemical Industries Limited to undertake the function of Marketing and Distribution of Construction Equipment of Case New Holland Construction Equipment (India) Private Limited under a Dealer Agreement within Bangladesh.

STYLECRAFT: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has adopted the following resolution: "To expedite production at the newly built factory building as early as possible, the Board decided to apply for a term loan for reconstruction/furnishing works of the same, to procure a new Diesel Generator set and hydrant based fire protection system, which will cost an approx. amount of Tk. 6.00 crore." Therefore, the Company will apply to Pubali Bank Limited for Tk. 6.00 crore as term loan for a period of 5 years to pay off at prevailing rate of interest.

RUPALILIFE: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to procure a floor space measuring 10,985.60 sft. including common space at 3rd floor with 5 car parking space of RM Housing Development, Razzak Mansion, Nazrul Avenue, Kander Par, Comilla @ 6,500.00 per sft. amounting a total of Tk. 73,156,400.00 excluding registration cost, subject to approval of Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority.

CHANGE OF DSE BROAD INDEX VS SECTORAL INDEX 4%

Pharma & Chemical Index

DSE BroadIndex

3% 2%

ANALYST

16

09

02

26

19

12

29

05

22

15

08

01

17

24

10

03

27

20

13

06

29

22

15

01

25

18

11

0%

08

1%

-1%

Market stayed above this level for few days so that they felt confident that the market will sustain above 4,850-level

-2% -3% -4% -5% -6%

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector 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 1067.73 728.95 149.03 1802.19 1929.20 1439.03 1.69 1066.34 2156.13 48.43 173.58 70.05 121.42 423.61 194.49 77.91 278.18 415.45 215.62 525.48 1.03

% change 8.29 5.66 1.16 13.99 14.97 11.17 0.01 8.28 16.73 1.35 0.54 0.94 3.29 1.51 0.60 2.16 3.22 1.67 4.08 0.01

Million Taka 66.63 41.11 7.77 137.35 22.55 71.41 78.52 136.25 16.30 6.61 9.64 16.40 39.23 18.20 2.18 17.23 38.52 21.00 50.81 0.01

CSE

% change 8.35 5.15 0.97 17.22 2.83 8.95 0.00 9.84 17.08 2.04 0.83 1.21 2.06 4.92 2.28 0.27 2.16 4.83 2.63 6.37 0.00

Million Taka 1134.36 770.06 156.80 1939.54 1951.75 1510.44 1.69 1144.86 2292.38 64.73 180.19 79.69 137.82 462.85 212.69 80.09 295.41 453.97 236.62 576.29 1.04

Total

% change 8.29 5.63 1.15 14.17 14.26 11.04 0.01 8.37 16.75 0.47 1.32 0.58 1.01 3.38 1.55 0.59 2.16 3.32 1.73 4.21 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company MJL BD Ltd.-A BSRM Steels-A Beximco Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BATBCL -A Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z Delta Life Insu. -A ACI Limited- A IDLC Finance -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z BSRM Steels-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Grameenphone-A Beximco Pharma -A Delta Life Insu. -A Singer BD -A UNITED AIR-A Orion Pharma-N

Volume shares 20,056,639 21,348,818 30,575,860 39,792,729 543,990 4,410,800 11,323,660 6,932,678 2,608,194 13,591,441

Volume shares 4,631,885 1,300,500 1,260,794 864,633 313,800 1,506,794 525,821 318,185 5,429,908 1,146,760

Value in million 2710.37 2241.30 1890.98 1697.67 1558.83 1552.32 1539.55 1137.12 1096.43 898.07

Value in million 197.28 177.01 132.39 117.17 110.66 93.95 85.49 76.19 65.06 59.33

% of total turnover 5.89 4.87 4.11 3.69 3.39 3.38 3.35 2.47 2.38 1.95

% of total turnover 6.84 6.14 4.59 4.06 3.84 3.26 2.96 2.64 2.26 2.06

Weekly closing 144.20 113.20 67.60 43.20 2804.70 365.10 138.80 169.20 463.90 67.50

Weekly closing 43.10 139.30 113.60 143.10 364.50 68.10 168.00 226.70 11.90 56.20

Price change 17.43 17.31 23.58 4.85 3.96 8.08 10.42 19.58 22.18 9.22

Weekly opening 122.80 96.50 54.70 41.20 2697.80 337.80 125.70 141.50 379.70 61.80

Weekly high 150.00 114.90 69.90 45.00 2875.00 367.30 144.90 182.00 483.00 70.00

Weekly low 110.60 86.90 49.30 36.30 2650.00 320.00 125.00 132.00 365.00 56.00

Weekly average 145.60 112.17 66.54 43.54 2871.74 364.28 140.82 173.65 472.81 67.89

Price change 4.61 10.38 17.23 16.63 8.48 24.73 19.06 -3.00 -4.03 20.60

Weekly opening 41.20 126.20 96.90 122.70 336.00 54.60 141.10 233.70 12.40 46.60

Weekly high 44.90 146.00 114.70 148.40 365.20 69.00 181.90 247.90 13.00 56.40

Weekly low 40.20 128.00 100.00 122.00 337.00 54.50 130.00 223.10 11.60 45.90

Weekly average 43.39 140.74 111.96 143.76 363.20 66.47 173.65 237.50 11.77 54.44

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Sunday, September 21, 2014

surges 38 percent Banks spend more on IT, hoping Alibaba on massive demand in the cloud is silver-lined market debut n Reuters, Geneva

n Reuters, New York

Two-thirds of banks are planning to spend more on information technology this year, the highest proportion since before the start of the financial crisis, according to an annual survey published on Wednesday.

The survey of 198 senior bankers by banking software firm Temenos also found only 11% anticipated spending less on IT this year, the lowest since 2008.

“Historically, and even more in Switzerland, IT was considered as a necessary evil, something that needed to exist because it existed in the engine room,” said Pietro Di Gregorio, head of business intelligence at Swiss private bank EFG Bank.

“But as of now, IT has to change its behavior,” he said.

Survey respondents considered customer loyalty their biggest challenge, cited by 30 percent. This worried Asian banks more than their European counterparts and they were also keener to invest in IT-related innovations to help them retain clients.

Private banks were second only to retail banks in worrying about customer loyalty - and with good reason, said the survey’s author, Temenos’ chief strategy officer Ben Robinson.

Younger tech-savvy clients “have zero interest in banking the way their parents did”, he said. But banks must spend wisely to avoid their IT infrastructure turning into a spaghetti-like mess.

“They need to clean that whole thing up if they are going to be successful in the digital age. But instead what they tend to do is they say ‘Customers want access to the bank through their mobile phone’, so they build specific applications for those without dealing with the underlying mess.”

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s shares soared 38% in their first day of trading on Friday as investors jumped at the chance for a piece of what is likely to rank as the largest IPO in history, in a massive bet on China’s burgeoning middle class.

It was an auspicious debut for the Chinese e-commerce company, which was founded by Jack Ma in his apartment in 1999 and now accounts for 80% of online sales in China.

About 100 people gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange at Wall and Broad Streets, many of them Chinese tourists with cameras, and they cheered and snapped photos when Ma exited the building with the kung fu star Jet Li. The stock opened at $92.70 shortly before noon ET and quickly rose to a high of $99.70, before paring gains to close at $93.89. Some 271 million shares changed hands, more than double the turnover on Twitter Inc’s first day last year, although still short of volume for the General Motors Co and Facebook Inc IPOs. “This is the most anticipated event I’ve ever seen in my 20-year career on the floor of the NYSE,” said Mark Otto, partner with J. Streicher & Co, who trades on the NYSE floor. “I think today’s move is sustainable: The company is profitable, unlike some of its competitors, and it is a way for traders to tap into the Chinese growth story.”

The pricing of the IPO on Thursday initially raised $21.8bn for Alibaba.

Scott Cutler, head of the New York Stock Exchange’s global listing business, told CNBC that underwriters would exercise their option for an additional 48 million shares, to bring the IPO’s size to about $25bn, making it the largest initial public offering in history.

But a source close to the matter said

A women holds her laptop as she walks in front of a cloud computing logo at the booth of IBM during preparations for the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover REUTERS

Cloud computing

The top competitive threat, cited by 23% of respondents, was seen to be non-bank newcomers such as Google and Pay pal, part of EBay Inc. “The new entrants are coming into an area that’s not highly regulated but highly profitable, things like remittances, foreign exchange, unsecured lending, micro finance. But these are also the parts of the banking value chain that subsidize the rest of what banks do,” said Robinson.

“So right now they’re in danger of being pushed down into the heavily regulated, unsexy, unprofitable parts of banking. So really it is a choice between do they fight back or live with

Japan government cuts economic view, warns of stalling consumption n Reuters, Tokyo Japan’s government cut its overall economic assessment for the first time in five months as private consumption is struggling to recover from the slump caused by April’s sales tax hike, clouding the outlook for a sustained recovery.

The government on Friday cut its view on private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy, saying that consumer spending is seen pausing although a pick-up trend remains intact.

The assessment followed a run of weak indicators, including falling household spending, which raised doubt about the strength of an expected bounce in the current quarter - a crucial factor for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision in December on whether to proceed with a second tax rise next year.

On Thursday, Japan reported exports declined in August while a survey showed confidence among manufacturers fell the most in nearly two years this month.

“The Japanese economy is on a moderate recovery, while weakness

can be seen in some areas,” the Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for September.

That compared with the prior month’s assessment that the economy was on a moderate recovery and that a decline in demand - rooted in the salestax hike - was easing.

It was the first downgrade since April in the government’s economic assessment, which had been raised in July.

In contrast, the Bank of Japan has maintained its economic view this month, saying the economy continues a moderate recovery despite a decline in demand after the sales-tax hike.

“There’s no gap in view between the government and the BOJ as we both see a moderate recovery continuing,” said a Cabinet Office official, who is in charge of compiling the report.

The government flagged the risk of a prolonged impact of the tax hike, as well as weaker overseas economies, hurting the Japanese economy in future.

The Cabinet Office official blamed adverse weather this summer as well as lingering impact from the tax hike for dampening private consumption. l

that reality.”

In the search for a strategy, banks are increasingly turning to cloud computing to save money. Most now use some cloud-based email or collaboration tools, and 86 percent now run at least one application in the cloud, compared to 57% in 2009.

But they are also getting more worried about the safety of doing so.

Some39% said data security was the biggest barrier to more cloud computing, a jump from 29% a year ago.

“I think it’s a blip, it’s an Edward Snowden related blip,” said Robinson.

“And I don’t see any alternative for banks to adopt the cloud long term.”

Only 1 percent of banks’ core pro-

cessing is cloud-based, since they are reluctant to entrust the most sensitive data to what Robinson described as “shared infrastructure”.

But Temenos expects the situation to change quickly. The cloud could even present a selling point for Swiss banks that are struggling to reinvent themselves after the loss of Swiss banking secrecy, Robinson said.

“Switzerland could have an unbelievably successful business in cloud.

The data regulations are more evolved that in most European countries, certainly more evolved than in the US, and secondly for all the reasons that multinationals come here - it’s politically stable, it’s got lots of renewable energy.” l

the underwriters would make a final decision on whether to exercise the option over the next week or two, based on how the shares trade over the next few sessions.

Alibaba is nearly unknown to most Americans but is ubiquitous in China.

The company, which operates China’s largest Internet shopping destination, Taobao, and retail site Tmall.com, earned $3.7bn in the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, up about $2bn from the prior 12-month period.

At its closing share price on Friday, Alibaba has a market value of $231bn, exceeding the combined market capitalizations of Amazon and eBay, the two leading US e-commerce companies.

Alibaba is valued at 39 times its estimated earnings per share for its current fiscal year, which ends in March. That is right in line with Facebook’s valuation of 39 times forward earnings but nowhere near the lofty valuation of Amazon.com’s multiple of 264, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data.

Trying to chart the stock’s future

The future path of Alibaba’s shares is truly uncharted territory.

“It’s very difficult to predict,” said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Equity Management LLC in San Francisco. “Is it going to trade based upon its true fundamental value, or is it going to become one of these cult stocks a la Tesla or Solar City, or some of these names where there really isn’t a fundamental grounding to the valuation?

“And it’s very difficult to see what bucket these guys are going to fall into,” Massocca added. “My guess is there’s a very high likelihood it does fall into this bucket, which would lead you to believe it does trade higher. But if you were to base it on a fundamental valuation, I would call it slightly overvalued at this price.” l

Some consumers say Apple is losing its ‘cool’ factor n Reuters, San Francisco Holly Riggle, a 29-year-old white-collar worker from Ohio, is just the kind of everyday customer Apple Inc would love to have for its new iPhone 6, which launches Friday.

But Riggle is sticking to her Android smartphone, calling Apple less ”original” than it was under former Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs. She is one of the 16 percent of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll who said Apple had become somewhat or much less cool in the last two years.

By comparison, some 11% of respondents said that Android had lost some sheen in the same timeframe. In a similar poll a year ago, 14.3% of 1,379 people surveyed thought Apple had lost its cool image between 2011 and 2012.

While still a juggernaut, with analysts expecting sales of around 9 million iPhone 6s in its launch weekend, Apple may be losing some of its shine, according to the poll.

More Americans feel that Apple has lost its “coolness” quotient than has the Android brand, according to the poll, conducted Sept. 8-13 and had a margin of error of 2.9%.

When questioned on how they perceive five popular technology brands - Apple, Android, Microsoft Corp, Dell

People try out the newly released iPhone 6 at the Apple store in Berlin Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co - respondents gave the highest coolness factor rating to the Android brand, which includes devices such as Samsung and others that run on Google Inc’s mobile operating software.

About 50% said that in the last one to two years, the Android brand had grown cooler, compared with 48% who voted for Apple. Although the poll is based on a limited sample, it reflects how Android products, which tend to be less expensive, have caused Apple to shed some of its buzz.

“Especially when you have competi-

REUTERS

tors who are doing a lot of innovative things themselves and great advertising, it’s not surprising that Apple doesn’t have the same cachet and coolness that it once did,” said Kevin Lane Keller, a branding expert and professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.

Apple versus android

The mobile phone wars have become a lot like politics, with battling Democrats and Republicans, said Rob Janoff, the designer of the Apple logo and an independent branding and design ex-

pert based in Chicago.

“You can’t carry that magic forever,” Janoff said, but that does not mean consumers should dismiss mature brands.

“I think people have to accept that companies that are out there, they age.”

Last year when it launched its previous version of the iPhone, Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs in the first three days in stores. But drawing a comparison with the iPhone 6 is tricky as sales are based on availability, and Apple has not shared comparable details.

Also, this time the iPhone is not launching in China on Friday, unlike last time, Shannon Cross, an analyst with Cross Research, explained.

Many customers will need to wait until next month for their new iPhones after Apple logged a record 4 million first-day pre-orders, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago.

Errand-service TaskRabbit, said about 550 people in the United States and London have hired individuals at $25 an hour to stand in line at Apple stores to grab the new iPhone. This was up from 350 requests during the iPhone 5 launch two year ago.

San Francisco-based startup has not disclosed its total user base but has grown considerably in the last year and expects to add about 2.5 million users by the end of 2014. l

Oil prices steady at end of volatile week n AFP, London

Banglalink has recently sponsored the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2014. Md Ruhul Amin, DC of Cox’s Bazar, Shamol Kumar Nath, SP of Cox’s Bazar, Shakib Al Hasan, Banglalink brand ambassador and the company’s head of PR and communication, Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury was present on the occasion in Cox’s Bazar

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently organised a workshop and a conference on antimoney laundering for its compliance officers at Mozaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium in Dhaka. Deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan has inaugurated the conference as chief guest at the presence of the commercial bank’s chairperson Major (retd) Dr Md Rezaul Haque

Robi Axiata Limited has recently signed a corporate deal with Exim Bank recently in Dhaka on offering corporate postpaid and prepaid packages along with some other value added services to the bank employees. The bank’s MD, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah and Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, COO of Robi Axiata Limited have signed the agreement

National Bank Limited has recently donated Tk2 crore to the Prime Minister’s relief fund to help the flood affected peoples as part of its corporate social responsibility. The bank’s director, Rick Haque Sikder has handed over a cheque to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gono Bhaban on Sept 18

World oil prices steadied on Friday after Brent crude had this week hit a twoyear low point against a backdrop of solid supplies and dampening demand growth.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November edged up six cents to stand at $97.76 a barrel around midday in London. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October eased 22 cents to $92.85 a barrel.

“Brent is trading somewhat more firmly than a week ago after some extremely volatile days of trading,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note to clients. Brent began the week by sliding to $96.21 a barrel, which was the lowest level since July 2012.

Oil prices however rebounded sharply on Tuesday after the head of OPEC indicated that the crude producers’ cartel could cut its production target for 2015. They headed south once more a day later as a US crude stockpiles report showed a weekly surge of 3.7 million barrels instead of the 1.2-million barrel

decline expected by the market.

“The market is unfazed by the prospect of cuts to OPEC production due to over-supply in Europe and Asia and a strong dollar, which has also dampened demand by rendering Brent crude oil more expensive when expressed in foreign currency terms,” Chloe Bradley, an analyst at energy consultancy Inenco, said on Friday.

A stronger dollar added downward pressure this week to oil prices, which are traded in the US unit and become more costly for buyers using weaker currencies.

The greenback rose after the Federal Reserve stuck to its timetable on hiking interest rates but indicated they could eventually rise more sharply than initially envisaged. Oil traders also focused on the Scottish referendum owing to the presence of large reserves in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.

Scots rejected independence on Friday in a result that left the centuries-old United Kingdom intact but headed for a major shake-up that will give more autonomy to both Scotland and England. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, September 21, 2014

As G20 chases growth goal, members differ on how to get there n Reuters, Cairns As the Group of 20 leading economies meet to change no less than the “destiny” of the global economy, members remain divided on how to get there with Germany pushing back at US calls for more government stimulus.

Opening the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey outlined an ambitious agenda of boosting world growth, fireproofing the global banking system and closing tax loopholes for giant multi-nationals.

“We have the opportunity to change the destiny of the global economy,” said Hockey, who back in February launched a campaign to add 2 percentage points to world growth by 2018 as part of Australia’s presidency of the G20.

That goal has seemed ever more distant as members from China to Japan, Germany and Russia have all stumbled in recent months. Just this week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) slashed its growth forecasts for most major economies.

A call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew for the euro zone and Japan to do more to boost demand and revive activity, signaling out Germany as having scope to do much more thanks to its burgeoning trade surplus, drew a cool response.

“We will not agree on short-sighted stimuli,” a German G20 delegate said, arguing that in most countries debt was still too high to allow for increased spending.

Berlin has been under intense pressure to allow the euro zone to ease back on fiscal austerity and to stimulate its economy through more government spending or tax cuts.

Geopolitics a thorn

The outlook for growth has not been helped by geopolitical tensions, from fighting in the Middle East to the strife between Russia and Ukraine.

Hockey said Australia, as the G20 host this year, had sought feedback from other G20 members on whether Russia should attend the meeting of

leaders in Brisbane in November.

There had been calls from some quarters to block President Vladimir Putin from attending the summit given Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the downing of airliner MH17.

The overwhelming consensus was that the door be left open to continue engagement with Russia, said Hockey.

Geopolitical tensions were also high on the agenda when financial policymakers of Japan, China and South Korea held their first trilateral meeting in more than two years in Cairns on Friday.

“We shared the view that we should strengthen our regional capabilities to manage financial and economic risks and respond to possible crisis,” they said in a joint statement on Friday.

The meeting was the first since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to power in 2012, after ties between Japan and its neighbors soured due to maritime territorial disputes and rows over the legacy of Japan’s wartime aggression in Asia.

Tax cheaters

Also on the drawing board at the G20 are plans to stem the loss of revenue from multinationals shifting their profits to low-tax countries, potentially reclaiming billions of dollars.

Taxation arrangements of global companies such as Google Inc, Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc have become a hot political topic following media and parliamentary investigations into how many companies reduce their bills.

The OECD has unveiled a series of measures that, if implemented by members, could stop companies from employing many commonly used practices to shift profits into low-tax centers.

Since countries began targeting cross-border loopholes five years ago, an additional 37bn euros ($47.5bn) in tax had been recovered, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said, adding that firms were estimated to be holding $2tn in low- or no-tax countries.

“The whole world needs to go after tax cheats,” Hockey said about the measures, which he hopes will be adopted by at least 44 countries. l

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak seen with the recipients of Creative Young Entrepreneurs Award 2014 in Dhaka on Friday

Russia does not want ‘closed economy’ n AFP, Moscow

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday Russia did not want to close itself off from the global economy, and warned Western efforts to isolate or ignore such a powerful nation were “impossible”.

“I consider that talk of making fundamental changes to the country’s development model is inappropriate - inappropriate and not needed. About creating a so-called mobilised, or closed, economy,” Medvedev said at an investment conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“Our country does not need such economy. No country needs such an economy.”

“Our priorities remain unchanged.

We will not change our course,” said Medvedev, who served a four-year stint

Three quarters of Japanese firms prefer a stronger yen: Reuters poll n Reuters, Tokyo The yen’s rapid descent to six-year lows against the dollar is starting to push beyond comfort zones for three quarters of Japanese firms, a Reuters poll showed, highlighting the potential for profits to be squeezed as import costs climb.

Japan struggled with a strong currency for much of the past decade, only gaining sustained relief from late 2012 as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power and embarked on bold monetary stimulus.

But this past month, the yen has tumbled about 6% to trade around 109 yen against the greenback, pressured by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates sooner than forecast and speculation that the Bank of Japan may have to ease further.

That decline now threatens to further boost the cost of raw materials and fuel at a time when the economy is straining from the impact of a sales tax hike.

“Our business is slowing due to a marked increase in the cost of imports caused by the weak yen,” an executive at a textile manufacturer wrote in the survey. “Retail sales at department stores remain slack.”

The Reuters Corporate Survey showed only 25% of companies prefer an exchange rate of 105 yen or weaker, with 47% seeing 100-104 yen as the most desirable range and 28% preferring a yen at 99 to the dollar or stronger.

Conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research from Aug 29 to Sept 12, the survey polled 486 firms capitalized at more than 1bn yen which responded on condition of anonymity. About 260 firms answered questions on foreign exchange.

Stimulus seen

The survey also showed 73% of firms believe authorities should craft fresh stimulus measures if they proceed with

A man and a woman watch outside at the lobby of an office building in Tokyo a plan to raise the sales tax further to 10% from 8% next year in a bid to curb runaway government debt. The other respondents saw no need for more stimulus.

The results follow the Reuters Tankan survey which showed confidence at Japanese manufacturers fell the most in nearly two years in September - both polls underlining how fragile the recovery is and how Abe must delicately balance the need to sustain growth and manage the country’s debt levels.

Government officials say they stand ready to deploy fresh fiscal stimulus to limit the impact of a tax hike. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, a former Finance Ministry official who supports the tax hike as part of needed fiscal reform, has repeatedly said he sees no need to ease monetary policy now but would not hesitate to increase the central bank’s massive asset purchases if necessary.

Asked to name their preferred form of stimulus, 28% of companies said additional monetary easing, 26% called for further tax breaks to promote investment and 17% urged measures to sustain share prices.

Only 8 percent saw a need for steps

SADIA MARIUM

REUTERS

directly aimed at weakening the yen, another sign that further depreciation could be troublesome.

To be sure, some of the biggest corporate names in Japan would still benefit from further yen weakness. Toyota Motor Corp, for example, has said every one yen move lower against the dollar compared to its budgeted rate of 101 yen boosts its annual operating profit by a 40bn yen ($370m).

But the head of Japan’s auto lobby said on Thursday that while current rates were comfortable for his industry, this did not necessarily mean the yen should continue to weaken.

“Rising energy costs are concerns for manufacturers in Japan, which is heavily reliant on importing energyrelated resources,” Fumihiko Ike, also chairman of Honda Motor Co, told a news conference.

For big importers like paper manufacturers, yen weakness against the dollar already hurts.

“We remain unable to post profits as we cannot raise output prices enough to offset higher raw materials and other costs caused by a weak yen,” wrote one manager at a paper company. l

term on the global economy,” he added.

The Internet-savvy, i-Pad-wielding prime minister said that decades of the Soviet Union’s confrontation with the West proved that sanctions did not work, reeling off a number of punitive measures the West slapped against the USSR. “And what, has the development of our country stopped?”

Russia has banned most food imports from the West in response to its sanctions over Ukraine, which cut off the access of major banks and companies from capital markets and imposed travel bans and asset freezes on key allies of Putin.

Medvedev insisted that Russia was “capable of producing a lot on its own territory” and that the government would confirm plans aimed at boosting domestic industry and agriculture by the end of the month. l

as president before ceding the Kremlin back to his mentor Vladimir Putin in 2012.

In defiant rhetoric, Medvedev said Brussels and Washington must take nuclear-power Russia’s interests into account, adding that some Western countries “have stopped recognising the fact that Russia has national interests”.

“We have the largest territory, we are a nuclear power, nearly 150 million people live in Russia, we are a territory with huge natural resources, a large market for goods, services and investment,” said the 49-year-old prime minister.

Russia is locked in a dramatic confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where Kremlin-backed separatists have been battling pro-Western Kiev forces since April.

Brussels and Washington have imposed several rounds of tough sanc-

tions on Russia in a bid to cripple the country’s economy and make Moscow change its course.

But Putin has defied the sanctions and says they could even help the country to become more self-sufficient.

Many observers have expressed fears that instead of changing tack, Moscow will isolate itself further, and that its policies will become more unpredictable.

“What do our opponents want?”

Medvedev said at the Sochi forum.

“To build a new world order which is based on uncompromising confrontation, or maybe simply close their eyes tight and pretend that Russia no longer exists? To isolate half the European continent from the rest of the world?

This is impossible.”

“No one can predict what effect the sanctions against Russia will have long-

Insider trading in the digital age: use post-it notes n AFP, Washington

US, Australia welcome ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks progress

With no surreptitious phone call or text message on an illicit hot stock tip safe from US regulators, Frank Tamayo thought he had a perfect no-tech foil: post-it notes.

According to charges filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, for more than five years Tamayo used to turn over lucrative insider tips to his stock broker written on the small sticky notes.

He would show the broker, Vladimir Eydelman, the tip information on postit notes, or sometimes a paper napkin, inside New York’s Grand Central Station.

And then Tamayo would chew up and eat the note “to destroy evidence of the tip,” the SEC said.

The scheme would over time garner Tamayo Eydelman, Tamayo’s own source, college friend and corporate lawyer Steven Metro, and others who benefited $5.6m before the SEC caught on.

According to the charges, Metro would access information on deals under way by corporate clients of his law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and give it to Tamayo.

In meetings inside the opulent New York rail station, Tamayo would show the broker sticky notes with cryptic details of the companies involved.

After the meeting, Eydelman would return to his office and, feigning to make a normal trading recommendation to his client, would email to Tamayo official research on the company and his “supposed thoughts” on why Tamayo should buy the shares.

The intent was “to create a paper trail of false and contrived emails that purportedly served as non-fraudulent bases for the illegal trading by Tamayo and Eydelman,” the SEC said.

Besides the SEC charges, which could result in large fines, Tamayo also faces federal criminal charges. Eydelman and Metro are facing similar civil and criminal charges. l

n AFP, Cairns The United States and Australia said Friday they were encouraged by progress on rules to reduce the problem of “too-big-to-fail” banks as part of efforts to improve stability after the global financial crisis.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew welcomed the “emerging consensus” on discussions at the international watchdog, the Financial Stability Board, over capital buffers for the world’s biggest banks.

“I welcome the progress made by the Financial Stability Board over the past few days and the emerging consensus on the total loss absorbing capacity proposal, which now positions us to deliver on the Brisbane summit commitment,” Lew said.

“This important standard will help facilitate the early resolution of systemically important banks and will protect taxpayers from bearing the burden of any global bank’s failure.”

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said there was a “real chance” of breakthroughs in the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations’ discussions this weekend in the northern Australian city of Cairns.

“The work of the FSB here over the last few days has been very encouraging,” Hockey said at a joint press conference with Lew.

DILBERT

“There’s a very real chance that we can have some very good breakthroughs by the end of the weekend.”

The Financial Stability Board, which was established after the global economic crisis and comprises of central bankers and regulators from 24 countries, met on Wednesday and Thursday in Cairns ahead of the G20 meeting.

The work of the FSB here over the last few days has been very encouraging The watchdog said Thursday that it had made “substantial progress in defining the terms and conditions” for tackling the impact of “too-big-to-fail” banks.

The total loss absorbing capacity plan aims to set global standards on the capital buffers needed by large banks, to help shield taxpayers and the financial system should they falter.

The proposal is part of a suite of bank reform measures being discussed following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, which shook the financial sector and brought down the US economy. l