22 Sep, 2014

Ashwin 7, 1421 Zilqad 26, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 171

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Slack vigilance allows militants to regroup in jail JMB and Ansarullah chiefs reportedly held meetings inside the Kashimpur jail in Gazipur to plan subversive acts n Mohammad Jamil Khan Taking advantage of slack monitoring and vigilance from the authorities concerned, the leaders of militant outfits in the various high security jails have been allegedly holding regular meetings and planning subversive acts.

The sensational information was revealed to the Detective Branch (DB) of Police during interrogation by seven JMB members including its acting chief Abdullah Al Tasnim, who were arrested in Ashulia near Dhaka on Friday.

‘In other countries, authorities keep militants in separate cells. But that does not happen in Bangladesh’ “In other countries, authorities of high security jails keep leaders and activists of militant outfits in separate cells. But that does not happen in Bangladesh. As a result, the militants get the chance to regroup from very much inside the jails,” a high official of DB told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The members of the outlawed Jama’atul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) told detectives that their chief Saidur Rahman and Mufti Jashim Uddin Rah-

mania, chief of another banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), had held talks inside the Kashimpur jail in Gazipur. Several members of the another banned group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (Huji) also joined that meeting.

The JMB members in custody also said the outlawed groups had made a decision to work together because their aims were the same – establishing an Islamic state in Bangladesh.

Mizanur Rahman, jailer of Kashimpur High Security Jail 1, said: “It is very well secured. The allegations of meeting between Saidur Rahman and Rahmani is baseless because they stay in separate buildings. Moreover, Saidur is physically challenged. He can not go outside without help... Meeting is not possible unless it is Eid.” A DB official told the Dhaka Tribune that the JMB’s expertise lied in operations, especially concerning explosives, and ABT’s strong point was its technological know-hows. He said the two banned militant outfits had reached an agreement in jail to share resources so that they could be more ferocious in future.

Arrested JMB member Noki, a student of the North South University who used to be a member of ABT, took part in the mission for killing blogger Rajib Hyder. He joined JMB in April last year  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Syrian Kurds walk after crossing into Turkey at the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Saturday

Syrian refugee-flood to Turkey hits 100,000 n Agencies The number of refugees seeking shelter in Turkey from the Islamic State group’s advance across northern Syria has hit 100,000 in less than a week, an official said yesterday.

The head of Turkey’s disaster management agency, Fuat Oktay, said the figure relates to Syrians escaping the area near the Syrian border town of Kobani, where fighting has raged between IS and Kurdish fighters since Thursday.

The UN refugee agency said earlier that about 70,000 Syrians have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, and that it was preparing for the arrival of hundreds of thousands more. Those are significant numbers, even in the context of the 1.5 million refugees who have fled to Turkey in the past threeand-a-half years.

Turkish authorities said they were ready to deal with the influx.

“We have been prepared for this,” disaster management agency spokesman Dogan Eskinat told Associated

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Press. “We are also prepared for worse.”

The refugees, most of them ethnic Kurds, have been desperate to reach Turkey and escape the advance of religious extremists barreling across Syria.

Meanwhile, heavy clashes broke out between the Islamic State group and Kurdish fighters yesterday only a few miles from Kobani, which is also known as Ayn Arab.

The Islamic State group was bombarding villagers with tanks, artillery and multiple rocket launchers, said Nasser Haj Mansour, an official at the

Al-Masum Molla n Mohammad and Manik Miazee

Chairperson Khaleda Zia, yesterday went to the Supreme Court in the morning to attend a seminar organised

by Bangladesh Law Times.

He used an ambulance (Dhaka metro Cha-9442) of “Bangladesh Jatiya Ondho Kalyan Samity” of which he is the chairman. He reached the apex court around 9:45am and left the premises at 1:41pm on the same ambulance, parked for him for hours.

He is also the president of Supreme Court Bar Association and vice-president of Bangladesh Bar Council.

Ambulance driver Abdul Mannan claimed that he did not know the iden-

tity of the person he had picked up.

“My office told me to pick him from his home. So I picked him from his residence [Bashundhara Residential Area],” he told the Dhaka tribune. He refused to say anything else.

Asked about using the ambulance during hartal, Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune: “I was feeling sick as my blood pressure was high. Therefore, I took the ambulance so that I could go to a hospital if situation goes critical.”

He gave speech at the seminar as the chief guest, and in the afternoon, attended a press conference of the Bangladesh Bar Council. l

Today’s dawn-to-dusk hartal of the BNP-led 20-party alliance was called so that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia could skip hearing in a graft case against her, party insiders have said seeking anonymity.

The former premier has skipped more than 50 such hearing sessions in the past and her counsels have always shown different excuses for her absence.

The BNP-led alliance said today’s hartal was meant for protesting the passage of the 16th amendment to the Constitution that empowered the legislature to impeach judges.

The BNP however claimed that there was no connection between the hartal call and Khaleda’s court appearance.

The party also said the hartal could not be called right after the bill was passed on September 17 because its ally Jamaat-e-Islami was already enforcing its own shutdowns.

Khaleda’s office has cited security concerns as a reason for the decision, although the hartal is being enforced by the political combine that she leads.

She faces the Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases and has skipped hearing seven times after charges have been framed.

Before charge framing, she skipped court appearance 41 times in the Zia Orphanage Trust case and 11 times in the

9 | World

12 | Entertainment

15 | Sport

Khandker Mahbub Hossain, counsel of Delawar Hossain Sayedee and also an adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, leaves Supreme Court in an ambulance of Jatiya Ondhokalyan Samity amid countrywide shutdown called by the Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Hartal could not stop Sayedee’s counsel n Ahmed Zayeef Khandker Mahbub Hossain, conducting counsel of convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee, moved around the city yesterday on an ambulance amid countrywide shutdown called by Jamaat-e-Islami protesting the verdict in Sayedee’s appeals case.

On September 17, Mahbub was present in the courtroom to receive the verdict that sentenced Sayedee to imprisonment until death. He later briefed journalists expressing his dissatisfaction over the verdict.

Mahbub, also an adviser to BNP

INSIDE 3 | News

The war tribunal’s courtroom yesterday heard the horrific description of a freedom fighter who had escaped death from the hands of razakars led by accused Abdul Jabbar in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War.

4 | News

Five Awami League-baked candidates were unofficially declared winner in the by-polls held in different upazila and union parishads yesterday, while only one BNP-blessed candidate emerged victorious.

defense office in Syria’s Kurdish region.

A Kurdish commander on the ground said Islamic State had advanced to within 15km of Kobani, whose strategic location has been blocking the radical Sunni Muslim militants from consolidating their gains across northern Syria.

A Kurdish politician from Turkey who visited Kobani on Saturday said locals had told him that Islamic State fighters were beheading people as they went from village to village.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Khaleda to skip hearing again for hartal today

Fake FF certificate holder included in PM’s entourage n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Health Secretary Neaz Uddin Mia, whose freedom fighter certificate is set to be scrapped soon for being proven false, has been included in the delegation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

Neaz is scheduled to take part in the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) to be held at the United Nations General Assembly today.

When contacted, Cabinet Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the prime minister’s delegation had been approved by the premier herself.

“She included those who she considers can contribute [in the visit],” he said.

Former cabinet secretary Akbar Ali Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that any accused person should not be in such a post until the accusation was resolved.

On September 14, the government decided to cancel the freedom fighters’ certificates of five secretaries including the health secretary as those were proven fake in an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The government decision was taken at a meeting of the National Freedom Fighters Council, widely known as Jatiya Muktijoddha Council, under the Liberation War Affairs Ministry.

The move came after the ACC sent

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The low lying areas of Chittagong city were submerged in waist-high water yesterday because of the heavy downpour, resulting in immense sufferings for city dwellers.

6 | Nation

Pirates have created a reign of terror by robbing fishermen, kidnapping them for ransom and killing them in the island district Bhola.

The attacks have increased at an alarming rate led by Jahangir and Farhad Bahini recently on Meghna and Bay of Bengal estuaries.

Afghanistan’s two presidential candidates signed a power-sharing deal yesterday, ending months of political wrangling following a disputed runoff.

When Akram Khan attended a panel discussion three days prior to his Dhaka debut, he left little to our imagination about his long-awaited solo.

Chinese tennis star Li Na said she has “no regrets” about her decision to retire over persistent knee injuries, but acknowledged she thought long and hard about the decision.

Zia Charitable Trust graft case. On most of those occasions, she was either ill or was concerned about security.

“Madam [Khaleda Zia] will not appear before the court because of hartal and the Bangladesh Bar Association’s decision to boycott court protesting the 16th amendment to the constitution,” Md Sanaullah Mia, defense counsel of Khaleda Zia, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Jamaat, who generally issues statements before 20-party hartals, has not done it this time He also said: “The bill was passed on September 17. The next day was a Jamaat hartal, followed by the two-day weekend, and another Jamaat hartal today [Sunday]. So, we could not have called hartal on those days. There is no connection between hartal and Khaleda Zia’s court appearance.”

He also said he would submit a prayer for deferring today’s hearing date.

In 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against six, including Khaleda Zia and her eldest son Tarique Rahman, for allegedly misusing Tk2.1 crore from the Zia Orphanage Trust funds.

In 2011, the ACC accused the BNP  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Pakistan flags found at PM’s programme n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The Education Ministry is apparently embarrassed after learning that Pakistan flags were distributed among the students at Saturday’s concluding function of a sports competition for the schools and Madrasas.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the programme at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital.

A good number of miniature Pakistan flags were found inside the packets of Bangladesh flags when the teachers were handing them over to the students, who were supposed to waive them during the function. The directorate of education procured the flags by outsourcing.

One of the schools that were given Pakistan flags with bundles of Bangladesh flags was the Motijheel Ideal School and College. The persons in charge stopped distributing the flags and brought the matter to the higher

authorities’ attention.

The school management informed local lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon, also the civil aviation minister, who sent a letter to the education minister demanding punishment for those responsible for the anti-state approach.

“I have talked to the education minister today [Sunday] and demanded serious punishment for the culprits. The Education Ministry has formed a probe body,” Rashed said yesterday.

The minister said Ataur Rahman, a director of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, was made the head of the probe body that has been asked to submit report to the ministry.

The Motijheel Ideal School and College authorities have also been investigating the incident. Officials at the directorate of education said one of its assistant directors was in-charge of making 10,000 flags. She was reportedly close to former BNP lawmaker Mosaddeq Ali Falu. l

News

Monday, September 22, 2014

Felani killing revision trial begins today n Tribune Desk The revision trial of Felani killing case starts today at the sector headquarters of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in Koch Bihar of India.

Mohsin Reza, public relations officer of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune.

In January 2011, Felani was shot dead by BSF at Anantapur border point in Kurigram’s Phulbarhi upazila while she was trying to climb over the barbed wire fence. She was on her way to Bangladesh with her father from Delhi where she used to work as a domestic help.

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

A photo showing Felani hanging from the fence was widely circulated by the media, sparking protests among people and prompting international rights groups to demand justice. Amid protests and criticisms, the BSF probed the incident and found one of its members to be involved.

On September 5 last year, the General Security Forces Court of the Indian BSF in West Bengal acquitted 181 battalion Constable Amiya Ghosh, the self-confessed killer, because of “in-

conclusive and insufficient” evidence against him.

Confirming the matter, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan told the Dhaka Tribune at that time that the government was taking necessary preparations and a from Bangladesh would be there to give deposition.

After the verdict, the BSF headquarters said they were not happy with the trial and announced retrial.

During a director general-level meeting in Delhi last month, the BSF authorities told the BGB delegation that they were further investigating into the incident. l

BB seeks bank account info of 13 people n Tribune Report The Bangladesh Bank has asked for information about the bank accounts of 13 people including the sons of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under the central bank sent a letter in this regard to different commercial banks on Thursday.

BFIU may have sought the information following complaints against the account or request from any of the government agencies, said a senior executive of the central bank.

The letter asked the banks concerned to send the required information to the central bank within seven working days. Among those 13 are Ershad’s son Rahgir Al Mahi Saad and Khaleda’s son Arafat Rahman Coco.

BFIU also sought information on the bank accoutns of of Shajedul Haque Chowdhury alias Dipu Chowdhury, son of Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofajjol Hossain Chowdhury Maya, MP Haji Selim, Jubo League President Ismail Chowdhury Samrat and MP Nizam Uddin Hazari.

The 13 men also include Former Environment Minister Shahjahan Siraj, his son Rajib Siraj, former MP Naser Rahman. l

Seven BCL men suspended in Cuet n CU Correspondent Seven activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s unit in Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology have been suspended from the university for six months on charge of breaching academic discipline. Professor Dr Ashutosh Saha, director of Cuet Student Welfare, confirmed.

The suspended students are Faisal Suvo, Mamun, Plabon Dutta, Shuvodip Pal, Muniruzzaman, Naimul Kuntol and Pavel, said Cuet sources.

Of them, Faisal, Mamun and Plabon are students of mechanical engineering, and Kuntol and Shuvodip are students of electrical engineering, the sources said.

The decision came at the meeting of Cuet’s 140th Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Professor Dr Jahangir Alam.

“The authority suspended the seven students from the university for six months on condition on charge of factional clash on the campus,” Saha said.

On the basis of the report by a five-member probe committee, the authority made the decision, he added.

The suspension decision will be withdrawn if the students fulfil the condition by next one month, he said. l

Hajj leaders get visas at last n Moniruzzman Uzzal

Khaleda to skip hearing again for hartal today

All the group leaders, or monazzems, of the aspiring hajj pilgrims under 325 private hajj agencies will receive their hajj visas today, said Ibrahim Bahar, president of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) yesterday evening.

“We, along with the minister and other high officials of the ministry, met with the Saudi ambassador to expedite the visa procedure, and he assured us that he would help in this regard,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said all the necessary documents had been submitted at the Saudi Arabia Embassy and some of the monazzems would be able to fly out to Saudi Arabia as soon as this evening.

When asked if the absence of the leaders had caused the hajj pilgrims already in Saudi Arabia to face difficulties, he said: “I will not deny that they pilgrims may be suffering without their leaders, but all the agencies have had other people in place to look after the pilgrims.”

Bahar also said he was satisfied with the ministry’s preparation with hajj this year.

Mizanur Rahman, director of the Hajj Office at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, reiterated Bahar’s statement and told the Dhaka Tribune that there were no longer any problems in getting the hajj visas, and all the flight were leaving Bangladesh in the scheduled time.

He said more than 71,000 Bangladeshis had arrived at Saudi Arabia to perform hajj, starting on October 4. A total of 98,683 are expected to perform hajj this year. l

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chief and three others of misappropriating Tk3.15 crore from the Zia Charitable Trust fund.

Jamaat reluctant

Awami League activists bring out a motorbike procession in the capital’s Farmgate yesterday protesting the hartal called by Jamaat

Syrian refugee flood to Turkey hits 100,000  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

“Rather than a war this is a genocide operation... They are going into the villages and cutting the heads of one or two people and showing them to the villagers,” Ibrahim Binici, a deputy for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP, told Reuters.

“It is truly a shameful situation for humanity,” he said, calling for international intervention. Five of his fellow MPs planned a hunger strike outside U.N. offices in Geneva to press for action, he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors Syria’s civil war, said clashes continued overnight, killing 10 insurgents and bringing the number of Islamic State fighters killed to at least 39. At least 27 Kurdish fighters have died.

Islamic State has seized at least 64 villages around Kobani since the onslaught started on Tuesday, using heavy arms and thousands of fighters.

It executed at least 11 civilians on Saturday, including at least two boys, the Observatory said.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a rebel group which has spent three decades fighting for autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, renewed a call for the youth of Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast to rise up and rush to save Kobani.

“Supporting this heroic resistance is not just a debt of honor of the Kurds but all Middle East people. Just giving support is not enough, the criterion must be taking part in the resistance,” it said in a statement on its website.

“ISIL (Islamic State) fascism must drown in the blood it spills ... The youth of North Kurdistan (southeast Turkey) must flow in waves to Kobani,” it said.

Hundreds of security forces cleared the border area south of Suruc of a couple of thousand people who had gathered in solidarity with Kobani for a third day on the Turkish side of the barbed wire fence, where many of the refugees have crossed.

After gendarmes fired water cannon and tear gas, people began to flee the border zone on foot and in vehicles, while some threw stones at the security forces. Several ambulances were among dozens of vehicles which sped up the road towards the town of Suruc.

There was no immediate information on casualties.

Refugee influx

The United States has said it is prepared to carry out air strikes in Syria to stop the advances of Islamic State, which has also seized tracts of territory in neighboring Iraq and has proclaimed a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.

US forces have bombed the group in Iraq at the request of the government, but it is unclear when or where any military action might take place in Syria, whose president, Bashar al-Assad, Washington says is no longer legitimate.

Western states have increased contact with the main Syrian Kurdish political party, the PYD, whose armed wing is the YPG, since Islamic State made a lightning advance across northern Iraq in June.

The YPG says it has 50,000 fighters and should be a natural partner in the coalition the United States is trying to build.

But such cooperation could prove difficult because of Syrian Kurds’ ties to the PKK, a group listed as a terrorist or-

ganization by Ankara, the United States and European Union due to the militant campaign it has waged in Turkey.

The PKK accuses Turkey of covertly supporting Islamic State as part of a strategy to crush Kurdish militancy, and said in its statement that Ankara was collaborating in the attack on Kobani in a “dirty war”.

Ankara has backed Syrian rebel groups fighting Assad but has repeatedly strongly denied any suggestion that it has supported Islamic State or other radical militants, saying they pose a major security threat to Turkey.

A radio station broadcasting from Kobani played patriotic Kurdish songs about heroic fighters and martyrs, which residents in Turkey listened to in their cars. Recordings were also played of PKK commander Murat Karayilan as announcers sought to drum up support for the call to arms.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Turkish authorities said they were preparing for the possibility of hundreds of thousands more refugees arriving in the coming days.

Kobani’s relative stability through much of Syria’s conflict meant 200,000 internally displaced people were sheltering there before Islamic State’s advance, UNHCR said.

“This massive influx shows how important it is to offer and preserve asylum space for Syrians as well as the need to mobilize international support to the neighboring countries,” said António Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Kurdish forces have evacuated at least 100 villages on the Syrian side since the militants’ onslaught started on Tuesday.

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barza-

RAJIB DHAR

BNP’s ally Jamaat-e-Islami generally issues a press statement on the eve of a hartal called by the 20-party alliance.

The statement usually contains instructions for its leaders and activists.

However, when this report was being filed around 9:43pm yesterday, the party had not issued any such statement. Its publicity wing confirmed that they would not issue any.

However, sources have said the party, who has just enforced 48 hours of general strikes on Thursday and yesterday protesting the Supreme Court verdict against its leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, is not interested in visibly taking part in any programme of the 20-party combine.

For the time being, Jamaat wants to concentrate only on its own programmes.

Jamaat’s central working committee member Abdullah Mohammad Taher told the Dhaka Tribune that the 20-party had already explained its stance regarding the constitution amendment bill and so there was no need for Jamaat to issue a press statement.

When reminded that they had always issued such statements in the past, Taher said: “It is a decision from the policymakers of the party. I cannot tell you anything more.” l

Slack vigilance allows militants ni called on Friday for international intervention to protect Kobani from the Islamic State advance, saying the insurgents must be “hit and destroyed wherever they are”.

“The people who are here today, young and old, women and children, are all prepared to cross over to Kobani and defend it,” Gultan Kisanak, the mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast told Reuters, sitting in a plowed field by the border. Kobani will “never fall”, she said. l

Fake FF certificate holder included in PM’s entourage  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

a letter to the Liberation War Affairs Ministry and the Public Administration Ministry on September 8, requesting them to take legal and departmental actions against the five for the offence.

The Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque recently said the service age of the accused officials would end this year and if the certificates were real, they would have got the extension of service for one more year; but, as it was proven to be fake, they would not get the advantage.

According to the ministry officials, departmental cases might be filed against the officials for violation of service rules and disciplines. Fraud cases might also be filed against them, if it is proved that they were involved with fraudulence. l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

and provided technological support for the mission.

The official also said JMB had also been planning to expand activities in government offices by injecting its own men from among the trained members of its “slipper cell.”

When contacted, Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB, said: “We have learned from the arrested men that JMB militants are now trying to regroup and collecting funds following orders from their chief Saidur Rahman. They are planning to attack some important personalities of the state to get international media coverage, which would help them get funds from their donors.”

Monirul also told the Dhaka Tribune: “The militants are trying to initiate some businesses in the education sector because it is safe. We have learned that they have already gathered funds to start a college in the capital’s Uttara. They are now waiting for a suitable space near the Jashimuddin intersection.”

The DB chief said JMB had been looking to start coaching business in some of the posh areas in the capital so that law enforcers do not suspect their movements. The plan was to earn some money for recruiting new members for the militant outfit. The students that would get admitted to the college and the coaching centres, were their primary recruitment targets.

Alongside JMB, the ABT also runs several educational institutions in various parts of the country. According to detectives, the ABT is now building a madrassa in the Rupganj area of Narayanganj.

Intelligence officials said the JMB is now following the strategy adopted by international militant group Islamic

State (IS). In fact, JMB has reportedly contacted the IS seeking support for its activities.

Before his arrest in 2006, JMB chief Saidur Rahman had held meetings with some al-Qaeda agents in Bangladesh and got some money from them.

However, the contact got disconnected because the JMB had lost its grounds.

The ABT took very little time to rise to prominence because it also had got direct support from al-Qaeda.

Detectives said the JMB had now been trying to organise all the Islamist outfits in Bangladesh, including Jamaat-e-Islami, under one umbrella with an aim to establish an Islamic state. But because of strong vigilance by the law enforcement agencies, that plan had not materialised and that was why they were now planning to attack some high profile people of the state.

A DB official involved with the interrogation of the JMB members, told the Dhaka Tribune that the JMB members had been trying to contact with the IS with help from some Bangladeshi expatriates in the United Kingdom via email.

The official said they were trying now to trace those Bangladeshi expatriates and the donors. The money mainly reaches via informal ways instead of any formal banking channel which makes it hard for police to track them down.

DB chief Monirul Islam said: “We have kept some NGOs under watch.

We are also trying to track the mobile phones of some absconding militant leaders. We hope to make a major breakthrough soon.”

Currently, detectives are conducing raids in different parts fo the country in search of militants such as Maj Zia, Salehin, Boma Mizan, Fahim, Ezaz, Hat Kata Sohel, and so on. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

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Monday, September 22, 2014

Leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League’s front organisations lock in clash among themselves while demonstrating against the hartal of Jamaat. Some activists were injured and several vehicles vandalised during the violence. The photos were taken in Farmgate area yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Witness narrates surviving a death squad n Udisa Islam The war tribunal’s courtroom yesterday heard the horrific description of a freedom fighter who had escaped death from the hands of razakars led by accused Abdul Jabbar in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War. Santosh Kumar Mitra, 63, from Angulkata village said his brother had died from bullet wounds which had also hit his own chest as they were tied together.

He was very restless during the entire time of his deposition, as the sixth prosecution witness at the International Crimes Tribunal 1 and broke into tears several times while describing the incidents.

He said: “On October 6 of 1971, a group of razakars following the order of Jabbar attacked our village, stormed our house and looted cash and gold.

They captured 37 men from the village including 18 from my family and took us to Mothbaria.”

He said the detainees’ hands had been tied to their back. However, seven people including his cousin Manindra Master were freed. At that time, the razakars also tortured the elderly with rifles.

“The razakars took the detainees to the bank of a canal at village Suryamoni

one by one and gunned them down.”

Showing his chest and back, Santosh said: “Two bullets passed through my body and I only survived because of my brother Foni Mitra’s body. We were tied together and when the razakars shot at us, the bullets hit him first and then the same bullets hit me.”

After his deposition, state appointed defence counsel MA Hasan cross examined him and the tribunal adjourned the trial until today, keeping it incomplete.

The deposition of Santosh corroborated the evidence of the five other witnesses in the case.

Jabbar was indicted on August 14 for his alleged involvement in crimes such as murder, genocide, arson, looting and forceful conversion of many Hindus to Islam in Mathbaria.

Meanwhile, Motiur Rahman, the investigation officer in the trial against Maulana Abdus Subhan, ended placing his deposition at the tribunal 2 claiming that the accused had been the secretary and vicechairman of Peace Committee in Pabna during the war.

Placing many documents as evidence, Motiur said Subhan’s name had been on the list of collaborators prepared in 1972.

The accused also has several alias

including Abdus Subhan, Abul Bashar Md Abdus Subhan Mia and Maulana Abdus Subhan Mia. The officer said he had collected information from books, journals, newspapers and government documents to get proper evidence against Subhan and also seized the fortnightly report on political situation from then East Pakistan.

The prosecution says Subhan led and in some cases accompanied the anti-liberation forces in and around Pabna in committing atrocities from April 11, 1971.

Subhan was also accused in 1972 by a special tribunal of collaborating with the Pakistani occupation forces and summoned. However, he did not face the trail as he had already fled to Pakistan with former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.

According to a charge, Subhan on a day in May 1971 had led some 30 Pakistani occupation army men to Satbaria, Fakitpur, Kandarppur and Gupinpur of Pabna and premeditated the killing of at least 400 unarmed Hindus and set fire to their houses after looting them.

The accused was indicted by the tribunal 1 on December 31 last year. But the case was transferred to tribunal 2 on March 27. l

Muhith: Jamaat could go underground if banned n Tribune Report Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said banning Jamaat through a legal initiative could have troubling consequences as the party might continue to operate from going underground and start killing ordinary people.

Speaking to reporters yesterday after a meeting with Asian Development Bank Executive Director Maliami Bin Hamad at the secretariat, Muhith also termed Jamaat-e-Islami a “bloody party.”

Snubbing out claims against the Awami League of forming an alliance with the Jamaat, the finance minister said such allegations were “rubbish.”

The BNP and the Jamaat were jointly creating the propaganda of such an “unholy alliance” between the ruling party

and the Jamaat, Muhith said, adding that the issue was discussed at a party meeting on Saturday.

“Jamaat-e-Islami does not believe in the birth of Bangladesh or its [the country’s] freedom; as a result, we hate Jamaat-e-Islami,” the minister said. He also questioned the motive behind Jamaat’s recent hartals. On a separate note, Muhith said: “After the national election on January 5, we have already started development work to attract the attention of common people, as the Awami League will stay for the next five years.”

Regarding the country’s relationship with the US, the finance minister said the US has always talked about Prof Yunus and Grameen Bank, but does not give extra funds for the development of the country. l

4 children hurt in crude bomb blast n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj Four children were severely wounded while playing with a crude bomb they found in a dump near Jabbar Jute Mill at Banchabati village in Bhairab upazilla of Kishoreganj district According to police and local sources, the children picked up the bomb and started playing with it thinking it was a tennis ball. The explosion blew off the wrist of Hridoy, 7, son of Akkas Mian.

The explosion also severely injured Hridoy’s his sister Marannafa Akter, 7, Khalil’s daughter Surma and Zakir’s child Arash, 3.

They were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in critical conditions.

Bhairab Police Station Officer in Charge Bazlul Alam Talukder said evidence from the exploded bomb was collected for further investigation and actions will be taken accordingly. l

BNP leader Minar sent to jail in Ekramul murder case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sent local BNP leader Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar to jail in the sensational Feni Phulgazi upazila Chairman Ekramul Haque murder case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman passed the order when police produced Minar, who is the main accused in the case, before court.

However, Minar’s counsel Abdul Mannan Khan claimed that he did not file any bail petition.

Earlier, Adabor police on Saturday at midnight arrested Minar from BIRDEM Hospital following an arrest warrant issued by a Feni court as the hospital authorities gave him a release letter.

The High Court on July 17 granted him an ad interim bail, but the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court later stayed the bail asking him to surrender before the Feni court within two weeks.

Since Miran went into hiding, the court issued the arrest warrant against him.

On May 20, some armed miscreants gunned down Ekramul Haque, who was also the president of Phulgazi upazila unit AL, and then burnt his body in his car in broad daylight in the district town. l

‘Computer illiterate’ prosecutors insecure in office Charge sheet against n Udisa Islam

Security arrangement at the war crimes tribunal’s prosecution office premises is alarming at a time when some members of the team have raised series of allegations of “theft” of documents and computer parts against other members of the same team.

The non-functional CCTV cameras in the building have contributed to the worries as nobody knows for how long they have been inoperative, leaving no hope for concerned authorities to trace the culprits using recorded footages.

Some prosecutors believed they were under CCTV camera surveillance, but had recently found out that the cameras were not in working order.

Campaigners of the war trial have expressed concerns about the sorry state of affairs of the prosecutors dealing with many sensitive cases as most prosecution members do not trust each other.

When some new allegations came up yesterday about the loss of documents from the computers, as reported by a national daily, most prosecutors said they could only handle phones, not computers.

The non-functional CC TV camera at the main gate of prosecution office Although members of the police department operate the four desktops designated for the prosecution office, most of them are not trained enough to handle documentation.

Asked if they felt safe with the existing system, prosecutor Abul Kalam told the Dhaka Tribune: “I know nothing about computers; I can only receive calls on my phone.” Senior prosecutor Rana Das Gupta echoed him, saying: “I heard that a virus attacked our computers, but we did not take any steps to rectify this issue.”

On June 23, prosecutor Tureen

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Afroz filed a general diary after suspecting that information on some cases might have been stolen from her official computer when she was on leave the week before. On her return to work on June 22, she found the cables connecting the hard disk drive to the motherboard, and the DVD Rom to the motherboard, unplugged.

Prosecutor Rana said they would have been able to detect the cause had the matter been investigated properly.

Prosecutor Mohammad Ali filed a general diary the following day alleging that the incident of theft had been

a part of conspiracy. Both the general diaries were lodged amidst reported conflicts within the prosecution team.

From that day, the authorities restricted the entry of visitors to its office. A recent rumour among the prosecutors say that some data from the central computer had been somehow removed.

Chief prosecutor Ghulam Arif Tipoo at a press briefing yesterday confirmed that each and every document of the office was in their custody and the work was handled smoothly.

Not only the prosecution office, the adjacent tribunal building is also not quite safe. There had been allegations of theft of information from the computer of former Tribunal 1 chairman Nizamul Haq and the draft verdict in the case against death row convict Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

Muntassir Mamoon, vice-president of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, said when the prosecutors were working with such a sensitive and important issue, “they should have been more careful. Since the beginning of the tribunal’s activities, we have observed them dealing with certain matters in a most callous way.” l

former Sonali Bank officials approved n Adil Sakhawat The Anti-Corruption Commission has approved charge sheet against two former officials of state-owned Sonali Bank’s Savar branch and eight other local businessmen for their alleged involvement in embezzling public money worth Tk6 crore.

The two officials are former branch manger Akkas Ali and former senior officer Fazlul Hoque.

The other accused are Riaz Uddin, owner of M/S Bepari Enterprise; Abdus Samad, owner of North-South Bricks; Mozzammel Hoque and Wahidul Islam, owners of M/S Bhai Bon Store; Meher Uddin, owner of M/S Mitu Enterprise; Anamul Hoque, owner of M/S Johir General Store; Abdul Alim Khan, owner of M/S Akota Bricks; and SKM Rabiul Islam, owner of M/S Nobi Enterprise.

The commission yesterday in its regular meeting cleared the charge sheet which would soon be submitted

to the court for legal action, ACC Public Relation Officer Pranab Kumer Bhattacharya told reporters.

The accused local businessmen in connivance with the two bank officials misappropriated the amount The probe report says the accused local businessmen in connivance with the two bank officials misappropriated the amount deposited in the branch through fake Telegraphic Transfer (TT) in their own bank accounts which is a clear violation of section 5 (2) of the Corruption Prevention Act 1947.

ACC Deputy Director Reva Halder conducted the investigation. A case was filed against the accused on February 7 last year. l

Former state minister skips ACC interrogation n Adil Sakhawat

BNP leader and former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Alamgir Kabir and six other officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) did not turn up at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) office yesterday, where they were supposed to be interrogated in connection with reportedly causing a loss of about Tk15.52 crore to the government by allocating a piece of land to journalists at a lower rate.

On September 16, ACC Deputy Director Jatan Kumer Roy served a notice to Alamgir Kabir, Executive Engineer Nurul Islam, Executive Engineer of Dhaka division Rafiqul Islam, Superintending Engineer Nazrul Islam, former director Mehedi Hasan, former deputy

director Abdul Kaiyum, former senior assistant secretary Shahabuddin and former senior assistant secretary Benjamin Haider were asked to appear before the commission yesterday.

Of them, only the former NHA director Mehedi Hasan appeared before the anti graft body.

Earlier on March 6, the anti-graft body filed this case with Shahbagh police station.

No-rescheduling of interrogation date

“Although the former state minister and others officials requested rescheduling of the interrogation date there is no chance of rescheduling,” said an ACC official requesting anonymity.

Section 19 of the ACC Act, 2004 provides the commission to summon any

relevant person for interrogation over any matter.

It also states that any person deliberately violating the commission’s summons will be liable to a term of imprisonment of not more than three (3) years, a fine, or both.

The former state minister also avoided the commission’s grilling on September 29 last year although he had appeared before the anti graft body on October 2 last year.

Case statement

Former state minister Alamgir Kabir had in 2002 sent a letter to the then prime minister with a proposal to construct a housing quarters for journalists, writers, artists and cultural activists although they had not made any

such request.

In response, the then prime minister sent the letter to the secretary of the housing and public works ministry to take necessary steps as per the housing policy.

Alamgir Kabir later directed the secretary to construct the quarters on a land previously allotted for another housing project for his own personal gains.

The accused NHA officials and Alamgir Kabir allocated seven acres of land in the Mirpur area to the Dhaka Journalists’ Cooperatives Limited at only Tk3.39 crore against the market value of Tk19 crore, violating the housing policy 1993 (amended).

The case was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. l

Pro-Jamaat lawyers bring out a black-flag procession yesterday on the High Court premises protesting the 16th amendment to the Constitution RAJIB DHAR

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, September 22, 2014

One killed in Brahmanbaria upazila by-elections AL candidates win 5 by-polls amid boycott and allegations of rigging According to the unofficial results announced that Minar had withdrawn ly took over the polling centre in East n Tribune Report Government Primary School. Hearing Mosharrof Hossain Munshi won the by- from the election protesting large-scale Five Awami League-baked candidates were unofficially declared winner in the by-polls held in different upazila and union parishads yesterday, while only one BNP-blessed candidate emerged victorious.

Brahmanbaria by-polls

One died and more than a hundred injured yesterday in the violence that took place centering by-election for the chairman posts of Champaknagar union parishad and Machhihata union parishad held under Bijoynagar upazila and Brahmanbaria sadar upazila respectively.

Supporters of two candidates in Macchihata union parishad engaged in a clash leaving at least 40 people injured. Around 2:30 pm, associates of candidate Mosharrof Hossain reported-

the news, associates of rival candidate Al Amin arrived at the centre with arms.

A police team led by Police Super Tapos Ranjan and Officer-in-Charge Akul Chandra Biswas went to the spot and brought the situation under control by firing tear gas and ubber bullets.

On the other hand, in Champaknagar Union Parishad, supporters of two rival candidates Hamidul Haque and Zakir Hossain engaged in a “gunfight” around 2pm.

When informed, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control by firing rubber bullets.

One Babul Miya, 25, died allegedly after getting hit by a rubber bullet.

However, Bijoynagar OC Md Abdur Rob said Babul died in the gunfight with the opposition.

poll in Machhihata Union Parishad with 4,498 votes, while his nearest contender Al Aminul Haque got 3,259 votes, and in Champaknagr Union Parishad by-poll, Hamidul Haque won with 2,241 votes while his nearest contender Anwar Hossain Chowdhury received 2,194 votes.

Feni by-poll

Awami League-backed candidate Abdul Alim was declared winner unofficially in the Fulgazi upazila by-poll.

Assistant returning officer Mahidur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that Alim won 47, 266 votes, while his nearest contestant BNP-backed Mahtab Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury Minar bagged only 4,249 votes.

Earlier, around 12:30pm Minar's chief election coordinator Saju Chowdhury

irregularities during the election.

Khulna by-poll

Awami League backed candidate Ms Samsunnaha won the by-poll for the election of vice-chairman in Digholia upazila of Khulna.

Assistant returning officer Md Kamrul Hasan said Samsunnahar got 39,802 votes while her nearest opponent Shikha Begum got 4,193 votes.

Earlier, the BNP-backed candidate Shikha Begum boycotted the upazila by-poll alleging large scale irregularities and demanded a new election.

Barisal by-poll

Five candidates, including a BNP-blessed one, boycotted the Mehendiganj upazila parishad elections alleging vari-

ous types of irregularities in the voting.

Five out of 12 candidates made the declaration in separate press conferences at the local press club around 10:30am, saying rampant rigging by the musclemen of the ruling party compelled them to shun the race. The candidates for the chairman post were Syed Rafikul Islam Labu (BNP-backed), Major (Rtd.) Nasiruddin Khan (Islami Andolan Bangladesh-blessed), and Golam Wahid Harun (independent) while the other two were vice-chairman candidates Abdul Jabbar Kanon and Munmun Aktar Boby.

Barguna By-poll

Taufiquzzaman Tanu, general secretary of Awami League's Taltoli upazila unit in Barguna, was declared victorious in the union parishad by-poll yesterday.

Tanu got 3823 votes while his closest opposnent Mohammad Abul Hossain

Wife killed over domestic dispute n Tribune Report

A student of class III from capital's Meridia Bhuiyapara area of Khilgaon, Riaz Uddin,8, son of Md Salamot and Dipali Begum fell off the roof of a seven-story building while flying a kite with his friend yesterday.

The grandfather of the deceased Suruzzaman said: “The accident happened at around 12.45pm. I heard a thumping sound and went out to notice Riaz lying on the ground.”

He was rushed to a local hospital at Banasree area and then taken to Dhaka Medical Collage Hospital (DMCH) where the on-duty doctors declared him dead.

Officer in Charge (OC) of Khilgaon Police Station Mostafizur Rahman said: “The victim's father lives in Malaysia while his family rents the house of the building he fell off from. We think Riaz's death is an accident but further investigation will bring to light any other information. l

Gonojagoron Moncho spokesman Imran H Sarker yesterday alleged that the government is trying to re-establish Jamaat-e-Islami in the country and that has become clear through the Supreme Court verdict which commuted the war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayeedi’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

‘The ruling party [Awami League] is attacking us with police and its cadres every day and creating factions in the Moncho just to stop the trial of war criminals,” he said at a cultural function the Moncho organised at Shahbagh intersection in protests against the verdict on Sayeedi, also a top Jamaat leader.

Imran said the Awami League-led alliance had pledged before the January 5 election that they would meet the six point-demand of the Moncho but they

Beating ruling Awami League backed candidate Advocate Golam Mostafa by 1,952 votes, BNP backed candidate Abdus Salam unofficially won the Kashba Union Parishad by-poll held in Nachol upazila of Chapai Nawabanj district yesterday.

Abdus Salam received 6,739 votes while Golam Mostafa received 4,787 votes.

Upazila returning officer Rokab Ali Dewan said the by-poll was held peacefully in 12 polling centres. l

The participants of an advocacy meeting held in the district yesterday underscored the importance of women’s empowerment, their equitable rights and the end of violence against them.

Barisal unit Nagorik Uddyog organised the programme presided over by its president Israil Pandit at Bangladesh Development Society Auditorium. The meeting was titled “Proper Implementation of Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010: Role of Local Government.”

The speakers said 81.6 percent women are victims of psychological torture by their respective husband while 64.6% fall prey to physical abuse and 36.5% are by sexually abused, they urged the government to implement the law and minimise the number of women suffering from violence against them.

Many distinguished personalities as well as many activists of the outfit were present among others. l

Traders passing idle time due to thin presence of buyers despite a good supply of fresh produces The photo was taken from Karwan Bazar yesterday

Toolkit introduced to fight malnutrition n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Ministry of Health yesterday introduced a uniform national standard guideline, Direct Nutrition Intervention (DNI), for tackling the malnutrition problem of the country in a coordinated manner.

M. Badruddoza, additional secretary of Health Ministry inaugurated the launching ceremony of the toolkit at the Sasakawa auditorium of the ICDDR’B in the capital.

The toolkit, prepared with the assistance of UNICEF, will be used as a general guideline by all managers, supervisors and service providers of the government, non-government orga-

nizations, development partners and others to improve the nutritional status of mother and child across the country.

Professor Dr Deen Mohd. Noorul Huq, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), urged all health officials and employees to extend their support in successfully implementing the toolkit.

Also present at the event, among others, were Roxana Quader, additional secretary of Health Ministry, Dr. Mohammad Sharif, director (mother and child) of family planning, Pascal Villenueve, representative of UNICEF, Save the Children Country Director, Michael McGrath, and Dr. S K Roy, chairperson of Breastfeeding Foundation of Bangladesh (BBF). l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Lawyers to boycott courts today n Tribune Report BNP-Jamaat lawyers yesterday staged black-flag demonstrations at all bar associations across the country protesting the 16th amendment to the constitution that empowered the parliament to remove the Supreme Court judges.

The demonstrations were observed as per the decision taken by the Bangladesh Bar Council.

The lawyers are also set to boycott the courts across the country today demanding the cancellation of the amendment to the constitution.

AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, member of the bar council, yesterday told reporters he got information through phone calls that the lawyers staged

demonstrations and held rallies spontaneously at all 81 bar associations across the country.

Yesterday, a group of pro-BNP-Jamaat lawyers brought out a procession with a black flag and held a meeting on the SCBA premises.

Following the programme, Vice-Chairman Khandker Mahbub Hossain of the bar council told a press conference the judiciary will go under the control of the present government.

The judges will not be able to functions independently as they will remain under political pressure.

He urged all lawyers to boycott the courts across the country today as per the bar council’s resolution. l

Imran: Sayeedi’s verdict shows govt trying to re-establish Jamaat n Arif Ahmed

Chapainawabganj by-poll

Activists: end violence against woman n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A man has allegedly killed his wife in capital's Jatrabari area.

The deceased is Surobhi Akhter, 24.

Aboni Shankar Kar, officer-in-charge of Jatrabari police station said Surobhi, mother of two children used to live with her husband Russel in an apartment on the third floor of a four-story building in Pubail area of Jatrabari.

“We recovered her body from the apartment around 8am yesterday. Her head was smashed in and we found injury marks on different parts of her body,” said the OC. “Victim's family members, who also used to live in the flat informed police after finding Surobhi's blood stained body inside her room yesterday morning. We are primarily assuming that Rasel killed her following a domestic dispute,” he said.

Jatrabari police station Sub-Inspector Md Shahjahan said: “On Saturday, Rasel killed his wife by hitting her on the head, locked the body inside the room and fled. We are searching for him.”

The body was sent to Sir Salimullah Medical Collage and Hospital morgue for a postmortem. l

Child dies after falling off rooftop n Tribune Report

got 2591 votes. The election went on peacefully and no incident of irregularities were reported.

Earlier, the seat of Chhoto Bagi union chairman was declared vacant when the then union parishad chairman Moaniruzzaman Mintu was elected upazila chairman.

have not met that pledge and are maintaining close ties with the Jamaat after negotiating with them.

The Moncho observed the third day of the seven-day programme, when various cultural organisations, including Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, Khela Ghor and Dhaka University-based band Arjan sang protest and patriotic songs at the cultural function.

The remaining five-day programme are open discussion today, screening of liberation war documentary tomorrow, rendition of patriotic songs and recitation of poetry on Wednesday, film and documentary show on Thursday, and a mass rally on Friday at Shahbagh.

Since February, 2013, Gonojagoron Moncho has been demanding the capital punishment for the war criminals for their crimes committed during 1971 liberation war. l

West Bengal Bar Council chairman Asit Baran Basu (left) and Assistant Attorney General of Bangladesh Md Ashique Momin attend a seminar at Supreme Court Bar auditorium RAJIB DHAR

7 RAB members injured in road accident n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Seven members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were injured in a road accident in Mohonpur upazila of Rajshahi district yesterday.

The injured are army members Shafiq, Atik, Naik Subedar Mahbub, Sub-Inspector Albar, Sub-Inspector Bishwanath, Sub-Inspector Tapan and constable Nur Hasan.

RAB 5 Operations Officer ASP Khaleda Begum said a laguna lost control and hit the pickup van carrying the on-duty RAB members at Tetultola crossing in the morning, leaving the RAB personnel and the laguna driver injured.

They were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

The RAB members sustained injuries to their abdomen and their hands, said the ASP. l

British Council introduces e-library service n Tribune Report The British Council has introduced a new service which will enable readers to read all of its library books on the internet, for a subscription, says a press release.

The information was disclosed at the inauguration programme of the new library at Fuller Road Office in the capital on Saturday evening, where Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was present as the chief guest and the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert W Gibson.

Under the initiative, the readers would be able to access on-line information of products, a collection of over 80,000 e-books and 14,000 e-journals as well as different sorts of newspapers and magazines.

“Our new library is bigger and has more books, digital resources and study areas than ever before. It provides quick access to global information and will give an opportunity to meet and network together, and participate in a range of interesting talks and exhibitions,” British Council Country Director Brendan McSharry said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Monday, September 22, 2014

Water logging causes woes for Ctg townspeople The low-lying areas particularly Bakalia, Nasirabad, Patenga, Dewanbazar and Chawkbazar went under water ing through waist-high water as they n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong could not get vehicles to go to their The low lying areas of Chittagong city were submerged in waist-high water yesterday because of the heavy downpour, resulting in immense sufferings for city dwellers.

Showers that started Saturday morning turned into heavy rainfall and continued till yesterday afternoon, said Chittagong Divisional Met office sources.

The met office recorded about 100 millimetres of rainfall in 24 hours starting 3pm on Thursday, said the sources.

The low-lying areas of the port city, particularly Bakalia, Nasirabad, Patenga, Dewanbazar, Chawkbazar, Agrabad, Halishahar, Kapasgola, Chandgaon, Shulakbahar, Enayet Bazar, Boropol, Muradpur, Sholoshahar, Bahaddarhat and Probartak intersection, went under water.

No motorised vehicles were able to ply the roads, only rickshaws and rickshaw-vans were seen as modes of transportation.

A resident of the Chawkbazar area said commuters suffered as the roadside drains were overflowing with dirty water.

Commuters to offices and different educational institutions suffered the most. Many of them were seen wad-

work places.

Townspeople blamed the poor sewerage and drainage system of the city for the water -lodging.

They urged authorities concerned to solve the water-logging problem as soon as possible.

No motorised vehicles were able to ply the roads, only rickshaws and rickshaw-vans were seen as modes of transportation Abdur Rahim, public relations officer of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), said although some areas went under water, the CCC authorities were trying to pump water out of the city.

Moderate to heavy showers are likely to occur in most places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal, Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, Met office sources said.

Movement of ships was also disrupted because of high tide coupled with heavy rainfall. l

People are seen operating their vehicles through knee-deep water in the port city yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Confined DU provost freed after three hours n Du Correspondent Provost of Doctor Mohammad Shahidullah Hall of Dhaka University (DU) Professor Azizur Rahman has been freed by the university's Acting Proctor Amzad Ali at 12:45am after three hours of confinement by agitated hall resident at his office around 9:30pm.

The provost was confined because

the students demanded library facilities and tightening of security. They also chanted slogans demanding the removal of the provost and issued an ultimatum of three days for his termination.

Campus sources said the Provost Azijur Rahman misbehaved with hall unit Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL) president Aminul Islam and General Secretary Miraj Ahmad when they went to

the provost's room at 8:00 pm to discuss security issues in the hall.

Right after the meeting, the provost was confined in his room.

Campus security issue arose after general students of the hall claimed that a car entered the hall premises at 3:00am on Friday and moved around suspiciously, but the hall security officers did not know or do anything about

it. A fourth year student of the hall said they have been demanding better security and library facility from the provost for a long time without avail.

The provost was contacted several times but has not responded. DU Acting proctor Professor Amzad Ali said the situation is under control now and a security officer has been suspended, accused of negligence. l

Expelled BCL leader threatens RU staff with death n RU Correspondent

Government launches websites on services

An expelled leader from the Bangladesh Chhatra League Rajshahi University unit allegedly gave threatened the life of an employee of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman hall of the university.

Hatem Ali, who received the threat, registered a complaint with the hall provost, but he decided to transfer him without assigning him any security.

Hatem Ali, a guard of Bangabandhu Hall, recently filed a complaint with the hall authority.

The BCL leader was identified as Mustakim Billah who was earlier expelled from the post of environment affairs secretary of RU unit BCL for vandalising the Islamic History department on May 13.

A few days ago, Billah asked Hatem Ali to go to his room at Bangabandhu hall to discuss a matter. When Hatem Ali did not go to his room, Billah threatened to kill him within 24 hours.

When contacted, Billah refused the allegation. l

The government has launched two web portals with detailed information on the services provided by different government offices and government application forms respectively under its Access to Information (a2i) programme.

Speaker of the National Parliament Dr Shrin Sharmin Chaudhury inaugurated the portals at the two-day “Social Good Summit 2014” at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center yesterday.

Prime Minister's Office (PMO) have developed the web portals in order to ensure people's easy access to information, said the a2i officials.

The websites are www.services.portal.gov.bd and www.forms.gov.bd.

The service portal is likely to reduce hassle of people while searching for information about different government services. On the other hand, the form portal contains 1,010 application forms

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:55PM SUN RISES 5:48AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 30 30 29 28 30 29 28 30

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 25 24 25 25 25 25

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

32.4ºC Patuakhali

23.8ºC Meherpur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:32am 5:46am 11:51am 4:14pm 5:55pm 7:11pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Street children are seen attending a class at a rest room of Gabtoli bus terminal in the capital yesterday

31 applicants for each Khulna University seat n Our Correspondent, Khulna Around 31500 students applied against 1025 seats available to get themselves admitted into Khulna University under the academic session 2014-15.

This means around 31 students applied against a single seat in the university, said sources in the IT committee on admission test.

The deadline for application ended at 12 midnight on Saturday. The university offers honours in 24 disciplines under five schools and an institute.

All applicants would be able to take part in the Khulna University (KU) admission test for the academic session 2014-15.

Seven thousand, four hundred and 11 students applied against 338 seats under eight disciplines of the Science, Engineering and Technology School. This number of admission applications is the highest a school has received this year.

Six thousand, four hundred and 30 students applied against 322 seats under seven disciplines of the Life School.

Five thousand, seven hundred and forty eight applied against 55 seats of one discipline under the Management and Business Administration School.

Five thousand, seven hundred and 40 students applied against 114 seats under two disciplines of the Arts and Humanities School.

Five thousand, five hundred and ninety three hopefuls applied against

130 seats under three disciplines of the Social Science School.

Five hundred and fifty five students applied against 66 seats under three disciplines of the Institute of Fine Arts.

This is the lowest number of applications a school has received this year.

The university had however previously stated in the admission notice that the first six thousand students applying to get into the university will only be allowed for the entry test.

The admission tests will be held on October 30 and 31 as per pre-schedule It had also stated that should any of these students be qualified equal to the six thousandth applicant, they would also be able to sit for the university admission test.

Again, any student holding the qualification equal to or more than the six thousandth applicant, will also be allowed to sit for the test.

In a press release the university PR wing however yesterday said whoever holds the qualification as per admission conditions and applied would be allowed in the admission test.

The admission tests will be held on October 30 and 31 as per pre-schedule.

For details, log onto www.ku.ac.bd/admission. l

NASHIRUL ISLAM

Drug addict kills three of his family members n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj An drug addict has allegedly killed his father, wife and daughter at Brahmangaon in Dakhkhin Sunamganj upazila yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Alahuddin, 70, his daughter-in-law Beauty Begum, 32, and her daughter Amina Begum, 2, of the village.

Al Amin, officer-in-charge of Dakhkhin Sunamganj police station said the alleged killer, Alfu Mia, 45, had an

altercation with his father, Ala Uddin, around 10pm where he refused to pay him some money.

At one stage, Alfu attacked his father and stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on the spot.

Alfu also killed his wife, Beauty, and daughter, Amina, as Beauty resisted him and tried to save Alauddin.

On information, police arrested Alfu and recovered the bodies. Quoting locals OC said, Alfu is a drug addict and also suffers from psychological disorders. l

Police apologised for assaulting CU journalist n

Tribune Report

Hathazari Police yesterday apologised to Chittagong University Journalists Association (Cuja) for assaulting Dainik Purbodesh CU Correspondent Faruk Abdullah during a raid on the campus on September 16.

Md Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of Hathazari Model police station, said sorry to journalists while holding a meeting with Cuja members at the teachers club.

The OC said it was only a mistake

nothing else. He also assured the journalists that this type of incident would not happen in the future.

Salah Uddin Chowdhury, inspector (investigation) of Hathazari police station, Inspector Abul Khayer, in-charge of CU police outpost, Cuja President Humayun Masud and its General Secretary Tasnim Hasan were present during the meeting. Faruk Abdullah was assaulted by Sub-Inspector Abdur Razzak during a raid at Allaol hall. He was then received treatment from university's medical centre.l

of different government bodies; therefore, one can easily search and avail the forms of their choice.

The service portal contains necessary information (process, cost and time duration) about 363 types of government services under different offices ranging from the ministries to union offices, said the a2i officials.

The speaker said: “Though it is a very good initiative to take government services to peoples' door steps, however, it will become futile if people do not take help from it.”

State Minister of Information Communication Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said soon the services will reach people through mobile phone applications.

Acting secretary of the Cabinet Division Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Country Director of UNDP Bangladesh Pauline Temesis and Director General of PMO Kabir Bin Anwar were present at the programme. l

Crude bomb recovered from RU hall n RU correspondent An abandoned crude bomb was recovered yesterday from Sher-e-Bangla hall of Rajshahi University.

Resident students found the crude bomb in an abandon condition at an orchard in-front of west block of the hall around 11am. Being informed, Motihar police rushed to the dormitory and recovered the bomb. Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Motihar police station, said they could not arrest anybody in this connection. l

Train derailed in Brahmanbaria n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

The Chittagong-bound Udayan Express from Sylhet got derailed in Brahmanbaria’s Akhaura Railway Junction yesterday morning.

Sources said all the wheels of one of the compartments slipped off the track when the train entered Akhaura Junction around 6am. Though no one was hurt in the incident, a stretch of railway track was damaged and train movements on Sylhet-Chittagong route were suspended for several hours.

Cabin Master of Akhaura Junction Mohammad Jasim Mia said they were working to restore the rail link. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Monday, September 22, 2014

Pirates terrify Bhola fishermen 500 abducted, 600 injured and 17 killed in three years n Our correspondent, Bhola Pirates have created a reign of terror by robbing fishermen, kidnapping them for ransom and killing them in the island district Bhola.

The attacks have increased at an alarming rate led by Jahangir and Farhad Bahini recently on Meghna and Bay of Bengal estuaries.

Last week they kidnapped seven fishermen for ransom and robbed them of their fish, fishing nets and trawlers from the estuary of Shonachar to Kuakata.

'A camp has been established in Monpura and two more will be completed soon; police is determined to remove piracy from the area' According to hospital, police and trawler owner sources, the pirates kidnapped more than 500 fishermen, injured 600 and killed 17 for ransom and robbed their fish, fishing nets and trawlers in the area over last three years.

According to the South Zone Coast Guard and Bhola police, over the years, 28 pirates had been killed in gunfights with law enforcers or beaten to death by mob. Infamous pirates Babul, Majid, Speaker and Gias were among the dead, but Jahangir and Farhad groups are still going strong in the area.

The fishermen allege lack of demarcating river-boundaries and poor actions taken by law enforcers are the

reasons why the fishermen are terrified to go to fishing.

According to sources many fishermen have stopped fishing in fear of pirate attacks, though a very small amount hilsa fish is caught this season.

In many cases, the police ignores complaints in excuse of boundary complexities, which forces the fishermen to pay high ransom to get their robbed equipment and kidnapped men back.

Many fishermen allege that some powerful local syndicates and fishermen are in good terms with the pirates.

Fish trader Mahbubur Rahman at Dhalchar said all involved in fishing are terrified due to pirate attacks.

Sub-Inspector Mohammad Moniruzzaman said: “There are no pillars to demarcate the boundaries of the rivers; therefore we cannot confirm the location of the pirate attacks, but we were ordered to take action anyway.”

“A camp has been established in Monpura and two more will be completed soon; police is determined to remove piracy from the area,” he said.

Zonal Commander of South Zone Coast Guard Nazrul Islam said one camp was ready at Dhalchar in Monpura, where signboards have been erected with emergency numbers in the coastal areas.

He also said: “The number of pirate attacks have been reduced a lot even though there is a lack of manpower.

Coast Guard patrols the area every day and immediate actions are taken once a complaint is received.”

South Zone Coast Guard Operation Officer Mohaamd Rabbani said: “ We are always beside the fishermen to help them.” l

Two youths take another youth to hospital after he was injured in a clash which took place over taking control of a polling centre during by-polls of Machhihata union parishad in Brahmanbaria yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSB constable suspended over bribery n Our Correspondent, Madaripur

A District Special Branch (DSB) constable was suspended yesterday over taking Tk600 as bribe for carrying out regular passport investigation of an applicant in Madaripur.

Constable Mosharraf Hossain was also closed at Police Line.

According to the victim and police

No headway in Magura minority leader killing case n Our Correspondent, Magura

Husband slaughters wife in front of family members

Even after nine days of the crime, police have failed to make any mentionable progress in the murder case of the Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikkya Parishad local leader Pankaj Bashu.

On the other hand, different organisations of the district have arranged many programmes in protest of the gruesome killing and demanded quick arrest of the culprits.

On September 12, some armed miscreants swooped on Pankaj Bashu, 52, a former executive member of Mohammadpur upazilla unit Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikkya Parishad, in the upazilla while he was going home. He later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. A case was filed with local police station accusing 15 people.

On Monday, the district unit of the parishad held a human chain at Chourangi square in the district town demanding arrest of the accused. Besides, the district unit Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad on the day held a discussion at the same venue. On Tuesday, Jatiyo Hindu Mohajote submitted a memorandum to the local DC in the regard.

When contacted, Hindu-Bouddh-Christian Oikkya Parishad district unit President Bashudeb Kundu blamed the indifference of police who have only made one arrest in the case in the last nine days.

Moreover, Pankaj’s family members were feeling insecure as the miscreants have been pressuring them to withdraw the case, the president continued. l

A man slaughtered his wife in front of his children and mother-in-law in Rajahar village under Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha in the early hours yesterday, police said.

Police recovered the body of the victim, Nurjahan Begum, 40, in the morning and sent it to Gaibandha Modern Hospital for a post-mortem. The husband, Monju Miah, 45, is in hiding.

Mehedi Rasel, officer-in-charge of investigation at Gobindaganj police station, said Monju broke into Nurjahan’s bedroom with six-seven thugs around 1:30am. They tied up and gagged Nurjahan’s sons Nurunnabi, 8, and Zahidul, 6 months, and mother Samtya Banu, 65, and slit Nurjahan’s throat in front of them.

Monju was not happy about his mar-

n

Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

riage with Nurjahan and was forced into it, said Zahidul Islam, officer-incharge of Gobandaganj police station.

He raped her on June 13 last year when she took her goat out for grazing in a field near her house which resulted in her getting pregnant, the OC said.

When word got out about what happened, the local arbitrators decided to marry Monju and Nurjahan, and their marriage was registered on January 14 this year.

However, later Monju showed reluctance to accept his child Zahidul and his marriage socially, which compelled Nurjahan to file a case against him on March 14. When Monju went to police to obtain bail in the case, he was arrested, the OC said, adding that he was recently released from prison after getting bail.

He also said police was preparing to file a case in this regard. l

sources, Rubel Matubbar of Sadar upazila applied for a new passport at the district’s passport office two weeks ago.

Constable Mosharraf, in charge of investigating Rubel’s application, demanded Tk1400 from Rubel on September 18 to issue him police clearance. However, after some argument the amount was settled at Tk800. When the constable was pestering Rubel for the money, he

4 killed in Tangail road accident n Our Correspondent, Tangail

Four people have been killed and four others injured as a covered van collided head-on with a pickup van at Jamurki area under Mirzapur upazila in Tangail yesterday. The deceased are Lebu Miah,40, of Jamurki village, Abdur Rashid, 65, of Chinamura village, Ismail Hossain, 60, of Boali and Sohel Hossain, 30.

Gorai highway police station Officer-in-Charge Jobaidul Alam said: “A Dhaka-bound covered van collided head-on with a Tangail bound pickup van at Jamurki area around 6:45am on Sunday.” l

Black-flag procession by lawyers n Tribune Report

A black-flag procession was held in Jessore by the city’s Lawyers’ Association in protest of the 16 amendment of the constitution at 11:30am.

On a similar issue Chuadanga Nationalist Lawyers’ forum displayed a black flag and put on black badges at 12pm yesterday.

A few number of lawyers took

part in the procession which started from Lawyers’ Association building 1 and ended at building 2.

After the procession, in short meeting, Zilla Lawyers’ Association Vice President Borhanuddin Zakir, General Secretary Abu Murtaza Choto, Senior Lawyer Ruhul Quddus Khan and Aminur Rahman delivered speeches.

During the speeches, the lawyers said the 16 amendment of the consti-

tution has hampered the independence of the judges, it is ruining their source of income by the government and they demanded to cancel the amendment immediately.

General Secretary of the Lawyers’ association Abu Murtaza Choto said the procession was organised according to the instruction by the Bar Council but many lawyers could not participate due to the bad weather. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Robbery committed in Brahmaputra River A group of robbers looted a boat on the Brahmaputra River in Kurigram's Jatrapur on Saturday night. Cash money, jewellery and mobile sets worth more than one lakh taka were pillaged.

Two boat passengers were also injured by the robbers. Police said, a group of 10-12 robbers armed with local weapons stopped an engine boat carrying 23-24 passengers en route to Nagesshwari from Jatrapur. They hastily snatched cash money, ornaments from the four women passengers and five mobile sets from the boat.

– Our Correspondent, Kurigram

Housewife run over by train in Kurigram A housewife was killed by a running train yesterday morning in Kurigram's Ulipur area.

Rabeya Begum, 30, mother of two children was a resident of Paikpara area of the upazila.

She came under the Parbatipur-Ramna bound local train and died on the spot. According to

her family and police sources, she might have committed suicide due to family problems.

– Our Correspondent, Kurigram

1,176 bottles of liquor recovered in Sylhet Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered 1176 bottles of different kinds of Indian liquor from the border area of Kalairag of Companiganj upazila in Sylhet yesterday. Jawans of Kalairag Border Out Post (BOP), under BGB 5 battalion recovered the liquor. The operation was led by BOP havildar Md Abdul Haq. – Our Correspondent, Sylhet

BCL leader held for taking yaba Police arrested a BCL leader along with a drug peddler yesterday when they were consuming yaba pills in the Itbhata area of Kashiani upazila in Gopalganj district. The BCL leader’s name is Abu Zahid Molla, 30, who was the former vice president (VP) of MA Khalek Degree College.

– Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

informed senior police officials.

Hatching a plot to proof the bribery, Madaripur SP Khandkar Faridul Islam signed a Tk500 and a Tk100 note and asked Rubel to give them to the constable. Later, Rubel along with other police officials identified the notes and temporarily suspended Mosharraf.

Rubel said, he informed the police as Mosharraf threatened to issue a negative

clearance if he did not pay the bribe.

DSB constable Mosharraf admitted that he only asked for a lumpsum amount to meet his transport and other costs related to the investigation. It was a very common practice, he added. However, SP Faridul said, investigation for new passport required no money. Actions would be taken against those who were involved in such incidents, he reiterated. l

Bashundhara Paper Mill catches fire n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Fire broke out at a paper mill owned by Bashundhara Group in Gazaria upazila of the district yesterday.

Gazaria police station Officer-in-Charge Ferdous Hossain said the fire broke out at the factory of Bashundhara Paper Mills Ltd at Anarpur in the upazila around 10am.

The cause of the fire as well as the casualties could not be known immediately.

Five firefighting units from Daudkandi, Demra and Narayanganj stations of the Fire

Service and Civil Defence went to the spot and doused the fire.

As the news spread, several hundreds of people thronged the mill area adjacent to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and tried to enter the mill to rescue the workers.

Ferdous said police did not let anyone enter the factory on grounds of security.

He also noted that several workers might have been injured while trying to douse the blaze. Additional police forces had been deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident, the OC said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Monday, September 22, 2014

7

A tango between Dhaka and Tokyo The Japanese prime minister’s visit to Dhaka and the future of our bilateral relation

P

n Ashraf ud Doula rime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, accompanied by a 200-strong delegation, made a fleeting visit to Dhaka from September 6-7. The visit was in return to a visit made by our Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in May this year. Earlier, Japanese foreign Minister Mr Fumio Kishida visited Bangladesh in March.

Clearly, these back to back visits between the two countries herald some positive omens between Japan and Bangladesh.

I was fortunate to represent our country as its ambassador to Japan from 2006-2010, which had provided me with a unique opportunity to study and understand our two countries’ bilateral relations while endeavouring to further improve them. I was also fortunate to cultivate my personal rapport with a number of Japanese political leaders at the highest level including the incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. I also regularly interacted with the private sector leaders of Japan with a view to encouraging them to invest into Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina and Shinzo Abe speaking in a joint press conference during the Bangladeshi prime minister’s visit to Japan about Japanese business culture and practices.

Historically, Japan and Bangladesh have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations much before our country came into being. Distinguished Bangalees like Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Shubhash Chandra Bose, Justice Radha Binod Pal and few others form Bengal are considered as early pioneers of

Japan, since our independence, has been and remains as our number one development partner, and cooperation in the field of trade and commerce is still far from its full potential

Since my retirement in 2010, I had visited Japan every year as an adviser to a major group of companies of Bangladesh, with a view to promote private sector cooperation between Dhaka and Tokyo in various fields including power, energy, telecom and infrastructure. My new role as a private sector representative added a new dimension to my knowledge

forging social, cultural and political ties with Japan. All of them are still remembered and revered in Japan with love and affection.

In the post independence period, our father of the nation, Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, laid the foundation of a strong and vibrant bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan. Mentionable that

Japan was the first developed nation to recognise Bangladesh on February 10, 1972.

In the later years, all our successive heads of states/governments have studiously strove to advance our ties with the country, and all of them, without any exception, have visited Japan, sometimes more than once. These regular contacts of leaders at the highest level have certainly contributed positively to the growth of two countries’ cooperation in various arenas.

Japan, since our independence, has been and remains as our number one development partner. The cooperation in the field of trade and commerce, which is still far from its full potential, has also been showing signs of an upward trend with a two way trade exceeding two billion dollars mark, presently.

Until 2013, Japan had provided Bangladesh some 11 billion dollars as overseas development assistance (ODA). But in 2014 alone, Japan’s ODA assistance commitment to Bangladesh has soared to a whopping $9bn, of which nearly $3bn will be spent for the Dhaka city metro and the rest for improving power, infrastructure and environmental sectors over next four/ five years So, what do we derive from these sudden surge in our two countries’ bilateral ties? Most of the media reports in Bangladesh, both print and electronic, have elaborately dwelt on the subject including the joint communiqué issued at the end of the summit talks both in Tokyo and Dhaka.

I will try to share my thoughts with the readers succinctly.

First and foremost, the two leaders

have developed quite a strong personal rapport and chemistry, which are very important elements in forging bilateral ties. In the words of Prime Minster Shinzo Abe, his personal equation with the prime minister of Bangladesh has transcended to a level of “brother – sister” relations. It certainly was a sincere expression of his sentiment.

This seeming fraternity between the two leaders will play a pivotal role in gliding our two countries’ future cooperation. It may be noted that the rise of East and South East Asia to a great extent, was attributable to Japan, which injected massive FDI into these countries in the 70s and 80s.

For Bangladesh, • It signifies a great diplomatic success for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, particularly viewed from the context of the January 5 elections.

• It will strengthen Bangladesh’s domestic economic fundamentals, together with the recent massive economic cooperation with Chin, Russia and neighbouring India.

COURTESY

the UN Peace Keeping Operations have also played key roles.

The concept of “Big B” involving the Bay of Bengal, a concept propagated by Prime Minister Abe and to which Japan is pumping huge investment, although primarily is a major boost for propelling Bangladesh’s economic take off, it may also be seen as an “forward economic strategy” for Japan. If Bangladesh succeeds so will Japan – a win-win situation for both the countries.

During the visit of Prime Minister Abe, there was reportedly a kind of murmur in our media circle that

country outside their “cultural zone,” they are even more cautious staking their money.

We should put more effort to find out what are the causes inhibiting enhanced Japanese investment into Bangladesh and try to address them satisfactorily. A recently launched joint Japan –Bangladesh Business Forum, headed by the senior secretary to the prime ministers’ office is a welcome initiative in this respect.

In my over three decades of diplomatic service, I have often come across a comment from the prospective investors that “ we are not inter-

We should put more effort to find out what are the causes inhibiting enhanced Japanese investment into Bangladesh and try to address them satisfactorily

• The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to gain considerable political mileage from these developments.

• Bangladesh is likely to attract greater FDI from Japan and enhanced market access for its export to the country and thereby strengthening two countries’ future economic and trade cooperation.

• It will substantially increase Bangladesh’s strategic profile both regionally and internationally.

Ashraf ud Daula in his meeting with Shinzo Abe at Abe’s hotel room during the Japan premier’s tour of Bangladesh

BSS

For Japan, the country’s economic structure is intractably hinged to its overseas investment and business, a considerable part of which is based in China. Given its recent tension with china over a disputed island in the South China Sea, together with the rise of cost of labour and doing business in the country, the Japanese government has adopted a so called “China +1” policy meaning gradually relocating the Japanese investments in China to other destinations.

In this regard, Bangladesh will be of high value to Japan. It is encouraging to note that Bangladesh has already taken a few major steps to create an investor friendly condition for the prospective Japanese investors in Bangladesh. Japan also seems to have taken into consideration the potential emergence of Bangladesh for developing a strategic economic partnership with the country. In this thinking factors like Bangladesh’s geopolitical location, rising prosperity, and its international involvement specially in

the Bangladesh Government was “ disappointed “over a lack of anticipated declaration from Japan rewarding Bangladesh for its gesture of withdrawing from the UNSC race in favour of Japan.” I am not sure how far it was true ! The decision to announce our withdrawal to honour our distinguished guest was courageous, and demonstrated our generosity and goodwill. However, I am happy that there was no such declaration from Japan. For, if there was one, it would have portrayed our nation in a very poor image that we sell everything for small benefits. It would have also been construed as Japan having bought our favour for a price.

A nation that prides itself as corruption free and adhering to the highest level of compliance, Japan would never agree to such a deal. But, I should hasten to add that our gesture to Japan would not go in vain and definitely there will be adequate dividends in right time.

I would like to conclude my writing by a word of caution. Just because the Japanese prime minister came to Bangladesh with a plane load of top Japanese businessmen, we should not be complacent that there will be a huge rush of Japanese investors knocking on our doors for investment.

Japanese people by nature are very conservative and specially when it comes to investing into a foreign

ested to know what are the incentives for FDI, as more or less they are same in all the countries. But what we are interested to know are what are the “disincentives” for investment in your country.”

So, if we are trying to attract greater Japanese FDI into Bangladesh, we should try to identify what are those “disincentives” and endeavour to remove them as quickly as possible.

During his short visit to Dhaka, Prime Minister Abe extended an extraordinary honour by receiving me in his hotel for a private meeting just before his departure for Sri Lanka. The Japanese prime minister shared his positive views of visiting Bangladesh and expressed hope that the two countries’ relations will be further strengthened as a result of his visit.

In my humble submission, I told Mr Abe that while his government was demonstrating necessary enthusiasm to develop economic cooperation with Bangladesh, the Japanese businessmen were being very cautious and slow. As such the Japanese government should take more initiative to encourage the Japanese investors and businessmen to benefit from the favourable condition his visit to Bangladesh has created. l Ashraf ud Daula is a former secretary to the government and a former ambassador to Japan.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Monday, September 22, 2014

Scots vote shows pitfalls, Scotland’s leader: Voters ‘tricked’ out of independence opportunities for EU referendum n

n Reuters, Paris/Brussels

Reuters, Manchester, England

Alex Salmond, the defeated leader of Scotland’s nationalists, yesterday accused British Prime Minister David Cameron and other London politicians of tricking Scottish voters out of independence by making a false “vow” about granting them new powers.

Salmond, who is stepping down as leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) after spearheading a failed campaign for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom, said Britain’s three main political parties had won last Thursday’s referendum vote by 55-45% by deception.

“I think the vow was something cooked up in desperation for the last few days of the campaign and I think everyone in Scotland now realises that,” said Salmond, referring to a pledge made by Cameron and other leaders two days before the referendum to rapidly expand Scottish autonomy in the event of a “No” vote.

Though Cameron has said he is determined to deliver the new settlement he has since linked new powers for Scotland to agreeing new constitution-

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond speaks during a news conference in Edinburgh in this September 19, 2014 handout photo by the Scottish Government REUTERS al arrangements for the rest of Britain, including England, at the same time.

But the opposition Labour party has rejected the linkage, raising the possibility that political squabbling could delay a new deal for Scotland.

Ukraine says ceasefire violations hold up creation of buffer zone n Reuters, Kiev The Ukrainian military accused separatists and Russian troops yesterday of continuing to shoot at government forces despite a Sept. 5 ceasefire and said Kiev would not go ahead with setting up a proposed buffer zone until the truce violations stopped.

Ukraine’s warring sides agreed on Friday to withdraw artillery and other heavy weapons to the outer limits of a 30 km (19 mile) buffer zone, building on the ceasefire in a conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 3,000 people.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the pro-Russian separatists and Russian troops were continuing to target the positions of government forces.

“In the last 24 hours we have lost two Ukrainian soldiers, eight have been wounded,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Asked about the buffer zone, he said: “One of the main points of the agreement is the ceasefire, then other points follow.

“At the moment the first point has not been fulfilled so we are not talking about the other points. If there is to be a withdrawal of forces then it should be synchronised together with the with-

“It is the people who were persuaded to vote no (in the referendum) who were misled, who were gulled, who were tricked effectively,” Salmond told BBC TV. “They are the ones who are really angry.” l

Egypt will host a brief round of indirect talks this week between Israelis and Palestinians on a sustained Gaza cease-fire deal, as well as negotiations between Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah on who should run the territory, a Palestinian official said yesterday.

Both sessions will be held Tuesday in Cairo, said Azzam al-Ahmed, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev declined to comment.

Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas fought a 50-day war that ended in late August. Under the deal that ended the

Fear trumps hope?

One possible reading of the Scottish result is that fear trumped hope.

Many Scots burned with a nation-

alist passion to jettison dependence on what they perceived as conservative, austere, arrogant England. Yet in the end, enough of them were worried by economic uncertainty to keep the union alive.

With their hearts, they yearned for independence, but with their heads and wallets, they chose to play safe.

Yet Zuleeg says fear of economic harm is not enough to sustain support for EU membership indefinitely.

“We have seen a campaign which basically was about fear succeed in the end. But in the long run to maintain a union you have to have a more positive argument,” he said.

“You have to actually say what does this union stand for and that applies to the United Kingdom but it certainly also applies to the European Union.”

British politicians find this harder than their continental peers.

As Roger Liddle, EU adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Blair argued in a book called The Europe Dilemma, they prefer to present a narrow case based on the comparative economic advantage of the single market rather than an emotional argument for the benefits of peace, cooperation and stability in Europe. l

T U R K E Y P R O T E S T: ‘ K I L L E R I S , C O L L A B O R AT I O N I S T A K P ’

drawal of Russian forces,” he said.

Lysenko said separatists had carried out a further attack on the government-held international airport of Donetsk, the east’s main industrial hub.

The rebels hold the city of Donetsk.

He said 40 separatist fighters had been killed in “defensive” fire by Ukrainian forces. There was no independent confirmation of this figure.

Ceasefire ‘in name only’

Lysenko’s comments echoed those of Nato’s top military commander US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who said on Saturday that fighting was continuing in Ukraine and that the truce was a ceasefire “in name only.”

“The situation in Ukraine is not good right now,” US Air Force General Philip Breedlove told reporters in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius following a meeting of chiefs of defence of Nato countries. “Basically, we have a ceasefire in name only.”

“The number of events, and the number of rounds fired and the artillery used across the past few days, match some of the pre-ceasefire levels.

The ceasefire is still there in name, but what is happening on the ground is quite a different story.” l

Kurds shout slogan on September 21 against the Turkish government and the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group during a domonstration on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds flooded into Turkey on September 20, fleeing an onslaught by the IS that prompted an appeal for international intervention. Banner reads: ‘Killer IS, collaborationist AKP (the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party)’ AFP

Egypt to host post-Gaza war talks this week, all parties to attend n AP, Ramallah

Scotland’s vote against independence offers lessons for British politicians and their European partners faced with a UK referendum on whether to stay in the EU which Prime Minister David Cameron has promised for 2017.

The fact that the 5.3 million mostly pro-European Scots will remain part of the British electorate makes it mathematically more likely the United Kingdom will vote “Yes” to EU membership.

A Reuters Breakingviews calculator based on opinion surveys estimated the chances of a rump Britain voting to leave the EU were two-in-three, while the risk of such a “Brexit” fell to one-infive if Scotland stayed.

But three years is a long time in politics and much can change between now and then.

Britain has avoided a traumatic break-up that would have caused a deep political shock and fanned English nationalism. But it has plunged into constitutional turmoil with Cameron promising at the last minute a devolution of many powers that may come close to federalism.

One possibility is that Cameron’s

Conservatives will lose next year’s general election, partly due to Scottish votes, and a Labour-led government will drop the plan for an EU referendum, which Labour leader Ed Miliband says he would call only if more powers were to be transferred to Brussels.

If a plebiscite does go ahead, European officials and pro-EU analysts hope the same “better together” arguments that worked in Scotland can be applied successfully to European Union membership.

“It’s very interesting to look at the parallels between the Scottish-UK debate and the UK-EU debate,” said Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, speaking by telephone from Edinburgh.

“Look at the comments made by many of the pro-union campaigners within the UK: you could replace the benefits of the UK one-to-one with the benefits of being in the EU. But the same politicians don’t seem to be making quite the same arguments.”

fighting, Israel and Hamas were to return to Cairo within a month to hold indirect negotiations on a broader deal for Gaza.

The Islamic militant group Hamas demands that Israel and Egypt lift their blockade of Gaza, which was imposed after Hamas seized the territory from longtime rival Abbas in 2007. Israel has said it can only end the closure if Hamas disarms, a demand the group has rejected.

Neither side appears eager to resume fighting, but they could be dragged into another war if no solution is found.

Hamas has used sporadic rocket fire at Israel as a means of political pressure, but Israeli leaders have said they would

In this September 13 photo, a convoy of trucks is seen carrying mobile homes donated by Emirati charity Human Appeal International, as it drives amidst debris AFP

not tolerate any attacks from Gaza.

Al-Ahmed said the indirect talks between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations would be brief and would continue after the Jewish high holidays, a 10-day period that begins Wednesday.

Israel and Egypt consider the Western-backed Abbas as a guarantor of any Gaza border deal, but there have been signs of growing disagreement between Abbas and Hamas over who would run Gaza.

In the spring, Abbas, the leader of Fatah, reached a tentative agreement with Hamas under which he would head a temporary unity government of experts in both the West Bank and Gaza. However, major issues were left unresolved, including the fate of 40,000 government employees hired during the Hamas era and control over the Gaza security forces.

The gaps have only widened since the end of the war. Hamas had struck the unity deal at a time of a severe financial crisis, but it has become emboldened since the end of the war because fighting with Israel boosted its popularity among Palestinians. At the same time, Hamas needs Abbas as a link to the West.

Al-Ahmed, the Abbas aide, said Hamas must step aside and let West Bank-based Abbas govern.

“We will say this government needs to govern Gaza the way it governs the West Bank,” al-Ahmed told the Voice of Palestine radio station. “We can’t have two political regimes, one in Gaza and one in the West Bank.” l

Security breach prompts more White House security

Argentine President receives Islamic State threats n Reuters, Rome

n AP, Washington

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said during a trip to the Vatican on Saturday she had received threats by the Islamic State due to her friendship with compatriot Pope Francis and for recognizing both Israel and Palestine.

Fernandez said the Security Ministry and intelligence services were now dealing with the threat by Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim extremist group which has exploited the chaos of Syria and Iraq to seize swathes of territory in both countries.

“The complaint made by two police officers was because Islamic State threats had appeared against me,” Fernandez told reporters at Rome’s Ciampino airport after meeting Francis for lunch. She dismissed the threats, saying if she focused on such menaces she “would have to live under the bed.”

Islamic State fighters have declared war on the West and seek to establish a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.

Last month the pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God’s name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop “unjust aggression” by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.

Fernandez and Francis, who have met several times since his election as pope, had tense relations when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. l

The Secret Service of America is boosting security outside the White House following an embarrassing security breach in which an intruder with a knife scaled the White House fence, dashed across the lawn and made it all

Word that a fencejumper managed to get inside the White House drew reactions of alarm and disbelief the way inside before agents managed to stop him. Increased surveillance and more officer patrols are among the measures that Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has ordered as the elite agency strives to ensure such an incident can’t happen again. Pierson has also launched a full investigation into what went wrong.

Word that a fence-jumper managed to get inside the White House drew reactions of alarm and disbelief about how one of the most heavily secured buildings in the world had been compromised. With questions mounting, President Barack Obama sought to allay concerns about whether the Secret Service is still up to the task of protecting him and his family.

“The president has full confidence in the Secret Service and is grateful to the men and women who day in and day out protect himself, his family and the White House,” White House spokesman Frank Benenati said late Saturday. He said the White House expected Pierson’s review to be conducted “with the same professionalism and commitment to duty that we and the American people expect from the US Secret Service.”

Obama and his daughters had just left the White House by helicopter on Friday evening when the Secret Service says 42-year-old Omar J Gonzalez hopped over the fence. He ran toward the presidential residence unimpeded, ignoring orders from officers to stop, until being tackled just inside the doors of the North Portico — the grand, columned entrance overlooking Pennsylvania Ave. “Every day the Secret Service is challenged to ensure security at the White House complex while still allowing public accessibility to a national historical site,” the agency said in a statement Saturday. “Although last night the officers showed tremendous restraint and discipline in dealing with this subject, the location of Gonzalez’s arrest is not acceptable.”

Officials initially said the fact that Gonzalez appeared to be unarmed may have been a factor in why agents at the scene didn’t shoot Gonzalez or sic their dogs on him before he made it inside. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

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Monday, September 22, 2014

Ghani new Afghan president, Abdullah chief executive The announcement came after the two presidential candidates signed a power-sharing deal; vote totals kept secret

n AP, Kabul Afghanistan’s two presidential candidates signed a power-sharing deal yesterday that makes one president and the other chief executive, ending months of political wrangling following a disputed runoff that threatened to plunge the country into turmoil and complicate the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Ending an election season that began with first-round ballots cast in April, the election commission named Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the winner and next president. But the commission pointedly did not release final vote totals amid suggestions that doing so could inflame tensions.

Ghani Ahmadzai and new Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah signed the national unity government deal as President Hamid Karzai — in power since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban — looked on. It took weeks of negotiations to form a power-sharing arrangement after accusations of fraud in the June runoff vote.

The candidates signed the deal at the presidential palace, then exchanged a hug and a handshake.

“I am very happy today that both of my brothers, Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, in an Afghan agreement for the benefit of this country, for the progress and development

Last king of Nepal suffers heart attack n AP, Katmandu The last king of Nepal is in stable condition in a hospital after suffering a heart attack, doctors said yesterday.

Gyanendra Shah was brought to the hospital Saturday night, and was recovering in the intensive care unit and was out of danger, said Dr. Bharat Rawat at the Norvic Hospital in Katmandu.

Hundreds of his supporters crowded the hospital Sunday. Security was tightened around the hospital in the center of Katmandu.

Gyanendra was the last king to rule Nepal before the Constitution Assembly abolished the centuries-old monarchy and turned the country into a republic.

He remains in Nepal as a common citizen with no powers, but is provided security by the government.

He was crowned as king in 2001 after the killing of his elder brother Birendra in a palace massacre but remained mostly unpopular. Mass demonstrations forced him to give up his authoritarian rule.

Many people believe that Gyanendra was involved in the massacre of Birendra and nine other royal family members. An investigation blamed Birendra’s son Dipendra, who was among the dead, for the massacre.

He has maintained a low profile with occasional public appearances. Despite his unpopularity, he still has tens of thousands of supporters who want the monarchy reinstated. l

‘Nude photos’ of Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Hudgens leaked n Agencies Photos showing an apparently nude Kim Kardashian West are among a group of images that have appeared online in what appears to be a second leak of hacked personal pictures of celebrities, weeks after stars including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton were targeted.

The actresses Vanessa Hudges and Aubrey Plaza, designer and former child star Mary-Kate Olsen, and US soccer player Hope Solo are reportedly also among those apparently hacked.

In the self-shot pictures being shared on online message board 4chan, Reddit and Twitter, the woman pertaining to be Kim Kardashian West is not wearing a wedding ring and it is unclear when the photos were taken.

Photographs of Hayden Panettiere and Eyes Wide Shut actress Leelee Sobieski also feature in the latest cache, according to Buzzfeed.

Further pictures of Lawrence are also reportedly circulating.

Earlier this month over 100 household names were the target of online thieves, who stole scores of naked photographs and intimate videos and posted them on the website 4Chan.

Several of the images - in particular, two of Hunger Games star Lawrence quickly circulated on Twitter. l

of this country, that they agreed on the structure affirming the new government of Afghanistan,” Karzai said after the signing.

The deal is a victory for US Secretary of State John Kerry, who first got the candidates to agree in principle to share power during a July visit to Afghanistan. Kerry returned to Kabul in August and has spent hours with the candidates, including in repeated phone calls, in an effort to seal the deal.

A White House statement lauded the two leaders, saying the agreement helps bring closure to Afghanistan’spolitical crisis.

“This agreement marks an important opportunity for unity and increased stability in Afghanistan. We continue to call on all Afghans — including political, religious, and civil society leaders — to support this agreement and to come together in calling for cooperation and calm,” the White House statement said.

Jan Kubis, the top UN official in Afghanistan, said the uncertainty of the past months took a heavy toll onAfghanistan’s security, economy and governance. Nato said in a statement that it hoped both leaders could move forward «in the spirit of genuine political partnership.»

The decision not to release vote totals underscores the fear of potential violence despite Sunday’s deal. One of

In this photograph taken on August 8, Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani (L) speaks as opponent Abdullah Abdullah looks on during a joint press conference with unseen US Secretary of State John Kerry at the UN Compound in Kabul AFP Abdullah’s final demands was that the election commission not release the vote count because of the fraud he alleges took place.

Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani, chairman of the election commission, said the final ballot counts have been shared with both candidates and that the commission would announce the numbers publicly later.

A Ghani Ahmadzai supporter — Halim Fidai, a former governor — said Sunday that Kubish, the UN represen-

tative, told the commission not to release vote tallies. A UN official who insisted on anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said the allegation was not true and that the UN was only facilitating dialogue between the candidates and the election commission regarding the release of the results.

A senior US official said the vote result is transparent but may be released slowly over fears of violence. The official insisted on anonymity because he was

not authorized to be identified publicly.

Ghani Admadzai supporters and election commission reports circulating on social media said that the final vote gave Ghani Ahmadzai roughly 55% and Abdullah roughly 45%.

The four-page power sharing contract says the relationship between president and chief executive — a position akin to prime minister — must be defined by “partnership, collegiality, collaboration, and, most importantly, responsibility to the people of Afghanistan.”

It spells out the powers for the new chief executive position: participation with the president in bilateral meetings, carrying out administrative and executive affairs as determined by presidential decree, and parity in selection of key security and economic ministries.

The deal specifies that the president leads the Cabinet but that the chief executive manages the Cabinet’s implementation of government policies. The chief executive will also chair regular meetings of a council of ministers.

An inauguration ceremony to see Ghani Ahmadzai replace Karzai as president and swear in Abdullah as chief executive was expected within days. Abdullah’s spokesman Fazel Sancharaki said the event could be held on Sept 29.

As talks dragged on, Abdullah’s

mostly northern supporters had threatened to form a parallel government or react violently to any outright victory

by Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister and World Bank official whose power base is in the country’s south and east.

Ghani Ahmadzai said he always maintained that ethnic politics inAfghanistan demand some sort of power sharing deal and not a winner-takes-all government.

Abdullah believes he won the first round of the election in April with more than 50% of the vote, which would have precluded a runoff. But the official results showed him winning about 45% of that vote in a crowded presidential field of 10.

He also believes he won a June runoff with Ghani Ahmadzai. But initial results totals showed Ghani Ahmadzai with about 56% of the vote. After the recount the election commission invalidated 1 million of the approximately 8.1 million cast in the runoff, according to the un-released vote counts, suggesting that fraud was indeed widespread.

Though the White House statement said that “respect for the democratic process” is the only viable path forward for Afghanistan, the next Afghan government to many has the appearance of a product of more of negotiations than vote tallies. l

P E O P L E ’ S C L I M AT E M A R C H : B I G G E S T G L O B A L C A L L-T O -AC T I O N O N C L I M AT E C H A N G E I N H I S T O R Y

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(1) A climate protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask holds a banner redaing ‘World leaders act!’ on the Republique’s statue during a demonstration to fight climate change, in Paris. (2) Climate protesters hold a banner reading ‘Let’s be the change’ on the Republique’s square during a demonstration to fight climate change. (3) Enviromental protesters gather in a park in Sydney as part of a global protest on climate change. (4) Demonstrators display placards and banners as they participate in the Peoples Climate March in London AFP

Hopes dim for return of Dalai Lama: China’s leader realistic, Philippine troops to Golan Beijing’s attitude shifting n AP, Manila Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said he’s been told security threats on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights are not expected to ease soon, dimming hopes that UN peacekeepers can be deployed back to the region in the near future.

A group of 244 Philippine peacekeepers flew back to Manila on Friday after being recalled, while 84 more were due home Sunday, ending a fiveyear presence in the increasingly volatile Golan.

There have been no signs suggesting the Philippines will resume its mission in the Golan. Filipino forces continue to help a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

Aquino said his government was informed in a letter from the UN assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Edmond Mulet, that “there is no expectation” that UN peacekeepers could be deployed back to the Syrian side of the Golan “in the short or midterm.”

Aquino’s comments, made Friday during a just concluded trip to Germany, were released to the media on Sunday.

The UN peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, has patrolled a buffer zone between Syria and Israel since 1974,

a year after the Arab-Israeli war. For nearly four decades, UN monitors helped enforce a stable truce between the two countries.

The Syrian war, however, has spilled over to the Golan buffer zone and led to the abduction of peacekeepers by al-Qaida-linked anti-Syrian government militants and other attacks that prompted several countries to withdraw their soldiers.

As the peacekeeping mission frayed, the UN Security Council on Friday reaffirmed its unconditional support for maintaining the peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights. It called the mission vital “to peace and security in the Middle East.”

When he returns from his European and US trip next week, Aquino will pay a tribute and bestow awards to the Filipino peacekeepers, military officials said Sunday.

Many of the Filipino peacekeepers recently battled Syrian rebels. The militants surrounded two UN encampments on the Syrian side of the Golan buffer zone, but the Filipinos defied a rebel demand for them to lay down their arms and surrender.

The outnumbered Filipinos fought back and then managed to escape from the camps, ending a dangerous standoff.

The militants succeeded to abduct 45 Fijian peacekeepers, but later freed them. l

n AP, New Delhi The Dalai Lama praised Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday for being “more realistic” and principled than his predecessors, a day after Xi’s threeday visit to India ended.

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader has lived in exile for decades in India’s Himalayan foothill city of Dharamsala, after fleeing China following a failed 1959 uprising. The arrangement has irritated Beijing, which has long accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting unrest and encouraging Buddhist monks to self-immolate in demanding more autonomy for Tibet, a Himalayan region in western China that borders India, Bhutan and Nepal.

However, Beijing’s attitude appears to be shifting, the Dalai Lama said, noting that China’s Communist leaders, who officially are atheist, are now “mentioning the importance of spiritualism.”

“There are a lot of changes,” the Dalai Lama told reporters.

He said that since becoming president in March 2013, Xi has demonstrated “through his handling of problems, he is comparatively more realistic and with more principles” than his predecessors.

The remarks brought no immediate comment from China’s government or state media. However, Beijing has pre-

viously denounced the Dalai Lama as a separatist traitor and warned that any of his moderate comments are deceptive. China says the Himalayan region has been part of Chinese territory for centuries, while Tibetans say it was virtually independent until China occupied it in 1950.

India is home to a large Tibetan community as well as Tibet’s government-in-exile. During Xi’s visit to New Delhi this past week, dozens of Tibetan protesters shouting “Hands off Tibet!” staged a noisy demonstration outside the building where he was

meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Dalai Lama also said Saturday on the sidelines of an interfaith meeting in New Delhi that India and China should put aside any animosities they harbor over a long-festering border dispute and “remain peaceful on the basis of mutual trust,” according to Press Trust of India.

The border dispute, over which the two nations fought a bloody monthlong war in 1962, has complicated relations for decades, with the two militaries in a tense standoff even last week while Xi was in New Delhi. Both Xi and Modi vowed special efforts in resolving the dispute as they work to boost economic cooperation.

The Dalai Lama also praised India for proving that communities can live peacefully together, and said India must show its example of religious harmony to the rest of the world.

“India is the only country where all major world religions live together, not only in modern time but over 1,000 years,” he said in opening the two-day interfaith meeting he had organized for leaders from nine religious communities to mull some of India’s most pressing and seemingly endemic problems — from gender violence and widespread poverty to environmental degradation and communal violence. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Monday, September 22, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Make our universities world-class

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

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ot a single Bangladeshi university is listed in a widely recognised ranking of the world’s top 500 universities.

There is no reason why we should not be aspiring to have a dozen Bangladeshi universities making the cut to this list.

A nation with our large population does not lack talent. We have an abundance of students and researchers studying at major universities abroad, and working in leading institutes.

The quality of education and research conducted in our universities needs to be drastically improved if we ever want to turn brain drains into brain gains, by developing cutting-edge educational facilities which attract more leading researchers to work in Bangladesh.

Publications and research are a major aspect of these types of ranking, but with a few notable exceptions, Bangladeshi institutions lack the resources to invest in innovative projects to make the best use of their potential.

Government funding needs to keep in mind the importance of investing in research for attracting and retaining expertise.

One of the primary factors hampering our country’s higher education sector is politics. Rampant instances of political party factions wreaking havoc on campuses are hugely costly. Politicised appointments and factionalism among professional bodies all help shift the focus away from improving education.

The world economy is increasingly knowledge-based. We cannot afford to allow our universities’ potential to be hindered in this manner.

We need to improve the quality of our universities to reflect the quality of our students, in order to allow Bangladeshi universities to earn more recognition at the global level.

www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Setting sights on success

The world economy is increasingly knowledge-based.

We cannot afford not to improve the quality of our universities

Go further with railways

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ccording to the World Bank, poor infrastructure is one of the biggest obstacles to securing economic growth in Bangladesh.

It is estimated that to sustainably grow the economy and help reduce poverty, Bangladesh should be investing $7bn to $10bn in infrastructure annually over the next 10 years. However, we currently invest only around 3% of GDP on infrastructure, compared to up to 15% in China.

The country’s railway system provides an important illustration of the consequences of neglecting infrastructure spending.

Despite having a wide ranging network, the country’s railways are badly under-utilsed, inefficient, and slow.

The government’s ongoing program to procure new carriages and improve the rail system is certainly welcome, but lacks a strategy for real growth.

As a country with a small land area and high population density, we have the potential to benefit hugely from a more modern railway system. Modern tracks and electrification could easily help to significantly increase average speeds and efficiency. There is no reason why we should not be investing more in this way to improve existing railway lines and land.

Upgrading the network offers an environmentally and economically sustainable way to move large numbers of people and goods around the nation. It would facilitate decentralisation and reduce pressure on Dhaka’s land area, by allowing more commuters to live outside of the capital.

The railways need a long-term vision to bring them up to modern standards. Investing in them is essential to create an efficient integrated transport system which is vital for the future of the economy.

As a country with a small land area, we can benefit hugely from a more modern railway system

September 14

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

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

SUDOKU

Saad Hassan Hasib That is fantastic. :)

located in the Mirpur 11 neighbourhood of the capital.”

Really good work. Respect. Good photos, but great story Mahmud Hossain Opu.

SM “Saidul Haque, himself a blind person, founded Berdo (Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organisation), a private school for sight-impaired students, in 1992. How he completed his bachelor’s and master’s studies at the University of Dhaka is a story of hardship and tenacity. Saidul’s struggle still continues but it now focuses on enabling his sightimpaired students to excel.

His school has 20 students, many of whom receive Tk3,000 each as financial assistance. The school is

Fake notes distributed by Islami Bank

Syed Zainul Abedin Saidul Huq, a man of confidence.

RE Thank you for doing this.

FA It is a great social service.

SK The photos say a thousand stories.

What traffic rules?

September 14

September 14

Saif Got a feeling Islami bank is digging its grave and will fall into the whirlpool.

PB Several thousand#fakecurrency distributed by#IslamiBank! Any action against the bank???

GP offers free Facebook for all September 14

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid DJuice strategy!

Argentine family given permission to name son Messi September 15 Anon It’s more than a name; it’s Messi!!

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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.

Delinthedesh Okay, so what does the BRTA do then? Nothing, according to this article.

There has been so much time, money, and effort spent from foreign countries and government associations on these people, that they should be scrapped.

For the last 2.5 years I’ve lived here, there is nothing that surprises me in my normals day-today travels. It will never change and the worst thing is nobody cares either.

So, carry on blasting your horns, flashing your lights, riding on the pavements, killing people without a care, not giving a care about anyone on the roads, disregarding all non-existent rules and regulations, as you’re going to grind to a bigger stop than you already are.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Keen-edged implements (6) 6 Rope-splicing implement (3) 9 Wear away (5) 10 Ice cream holder (4) 11 Divers’ affliction (5) 12 Greek letter (3) 13 Christmas decoration (6) 15 Scourge (4) 18 Mexican dollar (4) 21 Thoroughfare (6) 24 Falsehood (3) 25 Sharp (5) 28 Above (4) 29 Burdened (5) 30 Marry (3) 31 Wigwams (6)

DOWN 1 Insurgent (5) 2 Land measure (3) 3 Regions (5) 4 Strange (3) 5 Remainder (4) 6 Enemies (4) 7 Buries (6) 8 Business transaction (4) 14 Pinch (3) 16 Busy (6) 17 Colour (3) 19 Ooze out (5) 20 Auguries (5) 21 Dragging, as time (4) 22 Water grass (4) 23 Story (4) 26 Headwear (3) 27 Golf mound (3)

Fareed Wakil Yes, Bangladesh is a lawless country.

The Muslim world’s conspiracy theories September 14

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

My name is Khan Conspiracy theories, eh? Are you asking your readers for answers? We can give them to you, if you want. ;-)

PEANUTS

Incarné Dev Muslims may have to suffer worse in the coming days.

Whenever I have searched on Facebook, with different country names, I have found a common theme. Whether in Britain, USA, Denmark, Russia, everywhere, right-wingers are demanding the expulsion of Muslim and Christian apostles from their countries.

High Speed Wi-Fi at DU Madhur Canteen September 14 Dr Ahsan Habib “They will propagate the ideology of the liberation war.”

Do we need to bring the Liberation War into everything?

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Monday, September 22, 2014

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Teenage suicides: Understanding the youth

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n Towheed Feroze he news of the sibling suicide in Uttara has left us gravely perturbed. Two youngsters, both between 15 and 18, took their own lives as they were faced with uphill tribulations, resulting from the separation of their parents. Reportedly, growing up under the care of a single mother, who is working for the government-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the siblings had to face the cruel hardship of a life filled with constraints.

We are informed that their resolve was shattered when, in a situation of unending financial pressure, they heard that the employment contract of their mother would not be extended beyond December. Obviously, the grim thought of the days ahead tormented them and, perhaps, in their young minds they deemed themselves to be a burden on their mother, therefore deciding to end their lives.

adolescence, is never understood.

To bring on a few other cases, during last Eid, a young girl took her life when she was chastised for demanding a Pakhi dress and, from time to time, we have come across news of suicides where teenagers took their own lives either because they were reprimanded for talking on the phone or for wanting to spend a special day with friends. There have been cases when a victim of stalking took her life because instead of taking action against the stalkers, society blamed the victim.

These are of course only a few examples. An in-depth look will reveal countless other reasons why teenage minds become riddled with self-loathing. Unfortunately, the greatest flaw in this community is that it has one set of stringent ideas about how young people should be managed, which, sorry to say, is simply out of touch with reality.

Let me give you a small example.

In recent times, the fad in urban

Who will listen to them?

Parents need to talk to children more. They need to be frank on issues about sex, divorce, and friendship

Just curious: Did the mother’s employer take into cognisance her chances of survival with two children when they decided not to renew the contract?

In an already unfair world, events like these compel us to question why young people, who deserve at least a period in life dominated by dreams and hopes, should close their doors and decide to call it quits.

I personally think the society that we live in has to take much of the blame for the deaths of these two and many other teenagers whose rather complex mindsets, especially during

areas has been to enrol all children in English medium schools for solidifying their foundation in the global language and to make them study in a universally-recognised academic system. Nothing is wrong in that, but the immense pressure that the schools plus guardians put on children takes out the joy of learning. Soon, each and every child becomes a robot, relentlessly pressured by parents to do better, because in Bangladesh, academic excellence translates into social recognition.

Locked in a fierce battle, the desires of the child are put aside. At all costs,

Welcome abroad, condemned at home

PID

n Khawaza Main Uddin

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here’s a Bengali adage which says: “The king who is overly praised (for external orientation) on foreign lands is eventually humiliated in his own country.” Although not a universal truth, it is still valid to us, relative to certain situations.

The kingdom is no longer there, but the people remain subjects or “proja” (of a feudal estate), not owners of the republic. Probably to make up for this discrepancy through rhetoric, our leaders used a redundant term – the people’s republic.

When an Indian minister, on Twitter, described Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the “torchlight of democracy,” she had reasons to be elated. She may keep her conscience away from the record of the January 5 polls her government held, ignoring all appeals and demands to make it participatory.

The Indian leader may not know Bangladesh well or may have taken a soft position deliberately.

Obviously aware of its ranking at home, the Hasina administration continued to lobby for being accepted worldwide as its top priority. Apart from planning a series of state-level visits overseas, Dhaka is now focused on appeasing key international actors and making necessary concessions to earn indirect recognition for the government, troubled by a legitimacy

crisis since the one-sided polls.

It is understood that there is a master plan regarding foreign policy, which requires a lot of investments, to attain the only goal of staying in power with foreign blessings. No one is bothered about pro-people steps when the ruler can’t win public support.

And when the masses are isolated from the regime and vice versa, it’s easier for a coterie and some parasites to milk benefits from such a weak government. In turn, the small group of sycophants provide unqualified support to whatever steps the regime takes. Sheikh Hasina’s is a historically-proven compulsion: The king, his council, and collaborators all knew they had no other choice but to fight out the enemy troops at any cost to save themselves from downfall.

The foreigners’ praise of such a regime may raise some eyebrows. But they do it to ensure their interests, in an advantageous bargain with an unpopular government which is ready to offer more-than-possible gains in exchange for verbal support.

So, why would Japan’s Shinzo Abe not ostensibly applaud, for the time being, premier Hasina, given Dhaka’s sacrifice at the United Nations? He even need not retract Tokyo’s criticism of the January 5 elections.

The cost of clinging to power, despite domestic political bankruptcy, may be carried over through surrender

parents must have top grades to publicise. What can a child understand about social prestige? Guardians know best. Reaching short of the highest academic accolades is regarded a total failure, which many children are unable to deal with. There have also been cases where youngsters have taken their lives when they could not meet others’ expectations of them.

Pardon me – society is hardly considerate in these matters. I often wonder who coined and implanted in us the line: “Lekha pora kore je gari ghora chore shei” (those who study get to ride flashy cars and carriages). There are thousands of examples of people who have made it to the top without sparkling academic results. Singers, actors, photographers, sportsmen, music composers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs are right before us though we refuse to budge from that archaic notion.

to foreigners and the regime’s huge debt of gratitude to outsiders may add further costs as a consequence of depriving the people of the opportunity to vote for change.

A lonely ruler does also have the luxury of making foreigners happy.

Popular satire writer Syed Mujtaba Ali, in his novel Shabnam, called Afghanistan’s King Amanullah a madman, referring to steps like his introduction of Western suits for the conservative Afghans. The king, appreciated abroad, had to face defeat to his local rivals. Almost the same was the fate of Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran.

Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki, once pampered by his Western patrons, was shown the door when he lost utility losing confidence in his people. Never forget HM Ershad, the dictator who took a bold decision of joining the multinational forces to free Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1990 and had to bow out of the office in the face of popular upheaval.

Those who wishfully think Hasina is about to gain the acceptance of Washington DC fail to read between the lines of what foreign leaders say and mean in their official statements. Despite European reservation about her election, she managed to visit London and meet the British prime minister – what a great diplomatic success.

But David Cameron noted Britain’s “disappointment over the January 2014 Bangladesh election with more than half of constituencies uncontested,” according to a Downing Street spokesperson. The Bangladesh premier is going to go to the UN headquarters. Let’s hope her unofficial advisers do not forget the UN secretary general’s reminder of the need for a dialogue for holding credible elections during his meeting with President Abdul Hamid.

A meaningful national ballot, if it is held at all, will prove how far the Bangladeshis support Hasina’s Awami League. Finally, history will prove what kind of policies the premier has pursued for the citizens.

Foreigners did not and will not change our fate. We can neither blame them nor be so glad if they show some courtesy to those leaders who are somehow holding on to power.

Even when they look down upon our leaders who don’t represent us, we, as Bangladeshis, still feel insulted. l Khawaza Main Uddin is Executive Editor at ICE Business Times.

BIGSTOCK

Coming back to the case of the siblings, Alim and Chirasree, their major trauma emanated from a broken family – an issue which has become common but is never quite understood from a sociologist’s perspective. While the divorce rate has risen in Bangladesh, sincere efforts to help separated adults find mental peace, along with aiding children from fractured homes to cope with life, remain almost absent.

I admit the direct stigma linked to the breaking of a marriage is not there anymore. However, children who have only one parent are never given special counselling because such a system is not there. Regrettably, most top-ranked schools which proudly pronounce their results every year and assiduously keep on elevating their admission fees do not have special sessions for students who may be

having difficulties dealing with a range of adolescent demons.

In simple terms – we never try to understand the young. There is the general feeling that in time they will learn the right ways. Sadly, many take the wrong paths that lead to a premature end. Maybe Alim and his sister would be alive if their parents had not gotten divorced. Then again, this is not a perfect world.

Evolution means not only the positives but the negatives too, and a hike in separations is a manifestation of a changed society where tolerance is low as massive egos supersede humane obligations. While we have to accept this rather sullied social ethos, ways need to be introduced to minimise the adverse impact of modern-day life.

A dogmatic outlook on how a child should grow up must be discarded.

Parents need to talk to children more.

They need to be frank on issues about sex, divorce, friendship, and instead of imposing certain demands, learn to reach a compromise. We still hear that before being admitted in a university, a student has to listen to the desires of his parents about his future course of education. Consequently, someone who wants to study literature or arts is forced to take up engineering or computer science only to satisfy the wishes of his guardians.

Child psychology is certainly the need of our time. Many laws are passed in the parliament for political reasons. Why not pass a law for mandatory youth counselling in all of the academic institutes? This may not earn political points, but will save lives from ending before they even began. l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

An open letter of solidarity n Monica Islam

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ear girls and women allies of Palestine and Israel, Salutations of peace from Bangladesh. I am writing from a country that you may not have heard of before. Situated miles away from your region, Bangladesh has not recognised the State of Israel which means that we cannot expect to meet each other directly in our homes and other social institutions.

As for Palestine, while my passport is valid there, and although Palestine does have a diplomatic presence in Bangladesh, I have not had the privilege to visit the land yet. The Palestinian embassy in Bangladesh is quite inactive and does not provide much exposure to Palestinian culture.

I believe a much more practical means of fulfilling my dream of interacting closely with you is through journalism or social work. I will gladly speak of the surreal moment when I came across, by chance, an elderly lady from Israel in the UK, where I was undergoing training on journalism. She was the first and the only Israeli I have met so far in these twenty years.

I also cherish the time I met a Palestinian girl for the first time at a youth conference in Indonesia. As you can see, we can overcome geo-political barriers to connect with each other.

And right now, through this letter, we can correspond even further.

I will not inquire about your state of being because the world is witnessing the Israeli-Palestinian hostilities and we are therefore not oblivious to the routine uncertainty and suffering that you face.

I cannot imagine myself living in an environment where the threat of rocket shells or heavy bombardment looms every day. I cannot imagine going days without food, water, and electricity – basic necessities which I sometimes take for granted.

Some of us have not lived under such dire circumstances and forgive us when we – the privileged few – do not remember you in the daily hustle and bustle of life. This letter is my way of expressing solidarity with your pursuit for peace.

Although one day of remembrance

does not compensate for the many days of forgetfulness, I write this letter in the hopes that my words inspire feelings of eternal peace and happiness.

Over the years, I have learnt that happiness is not a destination or even an emotion. It is more of an attitude.

It is what we make out of our circumstances. You will be happy if you want to be happy. This is what I remember during my difficult times.

We need to stop taking sides or prove a political point out of this tragedy

You will find solace in knowing that around the world, people of various backgrounds, irrespective of religion (which is usually purported to be the cause of this division), gathered in hordes to form human chains and the likes to protest the atrocities of all war-mongering forces.We are all pressing for a sustainable ceasefire, as well as a lasting peace agreement, which will put an end to this age-old conflict once and for all.

We strongly believe that both Israel and Palestine can and should co-exist.

It is not a remote possibility; but a long overdue obligation. We want our future generations to read about this conflict only as bad history and not as a recurring reality that cripples the lives of so many people who had nothing to do with this chaos in the first place. At every congregational prayer in my country, you are remembered.

Take heart also in the fact that many media professionals are striving to provide an objective and responsible coverage of these events and are also attempting to project the everyday lifestyle of your region.

We feel that your region is mostly highlighted, usually from a political

perspective, when a catastrophe strikes. We yearn to know more about your culture; what an average day is like when there’s peace. We are here to tell your stories.

One journalist named Leigh aptly pointed out that we need to stop taking sides or prove a political point out of this tragedy. Right at this moment, we do not want to know who started it or who is right. We can keep these discussions for later when another child in that region is not bleeding because of war. A citizen journalist named Maya shares photos of the turbulent times, starting from the ringing of the siren to the bits of rocket shells that land inches away from a civilian woman.

You have a crucial role in affecting and upholding the peace process.

Persevere as you always have to reach out to the wider world with peace. It is wisest for women of all ages in both Palestine and Israel to focus on education, work, and friendship.

With these, you can hope to actualise your vision of peace quickly and easily. They will open up creative outlets for you to express your emotions in a non-violent, harmless manner.

With this frame of mind, you can bring in a new era of peace. You are also responsible, just as your partner is, for the upbringing of the next generation who will detest war. You can create a political revolution through a strong family base.

My Palestinian acquaintance Rand showed me a different side of Palestine — one that is not characterised by poverty and violence. At the youth conference, she was dressed in a comfortable tee and a pair of jeans.

She was outspoken about reproductive and sexual rights. Although she solemnly recounted the tales of hostilities in the region, she was strong and did not appear to be a helpless victim of war-torn zones.

Your culture intrigues me and I am most interested in hearing from you about how you spend a “normal” day.

I close this letter with my earnest prayers for peace in your region and for your wellbeing. l Monica Islam hosts online radio shows at Sylvia Global Media Network and aims to advance human rights and social justice.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Monday, September 22, 2014

MISSIONIMPOSSIBLE5 getsareleasedate n Entertainment Desk The fans of Ethan Hunt has only one question in their minds: When will “Mission Impossible 5” be coming to theaters?

Well, they will have to wait until December 25, 2015 It is “Mission Impossible 5” that has brought Cruise and Rhames back together again. For the spy pair it has been almost two decades since they have worked together in the “Mission Impossible” franchise.

The Mission Impossible pair, Rhames and Cruise, have worked on the first film back in 1996, then on “Mission: Impossible 2” in 2000. Then the duo paired up again in “Mission: Impossible III” in 2006. But Rhames did not appear in “Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol,” in 2011, until the end of the film.

Also Rebecca Ferguson is also confirmed to be the leading lady in this film.

Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg revealed this week via Facebook that they will be back in the latest “Mission Impossible” installment directed by Chris McQuarrie, who has worked with Cruise on “Valkyrie,” “Jack Reacher,” and “Edge of Tomorrow.”

McQuarrie is excited about the film, he tweeted his elation saying: “@chrismcquarrie The team is back. @Renner4Real @TomCruise @simonpegg #VingRhames #MI5Diary,” Cinema Blend reported.

There have also been rumors that they will be filming within the House of Parliament, Fashion Style reported. If they were to do so it would be a first for any film. Pegg cannot confirm anything like that taking place. l

The filming for Mission Impossible 5 is officially underway

The Guardian

Zee Studio, 9:30pm

Coast guard rescue swimmer Ben Randall is the only survivor of a rescue mission at sea.

Warm Bodies

HBO Hits, 11:50pm

‘Warm Bodies’ is a poignant tale about the power of human connection.

True Lies

Star Movies, 6:30pm

Harry’s mission is to track down nuclear warheads stolen from Kazakhstan. Harry and his team follow Helen (Harry’s wife) to Simon’s house (Helen’s secret flick), which they raid using SWAT tactics.

RICHARD HAUGHTON

Akram Khan courts audience in home debut n Badiuzzaman Bay When Akram Khan attended a panel discussion three days prior to his Dhaka debut, he left little to our imagination about his long-awaited solo. Not that we didn’t already know enough. It was a hit show, Akram having toured extensively around the world (22 countries) before he came to Bangladesh where, he claimed, it “belonged.”

Still, as he entered the stage on Friday, little did the audience know what they were about to experience, a jawdroppingly poignant tale of a man torn between his ancestral past and his diasporic present, portrayed through metaphors and anecdotes in which family, folklore and history become one. DESH (Bengali for “homeland”), while exploring Akram’s quest for identity, introduces us to the technical dazzle of European stagecraft – through spectacular sound effects, visual animations and stage designs – and that universal language of mime where words are redundant.

Personally, I have never seen anything quite like it, and from what I could make out from instant audience response, neither have they. My verdict? Akram Khan has lived up to the hype built around his stage debut in Bangladesh. Not one to settle for mediocrity, the celebrated dancer-choreographer (and his team) rehearsed for weeks before he came to perform.

And what a performance it was!

Born and raised in a London neighbourhood, Akram trained as a Kathak dancer at an early age and moved on to master contemporary dance forms. Although the show was set in the narrative traditions of Kathak, it was his Kathak movements, except for occasional foot-slaps, that the audience missed. This can be partly ascribed to his penchant for fusion experiments, mixing the classic with the contemporary.

The show opens with Akram walking with a lantern, apparently in search of something, and moments later, he is seen with a sledgehammer that he pounds on a grave-like structure. The grave is revealed

Aishwarya and Freida Pinto campaign for RED LIPSTICK n

Entertainment Desk Actresses Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Freida Pinto are featured for a star-studded ad campaign by beauty brand L’Oreal Paris. The collection is called exclusive pure red. The Indian beauties accompanied with the Hollywood celebrities suchn as Zoe Saldana, Eva Longoria, Blake Lively, Jane Fonda and Julianne Moore.

All the actresses are L’Oreal Paris brand ambassadors.

In the ad all the women have posed clad in white, which makes their red lipstick prominent.

Each shade is named after one of the ladies and proves that no matter what your skin tone or hair colour is everyone can pull off a red lip colour. l

to be of his father, who died some time in the past, and a series of flashbacks follow.

Visibly, there is only one character, Akram himself, but slowly we are introduced to a herd of other characters, all offstage, appearing only through their vocal interactions with Akram. Some he summons to the stage, others conjured up through his shapeshifting presence. And so we have a son at odds with his father, a mother often reprimanded, a young niece always eager to hear stories, all connected by their link to a country far away from the country of their residence. And then there is a tech support operator based in Chittagong.

What’s brilliant about the show is its deft interweaving of all the stories presented and the images personified, shedding an unflattering light on Akram’s own past and merging it with the past of Bangladesh, the “desh” of his parents. Akram, through DESH, attempts to know the country in order to understand it and himself better.

But the show is more than just one man’s

soul-searching. It is also about the turbulent birth of a nation, its fight for democracy, the beauty of its wildlife, the unruly streets, folk stories involving forest deities and honeybees.

Stage designs and multi-visual effects of the show deserve a special mention. Although the piece is performed solo, with no other visible onstage characters, its success partly hinges on the fabulous work done by the people behind the scene who made it so appealing visually. Something the audience will remember for a long time to come.

But what’s in it for the man trying to make sense of himself and his roots? The success of Akram is not in his sold-out show, or its live screening – something usually done only in case of important national events. I think his success is in making the audience love him, appreciate his talent, cheer for him every time he made a move out of the ordinary, consider him one of their own.

What more can an artist expect in his home debut? l

Ochena Hridoy set to release this Eid n Entertainment Desk Prosun Azad, Emon and newcomer ABM Sumon starrer “Ochena Hridoy” is set to release this Eid-ul-Azha, the producers announced at the film’s music launch on Saturday.

Director Shafiqul Islam Khan will debut with the film to be released in fifty cinemas simultaneously.

The 134-minute film features a love story involving three people and it falls into the mixed category of romantic-action thriller. The story revolves around a university student named Rupa, who falls in love with a senior. A second man, with a secret crush on her, emerges on the scene.

Rupa is unaware of that and continues with her affair with the senior. But tragedy unfolds as she loses her love and begins to suffer memory loss as a consequence of that.

Emon Saha is the music director of the film, featuring six songs composed by Belal Khan and Pinto Ghosh. Konal, Naomi, Sukonna Tithi and Shamim Hasan lent their voice as playback singers. l

Prosun Azad and ABM Sumon pose at the music launch of Ochena Hridoy KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

Did you know?

For the first time in their 853-game Premier League history, Man Utd have thrown away a two goal lead to lose

Sport

Monday, September 22, 2014

14 Leicester fight

back to beat United 5-3

14 Stoppelkamp hits

‘once in lifetime’ 80-metre goal

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 ‘No regrets’ for Li

Na at emotional farewell

Bangladesh take on Hong Kong in crucial clash today n Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh head coach Lodewijk de Kruif instructs the players in a practice session at Incheon, South Korea yesterday

COURTESY

Gazi brushes aside negativity, looks forward n Reazur Rahman Rohan National off-spinner Sohag Gazi had a pretty decent time at the Cardiff Metropolitan University Laboratory, England where he had his bowling action tested on September 19. He returned home on Saturday.

“I am not worried. I am hopeful of getting the clearance soon,” said Gazi to Dhaka Tribune yesterday. “I bowled six overs, three from either side of the wicket, and I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

Gazi was reported by match officials with a suspected bowling action during the second ODI of the recently concluded three-match away series against the West Indies.

“They had the video of that match and asked me to bowl exactly the same way. That’s when I said that it is not possible since the situation during a

match is different – the foot or hand of a bowler sometimes differs within the match, caused by tiredness mainly.

“I bowled my regular deliveries, the carrom ball and they seemed satisfied with it,” said Gazi, the first and only cricketer to score a hundred and take a hat-trick in the same Test match.

The 23-year old broke in to the national circuit two years back and has

been an integral part of the Bangladesh cricket team set-up since then. But he became the fifth bowler - and the fifth off-spinner - to have been reported for a suspect action in recent times.

For a cricketer who struggled in his teens and came this far solely riding on magical bowling figures in the domestic first-class arena, where he has 1614 runs and 167 wickets after 37 matches,

Bangladesh hockey team fall to second straight defeat n Tribune Desk The Bangladesh hockey team fell to their second consecutive defeat in the 17th Asian Games as they lost to Malaysia 5-1 at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium yesterday.

After losing to Japan by a humiliating margin in their Group A opener, Bangladesh managed to keep the scoreline at 1-1 till 45 minutes before Malaysia netted four goals in the last quarter of the game. The opponents were in complete control of the game. Malaysia have now earned six points and are just a win away from a semi-final berth.

Bangladesh put up a solid defensive display in the first three quarters

where they conceded only one goal.

Mohamed Razie Rahim put Malaysia ahead in the 20th minute converting their third penalty corner.

Malaysia, bronze medallists at the

After losing to Japan by a humiliating margin in their Group A opener, Bangladesh managed to keep the scoreline at 1-1 till 45 minutes before Malaysia netted four goals in the last quarter of the game Guangzhou Asiad in 2010, received eight penalty corners in the first two quarters but were denied by an in-form Bangladesh goalkeeper Asim Gope.

Bangladesh equalised in the 30th

minute. Hasan Jubair Niloy provided a cross for Krishno Kumar Das who slotted the ball past Malaysia goalie S Kumar.

Mohamed Marhan Jalil took the lead again for Malaysia in the 46th minute before Izwan Firdaus, Mohamed Shahrun Nabil and Razie added one apiece in the 52nd, 56th and 60th minutes to complete the route.

Bangladesh had registered only four shots at goal and earned no penalty corners in comparison to Malaysia’s 23 attempts at goal and 12 penalty corners.

Bangladesh will play their third game against Singapore tomorrow at the same venue.

Meanwhile in gymnastics, Quazi Syque Caesar qualified for the final round in the men’s parallel bars, horizontal bar and floor exercise events.

In beach volleyball, Bangladesh lost to Qatar by 2-0 sets. l

this was a very different experience.

However, he wasn’t the only one attending the test, as “(Prosper) Utseya (of Zimbabwe) was there too. He gave the test after me.”

“There were 18 cameras capturing my footage from every possible angle.

It seemed so unreal for a moment, but I was relaxed.”

This was the first time he travelled alone to such a destination and considering how he would cope mentally with everything, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was kind enough to have Shahidul Islam Ratan, former coach of the BCB and the Malaysian Cricket Association and now working as the development manager of London Capital Kids Cricket, assist Gazi.

“The presence of Ratan sir was very comforting. It helped me a lot,” he said.

Gazi, who reached London on Thursday, had just one-and-a-half hours after

Second four-day game begins today n Mazhar Uddin The Bangladesh A team will take on the visiting Zimbabwe A side in the second and final four-day game at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah today.

The hosts are leading the two-match series 1-0 having won the first four-dayer by six wickets at Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar.

Left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib’s record 15-wicket haul had guided Naeem Islam’s side to a comfortable victory against their Zimbabwean counterparts in the first four-day game.

The home side made three changes in their squad for the second unofficial Test. Highest scorer of the first four-day game, wicket-keeper-batsman Liton Kumar Das, injured his knee during the game and was replaced by national discard Shahriar Nafees. Mithun Ali and Dewan Sabbir were also included in place of Sabbir Rahman and all-rounder Mukhtar Ali. l

National school football kicks off on Wednesday n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh Football Federation’s endeavour of expanding the game across the country in the grass-roots sees light for the second time as the Islami bank National School Football kicks off with Khulna Division phase on Wednesday.

The first phase of the tournament will be played in the upazilla level and as per the data of the BFF 5400 schools, at least 10 from each 540 upazillas of the country, will be playing

in the tournament. The upazilla level will be played on knock-out basis and the champions will move to the district

level. The district level champions will then proceed to the divisional stage from where the champions will play in the national/final round. The phases, apart from the upazilla levels, will be played on league basis.

Islami Bank is sponsoring the event for the second time and will be providing a purse of Tk40m. The champions will receive a purse of Tk1m while the runners-up will get Tk500000. The meet is expected to conclude in March next. A total of 5025 schools across the

completing the test to catch the train from Cardiff to London airport. He hurried back but was also eager to know when the results will come out.

“They said it will take some time, but I will be allowed to play in the meantime. So it is great for me because I want to play. We have some international duties coming up and I am hopeful of continuing my duty with the national team,” expressed Gazi who played 10 Tests, 20 ODIs and nine Twenty20Is. Meanwhile, a player of the “pool” in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, Gazi is yet to confirm a team.

He has been linked with Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited, Brothers Union and Kalabagan KC. Generally considered a good all-rounder in the domestic circuit, Gazi informed he is still unsure where his destination lies in the premier league. l

Bangladesh face Hong Kong today in a do-or-die match of Group B in the 17th Asian Games football competition in Incheon, South Korea. The crucial encounter for both sides will kick off at 11am.

The Red and Green outfit posted a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Afghanistan in their opening game before falling to a 3-0 defeat against top-seed Uzbekistan in the second game. Bangladesh must win their final group game against Hong Kong to seal a place in the second round, something they have never managed in the history of the Asiad.

Till date Bangladesh have beaten Hong Kong only once in the Under-23 level with the win coming in 2007. A solitary strike by forward Zahid Hasan Emily was enough to dispatch Hong Kong in an away game in the Olympics pre-qualifier. However, it was Hong Kong who progressed to the next phase courtesy an aggregate victory margin of 3-1. At the national level, Bangladesh managed just one draw in four meetings against Hong Kong with the latter winning three times.

Despite the tall order, Bangladesh’s Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif urged his players to create history. “I have said to them that you will create history for yourselves and the country.

You play for the country and put your best,” said De Kruif, who conducted a one-and-a-half hour practice session yesterday.

“The approach will be cautious for the first 15 minutes. I have said the players to play a holding game.

Do not take any risk. Adapt with the conditions. I have asked the players to grab the opportunity as it comes on very few occasions,” concluded De Kruif.

Hong Kong drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan and defeated Afghanistan 2-1 in their two group matches and a draw will see them go through to the second round. Bangladesh have three points while Uzbekistan have four, like Hong Kong. The Uzbeks will face no-hopers Afghanistan in the last group match which will take place after the Bangladesh game.l

country participated in the last edition held in 2011-12 season.

In press conference held at the BFF House on Sunday, BFF senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy and senior assistant secretary of the Education Ministry Abu Kaisar Khan presented the event to the press. BFF general secretary Abu Naeem Shohag, former footballers Iliyas Hossian, Kazi Jashimuddin Ahmed Joshi and organiser Abu Hossian Prince were also present on the occasion. l

GM Abdullah Al Rakib (L) ponders a move against GM Niaz Murshed in the National Chess yesterday COURTESY

Rakib draws with Niaz in National Chess n Raihan Mahmood Reigning champion GM Abdullah Al Rakib of Bangladesh Navy drew his second round match against GM Niaz Murshed of Dhaka Mohammedan SC Limited in the Berger Paints National Chess at Bangladesh Olympic Association media centre yesterday.

Rakib played with white pieces in Queen’s Gambit Declined game. Niaz offered a draw after 12 moves but Rakib refused. However, after 18 moves Rakib offered a draw and Niaz accepted.

GM Ziaur Rahman of Dhaka Mo-

hammedan SC Limited beat CM Sohel Chowdhury of Leonine Chess Club. GM Enamul Hossain of Bangladesh Navy beat his teammate FM Aminul Islam.

IM Minhazuddin Ahmed of Bangladesh Navy beat CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed of Dhaka Mohammedan SC Limited.

Sheikh Nasir Ahmed of Bangladesh Navy beat FM Debaraj Chatterjee of Titas Club. Uten of Access Group beat Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan of Sonali Bank Sports and Recreation Club. At the end of the second round four players - GM Enamul, IM Minhaz, FM Nasir and Uten - earned maximum two points.l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Monday, September 22, 2014

Lampard turns on Chelsea, Leicester stun Utd n AFP, London Emotional Frank Lampard rescued a point for champions Manchester City against former club Chelsea on Sunday while Manchester United gave up a 3-1 lead to slump to a shock 5-3 defeat at Leicester.

Lampard’s equaliser ensured a 1-1 draw against the Premier League leaders who lost their perfect start to the league season but still moved three points clear of second-placed Southampton.

It seemed Jose Mourinho’s side were set for a fifth straight league win when Andre Schurrle put them ahead in the 71st minute, shortly after City had been reduced to 10 men by the sending off of defender Pablo Zabaleta.

But former Chelsea great Lampard, only playing for City after being loaned to them by New York City, the club he left for at the end of last season, drew the hosts level five minutes from time following a typically late run into the box.

The drama at Eastlands was as nothing compared to events earlier in the day at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.

It seemed big-spenders United were on course for their first competitive away victory under Louis van Gaal after goals by Robin van Persie, Angel di Maria and Ander Herrera left them 3-1 up with just over 30 minutes remaining.

But a controversial penalty, converted by David Nugent, reduced the Foxes’ deficit to 3-2 after they had got on the scoresheet through Leonardo Ulloa.

Two minutes after Nugent’s penalty, Esteban Cambiasso drew Leicester level

at 3-3 before Jamie Vardy, given time and space, made it 4-3 in the 79th minute.

Four minutes later, Ulloa made the game safe for promoted Leicester when, after United’s Blackett had been sent off for bringing down Vardy in the box, the striker scored his second goal and Leicester’s fifth from the penalty spot.

United, fresh from their 4-0 thrashing of QPR, like Leicester a newly-promoted side, 2-0 up inside 16 minutes.

Van Persie opened the scoring in the 13th minute when the Dutch striker headed in an excellent cross from Radamel Falcao.

RESULTS

2-3

Everton Lukaku 9, Baines 83-P

Manchester City

Jedinak 30-P, Campbell 54, Bolassie 69

1-1

Lampard 85

Leicester

Chelsea Schurrle 71

5-3

Ulloa 18, 83-P, Nugent 62-P, Cambiasso 64, Vardy 79

Tottenham

Crystal Palace

0-1

Man United Van Persie 13, Di Maria 16, Herrera 57

West Brom Morrison 74

On Saturday West Ham Reid 2, Sakho 7, Amalfitano 88

3-1

Liverpool Sterling 26

Di Maria then showed why United had paid a British record fee courtesy of a perfect chip over Kasper Schmeichel.

But just two minutes later Leicester pulled a goal back through an Argentinian ace of their own when Ulloa powered in a near-post header following an excellent cross by Vardy. l

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looks on as Manchester City’s Frank Lampard (C) scores past him during their EPL match at the Etihad stadium yesterday

Glaring defensive limitations undermine United’s hopes n Reuters, London A plethora of high-profile attacking signings had expectant Manchester United fans dreaming of a return to the upper echelons of European football, but their failure to identify their defensive problems is threatening to derail those hopes.

Against newly-promoted Leicester City on Sunday, United’s porous defense conceded five goals in an astonishing 5-3 defeat, twice squandering seemingly comfortable two goal advantages.

At times United’s attacking quintet of Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Angel di Maria and Ander Herrera dazzled their opponents.

But as the old saying goes ‘you’re only as good as your weakest link’ and United’s is a defence bereft of, and utterly lacking the defensive resolve, organisation and concentration required to re-establish themselves as a footballing force.

This off-season saw the departures of club greats Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, whose partnership was the foundation for a hugely successful period that yielded over 1,000 appearances and 30 trophies combined.

Against Leicester, United lined up with a back four of Marcos Rojo, Tyler Blackett, Jonny Evans, who went off injured, and Rafael but manager Louis van Gaal’s believes it is the system rather than the personnel where his problem lies.

“I don’t think it is the weakness of our defence, it is the weakness of our defensive organisation from the team.

That we have to do better,” van Gaal told Sky Sports.

“You have to know when you can pass the ball and when you have to get rid of the ball. In this game, at 3-1 I felt we had played fantastic football but

then you cannot make the errors we did.

“You cannot say the defence was weak,” he later told the BBC. “You play like a team, Leicester showed that, we did not play like a team in the second half and that is not only defence.

“In a defensive situation the whole team is responsible, not just one defender. We have too many players who want to seek for the goal.”

United started the season with van Gaal adopting the 3-5-2 system which had worked so successfully as he guided the Netherlands to a third placed finish at this summer’s World Cup. They failed to win any of their first four games in all compe-

titions at the start of this season and with the experiment deemed a failure, van Gaal reverted to a diamond formation.

That paid dividends with an emphatic 4-0 win against Queens Park Rangers last week which even prompted talk of the title or a top three finish in some quarters, but Nigel Pearson and his ever-impressive Leicester team exploited its limitations with ruthless efficiency.

“When you play against the diamond, the players who are going to have the most time are both full-backs. But we were able to exploit areas down the side of the back four on the transitions,” Pearson told the BBC. l

INTERNET

Defending champions Atletico held again

Wenger never doubted Ozil n AFP, Birmingham

n AFP, Madrid

Arsene Wenger insists he never thought about dropping Mesut Ozil after the Germany midfielder finally delivered a dominant display in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory against Aston Villa.

Ozil produced a fine finish to open the scoring from Danny Welbeck’s pass and then the England striker scored his first Arsenal goal two minutes later after his team-mate had returned the favour.

“I never considered leaving Ozil out,” said Wenger.

“I have many offensive players and we look to always find the right balance, it’s not always easy. I gave (Alexis) Sanchez a rest as he has played many games. We have plenty of experienced players who do not play at the moment who are at top quality. l

It was a more frustrating night in the capital for Atletico as they were held for the second time in four games this season.

The hosts were shocked 19 minutes in when Pablo Hernandez produced a moment of genius to backheel Carles Planas’s cross past Miguel Angel Moya.

Diego Simeone’s men had to rely on their efficiency from set-pieces to dig themselves out of trouble as Miranda prodded home Koke’s free-kick before Diego Godin powered home a header from Gabi’s corner to lead before the break.

However, Celta were level once more

eight minutes into the second-half when Miranda was adjudged to have clipped Planas inside the area and Nolito slammed home the resulting spotkick. Celta ‘keeper Alvarez had to make a fine save to deny Atletico striker Raul Jimenez, who also had a goal rightly ruled out for offside.l

RESULTS Athletic Bilbao

0-1

Granada Cordoba 40

Atletico Madrid

2-2

Miranda 31, Godin 41

Espanyol Caicedo 16, Stuani 88

Celta Vigo Hernandez 19, Nolito 53-P

2-2

Malaga Camacho 53, Duda 90+3

Gignac double lifts Marseille to top n AFP, Paris

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal (R) and his assistant Ryan Giggs (L) react during their EPL match against Leicester City at the King Power stadium yesterday REUTERS

France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac scored a double to put Marseille top of Ligue 1 for the first time this season with a 3-0 win over Rennes on Saturday.

Gignac opened with a spectacular scissors kick after 50 minutes, doubling his account on 63 minutes to overtake Paris Saint-Germain’s towering Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the top Ligue 1 scorer with six goals this season.

Romain Alessandrini completed the scoreline four minutes into injury time to give the hosts their fourth successive win to the delight of the crowd at the Velodrome Stadium.

“We deserved this victory, even if the difference in the scoreline is a bit exaggerated,” said Marseille coach

Marcelo Bielsa, who praised the efforts of Gignac and goalkeeper and captain Steve Mandanda. It puts Marseille equal on 13 points after six games with Bordeaux who shrugged off their shock defeat to Guingamp last weekend to beat rock-bottom Evian 2-1 on Friday.

Marseille are ahead on goal difference but could be overtaken on Sunday when unbeaten Lille host Montpellier.

Bielsa’s side were pushed hard in the first half by Rennes but inspired by Gignac the hosts got into their stride in the second half. It was also a good night for former French international midfielder Florent Malouda, playing his first Ligue 1 match in seven years for his new club Metz, after arriving from Trabzonspor.

Toulouse fought back to salvage a 3-3 draw at home against Caen in a thriller which saw three goals scored in the final seven minutes. Toulouse are sitting in 13th position four spots ahead

RESULTS Marseille

3-0

Rennes

3-3

Caen

Gignac 50, 63, Alessandrini 90+4

Toulouse

Ben Yedder 21-P, Raspentino 7, Nangis 76, Regatti 83-P, Ninkov 87 Calve 86

Nantes

2-1

Djilobodji 9, Shechter 43

Lorient

0-1

Nice Amavi 70

Reims Moukandjo Bile 72

Metz Kryvets 14, Milan 65, Falcon 74

3-1

Bastia Ayite 42

of their Normandy rivals.

Further down the table Reims, in 14th position, moved out of relegation zone with a 1-0 win at Lorient thanks to a second half goal from Cameroonian striker Benjamin Moukandjo.l

Tevez strikes again as Juve beat Milan Stoppelkamp hits ‘once in lifetime’ 80-metre goal

Pardew relieved as Cisse hands lifeline to under-fire boss n Reuters, Milan Juventus striker Carlos Tevez struck to give the n AFP, Newcastle Serie A champions a 1-0 Beleaguered Newcastle boss Alan Pardew admitted he was a relieved man after Papiss Cisse’s late double temporarily silenced his critics in a 2-2 draw against Hull.

Pardew’s struggling side were trailing 2-0 at St James’ Park with just 21 minutes remaining when Senegal striker Cisse was introduced as a substitute for his first action since suffering a fractured kneecap in March.

“It was a tough day. But I tried to approach the day as a normal working day. I have been a manager for a number of years and I tried to focus my mind on the game,” Pardew said.

“It was very difficult when the ball kept coming to me and they were jeering me, but other than that, I managed to do that.”l

win over AC Milan on Saturday, handing coach Massimiliano Allegri a winning return to San Siro where he was shown the door eight months ago.

Tevez, who scored both goals in Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Malmo, played an exquisite onetwo with Paul Pogba before flicking the ball past Christian Abbiati midway through the second half.

The Argentine celebrated by pulling a baby’s dummy from his shorts and putting it in his mouth.

Milan, who had won their first two games under new coach Filippo Inzaghi, rarely threatened Gianluigi Buffon in the Juventus goal.

Fernando Torres came on for his

Milan debut in the 76th minute but his only contributions were a yellow card for a foul on Giorgio Chiellini and a half-hearted penalty appeal when he went down in the area.

RESULTS Cesena

2-2

Marilungo 30, Defrel 32

Milan

Empoli

Tavano 55-P, Rugani 72

0-1

Juventus Tevez 71

Juventus have a maximum nine points from three games and have yet to concede a goal this season. Milan are in third place level on six points with AS Roma who host Cagliari on Sunday.

“It would have been impossible to consider this a normal match after three-and-a-half years at Milan sharing emotions, intense moments and victories,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“But it was absolutely not a chance

for revenge. Milan was an important stage in my career and I am still very fond of this club,” added the phlegmatic coach who won the Serie A title in his first season at Milan.

“Now, I’m at Juventus and I’m focused on winning with Juventus.”

Milan had an early chance when Keisuke Honda’s header forced a superb save from Buffon but that was about as good as it got for the seven-times European champions.

Milan fans displayed a banner which read “A year of rage to become great again”, referring to last season’s dismal campaign when they finished eighth, but hopes of a revival this term appeared premature as they failed their first real test.

Juventus, despite missing playmaker Andrea Pirlo and with the dynamic Arturo Vidal starting on the bench after injury, dominated most of the game, and Claudio Marchisio struck the post late in the first half. l

n AFP, Berlin Paderborn midfielder Moritz Stoppelkamp scored a “once in a lifetime” 80-metre goal on Saturday which helped his team stay top in Germany.

The promoted side defeated Hanover 2-0 with Elias Kachunga scoring in the 71st minute and Stoppelkamp adding his extraordinary long-range special in the third minute of injury time.

“I didn’t know that I could even shoot that far,” said the 27-year-old who found the net after Hanover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler had been up in the Paderborn area hoping to score a stoppage-time equaliser.

“The ball came just right and the shot was the only opportunity for me. I struck it perfectly. It’s great that I was able to do my part in the success of the team.”l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Monday, September 22, 2014

Hamilton wins in Singapore as Rosberg limps out n AFP, Singapore

QUICK BYTES Africa promises Blatter support in Fifa election Africa will support Sepp Blatter in next year’s FIFA presidential election, the Confederation of African Football said on Saturday after a meeting of its executive committee in the Ethiopian capital. It is a symbolic boost for the 78-year-old Swiss incumbent, who announced this month he would be standing for a fifth term in a reversal of previous promises to retire at the end of his current term. “Africa will offer unanimous support to FA president Sepp Blatter at the next elective assembly,” CAF general secretary Hicham el Amrani told a news conference. But the decision is not binding on the 54 members of CAF, who have previously defied CAF president Issa Hayatou. Ironically, Blatter became FIFA president in 1998 when African associations ignored the instructions of Hayatou, who had an alliance with UEFA president Lennart Johansson.

–Reuters

Durham breeze to final win over Warwickshire West Indies all-rounder Gareth Breese enjoyed a fairytale finish to his career with Durham as the north-east side won a tense English county One-Day Cup final against Warwickshire at Lord’s on Saturday. Durham only needed 166 to win after dismissing Warwickshire for 165. But, with conditions remaining overcast throughout the day at ‘headquarters’, they lost seven batsmen in the process before Breese hit the winning runs in a three-wicket victory. Breese, who played one Test for the West Indies back in 2002, was playing his final match for Durham after more than a decade at the Riverside. And he marked it in style by taking three for 30 with his off-breaks, holding a couple of catches and then finishing on 15 not out as Durham triumphed with nearly 10 overs to spare. Warwickshire had already won English county cricket’s Twenty20 Blast competition this season but, without the injured Ian Bell and with fellow England batsman Jonathan Trott managing just two, they never had quite enough runs to play with despite skipper Varun Chopra leading from the front at the top of the order with 64.

–AFP

Removing Serena as No 1 a step too far: Halep Simona Halep looked back on a “special year” Sunday following her remarkable ascent to number two in the rankings, but said the top spot remains a distant dream while Serena Williams is still playing. Tha Romanian was speaking at the inaugural Wuhan Open in China days after being named as the third player to make the season finale, next month’s WTA Championships in Singapore, which will feature the top eight women’s players. It has been a remarkable 2014 for Halep, who started the year ranked 11th but leapt to second after winning WTA titles in Bucharest and Doha, as well as reaching the final at Roland Garros. But the 22-year-old downplayed her chances of reaching the top, saying it was not a goal with American power-hitter Williams still at her peak.

–AFP

North Korea’s Kim Unguk celebrates after breaking his own world record for the men’s snatch 62kg weightlifting competition after lifting 154kg on his third attempt at the Moonlight Garden Venue during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon yesterday REUTERS

Hagino stuns Sun, Park in Asiad pool n AFP, Incheon Japan’s Kosuke Hagino stunned China’s Sun Yang and home hero Park Tae-Hwan to snatch gold in an epic start to the Asian Games swimming on Sunday.

Favourites Sun and Park, after whom the Incheon centre is named, duelled throughout the 200 metre freestyle race but it was Hagino, 20, who surged to an unexpected win in the final stretch.

Hagino’s exploits followed a record-breaking session at the weightlifting where Taiwan’s Hsu Shu-ching set a new combined mark in the women’s 53kg class.

Hong Kong’s Olympic cycling star Sarah Lee Wai-sze rode off with women’s keirin gold as the action increased on day two of Asia’s Olympics.

China pulled ahead on the medals table with 10 golds to South Korea’s seven, following victories in cycling, shooting and wushu.

Sunday’s swimming clash was the

first in a triple-header between the controversial but prodigiously gifted Sun and “Marine Boy” Park, a poster-boy for the Games in Incheon.

But now they face a new challenge from the 20-year-old Hagino, who also beat American legend Michael Phelps when he took the 200m individual medley at last month’s Pan Pacific championships in Australia.

In the weightlifting, Hsu equalled a new clean and jerk record by Kazakhstan’s Zulfiya Chinshanlo, raising the combined world mark and winning gold in the process.

“I never lifted that much, not even in training,” Hsu said. “My next goal is to win an Olympic gold. I am so happy.”

Hong Kong’s Olympic medal-winner Lee rode to victory in the women’s keirin, punching the air after she crossed the line.

And South Korea unearthed an unlikely hero in Seoul schoolboy Kim Cheong-Yong, 17, who upset the Olympic and world champion Jin Jong-Oh to win the 10m air pistol title.

The shy Kim also helped South Korea bag the team title and said winning Asiad gold was like a “dream come true”.

Strootman not for sale, Roma tell United Roma officials on Sunday slapped a not-for-sale tag on Kevin Strootman amid reports that Manchester United are still pursuing the Dutch midfielder. Reports in the English media claim United manager Louis van Gaal is determined to sign Strootman, who is still recovering from a long injury lay-off, despite Roma placing a 75 million euro (£60m) price tag on the 24-year-old. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia prior to the Giallorossi’s home game against Cagliari, Roma director general Mauro Baldissoni said Strootman was not for sale. “We can’t wait to have him back playing because we miss him, he’ll be back soon,” said Baldissoni when asked about United’s interest. “We’re proud to have him in the squad and he’s not for sale.”

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports 6:00AM Asian Games 2014 Star Sports 1, 3 7:20PM Champions League T20 Dolphins v Chennai Ten Action 12:45AM Sky Bet Championship 2014/15 Wigan Athletic v Ipswich Town Star Sports 4 12:45AM Liga Bbva 2014/15 Getafe CF v Valencia CF

15

Ana Ivanovic (L) and Caroline Wozniacki look at their trophies during an award ceremony after their Pan Pacific Open women’s singles final in Tokyo yesterday REUTERS

Ivanovic beats Wozniacki to win Pan Pacific n AFP, Tokyo Ana Ivanovic charged the net repeatedly to overcome US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) in the final of the WTA Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo Sunday.

The 26-year-old Serb needed 99 minutes to win the battle of the former world number ones, stretching her head-to-head tally of wins over the second-seeded Dane to five-two.

“It was so hard physically. We had a lot of long rallies but to win the title is amazing,” said the third-seeded Ivanovic, who had ousted Germany’s topseed Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals.

It was the first Pan Pacific Open title for Ivanovic, who has competed in the

Tokyo event for eight straight years.

Ivanovic broke the 24-year-old Dane’s serve in the first, fifth and seventh games of the first set on a sundrenched hard-centre court at the Ariake Coliseum.

She rushed forward to volley a crosscourt winner at the outset of the eighth and finished the set with two straight service aces.

World number nine Wozniacki, looking to get over her loss to Serena Williams in the US Open final two weeks ago, led 3-1 early in the second set.

The players broke each other twice and levelled at 4-4 when the Serb overcame a break point, smashed in from the net and forced Wozniacki to hit a backhand long.l

Lewis Hamilton regained the Formula One drivers’ world championship lead on Sunday when he claimed victory in the Singapore Grand Prix after his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg was forced to retire with electronic problems.

The 29-year-old Briton led from pole position and dominated the 61-laps race before a lengthy Safety Car interruption reduced his lead and forced him to attack again in the closing stages when he passed Sebastian Vettel to win.

Rosberg turned up for the Marina Bay street circuit night race 22 points clear of Hamilton.

But the German endured a wretched evening, his car failing to set off for the warm-up lap from second on the grid.

He eventually started from the pitlane, but retired on lap 14.

After swallowing his disappointment Rosberg watched the finale of an incident packed race from the Mercedes pit wall with Hamilton winning to take a three point advantage to the Japanese Grand Prix on October 5.

It was the 29th win of Hamilton’s career, his seventh this year and his second in Singapore, ending four-time champion Vettel’s run of three straight wins on the south-east Asian street circuit. Hamilton moves up to 241 points with five races remaining in one of the most tense and closely-fought championships of recent years. l

Watson out of Pakistan Test series n AFP, Sydney

Badminton’s world number one Lee Chong Wei was unhappy with the glare of the bright lights at the futuristic Gyeyang Gymnasium as he made a winning start in the team event.

“I think this court is very bad for me because the light is not so good,” the Malaysian said.

“Normally there are only lights (at either end), but here you have them all around so you are looking into the light.

“I think it’s tough for all the players.”

China’s multiple world and Olympic champion Lin Dan also won to set up a team semi-final with Malaysia. But Lee will not face Lin, often his nemesis at big events, owing to their rankings.

Meanwhile, Asia’s Olympic chief apologised for two sexual harassment cases in the build-up to the Games but said they may have been down to cultural differences.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told reporters: “With different cultures, sometimes this creates a problem,” he added. “That kind of accident can happen.”

An Iranian official was kicked out of the Games for verbally harassing a volunteer and a Palestinian footballer was

accused of groping a woman at an athletes’ village laundry.

At the Asian Games, about 9,500 athletes from 45 countries are competing in 36 sports, including the full Olympic schedule.

While China, South Korea, Japan and other top teams have an army of Olympic and world champions taking part, Aishath Sajina of the Maldives reminded that it is also a Games for minnows.

The Maldives team got one of the biggest cheers of the swimming contest after finishing the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay heats in five minutes, 11.81sec - more than a minute-and-ahalf behind China.

Sajina splashed almost the whole two lengths of her anchor leg alone as the other teams toweled off. When Sajina touched it triggered a huge roar in the stadium, matched only by that given to local hero Park.

Later Maldives’ women’s handball team lost 79-0 to Japan, and their women’s footballers went down 13-0 to South Korea - after earlier losing 15-0 and 10-0 to India and Thailand respectively. l

Trott denies Johnson caused Ashes exit n AFP, London

‘No regrets’ for Li Na at emotional farewell

England batsman Jonathan Trott insisted Saturday that Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was not responsible for his early exit from England’s Ashes tour as he criticised Michael Vaughan’s reaction to his health problems.

When Trott quit what turned out to be a 5-0 Ashes thrashing by Australia after twice falling cheaply to fast bowler Mitchell Johnson in the first Test in Brisbane, England officials said he was suffering from a “stress-related illness”.

However, South Africa-born batsman Trott later told Sky television he’d been “burnt out” but was not depressed.

That prompted Vaughan, England captain from 2003-2008, to write in his Daily Telegraph column in March that he felt “conned” because he thought Trott’s comments in the interview were a sign he’d been struggling for cricketing reasons, not mental health ones.

However, in an interview with Saturday’s Daily Mail, Trott said: “A lot of people said it was Mitchell Johnson but it really wasn’t. It was what was going on with me; self-inflicted really.

“But without digging deeper and finding out what’s going on, that’s what people focus on,” added Trott, who in 49 Tests has scored 3,763 runs including nine hundreds at an average of 46.75.

Trott, 33, has not played for England since the Brisbane match although he subsequently returned to county duty with Warwickshire, although a recurrence of the illness in April led to another break from cricket.l

Pioneering Chinese tennis star Li Na said Sunday she has “no regrets” about her decision to retire over persistent knee injuries, but wiped away tears as she acknowledged she thought long and hard about the decision.

The two-time Grand Slam winner was making her first public remarks since she announced her shock retirement via social media on Friday.

“I’m very satisfied with my tennis career,” the 32-year-old Li told a news conference at China’s National Tennis Centre, which hosts the China Open later this month.

“I feel this is the best time for me to retire. I don’t feel sorry or have any regrets about retiring. When I was making this decision, I asked myself, ‘If I retire, will I regret it?’”

“My heart told me I wouldn’t, because I’ve done my best,” she said.

The event was an emotional one both for Li and the nearly 200 journalists who attended.

At one point, a Chinese journalist raised his hand to ask a question, but then suddenly went silent before breaking down into tears. Li responded with her characteristic wit.

“Here, take this,” she said, holding out a tissue from her seat at the podium and holding back tears of her own.

Li’s announcement comes just seven months after she lifted the Australian Open title, one of her career highlights following her historic French Open win of 2011.

In postings on Facebook and Chinese social media Friday, she wrote that “after four knee surgeries and hundreds of

n AFP, Beijing

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson was Sunday ruled out of next month’s Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates with a calf injury.

The injury-prone Watson was recovering from an ankle he sprained in training which forced him out of last month’s tri one-day series in Zimbabwe when he suffered complications.

“While Shane has made steady progress with his rehabilitation he has suffered a setback, experiencing some right calf soreness,” national team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said.

“As Shane has previously had similar calf injuries, we plan to hold back his return to running and bowling for approximately 7-10 days. The injury will mean that his preparation for the UAE tour will be considerably affected and he would have been unavailable for the T20 and ODI part of the tour.”

Watson’s injury gives Mitchell Marsh a chance to make his Test debut against Pakistan on October 22. Kane Richardson has taken Watson’s place in Australia’s Twenty20 and one-day squads, while swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus has been drafted into the Test line-up.l

shots injected into my knee weekly to alleviate swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the pounding”.

On Sunday, as she ended a career that has brought her nine titles and introduced tennis to the masses in China, she maintained that she has “done no great thing”.

“I want to tell everyone -- because everyone has his or her own dream -you must keep pursuing your dream,” she said.

The next Li Na may arrive “at any moment”, she added. “Just keep an eye out,” she said. “The next player will be even better than me.”l

Li Na reacts as she answers questions during a press conference in Beijing yesterday AFP

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, September 22, 2014

MCQ marks doubled under new BCS exam rules The new rules are expected to come into effect from the next BCS exam

n Mohosinul Karim The government has brought in some changes to the rules of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination, by repealing the rules of 1982 and introducing new ones in the same name.

The Public Administration Ministry yesterday disclosed the Bangladesh Civil Service (Age, Qualification and Examination for Direct Recruitment) Rules 2014, which was published on Thursday.

The new rules are expected to be in effect from the next (35th) BCS exam, said Public Service Commission (PSC) officials.

PSC chairman Ekram Ahmed said they had not yet received the copy of the gazette, adding that the circular for the 35th BCS examinations would be issued within 24 hours of receiving the gazette Under the new rules, the marks for multiple-choice questions (MCQ) in the BCS preliminary examination were increased to 200 from 100 and the duration from one hour to two.

The minimum pass mark for viva will be 50%, instead of the existing 40%; the pass mark for the written test will remain the same on 50%.

The rule reads that a candidate with less than 30% marks in the written exam, instead of the existing 25%, would be considered to have received no number.

PSC chairman Ekram Ahmed said they had not yet received the copy of the gazette, adding that the circular for the 35th BCS examinations would be issued within 24 hours of receiving the gazette copy.

He said the new rules would be applicable from the upcoming 35th BCS examination.

The gazette also reads that the exam fee for the BCS examination was increased to Tk700 from Tk500, while the fees for aspirants of the technical posts will be Tk800 from Tk700. However, the fee for the under-privileged and disabled people was reduced to Tk100 from Tk250.

A BCS candidate would get one mark for each correct answer, while 0.50 marks would be deducted for each wrong answer, according to the new rules.

No change was brought regarding the age of the BCS candidates. The age of freedom fighter’s family members, disabled and health cadre was fixed at 21 to 32 while the age of general candidates will be 21 to 30.

The public administration ministry took initiatives to amend the previous rules last January.

A draft of the amendment was sent to the Secretary Committee on Administrative Reforms which approved it on May 11.

The PSC and Public Administration Ministry officials said the initiative to change the previous rules – which were prepared during the tenure of military rulers – came after a court judgement that declared previous military rules illegal.

At the same time, the authority taking into consideration the huge participation of candidates, took the initiative to fix test schedule, allot new test centres and evaluate test papers, in a bid to reduce the obstacles of holding the test.

Around 221,575 aspirants filled up the forms against 2,052 posts of 34th BCS exam. A total of 46,250 candidates qualified in the written test.

Earlier, State Minister for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique told the parliament that they were going to recruit 1,749 officers from the 35th BCS exam. l

Traffic gridlock at the capital’s Purana Paltan area during the lukewarm hartal called by Jamaat yesterday

A lazy second day of hartal across the country n Tribune Report

The second day of the countrywide hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami was relatively calm except for a few stray incidents in the capital and other districts.

In Dhaka, activists brought out processions in Doyaganj, Shahjadpur, Chowkbazar, Paltan, Uttara, Mirpur and Shyamoli areas. Picketers burnt a passenger bus at the Mipur Technical Square around 1pm, confirmed Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Darussalam police station.

Around the same time, picketers set off crude bombs and burnt tyres in Doyaganj.

Asaduzzaman, sub-inspector of the Mirpur Model police station, said two Shibir activists named Polash, 24, and Sazzad, 28, were arrested at Shewrapara around 6am. Further, more than 30 activists were arrested by police for hartal-related violence in the capital.

Around 6:45pm, three crude bombs

exploded in front of the BNP head office in Motijheel, according to witnesses.

In Mohammadpur, picketers hurled crude bombs in front of the Singer showroom around 7pm, one of which hit the store manager Benzir Ahmed Chanchal, 35, in the head.

His colleagues took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 8:30pm, said Mozammel Haque, in-charge of DMCH police outpost.

No deaths from the incidents were reported in the capital.

Chittagong: Life was as usual in the port city, with no reports of untoward incidents. The traffic on the roads and the railway communication was normal, but no inter-city bus left the city yesterday.

Pahartoli police nabbed two Shibir activists – Waliullah Ali and Abu Bakar alias Ibrahim – from the city’s Sagarika area early yesterday on charge of attempting to conduct subversive activ-

PM leaves for New York to attend the 69th UNGA n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left Dhaka for New York to attend the 69th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session with a 184-strong delegation, her biggest entourage since taking office in 2009 and it includes several ministers, advisers, secretaries and media people.

She left Dhaka last night and is scheduled to return on October 2. Hasina will stay in New York until September 28 and fly to London from there.

She is scheduled to start from London on October 1 and reach Sylhet Osmani International Airport the next day.

The theme of the 69th session of the UNGA is “Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda.”

In addition to attending a series of events, Hasina will have sideline meetings with the heads of governments of India, Qatar, Norway, Nepal and Belarus.

The prime minister will deliver her

speech in Bangla at the UNGA on September 27.

During her visit, Hasina will attend the Climate Summit 2014, a summit on UN peacekeeping arranged by the US, and a programme of Global Education First Initiative.

At the peacekeeping summit, Hasina will be one of the co-chairs along with US Vice-President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The Bangladesh mission in UN will also organise a programme at the UN headquarters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s membership in the UN. Hasina’s 184-strong delegation includes lawmaker Nazmul Haq Prodhan, prime minister’s Press Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Janakantha Editor MA Khan Masud, Controller of Accounts of Bangabandhu Memorial Trust Siddique Hossain Chowdhury, Assistant Attorney General MA Qamrul Hasan Khan, Deputy Secretary of a

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

sub-committee of Bangladesh Awami League Mohammad Mashiur Rahman, President of Feni Awami League Abdur Rahman, Vice-president of Feni Awami League Khairul Basher Mazumder, Chairman of National Women Council of Cox’s Bazar Kaniz Fatema Ahmed, General Secretary of Rangpur Awami League Mohammad Rezaul Karim Raju, President of Institution of Diploma Engineers AKMA Hamid, Member of Bangladesh Workers’ Party Politburo Anisur Rahman Mallick, Presidium Member of Ganatantri Party Mohammad Shahidullah Sikder, former industries minister Dilip Barua, Convenor of Central Committee of Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal Rezaur Rashid Khan and General Secretary of Gana Azadi League SK Shikder.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Environment Minister Anwar Hossain, Food Minister Kamrul Islam, prime minister’s Political Adviser HT

Twenty-day-old twins sleep in their mother’s lap while she begs in the streets of Dhaka. Extreme poverty and husband’s physical disability left Selina with option but to beg for survival. The photo was taken from Farmgate yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Imam, prime minister’s Economic Adviser Mashiur Rahman and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam are also part of her delegation.

Former foreign minister Dipu Moni, lawmakers Raji Mohammad Fakhrul and Begum Mahjabin Khaled also accompanying her.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, Environment Secretary Mohammad Nazibur Rahman, Shipping Secretary Syed Manjurul Islam, CHT Secretary Naba Bikram Kishor Tripura, Health Secretary Mohammad Neazuddin Miah, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipper, Member of General Economic Division Shamsul Alam, Director General of Environment Directorate Rois Alam Mondol, Chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation Quozi Kholiquzzaman, Rupali Bank Chairman Ahmad Al Kabir and Farah Kabir of Action Aid are also part of the delegation.

The entourage also includes around twenty journalists from different media. l

ities in the city.

Bakalia police arrested Shibir leader Irfan Mahmud from his residence at Syed Shah Ali Road area in the morning on charge of being involved in recent Jamaat-Shibir violence in the city.

Kustia: A slack second day of hartal was observed in the district. Police arrested three Jamaat activists in a drive on Saturday night, said Abu Bakar Siddique, additional police superintendent of the district, adding that the police was deployed at the important points of the district.

Barisal: The second day of the twoday hartal by Jamaat went without any incident in Barisal yesterday.

Pro-hartal activists brought out sudden processions at C and B Road, Kashipur, Nabagram, Kawnia, Hatkhola and College Avenue areas in the city early morning.

Jessore: Police arrested 17 activists of Jamaat-Shibir in several drives on Saturday night.

Reshma Sharmin, senior assistant superintendent of police of the Sadar Circle, said: “Of the detained, 13 are from Jamaat-Shibir and the rest are from the BNP.” Rajshahi: The Shibir activists brought out a procession in the city’s Kedur Circle around 10am, Dashpukur area around 10:45am and Sonadighi area around 11am. Activists hurled brick chips and torched tyres on the road to create panic among people, but fled the scene when the law enforcers reached the spot.

Sylhet: Police arrested five Jamaat-Shibir activists in different drives in the district on Saturday night, confirmed Muhammad Rahmat Ullah, additional deputy commissioner of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police.

Brahmanbaria: Zahidul Islam, additional police superintendent of the district, said police arrested eight Jamaat-Shibir activists involved with hartal-related violence in the district. l

MOGHBAZAR TRIPLE MURDER

Court grants fresh remand for six suspects n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday granted a six-day remand for four and three-day remand for two for their alleged involvement in the triple murder in the capital’s Moghbazar area.

Dhaka’s Metropolitan Magistrate Md Rezaul Karim passed the order when Ramna police station Sub-Inspector and also the investigating officer in the case Mizanur Rahman produced them before the court with a 10-day remand plea for the murder and another 10-day for illegal arms possession.

The magistrate passed the remand order rejecting the bail plea filed by the defence counsels.

A six-day remand in both cases were ordered for Md Saifullah alias Siam, Md Ramzan Ali, Md Rubel Miah alias Sun-

ny and Md Maruf Hossain. And a threeday remand was granted for Al-Amin and Md Shafin Laskar for illegal arms possession.

With these six, a total of 10 accused have been arrested so far in connection with the sensational murders.

On Saturday, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel arrested them in different drives from Motijheel in the capital and Munshiganj district.

On August 28, unidentified criminals gunned down three people including a woman and injured another at a house at Sonalibagh in Moghbazar.

Investigators have found that the murders followed a rivalry between local land grabbers and extortionists.

Kailya Babu, prime accused in the murder case, was killed in an alleged shootout with detectives last week. l

Production starts in Ashuganj fertiliser factory

251 Bangladeshis languishing in Thai jail

Correspondent, n Our Brahmanbaria

A total of 251 Bangladeshi citizens have been languishing in different prisons and detention centres in Thailand, the Ministry of Home said yesterday.

“The list was received on Thursday and it is being sent to the Special Branch of police for verification.” seeking anonymity a senior official of the ministry told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said Bangladesh embassy in Bangkok sent the list of Bangladeshis to the home ministry through the foreign ministry.

Md Shafiqul Islam, additional secretary (immigration) of home ministry said: “I am yet to see the list.”

Earlier on various occasions, several hundred Bangladeshi nationals jailed in Thailand have been repatriated, he informed. l

After a six-month hiatus, production at Ashuganj Fertiliser Factory resumed yesterday afternoon, albeit with inadequate gas supply.

Sources at the factory said the production came to a halt when the gas supply to the factory was stopped on March 17 following instructions by the Ministry of Industries, in order to provide the excess gas to the power plants during summer.

Omar Khaiyam, managing director (production) at the factory, confirmed it and said the factory started producing urea yesterday after the gas supply was restored. The production took a while to start as there was an accident

after the gas supply resumed on September 1, sources at the factory said.

After the gas supply resumed, the super heater in the factory’s boiler unit exploded, delaying the resumption of urea production, the sources said.

Later, with the help of some Chinese experts, the heater was repaired and the urea production started yesterday afternoon. However, low pressure in gas supply is putting production at risk, the sources added. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, authorities said the factory was unable to produce around 225,000 metric tonnes of urea, worth around Tk300 crore due to the hiatus.

“Because of this interruption, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation may have to revise their urea production target for this year,” they said. l

n Tribune Report

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 India to import rice on supply squeeze

B4 G20 vows to breathe new life into world economy

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

BASIC Bank lends Tanners fear dull rawhide business n Tk3,160cr beyond exposure limit Kayes Sohel

Lending bar on three branches lifted bank before disbursement of any loans n Jebun Nesa Alo already granted.

The rawhide traders and tanners claimed that their business might take heat of sagging demand of rawhide, finished leather and leather goods in the global market.

The price of per square feet leather slipped between 2 and 3 US cents in the international market during last one month, according to them.

However, the Index Mundi, a commodity price index, said the month to month per pound hide price increased by 2.94% in August.

To fix the procurement prices of rawhide during Eid-ul-Azha, the commerce ministry is likely to sit with the tanners on September 28, official sources said.

Eid-ul-Azha, when the Muslims sacrifice animals such as cattle, is likely to be observed on October 6 depending on moon sighting.

Almost half the total raw hides in the country are procured during the Eid, one of the biggest Muslim religious occasions.

“This year might not be good for raw hide business,” said Chairman of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association Ali Hossain.

Demand for hides and skin is on the decline due to falling prices of finished leather goods both in the international and domestic markets, he said.

Ali Hossain estimated the rawhide and skin valued around Tk3,000 crore might be traded this season, a slightly up from the last season’s Tk2,500 crore.

Tanners have targeted to procure over 1 crore pieces of rawhide and skin this year, while the amount was 95 lakh last year, according to the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA).

“We are worried about the falling prices in the international market, and the recent flood might put a damper on

BASIC Bank has provided loans to 39 business groups beyond the single borrower exposure limit.

The groups have a total of Tk3,160 crore in excess beyond the limit at the end of June this year.

The bank is also far away from the recovery targets set by the Bangladesh Bank in the MoU, according to the review report of June.

On the other hand Bangladesh Bank has lifted the lending restriction from three branches, Gulshan, Shantinagar and Dilkusha of scam-hit BASIC Bank.

The authority has withdrawn the restriction on September 15 following the request of new board of the bank.

Earlier, the central bank took the policy decision just after formation of the new board to release the three branches from restriction, said a senior executive of the central bank.

But it delayed to take the decision due to not getting formal appeal from the board, he said.

The Bangladesh Bank also signed MoU (memorandum of understanding) recently with the bank setting credit disbursement limit of Tk1,600 crore till December including those three branches.

Bangladesh Bank imposed the restriction on May 26 as the earlier board of the bank was sanctioning loans through the branches despite the central bank’s warnings.

It had also asked the branches to take prior permission of the central

Of the total 68 branches of the bank, the suspended three branches hold 61% loans of the total outstanding as of March this year, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

The central bank held a meeting with the BASIC Bank over MoU progress last Thursday.

According to the review report, single borrowers’ exposure limit has crossed and facilities extended to 39 groups exceeding 15% of the banks capital.

The growth of non-funded facilities is 9.71% which is within the MoU target of 10%.

The bank has maintained Capital Adequacy Ration (CAR) negative 5.7% in June this year which was targeted to be raised up to 10% by June 2015.

Though the central bank set the target to meet up capital shortfall of Tk1372 crore by June 2015, it further rose to 1675 crore in June this year.

The bank already has sought Tk1372 crore from the government to meet up the shortfall.

The gross non-performing loan ratio stood at 40.38% at the end of June against the target to be brought down within 20% by June 2015.

The cash recovery of the bank stood at Tk177 crore in June which is only 28% of the MoU target.

The growth of adjusted loan has reached 4.20% which is within the target limit of 16%, according to the review report. l

Muhith: No more extension of ECF from IMF n Tribune Report

Buying cattle online for Eid-ul-Azha

The government has decided not to further extend the Extended Credit Facility programme being offered by the International Monetary Fund as the country does not need any such credit at the moment.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith came up with the disclosure yesterday while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Asian Development Executive Director Maliami Bin Hamad at his secretariat office in the city.

We will take another credit facility from the IMF after an interval and also when the country is in need of getting such loans, finance minister categorically told the reporters.

“Though the IMF’s ECF review team expresses its willingness to extend its ECF to us but I’ve informed the mission that the government decided not to extend the ECF program any further.”

As asked to comment as to whether any Value Added Tax (VAT) reform condition on the existing ECF, he said, “There has been no such conditions but I don’t know why the IMF mission is talking too much about the VAT reform”.

The minister, however, revealed that there would be no difficulties in getting the last two installments under ECF programme.

Meanwhile, the visiting IMF team has expressed its dissatisfaction over the sluggish progress in VAT reforms as the VAT law implementation was one of the IMF conditions for ECF fund. l

Arastoo Khan appointed as Agrani Bank acting Chairman n Tribune Report Economic Relations Division’s additional Secretary Arastoo Khan has been made acting Chairman of Agrani Bank.

He will hold the post as well as the director of the Agrani Bank board till further notice, said a circular of the Bank and Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance issued yesterday.

Arastoo Khan replaced Khondoker Bazlul Hoque who completed his twoyear tenure on September 4 this year. l

Traders target to procure over 1 crore pieces of rawhide and skin on Eid-ul-Azha this year

Price declines by 2-3 US cents a square feet in global market rawhide and skin business,” said BTA President Md Shahin Ahmed.

“Export orders have already been scrapped by the overseas buyers due to sagging demand,” he said.

Export Promotion Bureau data showed the leather exports declined by more than 8% during July-August

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Like the previous years, the Internet sites have made offers of online cattle market for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, giving a cushion to the busy city dwellers and non-resident Bangladeshis.

Over 10 online shopping sites are now ready to sell out their animals on post-delivery payment system.

According to the information obtained from the entrepreneurs, a consumer needs to place an order 4-5 days before his desired delivery date. They, however, take instant emergency orders in some cases.

Most of the suppliers follow cash on delivery method although there is an option to pay through online banking or credit cards.

“We took this initiative to ensure the farmers fair prices to their cattle and to ensure quality of the domestic sacrificial animal to the consumers.

That’s why, we collect cattle from the farmers directly,” Sadequa Hassan Sejuti, Managing Director Future Solution for business (FSB), told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“This year, we will source cattle from Gopalgonj, Tangail, Rangpur and Narsingdi and the cattle would be deliv-

ered by the farmers shortly,” said Sejuti.

“We only add service charge along with the farmers’ price and it will range in between Tk3000 to Tk4000 based on the location,” said Sejuti.

She had sold 25 cows in the previous

year and during this year she already sourced 100 cows with a target of showcasing 1,000 cows in her shopping portal.

“We provide cattle from the farms directly as we have a good number of farmers, who sell their cattle only dur-

Revenue collection surpasses last year’s in six days of tax fair n Tribune Report The National Board of Revenue yesterday crossed its last year’s collection from the nationwide week-long income tax fair as the board has bagged over Tk1315.47 crore from the fair in the last six days, NBR data shows.

From September 16 to yesterday, the board collected Tk1315.47crore from the fair through providing services to 5.45 lakh taxpayers and service seekers across the country.

Last year, the central tax authority collected Tk1,117.40 crore in income tax from the fair through providing different services to 5.10 lakh people and the board had received tax returns from around 1.32 lakh taxpayers.

According to the latest data, the NBR has collected Tk1,315.47 crore, around Tk200 crore more than the last years collection in last six days.

The board was able to register 22,039

people with the electronic taxpayers identification number (eTIN) including 12,841 new and 9,198 taxpayers have replaced their old 10 digit TIN with the eTIN. The board has received returns from 1,14,770 people in the last six days.

Though the NBR was yet to announce the official target from the fair, tax officials said the NBR is eying to collect Tk1,500crore from the weeklong fair, which they are expecting to be surpassed by today, the closing day of the fair. The NBR has been organising the fair since 2010 to motivate people to pay tax and get tax-related services at one single venue.

As the previous days, the NBR officials have struggled to provide services for the taxpayers in all fair venues as around 1 lakh taxpayers are taking services from the taxmen every day, tax officials said.

They said the general strike and inclement weather across the country

did not bar people from participating in the fair as they served a huge crowd in almost every venue.

The NBR served 98,840 people yesterday in the fairs held in 30 districts including the seven divisional headquarters.

A total of 2,046 people have registered for eTIN as the new taxpayers while 1,456 old taxpayers took eTIN replacing their old ones. The NBR bagged over Tk218.48crore from 24,031 returns submitted as of yesterday.

The fifth nationwide income tax fair is set to conclude today.

As like the previous six days, the NBR will assist the existing taxpayers to register with Electronic Taxpayers Identification Number, pay tax, file returns and encourage prospective taxpayers to get involved with the taxation system in all the fair venues. The fair remains open for the visitors from 10am to 5pm. l

period this year over the same period last year.

Md Shahin Ahmed said the rawhide prices usually rise 10% every year during the Eid-ul-Azha in the local market.

Per square feet price of rawhide was procured at Tk85-90 in Dhaka and Tk75-80 out of Dhaka last year. Last year price bullock hide was fixed at Tk50-55 per square feet, buffalo hide Tk40-45 and goat hide Tk40-45.

The tanners have sought credit worth Tk400 crore from the four stateowned banks - Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Rupali. The tanners received

ing the Kurbani market,” Happy Akter, head of sales of amardesheshop.com told the Dhaka Tribune.

“There are about 150 farmers, who rear cattle under our supervision. We sold 31 cattle last year and it is expected more for this year as the busy people are bending toward the online shopping services,” said Happy.

Our targeted customers are the Bangladeshi expatriate as they are unable to give time to buy their cattle for their relatives as they stay abroad, Syed Mahbubur Rashid Musa, country director of upohar2me.com, told the Dhaka Tribune. We also care the old people as they do not have capacity to do the job and enough man to do the job, said Rashid.

“We don’t have any stock right now but can ensure smooth supply as per their demands and if any one are not satisfied with the cattle he or she can change it,” said Mahadi Hasan, administrator of Banglakutir.com.

There is no separate charge for delivery of sacrificial animal as it is already included with the prices, said Hasan.

This system has made the process of buying and selling of cattle less risky as there is no physical money transaction, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Tk365 crore loans last year.

Almost 50% of the annual rawhide is procured during Eid-ul-Azha, 10% on Eid-ul-Fitr and 2% on Shab-e-Barat, according to the Department of Livestock.

Bangladesh’s leather goods sector is gradually emerging as a $1bn industry.

The estimates said almost 90% of the country’s leather and leather goods come from Hazaribagh area in Dhaka.

China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States are the main destinations of the Bangladeshi rawhide and skin. l

$1b forex likely from sand export n Asif Showkat Kallol The sand export committee under the Commerce Ministry has recommended that the Water Development Board determine the river areas having sand bars, official sources said.

It also revealed that $1 billion could be earned from the export of 10 million tonnes of sand.

The committee will hold a meeting tomorrow to finalise the sand export policy with Additional Commerce Secretary Shawkat Hossain Warsa in the chair.

The ministry officials said only the Water Development Board could be tasked with identifying the sands in river channels across the country.

A sand export policy will be formulated according to the Balumohal (sand bar) Law 2010 of the Land Ministry, so no damage is done to the environment of the country, officials also said.

Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon formed an eight-member committee in an inter-ministerial meeting held on July 22. The committee was supposed to submit a report within a month.

According to sources, several jubi  B3 COLUMN 1

Garment workers to get bonus

by Sep 28, wage by Oct 2 n Tribune Report The readymade garment workers will receive festival bonuses on the occasions of Eid-ul Azha and Durga Puja by September 28 and the monthly wages by October 2, said State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu.

The minister made the announcement after a meeting of the Crisis Management Core Committee at his Secretariat office yesterday.

Representatives of BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA, labour leaders and industrial police took part in the meeting. The minister said the owners agreed to the decision taken by the

meeting to pay the bonuses and wages by the announced dates. Puja celebration will start on September 30 while Eid-ulAzha is likely to be observed on October 5 or 6 depending on moon sighting.

Mujibul Haque said the meeting also urged the owners not to declare Eid holidays for same dates, rather to choose different dates in different areas to avert traffic congestion. l

B2

DSEX continues to see record breaking rally n Tribune Report

Turnover (Million Taka)

Market continued to experience bullrun amid strong participation by the investors The Shariah index, DSES, gained 6 points to 1,154. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,900 with a marginal rise of 1 point.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, surged 137 points to 9,218.

The DSE turnover also continued to remain robust as it stood at Tk981 crore, which was 23.8% lower than the previous session’s 14-month high.

The heavyweight banks and non-banking financial institutions

DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSER Closing (% Change)

ACI Formulations-A Stylecraft -A Savar Refractories-Z ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A Navana CNG-A Anlima Yarn -A Active Fine Chem.-A Grameen M F One-A LafargeS Cement-Z Bangas -A

-7.62 -6.21 -5.00 -4.94 -4.62 -4.15 -4.05 -3.93 -3.89 -3.58

CSE LOSER Company 6th ICB M F-A ACI Formulations-A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A Grameen M F One-A Wata Chemicals -A Bangas -A BSRM Steels-A LafargeS Cement-Z JMI Syringes MDL-A Navana CNG-A

Closing (% Change) -9.44 -9.23 -6.00 -5.50 -5.40 -4.13 -4.05 -4.02 -3.82 -3.68

4913.24431

(+) 0.97%

1900.69478

(+) 0.07%

15210.21710

(+) 1.20%

12163.44510

(+) 0.24%

9217.88650

(+) 1.51%

Average (% Change) -8.63 -6.21 -5.00 -5.05 0.49 -4.10 -0.52 -1.93 -4.50 -1.99 Average (% Change) -9.37 -8.37 -6.00 -1.43 -3.06 -1.07 -1.21 -4.21 -3.83 -0.29

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 162.42 891.00 57.00 23.13 69.79 29.01 74.50 29.99 134.48 481.50

ClosingAvg. 53.71 162.88 1,021.10 29.71 226.00 484.83 110.60 134.81 161.15 69.36

Closing 156.30 891.00 57.00 23.10 68.20 27.70 73.40 29.30 133.40 471.50

Closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 734.58 708.98 141.76 1482.76 401.46 1214.19 1.73 768.56 1541.62 33.10 181.05 132.01 107.54 449.44 139.95 90.98 256.49 407.60 275.29 743.84 0.68

DHIGH 171.50 891.00 57.00 24.50 72.80 31.00 78.00 32.00 138.80 500.00

DHIGH 53.80 174.00 1,021.10 30.40 226.00 503.00 114.10 139.90 163.50 70.60

180,737

Traded Issues

305

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

231

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

68

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,619.69

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.75

CSE key features September 21-2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

660.46

Turnover (Volume)

17,233,353

Number of Contract

23,032

Traded Issues

232

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

180

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

49

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,521.35

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.56

Turnover in Million

DLOW 153.00 891.00 57.00 22.90 65.00 27.40 70.00 28.60 132.00 450.00

53.70 155.00 1,021.10 29.00 226.00 468.00 102.30 132.50 159.00 68.00

Latest EPS

144.325 0.178 0.006 0.185 111.686 8.790 180.753 22.209 268.750 43.600

Turnover in Million

DLOW

0.070 11.943 0.102 1.269 0.045 4.388 25.763 33.770 0.322 5.465

% change 7.49 7.22 1.44 15.11 4.09 12.37 0.02 7.83 15.71 1.84 1.35 1.10 4.58 1.43 0.93 2.61 4.15 2.81 7.58 0.01

Million Taka 45.85 39.60 5.60 90.81 29.61 73.97 74.45 94.91 30.56 10.34 28.23 10.47 41.23 17.80 2.57 12.19 28.81 21.13 74.21 0.00

CSE

% change 6.26 5.41 0.77 12.40 4.04 10.10 0.00 10.17 12.96 4.17 1.41 3.86 1.43 5.63 2.43 0.35 1.66 3.93 2.89 10.13 0.00

Million Taka 780.43 748.58 147.36 1573.57 431.07 1288.16 1.73 843.01 1636.53 63.66 191.40 160.25 118.00 490.67 157.75 93.54 268.68 436.40 296.42 818.05 0.68

RAK Ceramics-A Rahima Food -Z SummitAlliancePort.-A People`s Leasing-A Intl. Leasing-B Apex Tannery -A Midas Financing-Z Union Capital -A B I F C -A BD Finance-A

Closing (% Change) 9.90 9.88 9.81 9.60 9.57 9.54 9.23 9.14 9.09 8.66

CSE GAINER

3.36 26.16 0.52 4.57 4.56 0.80 3.30 3.40 2.42 5.87

Latest EPS 6.47 3.36 40.74 3.40 6.20 5.87 4.80 2.42 4.50 4.56

Latest PE 48.3 34.1 109.6 5.1 15.3 36.3 22.6 8.8 55.6 82.0

Company Apex Tannery -A Phoenix Insur -A RAK Ceramics-A SummitAlliancePort.-A Rahima Food -Z Continental Insur. -A People`s Leasing-A Samorita Hospital -A Midas Financing-Z Rangpur Foundry -A

10.00 10.00 9.88 9.87 9.86 9.72 9.66 9.63 9.63 9.57

Average (% Change) 8.96 9.97 11.86 6.54 10.80 8.59 10.94 5.50 9.63 9.79

ClosingAvg. 54.28 45.41 40.13 19.32 12.32 168.48 14.40 21.22 16.77 13.64

ClosingAvg. 165.20 35.19 54.41 40.22 46.80 23.39 19.26 99.17 14.80 113.30

Closing 54.40 45.60 41.40 19.40 12.60 172.30 14.20 21.50 16.80 13.80

Closing 169.40 35.20 54.50 41.20 46.80 23.70 19.30 102.50 14.80 113.30

DHIGH 54.40 45.60 41.40 19.40 12.60 173.00 14.30 21.60 16.90 13.90

DHIGH 169.40 35.20 54.50 41.20 46.80 23.70 19.30 98.90 14.80 113.50

DLOW 45.00 40.00 34.00 16.00 11.00 158.00 14.00 19.00 14.00 12.00

DLOW 160.00 35.10 45.00 37.50 46.80 22.90 18.20 102.00 14.80 113.10

Turnover in Million 77.417 0.423 87.697 74.708 15.951 98.444 0.036 16.755 16.954 32.221

Turnover in Million 5.898 0.056 8.696 7.407 0.374 0.164 10.065 0.942 0.015 0.113

Latest EPS 1.76 -1.01 0.96 0.82 -0.78 5.51 -6.91 2.08 1.42 0.26

Latest EPS 5.51 4.30 1.76 0.96 -1.01 3.10 0.82 2.20 -6.91 3.20

Latest PE 30.8 -ve 41.8 23.6 -ve 30.6 -ve 10.2 11.8 52.5

Latest PE 30.0 8.2 30.9 41.9 -ve 7.5 23.5 45.1 -ve 35.4

News, analysis and recent disclosers From TradeServers: BANGAS: The Board of Directors has recommended 50% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 21.10.2014, Time: 12:15 PM, Venue: Factory premises of Tallu Spinning Mills Ltd., Kaltapara Bazar, Gouripur, Mymensingh.

Record date: 30.09.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 5.03, NAV per share of Tk. 34.60 and NOCFPS of Tk. (0.38) for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

BDBUILDING: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% cash dividend and 20% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. The Board has also decided to issue rights share @ 2R:5 at an issue price of Tk. 20.00 (including share premium of Tk. 10.00 each) on paid up capital after considering bonus shares subject to the approval by the shareholders in the AGM and the Regulatory Authorities. The purpose of the Rights Issue would be business expansion through diversification of product line and for working capital and repayment of outstanding loan. Date of AGM: 23.10.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Factory Premises, Janina Bazar, Telehate, Sreepur, Gazipur.

Record date: 30.09.2014. Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC. The Company has also re-

ported net profit of Tk. 226.68 million, EPS of Tk. 3.08, NAV per share of Tk. 14.90 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.58 for the year ended on June 30, 2014 as against Tk. 76.52 million, Tk. 1.53, Tk. 14.60 and Tk. 3.14 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

DELTASPINN: The Company has informed that it has credited the Rights shares to the respective shareholders' BO Account on September 18, 2014.

PLFSL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has taken the following decisions: 1) to acquire 10% additional shares numbering 1,16,631 over the existing Paid-up Capital of E-securities Ltd., Brokerage House in order to be associated with a Brokerage House of Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange Ltd. On payment of Tk. 6,99,78,600.00 only with premium of Tk. 500.00 per share (face value share being Tk. 100.00 each); 2) To purchase 2 Unit Office Space measuring 3,235*2=6,470 sft. on 5th & 6th floors at "Assign Monihar Legend" a project of Assign Holding Limited, situated at Plot # 39, Road # 15, Rabindra Sharani, Sector # 03, Uttara Model Town, Dhaka-1230 with Tk. 5.50 crore only at the rate of Tk. 8,500.00 per sft.

RAHIMAFOOD: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has taken the following decisions: a) The factory of the company will resume

its production activity with immediate effect on contract basis refining of crude/ semi-refined edible oil for which it will receive service charge, b) Contract basis refining activity will continue till the company will revert to its original business activity of importing crude edible oil and producing refined oil for marketing.

NITOLINS: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to purchase an Office Space measuring approximately 3,322 sft. including common space @ Tk. 15,051 per sft., amounting to total Tk 5 crore (Taka Five Crore) only situated at ID# 17B, City Centre (17th Floor), 103, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka for use of office premises of Branch Office subject to approval of Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA).

MITHUNKNIT: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to hold an EGM to increase the Authorized Capital of the Company from Tk. 25.00 crore to Tk. 80.00 crore by making necessary amendment in the clause Umo of Memorandum of Association and Article 6 of the Articles of Association of the Company.

Date of EGM: 21.10.2014, Time of EGM: 11:30 AM, Venue Factory premises of Tallu Spinning Mills Ltd., Kaltapara Bazar, Gouripur, Mymensingh. Record Date for EGM: 30.09.2014.

8.3 48.5 25.1 8.7 36.5 82.6 23.0 55.7 35.8 15.2

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

Total

Closing (% Change)

Average (% Change) 11.25 9.03 6.79 11.48 6.39 10.16 10.77 8.15 6.01 7.15

Latest PE

Market firmly stood in its position as the winds of political turmoil failed to bend the index even for a split moment

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

53.70 156.30 1,021.10 29.20 226.00 470.90 109.00 133.70 161.20 68.10

225,897,648

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights

Company

9,813.59

Turnover (Volume)

Monday, September 22, 2014

DSE GAINER

DSE key features September 21-2014

spiked with 1.2% and 1.6% respectively. Telecommunication was the day’s biggest gaining sector that soared more than 3%.

Pharmaceuticals, engineering and food and allied are the only two major sectors which edged down. Cement performed worst slumping 3%.

IDLC Investments said market continued to experience bull-run amid strong participation by the investors.

Despite the nation-wide strike called by one of the political parties, investors remained active, reflecting their conviction that overall economic growth will remain intact, it said.

Lanka Bangla Securities said following some intermittent correction and consolidation market is footing in new resistance level while most of the stocks rallied as market sentiment remained bullish.

Zenith Investments said market firmly stood in its position as the winds of political turmoil failed to bend the index even for a split moment.

Almost all the sectors roared with volume and significant price difference, except a few large cap scrips which came under profit taking pressure, it said.

Beximco Ltd was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk60 crore changing hands, followed by Beximco Pharmaceuticals, BSRM Steel, Grameenphone, Mobil Jamuna Limited, Summit Power and Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd Bangladesh. l

Stocks extended rally for the fourth session in a row yesterday with the benchmark index DSEX continuing to break its all time peak.

The rally was led by mainly financial and telecommunication issues that attracted investors most.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, rose 47 points to 4,913, which is its best from the previous session when it hit all-time high since February 9 this year.

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 7.40 7.10 1.40 14.92 4.09 12.21 0.02 7.99 15.52 0.60 1.81 1.52 1.12 4.65 1.50 0.89 2.55 4.14 2.81 7.76 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

BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Beximco Pharma -A BSRM Steels-A Grameenphone-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Summit Power -A LafargeS Cement-Z Golden Son -A Delta Life Insu. -A Unique Hotel RL - A

Active Fine Chem.-A ACI Limited- A Orion Pharma-N Square Pharma -A S Purbanchol Power-N CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z BSRM Steels-A Beximco Pharma -A Grameenphone-A Aftab Auto.-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Square Pharma -A ACI Formulations-A Orion Pharma-N

Padma Oil Co. -A Golden Son -A Delta Life Insu. -A Delta SpinnersA UNITED AIR-A

VolumeShares 13,282,517 5,450,401 3,334,364 921,845 2,219,921 6,432,524 1,998,500 4,418,754 1,133,982 2,590,110

Value in Million 606.22 374.82 368.72 343.03 314.49 275.95 268.75 231.91 195.88 193.88

% of TotalTurnover 6.18 3.82 3.76 3.50 3.20 2.81 2.74 2.36 2.00 1.98

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

2,426,341 385,035 3,102,760 687,051 2,870,039

1,442,123 250,500 232,935 350,035 56,800 170,756 99,391 55,406 73,325 200,160

33,534 201,471 60,912 630,400 859,465

180.75 177.27 175.39 160.19 159.05

65.93 33.77 25.76 24.10 21.11 14.51 13.99 12.98 11.94 11.29

11.16 10.57 10.35 10.30 10.26

1.84 1.81 1.79 1.63 1.62

10.14 5.19 3.96 3.71 3.25 2.23 2.15 2.00 1.84 1.74

1.72 1.63 1.59 1.58 1.58

ClosingP 46.90 69.70 109.30 377.90 141.40 43.20 133.40 52.20 167.20 73.90

73.40 459.90 56.00 232.10 55.90

ClosingP

46.90 133.70 109.00 70.20 377.30 86.50 140.90 233.90 156.30 55.80

332.90 52.00 167.00 16.70 12.10

Change % 8.56 3.11 -3.45 3.51 -1.94 3.60 -3.89 1.56 -1.18 1.93

-4.05 -0.86 -0.53 -0.94 4.29

Change %

8.82 -4.02 -4.05 3.08 3.51 5.88 -1.54 -0.43 -9.23 -0.71

0.45 0.97 -0.60 2.45 1.68

ClosingY 43.20 67.60 113.20 365.10 144.20 41.70 138.80 51.40 169.20 72.50

76.50 463.90 56.30 234.30 53.60

ClosingY

43.10 139.30 113.60 68.10 364.50 81.70 143.10 234.90 172.20 56.20

331.40 51.50 168.00 16.30 11.90

DHIGH 47.20 70.40 114.90 380.10 145.90 44.00 138.80 55.00 180.00 76.50

DLOW 39.00 61.00 104.00 350.00 130.00 38.00 132.00 46.30 154.00 65.30

78.00 477.00 58.00 236.00 56.50

70.00 427.00 51.00 214.00 48.30

DHIGH

DLOW

47.00 139.90 114.10 71.50 379.00 87.00 143.00 236.50 174.00 57.90

335.90 53.50 174.00 16.80 12.30

43.50 132.50 102.30 66.60 362.00 82.00 138.60 233.00 155.00 55.50

330.00 51.30 165.10 15.80 11.70

AvgPrice 45.64 68.77 110.58 372.11 141.66 42.90 134.48 52.48 172.74 74.85

74.50 460.40 56.53 233.15 55.42

AvgPrice

45.72 134.81 110.60 68.84 371.62 84.97 140.71 234.26 162.88 56.42

332.84 52.47 169.95 16.34 11.94

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Monday, September 22, 2014

India to import rice on supply squeeze Dollar, pound surge in After nearly 25 years, the world's top rice exporter will import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from neighbouring Myanmar over the next several months n Reuters, New Delhi India, the world’s top rice exporter, is preparing to import the grain for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to feed its remote and hilly northeastern region where rail freight is being disrupted due to a track overhaul.

The country will import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from neighbouring Myanmar over the next several months, likely spread out across 10,000-30,000 tonne tenders, government officials said.

The imported rice and grain from domestic stocks will be distributed to the northeast region through Bangladesh’s Ashuganj port, the officials said.

The imports and the distribution arrangement underscore the extensive challenges India faces as it tries to become a regional agricultural powerhouse. But the quantities are too small to shake up the rice market. India took the crown as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012, with nearly 10 million tonnes of annual overseas sales since then. It last imported rice in the early 1990s.

The country is undertaking the first major overhaul of the region’s rail infrastructure since the British laid tracks there nearly 100 years ago. The broadening of the railway gauge will start in October and is likely to be completed in April 2015.

The states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of Assam state, which normally receive their grain supplies from the northern plains of India, look set to be impacted the most by the work, the officials said. Rice is the staple food of the region, with consumption estimated at 80,000 tonnes a month.

Bringing in the grain via Bangladesh, which is only a few hundred kilometers from the cut-off locations, is expected to be cost effective and less susceptible to delays than hauling it by

A labourer speaks on a mobile phone while lying on sacks filled with rice at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market yard, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad REUTERS truck across more than 1,000 km (621 miles) of mountain roads from traditional supply centers.

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), the main grains procurement agency, uses railway wagons to supply rice and other grains to the northeastern states. But in the absence of modern broad gauge railway tracks, supplies beyond Silchar in Assam frequently get delayed and disrupted.

Pot-holed roads

Dependence on the region’s road network is also tricky. Road blockades are almost a regular feature in the militan-

BOJ buys 1-year government bills at negative yield n Reuters, Tokyo The Bank of Japan bought one-year government bills at negative yields in market operations on Friday, traders said, setting a new milestone as it pushes its aggressive asset purchase scheme.

Although the BOJ suffers a loss by making such purchases, that has not hindered a central bank which is keen to show its determination to carry out its massive stimulus it hopes will bring up inflation to a target level of 2%.

The central bank does not disclose which issues it bought in its operation, but traders said the current one-year bills looked almost certain to be included among 1.75tn yen ($16bn) of bills banks and brokers sold to the central bank.

The one-year bills were traded at -0.004% in the market on Thursday.

The BOJ has already bought shorter bills of up to six months at negative yields this month, paying financial institutions more for government debt than it will receive when the bills are redeemed, traders said. l

$1b forex likely from sand export  B1 COLUMN 6

lant sand and soil exporters have already submitted their respective proposals to the Commerce Ministry for getting permission to export sand to Singapore and Maldives.

The Network and Infrastructure Company has already applied to the Commerce Ministry seeking approval for exporting over 1.5m tonnes of sand

to Singapore. The proposal, however, still remains pending.

Earlier, the government of Maldives showed interest to import sand from Bangladesh during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to the country in the middle of her last tenure.

The move could not yield any further progress due to bureaucratic complexities. l

cy-hit region, where a long-running ethnic insurgency often leads to strikes and protests. The condition of the roads are also far from ideal.

“There are two highways - No54 and No40 - but the latter is in a bad shape because of pot-holes, leaving us with only one highway. For food supplies, it is always too risky to rely only on one highway,” said a government official directly involved in organising grain supplies to the region.

For a dry run, the FCI has started moving grains in ships from the eastern Kolkata port to Karimganj in Assam state. It is also testing an alternative

route - shipping grains in barges to the Ashuganj port in Bangladesh for supplies to Tripura state.

Earlier this month, state-run trader MMTC Ltd floated a tender to import 10,000 tonnes of rice for delivery in Mizoram. Separately, the State Trading Corp has floated a similar tender to import 25% broken rice for delivery in Manipur.

“These are exploratory tenders. Let’s see what sort of response we get but we do see the need to import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from Myanmar before the normal rail route is ready in six months’ time,” said a second official. l

Asia after Scotland vote n AFP, Tokyo The pound rallied against major currencies Friday as Scotland rejected independence from the United Kingdom, while the dollar closed in on the 110 yen level for the first time in more than six years.

Sterling jumped to a two-year euro high in morning Asian trade with early results indicating a win for the Scottish “No” camp, while it also tacked on gains against the dollar and yen as recent fears about the UK economy subsided.

The euro tumbled to 0.7810 pounds in Tokyo, its lowest level since July 2012, while sterling rallied to $1.6525 and a six-year high of 180.71 yen.

“Scotland has voted against independence overnight in a move that has removed a great weight from the shoulders of sterling,” said economist Simon Smith at trading group FxPro. However, despite confirmation of the “No” win, later in the day the euro stood at 0.7840 pounds, while the pound pulled back to $1.6450 and

$125m private sector foreign loans approved n Tribune Report Scrutiny Committee for approval of foreign loan/supplier’s credit approved $125m private sector foreign loans.

The approval came at a meeting chaired by Bangladesh Bank governor and Convenor of the committee Atiur Rahman yesterday at central bank headquarters.

The other committee members including representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industries, Board of Investment and officials of the committee sec-

Cash-strapped Europe looks to investment ‘sleeping beauty’ n AFP, Brussels With the eurozone’s moribund economy once more sparking global fears, the region’s cash-strapped leaders are now hoping the EU’s investment bank can pull the bloc out of the doldrums.

The OECD warned this past week the combination of feeble growth, high unemployment and super-low inflation made the sickly 18-nation single currency area the “most worrying feature” of the world economy.

The bloc’s recovery from its debt crisis has run out of steam, with growth stagnating in the second quarter.

Many agree that the main culprit is a lack of investment, which has failed to return to pre-crisis levels after declining twice as much as Japan and the United States between 2008 and 2012.

“There is a dearth of investment in Europe and this is the reason for weak growth,” said Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan last weekend at a meeting of European Union finance ministers.

The European Central Bank has taken to the barricades to reverse the

trend, cutting rates and launching schemes to pump liquidity into the economy to encourage banks to lend to households and companies.

But so far this unprecedented effort by the ECB is proving a disappointment, with private banks skittish to take on more risk in the uncertain environment.

Another potential saviour often cited is the European Investment Bank, a little-known EU institution sometimes described by hopeful officials as a “sleeping beauty” that holds back on its true lending potential.

Potential saviour

Based in Luxembourg, the bank is the key component of an ambitious plan by incoming European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker to invest 300bn euros ($390bn) over the next five years.

The EIB and Commission are now drawing up concrete proposals, which should be available in November, timed to coincide with Juncker’s official taking of office.

But the bank’s director, former German European affairs minister Werner

179.42 yen.

The news also helped the dollar, which changed hands at 109.14 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 108.68 yen in New York and breaching the 109 yen mark for the first time since August 2008.

The greenback is riding high after the Federal Reserve suggested interest rates could rise more than initially forecast when they are eventually hiked, possibly from mid-2015.

A disappointing night for Scotland’s “Yes” camp sparked buy-backs of the pound, while investors dumped the yen, which is seen as a safe-haven currency in times of turmoil or uncertainty.

“The brisk performance of Asian stocks and the ‘No’ side’s dominant position triggered strengthening in risktaking sentiment,” said Osao Iizuka, head of spot forex trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Strong market sentiment could push the dollar to 110 yen, said Shigetake Nakayama, senior manager of the foreign exchange trading department at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. l

Hoyer, has sought to lower expectations about the impact of the programme.

“The EIB is no magic wand,” said economist Fredrik Erixon, director of the Brussels-based European Centre for International Political Economy.

“It’s not that the EIB is sitting on a big pile of cash.”

The EIB works with member states and other European institutions to finance projects that further Brussels’ ambitions, with a marked emphasis on lending to companies rather than the state.

“It’s important that public investment does not crowd out private investment,” a European official told AFP, describing the EIB’s strategy.

The bank seeks only viable, moneymaking projects, ever wary of maintaining its prized triple-A credit rating.

This makes the EIB “more conservative than a typical private bank”, Erixon said.

EU member states, whose ministers sit on the bank’s board, often bristle at this conservatism, especially those from countries with over-extended finances eager for stimulus. l

retariat were also present at the meeting.

The committee approved $ 125m for seven projects of which $ 44m for Dutch-Bangla Power & Associates, $44m for Orion Power Meghnaghat, $15.43m for Tarasima Apparels, $15m for Ma-Meem Denim, $4.45m for Rising Industries, $1.60m for Knit Concern and $567,000 for Plummy Fashions.

The highest interest rate of the approved proposals is 3-month LIBOR+4.50% p.a. that is the effective interest rate is within 4.74% p.a and the tenure of these loan proposals are at least 3 years. l

RSRM share trading begins today n Tribune Report Share trading of Ratanpur Steel ReRolling Mills (RSRM) will begin today at the stock exchanges.

The company raised Tk100 crore through the IPO by offloading 2.5 crore ordinary shares at an offer price of Tk40, including a premium of Tk30 for each Tk10 share. The raised fund has been used to boost its capital base, repay bank loans and bear the expenses of the IPO proceedings.

During January to March this year, the company made net profit of over Tk4.2 crore, a drop of 20% from the same period a year earlier, according to its latest financial statements. During the period, its basic earnings per share (EPS) is Tk1.42.

However, considering post-IPO number of shares the company’s basic EPS for the three months ended on 31 March 2014 is Tk 0.77.

Trading of the shares of Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited will commence at Dhaka Stock Exchange under ‘N’ category with trading code “RSRMSTEEL”. l

EXIM Bank has recently opened its 83rd branch at Sk Mujib Road in Chittagong. The bank’s MD and CEO, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah has inaugurated the branch Dhaka Bank Limited has recently given a cheque of Tk50 lakh to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The bank’s former chairperson and sponsor shareholder ATM Hayatuzzaman Khan along with its MD (current charge) Emranul Huq formally handed over the cheque to Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Okapia, cell phone producer has recently made its presence in Chittagong. Its chairperson Subrata Das and managing director, Tofazzul Hossain were present on the occasion

Diamond World has recently celebrated its 9th anniversary by announcing 29% discount on jewelry items and 40% discount on life-style items. Its MD, Dilip Kumar Agarwala has made the announcement to the press Standard Bank’s chairperson Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed has recently handed over a cheque of Tk1 crore on behalf of the bank to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for to her Relief and Welfare Fund

MTB has recently signed an agreement with Shurjomukhi for online merchant payment service. The bank’s MD and CEO, Anis A Khan and Fida Haq, CEO and MD of Shurjomukhi exchanged agreement documents on behalf of their organisations after signing

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, September 22, 2014

G20 vows to breathe new life into world economy Focus on developing a suite of policies to raise its total GDP by 2% above current projections in 5 years n AFP, Cairns G20 nations including the United States and China said yesterday they can overcome geo-political tensions and financial risks to achieve extra combined growth of 1.8%, adding trillions of dollars to the world economy.

Their two-day meeting in Cairns was focused on developing a suite of policies to reach an ambitious goal of raising the total GDP of the 20 major world economies by two percent above current projections over the next five years.

Finance ministers and central bank governors, including US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, want to take their plan to the G20 leaders’ summit in Brisbane in November.

In a communique, they said that the 1,000 measures agreed so far - including to accelerate infrastructure investment, financial reform and encourage free trade - could add 1.8% to GDP and create millions of new jobs.

But more reforms were needed to meet the two percent goal, agreed in Sydney earlier this year.

“Preliminary analysis by IMF-OECD indicates these measures will lift our collective GDP by an additional 1.8% through to 2018,” they said.

“In the lead up to the Brisbane (leaders’) summit, we will continue to identify a series of additional measures to meet our collective growth ambition.

“We will hold each other to account in implementing these policy commitments.”

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde hailed what she called “significant progress” despite increased geo-political tensions, in-

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde speaks at the end of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Cairns on September 21, 2014. Finance ministers from G20 nations meet in Cairns this weekend as they grapple with how to achieve a lift in global growth by two percent while being held back by a sickly eurozone recovery AFP cluding in Ukraine and the Middle East, since the ministers last met in February.

“Despite the global recovery continuing, the pace of growth remains low and uneven, in part given increased geopolitical tensions and risks of financial market turmoil,” she said.

“Promoting economic policies that can contribute to a more robust and job-rich recovery is therefore critical at this stage.

“I commend G20 countries for significant progress in developing growth strategies to lift medium-term growth.”

Notes of caution

While welcoming developments, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the world economy was facing headwinds, pointing to disappointing growth in Europe and Japan and a slowdown in emerging economies, including China.

“In light of these challenges to the global economy, the G20 has stressed the importance of immediate support for creating jobs, growing the economy, and implementing fiscal strategies flexibly to support demand,” Lew said.

The G20 also stressed concern over

Nissan USA aims to keep electric battery production

Europe needs to do more to boost growth

n AFP, Washington

n AFP, Cairns

Japanese automaker Nissan is dismissing speculation that it intends to scale back electric car battery production at its US plant in Tennessee.

Nissan’s ambitious electric vehicle program has been a signature initiative of Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive at both Renault and Nissan.

“The Renault-Nissan Alliance remains 100% committed to its industryleading EV program,” spokesman Travis Parman said in a statement.

“This global commitment continues for the foreseeable future, and we have not taken any decision whatsoever to modify battery sourcing allocation.”

Parman said Nissan has no plans to “impair” its battery investments in the United States or Britain.

His comments came after media reports suggested that the RenaultNissan alliance was re-evaluating its

battery strategy.

The proposal under consideration includes curtailing production at Nissan-operated battery plants in England and the United States in order to instead purchase electric vehicle batteries from the Korean company LG Chem.

The speculation about Nissan’s cutbacks circulated as Tesla, the electric vehicle maker based in Palo Alto, outside San Francisco, joins with Panasonic to build a new $5bn battery factory in Nevada set to build 500,000 batteries a year by 2020.

Tesla currently sells about 1,500 vehicles per month but has new smaller, less expensive models on the drawing board, according to the company’s founder billionaire Elon Musk.

Parman noted the Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric vehicle in the US, having set records for 18 consecutive months. Leaf sales are up 34% through August. In addition, electric-powered

Leaf sales have topped 3,000 units in three of the last four months, Parman said.

‘No Charge to Charge’

Nissan is promoting the Leaf through a “No Charge to Charge” incentive offering two years of no-cost charging to new Leaf buyers, in 11 key markets around the US such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

Nissan has helped install more than 650 quick chargers in markets across the US, and Nissan is working with partners on 500 additional chargers over the next year, Parman said.

Nissan has also announced plans for introducing for a battery electric cargo van in the US. The Nissan battery plant in Smyrna. opened in the spring of 2013 and is the largest Li-ion automotive battery plant North America and the only plant controlled by a carmaker. l

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Sunday called on the eurozone to do more to boost demand and make the structural changes needed to kick-start its stuttering economy.

“The discussions over the weekend have shown a growing recognition that Europe is going to need to do more to get its economy to where it should be,” he said in Cairns after a G20 meeting of finance ministers.

“What is clear from the US experience is that the combination of taking action to boost demand in the short run and making structural changes for the long run is a important combination and it shouldn’t be a choice between the two.

“You really need to pursue both.”

Last week the OECD said the sickly eurozone recovery was acting as drag on the outlook for the global economy.

It chopped by a third its 2014 fore-

cast to 0.8% from the 1.2% expansion it had projected in May, warning the sluggish recovery was also at risk from increased tension over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Lew, speaking at a press conference, said the principal of both growing demand and making structural reforms was “actually consistent with many of the ideas that are being discussed in Europe”.

“The challenge in Europe is to get an agreement on how to bring those pieces together. “The concern I have is that if the efforts to boost demand are deferred for too long, there are risks that headwinds get stronger,” he added.

“And what I think Europe needs is more tailwinds in the economy. That’s what boosting demand in the short run would do.

“At the same time it is clear of the great need for structural reform in Europe. It is a question of finding the right balance.” l

the human and financial costs of the Ebola epidemic sweeping through west Africa, which had potentially serious impacts on growth and stability in affected countries.

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, who was chairing the meeting, welcomed the “genuine measures” put forward but warned against complacency, pointing to high levels of global unemployment and subdued international confidence.

“The G20 recognises that many of the decisions and actions to get the world economy moving are difficult,” he said.

“But we are determined to lift growth, and countries are willing to use all our macroeconomic levers - monetary, fiscal and structural policies - to meet this challenge.”

To help shift from governmentled growth towards private sector-led growth, a key G20 goal, the ministers agreed to establish a global infrastructure hub to share information between countries. The Global Infrastructure Initiative was meant to increase “quality investment, particularly in infrastructure”.

“Investment is critical to boosting demand and lifting growth,” they said.

Hockey added the hub would provide a database to help match potential investors with global infrastructure projects, with the World Bank helping to set it up.

“We want to create a knowledge platform to build public sector expertise, and develop standardised documentation to reduce the costs of new investment,” he said.

The meeting also saw progress on reforms to the world’s financial system, particularly on how banks apply capital rules, and ways to close tax loopholes that are used by many multinational companies. l

China says will not alter policy because of one economic indicator n Reuters, Beijing China will not dramatically alter its economic policy because of any one economic indicator, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said yesterday, in remarks that came days after many economists lowered growth forecasts having seen the latest set of weak data.

Lou made the comments at a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 countries in Australia, according to a statement from the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank.

“China will not make major policy adjustments due to a change in any one economic indicator,” he said.

Economists dialed back their growth forecasts last week after data showed factory output grew at its weakest pace in nearly six years in August. l

Google to boost Android encryption, joining Apple n AFP, San Francisco

A woman pays with her smartphone at an Auchan supermarket on September 17, 2014, in Faches-Thumesnil, northern France. French group Auchan will launch its Flash'NPay dematerialised payment method in its 120 hypermarkets from April 2015 AFP

Google and Apple on Thursday said they are hardening encryption tactics on devices powered by their mobile operating systems and tossing away the keys.

The move should mean that even the government with its court-issued warrants will be blocked from getting hold of pictures, messages and other personal data stored on forthcoming Android or Apple smartphones and tablets.

Google and Apple are among Internet titans intent on firming up trust shaken by revelations of massive online spying by US officials and by the recent hacking of celebrity iCloud accounts that exposed nude photos.

A Google spokesman told AFP that encryption is already offered for the Android system on smartphones and tablets, but will be turned on automatically in the upcoming version of software.

“For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won’t even have to think about turning it on.”

Google has not said when the next update of Android is due for release.

Apple announced that its new encryption is built into the iOS 8 operating system available on the iPhone 6, which goes on sale Friday. It also can

be installed on many existing iPhones and iPads.

Apple is essentially allowing people to lock iPhones, iPads or iPods using encrypted passwords without giving itself any keys.

“Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode,” says the new policy on Apple’s website.

“Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data.

So it’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.”

Internet spying scandal

Leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in government spying programs.

Internet titans including Facebook,

DILBERT

Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google have been campaigning for the freedom to let people know more about requests made under the auspices of anti-terrorism law that mandates such queries be kept secret.

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said the company is dedicated to protection of personal data and that security at iCloud was beefed up after photos stored online were pilfered from celebrity accounts.

The Cupertino, California-based company insisted there was no breach of its cloud storage system, but that hackers used “targeted attacks” aimed at celebrities. An Apple statement suggested that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple, a technique known as “phishing.”

Companies say they are required to comply as best they can with legitimate court orders and other legal requests, but fight for people’s privacy along the way. l