02 Oct, 2014

Ashwin 17, 1421 Zilhajj 6, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 181

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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MORALLY INSPIRING

PENALISING THE PARALYMPIAN PECULIARLY

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BANGLADESH A TAKE ONE-DAY SERIES 2-1

AL says Latif Siddique removed Cabinet Division reportedly asked to stay prepared to carry out the decision n Tribune Desk The ruling Awami League yesterday said Post, Telecommunications and IT Minister Latif Siddique had been fired over his controversial US speech, although the Cabinet Division said they were yet to receive any official instruction.

During a press conference at the Awami League president’s Dhanmondi office yesterday, ruling party Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had instantly removed Siddique from his post after she learned about what he said.

During a programme in the USA on Sunday, Latif Siddique made some comments on Hajj, Ijtema and PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. After a video clip of the speech emerged on social media, several senior Awami League leaders came down hard on Latif for his “irresponsible” remarks.

But until Tuesday, the ruling party did not say anything officially, although Bangladeshi media carried news that the PM, who is now in London, had already decided to remove Latif.

On Tuesday, Latif Siddique and his deputy Junaid Ahmed Palak went to Mexico to receive the Global ICT Excellence Award at the World Congress on Information Technology 2014.

“Latif Siddique was supposed to receive that award. But since he had been removed from the cabinet, State Minister Junaid Ahmed Palak received that

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

award. This proves that the prime minister’s decision had been instantly put into effect,” Hanif told at the presser.

When asked, he said no decision had yet been made about removing Siddique from the Awami League presidium, the highest policymaking body of the ruling party.

Stressing that a decision in this regard would be made upon the premier’s return today, Hanif said: “The Awami League does not endorse such remarks.”

Meanwhile, acting secretary of the Cabinet Division Mohammad Nazrul Islam said they were yet to receive any

Telecom regulator moves ahead with plans on IGW cartel n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The government is moving forward with a plan to form a cartel of international gateway (IGW) operators – a move that would allow a handful of companies to form a two-tier clearing exchange for gaining control over the pricing of international incoming call termination.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already formed a panel to that effect, containing only seven out of the 23 active IGW operators.

The IGW Operators Forum (IOF), which is constituted with 18 operators, has also been working to implement the two-tier system in a bid to remove the existing structure that ensured equality for all IGW operators.

Based on a proposal from the forum, the regulator has categorised all the IGWs – except the selected seven – as tier 1 operators and decided that from now on all international incoming calls must be routed through the tier 2 operators as they alone would stay connected with the Interconnection Exchange (ICX) and mobile and land phone operators.

The BTRC even dropped the stateowned operator BTCL from the tier 2

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Extortion from vehicles carrying cattle wrampant

list, which is also known as the IGW Operator’s Switch (IOS).

It has also been proposed that after deducting the revenue share for the BTRC, ICX and mobile or land phone operators, the IGW operators will deposit the rest of the amount to a single account before distributing it on a 1:1.9 ratio. If tier 1 received Tk1, the tier 2 op-

‘We are against this new formation; it means some IGWs are powerful and the rest will die within a short time’ erators will get Tk1.9 from the account.

At the same time, the IOS will also take 7.5% from the overhead amount as market development charges.

BTRC sources said its Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose had been under pressure to issue a directive regarding the IOS before leaving for the US last Sunday on a trip.

Issuing the directive, Sunil sent it only to Global Voice Limited.

In its directive, the BTRC said the IGW Operators Forum should inform about the formation of its executive

committee and all its decisions to the commission.

Global Voice Limited Chairman AKM Shamsudoha acknowledged receiving the letter from the regulator.

“Nobody in the telecom sector – the BTRC or the government – will be available in October [because of vacations and IT-related events], so it will take time to form the IOS and we also need to import some equipment,” Shamsudoha said on Tuesday.

The president of the forum’s ad-hoc committee, he said he had found nothing illegal in the formation of the IOS. “I think it could be helpful for the gateway industry and everybody will profit from it,” he added.

Opposition to the IOS

Sources said the parties that would be affected by the bifurcated tiers might take legal action to protect their equal rights.

“We are against this new formation; it means some IGWs are powerful and the rest will die within a short time,” said Zahir Ahmed, managing director and CEO of Bangla Tel, an IGW operator that has been against the formation of the cartel from the very beginning.

Questioning the legality of the IOS,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

formal instruction for removing the minister.

However, seeking anonymity, an official of the division told the Dhaka Tribune that Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiya, who left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to perform Hajj, had  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

INSIDE B1 | Business

The global lender World Bank in association with Microsoft yesterday announced two teams – one from Bangladesh and another from Nepal – as the champion of a youth competition titled ‘Coding your opportunity’.

4 | News

At least six major issues, including import of electricity

by Bangladesh from Nepal and Bhutan, are likely to dominate the upcoming 8th Joint Steering Committee meeting scheduled to be held on October 10 in New Delhi.

6 | News

Community Health Care Providers of Sadullapur upazila’s Government Community Clinic have not been getting their monthly salary for the last three months.

8 | World

The United Nations said Wednesday that at least 1,119 Iraqis died in violence in September but that the real figure was likely much higher since the reported death toll did not include killings in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

Before Eid-ul-Azha every year political groups, criminals and law enforcers come up with innovative ideas to earn millions by extorting vehicles carrying sacrificial animals. This year too is no different.

Junab Ali, a cattle trader, came to the capital’s Gabtoli cattle market with 17 cows from Chapainawabganj district. He told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday despite paying Tk33,000 as truck fare, he had to pay additional Tk5,600 at 16 spots on the way to capital.

As per his statement, such tolls are being collected allegedly in the name of transport association, by a section of law enforcers, workers association and sometimes by ruling party men.

The toll given to those people varies in amount and the lowest of which is Tk50 while the highest one is Tk1000.

On the way to Dhaka from Chapainawabganj, extortions are rampant at different points of the highway, Sultanganj of Rajshahi, Godagari, Charghat, Julunpur, Khorkhori, on either side of the Jamuna Bridge and Raipur.

The scenario is much the same as on the roads and highways in river routes.

This year, the cattle traders are facing a unique way of extortion in river routes.

Even after extorting money extortionists are now forcefully taking the cows to some selective cattle

markets against the will of the traders.

However, Hassan Mahmood Khandker, inspector general of police, told the Dhaka Tribune that necessary measures had already been taken to stop extortion from cattle-carrying transports.

Law enforcers are working hard to stop it. If allegations are brought against members of law enforcers they will also be not spared, he said.

On Tuesday 11 cows drowned in the river Shitalakkhya as two gangs of

Extortionists are alleged to have put up speed bumps at different points on the highways to collect tolls extortionists tried to take away those cows to the market of their selection.

The incident took place around 3pm on Tuesday after cattle traders reached Shitalakkhya from Tangail.

Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Narayanganj Sadar police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were informed about it but yet to take any action as no complaint had been filed as of Wednesday.

Our Chandpur Correspondent adds: Cattle traders are becoming victims of  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, October 2, 2014

BNP: Government creating smokescreen over Latif’s removal n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The BNP-led 20-party alliance yesterday alleged that the government has created a smokescreen regarding the expulsion of Posts and Telecommunications Minister Abdul Latif Siddique, in order to save him from public wrath.

The coalition also demanded that the minister be expelled from the parliament, arrested and handed exemplary punishment for his derogatory comment on prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and Hajj.

“Latif Siddique’s statement hurts crores of Muslims. The government cannot avoid the responsibility of such a statement which the BNP-led 20-party alliance rejects with condemnation.

“It was said Latif Siddidique has been expelled from the cabinet but no evidence was found in this regard.

Cabinet secretary also does not know anything and no specific comment was also found. The government has been doing this just to save him from public

wrath,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of the BNP, said at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters.

Issuing a note of warning, the party spokesperson said they did not announce any demonstration programme because of Eid and Puja, but if the government did not take any initiative then they would be compelled to announce tough programmes after Eid. On Tuesday, the BNP-led 20-party alliance held a meeting at BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office to chalk out programmes protesting Latif Siddique’s comments. The meeting decisions were disclosed in yesterday’s press conference.

Fakhrul said they have decided to wage a countrywide month-long campaign after Eid to drum up public support in favour of their demand of election under a non-partisan government.

The BNP leader also demanded withdrawal of all the cases filed against the opposition leaders and activists. l

Taking advantage of the back-to-back Puja and Eid holidays, many people have started leaving Dhaka yesterday. All the launches at Sadarghat terminal were seen plying at full capacity with home-goers MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

‘Vested interests’ eyes on our maritime resources’ n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Devotees offer prayer on Maha Shaptami at capital’s Banani Puja mandap yesterday

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu yesterday said some international vested quarters have cast their greedy eyes on Bangladesh’s maritime resources to grab it.

The minister, however, did not state their names despite queries from the reporters, just saying: “Some words can not be expressed clearly when it is matter of realisation.”

Addressing as chief guest, the minister made the remarks at the inaugural programme of constructing two container ships in Chittagong Dry Dock.

Industries Ministry Secretary Moinuddin Abdullah presided over the event while Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan and State Minister for Land Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed also addressed the programme as the special guests.

Amu said the countrymen do not know how much resources available in its maritime areas while the vested

quarters, who have already been garbing resources of some other countries in the world, are monitoring the areas with sophisticated technology.

“It is Awami League that has won the maritime border case against India and we are also trying to solve the Teesta hurdles as early as possible with the country,” he said adding that Bangladesh could be a developed country by 2041 by using her resources, particularly of the maritime ones.

The veteran AL leader blamed BNPled alliance for trying to make the country a militants’ den.

The shipping minister gave credit to his party for destroying BNP’s culture of corruption, militancy, money laundering and other activities which incurred huge losses for the country.

State minister for land said Bangladesh has great potential in the ship building sector while the European countries have been seeking to buy ships from the country. l

Telecom regulator

Extortion from vehicles carrying cattle rampant

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 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Zahir said: “There is no need to create another platform for IGW operators; only the BTRC can control the market if they are given the power.”

Owners of two other IGW operators – BG Tel Limited and DBL Telecom Limited – told the Dhaka Tribune that they were also against the formation of the IOS. On the other hand, legal specialists also raised questions about the process.

“The BTRC cannot issue this kind of directive before a government approval, as it is related to a large amount of public money,” barrister Aneek R Haque, a former senior legal consultant for the BTRC, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Claiming that changing the conditions of the licences would be a violation of law and guideline, Aneek said if the IOS was activated, it would mean that there would be another regulator inside the official telecom regulator.

Seeking anonymity, a senior BTRC official said the IOS will share revenue on the rate of ¢1.5 per minute, but might profit by charging more than that without disclosing the added rate. Similar practices were carried out in Pakistan, he claimed.

Sources said an influential business tycoon with ties to the ruling party, who is the top boss of a leading business conglomerate of the country and allegedly has ownership of at least one IGW operator, was behind the move to cut the rates for international call termination.

Sources also said an amendment to the International Long Distance Telecom Services (ILDTS) policy had been sent to the telecom ministry in order to implement the whole process.

In 2012, the government amended the ILDTS policy to award more licences to operators with ties to the ruling party and awarded 82 licences for three category with IGW (25), ICX (20) and IIG (37) and all this license created

juncture in the industry and that’s why this types of problems arises, sources also said.

Controversial members

The BTRC’s choices for the tier 1 panel have raised some eyebrows, as some of the IGW operators have controversial reputations. The selected operators include politically backed companies that were previously blocked by the regulator for not sharing revenues according to the guideline, while others also had criminal offences lodged against them.

The tier 2 IGWs that would enjoy better benefits than their competitors include Mirtel Ltd, Bangla Trac Communications Ltd and NovoTel Ltd – all of them active since 2008 and capable of handling a high volume of calls.

Digicon Telecommunications Ltd, Unique Infoway Ltd, Roots Communications Ltd and Global Voice Telecom Ltd acquired licences in 2012.

In July 2013, Digicon – which got its licence through a reference from a ruling party lawmaker who is also a close relative of the PM – was blocked by the BTRC because of failing to share their revenue.

Digicon also owes around Tk20 crore to the regulator, as it tried to pass off calls with total duration of several crore minutes as “test calls,” even though there is no provision for test calls.

However, the BTRC had claimed that it picked the seven IGW operators as tier 1 operators as they had not violated any regulation in the last fiscal year.

Half of the stakes in Roots Communication was owned by Gulshan Ara Miah, wife of prime minister’s Special Assistant Abdus Sobhan Mia, while the other half was owned by a BNP leader.

Unique Infoway Ltd is owned by Shahnaz Siraj, son of GM Siraj, a former BNP lawmaker and also a transport leader.

Global Voice also has strong ties to the government, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt. l

extortion on their way to the district from Faridpur and Shariatpur. Extortionists backed by ruling party men who collect Tk500 to 1000 from the traders in the name of river taxes.

Awami League District Committee Secretary Abu Noyem Patowari Dulal however denied the allegation that his party men were involved in the extortion. “We have asked the law enforcers to take action against the toll collectors.”

Our Kurigram Correspondent reports: Extortions are rampant at 30 spots on the way to Dhaka from the district. Cattle trader Jakib Islam said they were forced to pay toll.

He said: “We have to pay Tk150 while

loading and unloading cows. Besides we have to pay additional Tk5,000 as we start for Dhaka, Tk6000 on the way to Sylhet and Tk8,000 on the way to Chittagong from the district.”

Our Manikganj correspondent adds: Each truck carrying cattle has to pay Tk600 while crossing the Daulatdia ferry terminal.

The Dhaka Tribune talked to Shahor Ali who came to the capital’s Gabtoli cattle market with 16 cows from Jessore said he had to pay Tk50 to 800 at 12 points on the way to Dhaka. It takes additional Tk4,000 from him, he added.

Extortionists are alleged to have put up speed bumps at different points on the highways to collect tolls from

AL says Latif Siddique removed  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

given instructions to prepare a summary of the removal.

The official said they had been told to remain prepared because the decision to remove the minister might have to be executed as soon as the PM arrived in Dhaka around midday today.

Courts summon Latif

Meanwhile, several courts in Dhaka and Chittagong yesterday summoned Latif in five cases filed on charges of hurting religious sentiments of the Muslims.

Lawyer ANM Abed Raja, also former president of Dhaka Bar Association, filed a case against Siddique with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mizanur Rahman.

The plaintiff made news editors of the daily Kaler Kantho, Bangladesh Pratidin, Daily Jugantor and Jamuna TV as witnesses.

Taking the case into cognisance, the court ordered Latif to appear before it in person on October 28 and explain his stance.

The second case in Dhaka was filed

by Alhaj Badal Miah, a cattle-hide trader, with the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Rezaul Karim. He made journalists Saban Mahmud, Mahmud Azhar, Pavel Hider Chowdhury and Anwar Hossain as witnesses.

The judge asked the Awami League leader from Tangail to appear before it on October 30.

In Chittagong, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Md Moshiur Rahman in three separate cases summoned Siddique to appear before it and explain his remarks on October 23.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court lawyer Md Eunus Ali Akand filed a writ petition with the High Court as a public interest litigation seeking court directives for filing a criminal case against Latif under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act and his arrest for hurting religious sentiment.

He also demanded formation of a judicial inquiry commission to probe the remarks.

The petitioner also sought a rule upon the government to enact a new or special law having death sentence or

Government employees to enjoy a long vacation n Mohosinul Karim The government employees are going to enjoy a nine day-long vacation starting from tomorrow as the public offices of the country will remain closed for three days for Eid Ul Azha, two days on the weekends and two days optional leaves tagged on either side.

The Eid holiday will go on from Sunday, October 5 to Tuesday, October 7.

Taking in the weekends into account before and after it, public workers will be able to plan for a nice long vacation.

To enjoy the long break, most of the government employees have taken two days optional leave on Wednesday and Thursday..

The officials and employees from Hindu communities are also getting the benefit as the holiday of the Durga Puja will be enjoyed along with the Eid. The Durga Puja will be ended on October 4 while three days of Eid holiday will be started on October 5. l

the cattle-loaded vehicles. However, Kamal Hossain, additional deputy inspector general of police, denied the allegation.

He said all highway police members have taken special security measures from October 1 and it would continue until October 9 to ensure safe highways and prevent extortion.

Wahid Ullah, a cattle trader who came to the capital’s Agargaon market from Kustia with 26 cows, said he had seen some newly-built speed breakers on the way and when the truck slowed down at those spots some people appeared and demanded toll.

Kazi Manik, a cattle trader came to the capital from Shiraganj, said he had to pay toll to law enforcers, ruling party

men and workers leaders at seven spots on the way to Dhaka from the district.

Tolls are collected at Tangail Elenga, Bangabandhu Bridge and Gazipur intersection.

Asked, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, state minister for home, told the Dhaka Tribune he had already asked the law enforces to get hard on extortionists and take action against those involved in it without looking into their identity and position.

“Members of intelligence agencies are working at different major points of the country including highways to prevent extortion and once anyone is found guilty of such act action will be taken immediately against him,” he added. l

life imprisonment as the highest punishment for making derogatory remarks on Islam with deliberate intention.

Eunus told the Dhaka Tribune that as per the existing law, punishment for any offence of making derogatory remarks on Islam is maximum two years’ jail under the penal code.

processions yesterday protesting Latif’s comment.

Jamaat-e-Islami staged demonstrations across the country demanding the minister’s arrest.

The Sammilito Islami Dal, an alliance some small Islamist parties, announced a fresh protest programme for Friday.

At a press briefing in front of the National Press Club, another Islamist platform Islami Andolon Bangladesh also demanded Latif’s arrest.

Islami Oikya Jote, a partner of the BNP-Jamaat-led 20-party alliance, alleged that Abdul Latif Siddique and the other atheists had been continuously harassing the nation by making such of remarks.

Khelafat Majlish, meanwhile, formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital and announced laying siege to the airport area so that Latif could not enter the country.

Some other parities including Islami Samaj, Khademul Islam and United Islamic Party, issued statements condemning Latif’s comments. l

JaPa’s reaction

Ruling Awami League’s ally Jatiya Party Chairman HM Erhsad yesterday demanded that Post, Telecommunications and IT Minister Abdul Latif Siddique be sentenced to death for demeaning the holy Hajj.

Seeking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention regarding the matter, Ershad said: “You [PM] are offering regular prayers and fasting. You have also performed Hajj many times. Latif Siddique has no right to stay in your cabinet. We demand his death sentence.”

Ershad came up with the demand at a party protest programme in the capital yesterday.

Other parties

Several Islamist parties brought out

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

ASK: Abduction rose sharply in nine months n Tribune Report

In the first nine months of the current year, incidents of abduction and forced disappearance by members of different law enforcement agencies increased alarmingly compared to the same period last year, rights body Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) says in a report.

Family members of 82 people claimed that their relatives had been abducted by the law enforcers. Of the victims, 23 were found dead while 10 people luckily escaped death.

The most discussed abduction and murder allegedly carried out by the law enforcement agencies was the Narayanganj seven murder incident.

Three high officials of RAB are already in the dock for their alleged involve-

ment in the sensational incident, says the recent report.

Besides these events, an ASK director was also faced an abduction attempt.

During January-September last year, ASK says at least 33 people were abducted by the law enforcers. Of them, five bodies were recovered later while one found alive.

The rights watchdog prepared the report based on incidents reported in the national dailies.

In the nine-month period, a total of 119 people were killed in so-called “crossfire” or “gunfights” with the law enforcement agencies or while under custody.

Of the victims, police killed 52 people, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) 29, while RAB and police were jointly

responsible for the death of another person in “crossfire.”

Joint forces killed seven people in “gunfights” during drives, RAB and BGB jointly killed four, Coast Guard three and Detective Branch (DB) killed three people. The killing of another person remains clueless.

In torture, the number of deaths is 10 by police, and one each by RAB, army and BGB. During the same period last year, the incidents of “crossfire” and custodial deaths were 146. Of them, police alone killed 84 people while RAB 18 in “gunfights.”

Meanwhile, 44 people were killed in jail while 95 in mob beating in the last nine months.

The report says one person was killed and 209 sustained injuries as

miscreants launched attack on Hindus in different parts of the country. In these incidents, 732 households, 193 businesses and 222 idols were ransacked and torched.

During this period, three journalists were killed while a total of 130 people killed in political violence in 509 incidents and 6587 people sustained injuries.

BSF killed 24 Bangladeshi at order areas while abducted 78 people.

However, they sent back 22 Bangladeshi citizens following negotiation with the BGB, the report says.

Violence against women

A total of 35 women were victim to acid attacks in the country. Ten women committed suicide being harassed sexually while three men and

four women were killed for protesting harassment incidents.

In the nine months, the number of reported rape incidents was 527 while 72 attempted rape. In these incidents, 43 women and children were killed while 11 committed suicide.

For dowry, 128 women were tortured to death while six others committed suicide. In socalled village arbitration, 23 women were issued fatwa. Of them, 13 were forced to leave their houses. Three others committed suicide following arbitration.

Meanwhile, in 373 incidents of family violence, 269 women were killed while 72 committed suicide.

In the 44 incidents of violence against domestic helps, four were killed while 20 died mysteriously. l

Shundarganj mayor suspended for irregularities n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha The government has suspended Nurunnabi Pramanik Saju, the Jamaat-backed mayor of Shundarganj municipality in Gaibandha, after allegations of financial irregularities found to be true in preliminary investigation.

Jamaat-e-Islami activist Saju is a charge-sheeted accused in a case filed with the local police station for killing four police constables during the widespread violence perpetrated by the Jamaat-Shibir men in Bamandanga last year. He is now in jail.

To protest against the death sentence of Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, the agitators also vandalised and torched government property, and attacked pro-Awami League men and the Hindus and their establishments on February 28.

The suspension came into effect in an order issued by LGRD Deputy Secretary Khalilur Rahman on Tuesday.

Abu Rafa Mohammad Arif, the UNO of Shundarganj, confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Saju is accused of disbursing funds and signing documents of different projects without holding any meeting since November 21 last year,” Deputy Director Md Mokhlesur Rahman of the district’s Local Government Division said.

Even though no project was taken and tenders not floated, the mayor had kept Tk51 lakh – allotted for the municipality – deposited in its account illegally.

Recently, an investigation was launched upon allegations lodged by 10 councillors of the municipality. The suspension order came after the allegations were proved and President Abdul Hamid gave his nod.

Panel Mayor Lutfar Rahman has been given the charge of the mayor.

Saju is facing 11 cases filed over the February 28 incidents. He had been absconding after being implicated in the cases to avert arrest, but continued activities as a mayor.

Recently, he surrendered before a Gaibandha court and sought bail. But the court rejected the plea and sent him to jail. Police filed charge sheet in the police murder case on September 16. l

Detectives analysing Samiun’s phone records n Tribune Report Detectives said they had amassed a lot of information by analysing the SMS and call history from the six mobile phones of Samiun Rahman, a Bangladeshi-British arrested in Dhaka earlier this week on suspicion that he has been recruiting on behalf of international militant organisation Islamic State.

Seeking anonymity, a high ranked official of the Detective Branch (DB) of police told the Dhaka Tribune: “By interrogating Samiun, we have learned that his activities were mostly concentrated abroad. We have also collected the details of a conversation between him and Tanzil, arrested in Dhaka on September 24.”

The official also said: “The detectives are trying to track the people in Bangladesh with whom Samiun contacted since he came to Bangladesh in February.”

Samiun Rahman alias Ibne Hadad also told during interrogation that he had been arrested by London police last October. The detectives are now trying to find out more about the arrest by contacting London police.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission had applied to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry for consular access in connection with the arrest of Samiun, an embassy official told the Dhaka Tribune. l

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Thursday, October 2, 2014

Mother and child drown in Buriganga n Tribune Report A mother and her 22-day-old son died as the small boat carrying them capsized in Buriganga River near Sadarghat in the capital yesterday.

One person went missing and another sustained injuries in the incident that took place when the boat got smashed between a launch and an oil-laden vessel.

The victims were identified as Khadija Begum, 35, and her son Obaidul Islam.

Her husband Wahab Mia, injured, was admitted in Mitford Hospital. However, the missing mother-in-law Setara Begum, 60, could not be traced as of filing this report.

Wahab, a private car chauffeur in Savar, told reporters that he along with his family were going to Sadarghat launch terminal to catch a ride to Patuakhali’s Golachipa for the upcoming holidays.

“We reached Waiseghat from Gabtoli by water bus around 10am. We were supposed to board MV Pubali launch.

But as it was in mid-river, we had to take a small boat...When the boat neared the launch, it got stuck between an oil tanker and the launch. The vessels smashed the boat.”

Jamal Uddin Mir, the OC of South Keraniganj police station, said the child was decapitated and the mother received serious head wounds.

“It happened due to the carelessness of the boatman, who survived and escaped,” he said.

A team of divers of the Fire Service along with locals began a search operation for Setara Begum. l

Slain migrant’s family to be compensated n Rabiul Islam

Illegal vendors are choking the road adjacent to the Sundarban Market in capital’s Gulistan area, causing frequent traffic congestion on the road as well as sufferings to pedestrians. The photo was taken yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

After over three years, the family of a murdered Bangladeshi migrant worker is to get Tk64,26,000 in compensation, according to a letter from Bangladesh embassy in Kuwait.

Chan Mia, who was from Manikganj, was killed by Nashmi Abbas Saleh Al-Otaibi on March 8, 2011, in Kuwait.

The letter, signed by the embassy’s first secretary KM Ali Reza, said the embassy had collected the money from the convict’s family and deposited it to the mission’s compensation account.

The victim’s family will now have to send a pardon letter to get the money.

KM Ali Reza attributed the delay in settling the case to legal proceedings. l

Three more held over Keraniganj murders PM to visit Italy, Nepal and n Malaysia in next 3 months Ashif Islam Shaon

Rapid Action Battalion personnel arrested three more people from Dhaka and Mymensingh yesterday in connection with the killing of four of a family in Keraniganj.

The arrestees are Sumon alias Dakat Sumon, his wife Afsana and alleged associate Chan Mia, said Flight Lt Md Kawsar Hossain, operations officer of RAB 10.

Sumon and his wife were picked up from Chukaitola in Mymensingh and Chan Mia from Dhaka. RAB also seized a car from Jatrabari which they used to flee after committing the murder.

On September 24, a couple and their two children were found dead at a house in South Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka. They were identified as Mohammad Saju, 30, his wife Ranji Begum, 25, their son Imran,7, and daughter Sanjida, 2.

After the arrest, Commanding Officer of RAB 10 Lt Col Khondoker Golam

Sarwar at a press briefing at its Jatrabari office claimed that Dakat Sumon had masterminded the murder. Sumon, a member of a robbers’ gang, led a ring of yaba traders, he said, adding that his gang members used to hold meetings at that house and made plans.

RAB claimed that Saju developed extramarital affairs with the wives of two members of the gang recently. As the matter came to light, his cohorts became angry. Sumon claimed that his wife Afsana had an illicit relationship with Saju.

Besides, they had feud over distribution of looted goods.

Talking with reporters, Sumon said the house was rented three months back to use it as a hideout and storehouse of looted goods.

While renting the house, their cohort Johny and CNG Sumon, who had already been arrested by Detective Branch of police a few days back, talked with the caretaker of the house.

They introduced themselves as rela-

tives. Saju along with his family started living in the house as nobody knew that he was the member of a robbers’ gang.

Afsana said on the day of the incident, Saju asked her to go to the flat. After sometimes Johny, CNG Sumon and Nasir also went there. Dakat Sumon went there after around half an hour.

They killed Saju after confining him in another room.

“They took yaba and strangled Saju’s wife Ranji Begum in front of me to wipe out witnesses. She was raped before killing. Later, Johny, Nasir and CNG Sumon killed the two minors,” she admitted.

Ranji claimed that she did not know about the plan earlier.

On September 26, DB arrested seven people, including two alleged killers Johny and Sumon alias CNG Sumon.

With yesterday’s arrest, DB and police have so far arrested a total of 10 people.

Of them, five had reportedly took part in the killing and the rest helped them escape from the spot. l

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit Italy, Nepal and Malaysia in the next three months.

She is scheduled to attend the 10th ASEM Summit in Milan this month while the 18th SAARC Summit in Nepal in November and expected to visit Kuala Lumpur in December.

Hasina is scheduled to attend the 10th ASEM Summit of Heads of State and Government to be hosted by Italy from October 16-17 and chaired by the European Union.

Heads of state and government of 27 European countries and the European Commission along with their counterparts from 16 Asian countries will take part in the summit.

In 2012, Bangladesh joined Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) comprising 49 countries and organisations in Europe and Asia.

ASEM deals with social, economical and development issues in which Bangladesh has immense interest, said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

Many small countries are also the members of the ASEM, but Bangladesh does not have much interaction with them, he added.

“This type of forum gives an opportunity to interact with the leaders of those countries over a cup of coffee and find new areas of cooperation or resolve disputed issues, if any.”

The ASEM started its journey in 1996 with 26 members in Bangkok to build a new partnership between Asia and Europe and it is the only platform where countries from the regions can exclusively interact with each other.

Saarc Summit

The Dhaka-Mymensingh highway turns into a dust bowl as ongoing construction work on the road forces commuters to take a nightmarish journey on their way back home during holiday festivities RAJIB DHAR

The Saarc programme will begin on November 22 and the summit will be held from November 26-27.

“Prior to the summit, there will be senior official meeting, foreign secretary level meeting followed by Saarc ministerial meeting,” said another senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

The ministerial meeting will finalise the declaration of the Saarc summit and submit it to the summit for approval, he added.

“This year the Saarc summit will focus on connectivity as there is a thrust from the member countries to integrate the region for the welfare of the people,” he said.

The member countries are negotiating deals on motor vehicles and railways for getting approval in the summit.

“We are working on the issue. If it is through in the summit, it will have a big impact on improving connectivity in the region,” the official said.

Under the motor vehicle agreement, private cars, commercially-run buses, ambulances and commercial cargoes can move across the region.

Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan are the members of Saarc.

Malaysia Visit

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak visited Dhaka in November last year after attending the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo.

“This will be a return bilateral visit by the Bangladesh prime minister,” said an official concerned.

Kuala Lumpur has proposed December 3 as the visit date, but Dhaka is yet to take any decision in this regard, he said.

Manpower export and investment issues would figure high on the agenda during the official talks between Hasina and her Malaysian counterpart, the official said.

Both the governments are also working on two other instruments – cooperation in science and technology and culture – and those might be signed during the visit, he added.

After assuming office for the second term in January, the prime minister visited Myanmar for Bimstec Summit, Japan and China on bilateral trips, attended Girls Summit in London, and UN General Assembly in New York. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Electricity importexport to dominate upcoming JSC talks n Aminur Rahman Rasel At least six major issues, including import of electricity by Bangladesh from Nepal and Bhutan, are likely to dominate the upcoming 8th Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting scheduled to be held on October 10 in New Delhi.

The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of Bangladesh and India on power sector cooperation will also hold a meeting at the same place a day earlier.

Power Division Secretary Monwar Islam will be leading the Bangladeshi team at the JSC meeting.

“The JSC will discuss import of additional 500MW of electricity by Bangladesh through Bheramara-Baharampur grid and review the progress of importing of 100MW of electricity from Palatana [Phase-1] power plant in India’s Tripura state,” Monwar Islam said.

The meeting will also discuss import of electricity by Bangladesh from Nepal and Bhutan and development of a joint venture hydro-power plant project in north eastern states of India.

The discussions will also review the progress of the second grid inter connector between Bangladesh and India (Rangia/Rowta-Jamalpur-Barapukuria-North Region/West Region India) and import of electricity by Bangladesh from North-Eastern States of India through this grid inter connector.

Along with that, the meeting would

also review progress of the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Ltd in developing the 1,320MW Moitree Super Thermal Power Project in Rampal of Bagerhat.

“We would focus on sharing hydroelectricity with Nepal and Bhutan through the Indian corridor. Bangladesh proposed to set up a joint-venture hydroelectric power project with Nepal, which has a prospect of generating 90,000MW electricity,” an official of power division told the Dhaka Tribune.

India has joint-venture connectivity with Bhutan for facilitating electricity import. India has a potential to generate 100,000MW of hydro electricity while Bhutan and Nepal have potential of generating 35,000MW and 90,000MW of electricity respectively.

“We have already sent a proposal to the Indian side as they had earlier showed interest to invest in a project in Arunachal state of India,” he said.

During the seventh JSC meeting in April this year in Dhaka, Dhaka decided to allow New Delhi to transmit power through Bangladeshi territory in exchange of providing 500MV-1000MW to Bangladesh on a daily basis.

According to the plan, India will set up power lines for transmitting electricity from Assam to India’s northwestern regions using three routes through Bangladesh, including Dinajpur’s Barapukuria and Jamalpur. l

Matia: Agriculture subsidy to continue n Abu Bakar Siddique

Workers of various garment factories hold human chain in front of the National Press Club on Wednesday demanding their wages and bonuses before Eid NASHIRUL ISLAM

Malaysia to take 409 more under G2G n Tribune Report The Malaysian government has sent two demand letters for recruiting a total of 409 workers in plantation sector under the government to government system.

A senior official of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training said the Malaysian government had sent the demand letters last month.

“Sending of these workers is now under process. The workers will be sent to Malaysia to work in plantation sector,” he added.

Earlier, a total of 5,043 migrants went to Malaysia to work in plantation

sector after an agreement between the two countries had been signed on November 26, 2012.

Following massive irregularities in the recruitment process by private recruiters, the government had decided to send workers at low migration cost. A migrant needs to spend around Tk40,000 to go to Malaysia.

However, the government’s initiative faces setback as a small number of workers have been able to go to Malaysia, drawing criticism from various quarters.

Senior officials at the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment

ULAB’S 10 FOUNDATION CELEBRATION

3rd day focuses on excavations at Bhitargarh n Tribune Report

Two members of Sangskriti Sangsad perform during the 3rd day of ULAB’s 10th founding anniversary yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

The third day of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh’s 10th founding anniversary focused on the archaeological excavations at Bhitargarh in Panchagarh.

A discussion session was arranged yesterday evening with Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs Ranjit Kumar Biswas present as the chief guest.

ULAB Professor Shahnaj Husne Jahan, the director of the Centre for Archaeological Studies, introduced Bhitargarh to the audience.

Secretary Ranjit Kumar Biswas appreciated ULAB’s contribu-

tion in excavating the Bhitargarh and expressed hope that the site would be declared a Unesco World Heritage site.

The third day celebration started at 12:50pm with a cultural performance by Sangskriti Sangsad and a presentation by the ULAB Adventure Club.

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh Board of Trustees Member Ameenah Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor Professor Imran Rahman, Pro-Vice Chancellor HM Jahirul Haque, Professor Emeritus Dr Rafiqul Islam along with faculty members, administration officials and students attended the events. l

Book recounts Gandhi’s stay in Bangladesh n Tribune Report Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader and overcoming the field of politics, he became a great humanist, speakers at a book launching programme yesterday said.

They made the observations as a book titled “Mahatma Gandhi Camp” by writer, columnist and researcher Syed Abul Maksud was launched. Mahatma Gandhi Smarak Sadan arranged the programme

at First Forward Institute in the capital’s Kalabagan.

Indian Deputy High Commissioner Sandeep Chakraborty, attending the programme as chief guest, said: “A devotee of Gandhi like Syed Abul Maksud is rare even in India.”

The author said: “This book was written with help from documents such as personal letters, secret notes and police documents collected from both Bangladesh and India,” he said. l

Filmmaking workshop held at UIU n Tribune Report

A workshop on film-making titled “Stop Not Golpo Chalao Film Banao” was held at the United International University (UIU) on Tuesday.

The workshop contained knowledge-sharing sessions by film industry experts.

More than 150 students par-

ticipated in 12 groups.

They were asked to elaborate a story initiated by noted writer Anisul Haque.

The participating teams will make TV commercials for “Stop Not” which will be published on the online media and selected productions will be telecast on electronic media. l

Media Talk for ‘positive changes’ held at DU n Tribune Report Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, Prof AAMS Arefin Sidduque urged youths of the country to initiate positive changes in the society while inaugurating the “Media Talk of the DU Timz” held at the Faculty of Business Studies on Monday.

The programme, designed by the DU Timz, was attended by Monjurul Karim, anchor of popular crime investigative programme Talash, drama director Sudeb Chakrabarty and film star Ananta Jalil.

They shared their experience and called upon the students to take challenges for welfare of the society. l

Ministry recently held talks with their Malaysian counterparts to increase the flow of migration.

“We have held talks with the Malaysian government few months back. We hope that more recruitment will take place,” Expat Secretary Khondaker Showkat Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Bilateral talks is scheduled to be held on November 4-5. The issue of more recruitment will come up at the meeting for discussion.”

He also mentioned that Malaysia would recruit 12,000 workers for its Sarawak province. l

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday said farmers would continue to receive subsidies under the country’s own policy despite repeated criticisms from development partners.

“The country needs to provide more subsidies in the form of fertiliser and seed for farmers to ensure adequate food grain production,” she said while addressing a workshop on food and nutrition security options at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.

The workshop was organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

As farmers got subsidies, the agriculture sector has ensured abundance of food, making it easy for the country to also export food, Matia said.

“We plan to export a limited amount of rice in Sri Lanka. Our annual subsidy amounts to around Tk12,000 crore that also includes cash in addition to fertiliser and seed,” she said.

Addressing the workshop, Food Minister Quamrul Islam said the country’s agricultural GDP had grown at more than 2% in the last two year and rice production grew from 29.8m tonnes to 33.8m tonnes in fiscal 2012-13.

The agriculture minister said Bangladesh, like other countries in the world, arranges subsidies for farmers using its own resources and it is totally absurd to make any negative comment on the country’s policy on subsidy.

Slamming the development partners, Matia said: “Bangladesh never comments on subsidies provided to farmers of their countries. Why they should ask us to reduce subsidy for our farmers?” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, October 2, 2014

5

NID card facilities at local offices from November n Mohammad Zakaria Voters are going to get a range of facilities regarding National Identity Card in their respective districts and upazilas across the country from November as the Election Commission has almost completed installing area-wise server stations.

Facilities like getting new cards and applying for lost cards will be available at the server stations from November, a senior EC official told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said the server stations would soon be connected to the central server in Dhaka, adding: “Once completed, voters will be able to make corrections in names, change addresses and apply for duplicate cards from their respective areas.”

At present, a slew of people from across the country have to come to the Agargaon office in the capital for these services, which is a hassle for them.

The commission has planned to install 464 server stations in 394 upazilas, 53 districts and seven thanas.

There will also be nine regional server stations.

Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz said the local server stations would come in handy for people living in remote corners of the country as they would no longer need to come to Dhaka to have their problems solved.

Director of the NID and Identification System for Enhancing Access project Mohosin Ali said the task of installing server stations across the country had drawn near and the services are likely to be available from November.

EC officials said ATM Shamsul Huda-led commission began installing local server stations across the country under regional, district, upazila and thana election offices.

In 2008, the commission initiated the task under the Construction of Server Stations for Electoral Database (CSSED) project funded by the UNDP. The commission was supposed to complete installing 502 server stations from 2008 to 2010 but a change in the plan brought the number down to 478 while extending the project’s duration till 2012.

There was another change in the plan and the number was cut to 464 while extending the duration till 2014. l

Herbal medicine factory sealed off n Tribune Report

Public hospitals gearing up for the Puja and Eid holidays

Khulna cancer institute yet to open

Following a tip-off, a mobile court closed the operation and seized machinery of a herbal medicine factory for hygienic reasons, and arrested its general manager (GM) in Firingibazar area of Chittagong yesterday.

Chittagong district administration Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner Asif Imtiaz led the mobile court with the assistance of Rab. Assistant Superintendent Police of Rab Chandgaon Camp Mobassher Hossain said that they raided Eastern Herbal Productions Ltd owned by Towfiqul Alam, who is the Bangladesh Ayurvedic Aousad Shilpa Samiti divisional head of Chittagong. l

n Moniruzzman Uzzal

n Our Correspondent, Khulna

Six held for possessing fireworks n CU Correspondent The Rapid action battalion (RAB-7) caught six men with a large number of fireworks from Teribazar area in Chittagong city yesterday afternoon.

The arrested men are Rashed, Mamun Delwar and Aziz but identity of the other two is yet to be known.

RAB Chandgaon Camp Assistant Superintendent of Police Mobasser Hossain said the RAB forces raided five shops including Siraj Jori House and Shaj Ghor at Bokhirhat area of Teribazar under Kotwali police station at 4pm where the fireworks were stored. l

WEATHER

DRIZZLE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:45PM SUN RISES 5:51AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 34 32 33 34 33 33 34 32

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 25 23 23 24 24 22 24

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.2ºC Chandpur

23.0ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:35am 5:49am 11:49am 4:07pm 5:47pm 7:02pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Public hospitals across the country are preparing in order to ensure healthcare services before and after the holidays of Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha.

Keeping a week-long celebration in mind, the authorities have been preparing a full-fledged medical team, ambulances, and medical equipment to handle any kind of emergency during that period.

All public hospital outdoor units will remain open throughout except Eid day and the day before. The hospitals have already made duty rosters for doctors, nurses, technologists and other employees.

A special Eid menu has also been

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority conducts a drive on the bank of the Turag River yesterday and demolishes an illegal structure of Amin & Monin Development Ltd DHAKA TRIBUNE

prepared for patients.

Professor Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, director (hospital and clinic) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told the Dhaka Tribune that he had issued a circular on September 28, directing all civil surgeons concerned to make preparations to ensure health services before three days and after four days of Eid. “All patients will certainly get emergency and indoor services while the outdoor section will open from the day after Eid,” he said.

Dr Musfiqur Rahman, deputy director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said they had made an all-out preparation to ensure quality service for patients.

Coexistence of different communities stressed n Our Correspondent, Barisal Speakers at a programme underscored the need for maintaining peaceful coexistence and harmonies among different religious communities.

They also called upon the government to patronise traditional artisans with enlistment, giving professional recognition and social status for maintaining religious harmonies in the society.

The speakers made the call while speaking at a reception. To accord reception idol makers artisans and sculptors of Barisal region the programme was arranged at Ashwini Kumar hall yesterday.

Prof Syed Abul Barq Alvi, dean of fine arts faculty of Dhaka University, inaugurated the programme by lighting lamps.

An exhibition of traditional arts and crafts, including Nakshi Kathas, pottery works, handicrafts, photographs,

was also held on the occasion.

The programme was presided over

by Rakhal Chandra Dey, president of Puja Udjapon Parishad, Barisal unit.

Sushanta Ghosh, convener of the Parishad, delivered welcome speech and Shohidul Alam, deputy commissioner of Barisal district, was chief guest of the programme.

At the programme, crest, cash, dress, colours and brushes were distributed among 120 artistes and sculptors.

Durga Puja becomes possible by the efforts of idol maker artisans, who at the end of their creation return home with a negligible amount of honorium and a colour-less pale face and passes rest of the days of the year under hard poverty without any social status, the speakers said.

So many of them have already left their professions and it is prime time to provide financial supports to them, they said. l

Traders block DhakaAricha highway protesting eviction n Our Correspondent, Savar Small traders put up barricade on the Dhaka-Aricha highway and vandalised at least 25 vehicles yesterday protesting eviction.

Locals said Savar district administration had conducted a drive in the bus stand area around 3pm to demolish about 300 illegal structures along the Dhaka-Aricha highway.

During the drive, a team of the administration demolished a good number of illegal establishments from there.

Protesting the demolition, traders took to the street and started vandalising buses, trucks and human hauliers in which 15 comuters injured.

On receiving information, police from Savar Model police station rushed to spot and a clash ensued between law enforcers and traders, leaving 25 people, including pedestrians, injured.

Later, Dr Enamur Rahman, lawmaker, rushed to the spot and assured the hawkers that he would address the issue to higher authorities.

Nirbahi Officer of Savar Sadar upazila said apart from grabbing footpath, traders had started their business on the highway which caused traffic congestion.

Earlier, the district administration through loudspeaker asked traders to remove the makeshift business establishment from footpath and road, but they did not pay heed to it. l

“Here we have around 245 doctors and 856 nurses. Among them 55 doctors and 74 nurses will go on leave for Durga Puja. Another 120 doctors and 150 nurses will take leave for the Eid. However, more than 80% will go for only two or three days’ leave,” he added.

“Moreover, assistant, associate and full professors will also be visiting the hospital to see patients in shifts.

A schedule for them has already been prepared.”

According to him, the number of patients at public hospitals is also likely to go down ahead of Eid. Around 3,000 patients generally stay admitted at the DMCH but the number was found to be 2,600 on Wednesday. l

The warranty of a cancer therapy device imported from China has expired as the cancer institute at Khulna Medical College Hospital is yet to begin operation.

The hospital authorities built a separate building on the premises to launch the cancer institute.

Supervisor of the hospital Dr Md Abdus Samad said the warranty of the device was valid for two to three years.

“Although it has been kept at the hospital, the supplier is still responsible for its maintenance. As we have not yet fully received it, the expiration of warranty will not be a problem,” he said.

The linear particle accelerator was

imported in 2011 but the room where it was about to be installed proved unsuitable, raising the need for renovating the room.

The hospital authorities wrote to the ministry concerned several times but the renovation was not carried out due to lack of coordination between the Public Works Department and the Health Engineering Department.

“The Health Engineering Department and Khulna University of Engineering and Technology carried out a feasibility test when the Public Works Department objected. The report was submitted to the Health Ministry. The ministry is now waiting for the report of the Atomic Energy Commission,” said the hospital supervisor. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Health care providers not paid for 3 months n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha Community Health Care Providers (CHCP) of Sadullapur upazila’s Government Community Clinic have not been getting their monthly salary for the last three months. As such, they have been leading an inhumane life with their families.

According to upazila health department, there are 36 CHCPs in 35 community clinics in 11 union under the Sadullapur upazila. However, the Health Ministry has allocated money for the salary of 35 CHCPs. For this mistake, disbursement of the salary

of all the CHCPs has been stuck since July. It is not sure whether they would receive salary and bonuses for the upcoming Eid. Upazila health and family planing officer Dr Aktar Alam said, the salaries were stuck because of a mistake of the ministry. The authority had been informed several times yielding no results.

Upazila accountant Abdul Hannan Mallik said, the wages for the CHCPs are provided from the government’s annual development fund. It would not be possible to disburse the money without rectifying the mistake. l

50km traffic jam on Dhaka-Chittagong highway n Our Correspondent, Comilla

A long gridlock following a head-on collision between a bus and a covered van yesterday on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Alekhchar in Sadar upazila DHAKA TRIBUNE

BCL men block road in protest at detention of their activist n Our Correspondent, Jessore Jessore district unit of BCL blocked a road in the Monihar area in the city after police arrested one of their activists who, police claimed, was a middleman at the passport office. Police charged baton to disperse the protesters.

The detained was one Abu Said Samrat, a student of Electric department in Jessore Polytechnic Institute and an activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

BCL men said Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali police station Inamul Haque

detained Samrat when he took his wife to the passport office to apply for a passport for her. When, hearing the news of of arrest, Organising Secretary of BCL’s district unit Fayej Sardar went to the police station, police behaved impolitely with him, and refused to release the detained BCL activist.

Protesting the incident BCL men created a roadblock in Monihar area, which suspended vehicle movements on the Jessore-Khulna highway.

Hearing the news of the roadblock police forces led by Police Super Anisur Rahman, Assistant Police Super Milu

Mia Biswas and OC Inamul Haque went to the spot and baton-charged the protesters to disperse them.

President of BCL’s district unit Ariful Islam Riyad said police arrested Samrat without any reason, and made derogatory remarks about the organisation.

OC Inam told the Dhaka Tribune that Samrat was arrested after receiving specific information about his involvement in the illegal business. The District Special Branch is investigating the matter, and he would be released if there is no evidence of his crime, he added. l

A 50-kilometre long tailback was created yesterday on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway following a road accident in Chandina upazila in Comilla that killed a truck driver.

Thousands of people suffered as traffic got stuck on both sides of the highway.

Highway (North zone) Additional Police Super Enam Ahmed said: “The traffic gridlock was created following a head-on collision between a bus and a covered van in front of Palki Cinema Hall on the highway around 3:30am on Tuesday. The bus driver Shohag Hawlader, 26, a resident of Bakerganj upazila in Barisal, died on the spot.”

He said the tailback was created from Meghna-Gomoti Bridge under Daudkandu upazila to sadar upazila’s Alekharchar area since the morning. l

NEWS IN BRIEF 30 fishermen abducted Pirates abducted 30 fishermen from Tengar Char area in the Meghna under Hatiya upazila in Noakhali yesterday morning.

The bandits also snatched away seven trawlers from the fishermen. President of Fish Traders Association Abdul Quyum Helal said: “The fishermen informed us over phone that pirates attacked them and started beat randomly around 1am.

The Pirates looted all fish and abducted 30 fishermen and seven fishing trawlers. Some other fishermen of the trawlers managed to jump in the river to save themselves.”

Hatiya Coast Guard Commanding Officer Md Helal said: “On receiving information from a fisherman, we rushed to the spot, but could not arrest anyone as they already

fled from the spot.” Fishing trawler owners claimed that they have made a loss of Tk60 lakh because of the abduction. – Our Correspondent, Noakhali

area leaving three injured.”The injured Shahabuddin, Sifat and Sadek Hossen were admitted to hospital in critical condition. – Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Three shot in AL-Jubo League clash

Wife demands steps to rescue abducted husband

At least three people received bullet injuries in a clash between two groups of Awami League and Jubo League in the district yesterday. Yardous Hasan, officerin-charge of Munshiganj police station said: “The supporters of Panchasar union president Zahid Hasan and ward No 3 councilor and ward Awami League general secretary Maqbul Hossen got locked into a clash around 1.30pm in Hatlaxmipur

A housewife yesterday at a press conference in the district expressed her deep concern over abduction of her husband and demanded rescue him immediately. According to sources, a group of miscreants picked up a mango trader Nasiruddin, husband of Nahar Begum on 26 August from Kansat area while he was returning home. Later, they demanded Tk19 lakh as ransom. – Our Correspondent, Chapainawbganj

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Juris

7

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Penalising the paralympian peculiarly Relief against

unsatisfactory investigation reports n Raisul Islam Sourav

A

U

ndoubtedly, it’s quite tough to reconcile the letter of the law following which the verdict in Oscar Pistorius’s trial was pronounced. But still, as we are invested with the judicial function in another part of the globe, we reckon that to some extent, we too have a few relevant words to share in the context of the present trend of critiquing the leaning judgement offered to Oscar Pistorius in the Reeva Steenkamp murder case.

For the last few months, the world spell-bindingly observed the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee celebrity athlete. This South African athlete with partial physical disability known as the “Blade Runner,” because of his prosthetic limbs, made history at the London 2012 Olympics when he became the first amputee sprinter to compete in the able-bodied Games, running in the 400m and 4x400m relay.

Beleaguered by camera crews, photographers and reporters from all over the world, the mass media-covered open trial at a Pretorian Court, Pistorius was charged with a premeditated-murder (offence with a penalty of 25 years in jail) for his partner’s alleged murder on February 14, 2013 and placed on trial in March 2014. In the early part of this September, he was found not guilty of murder, but the judge found him guilty of “culpable homicide” (the South African Penal Law version of “manslaughter”) for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp by mistake.

Steenkamp, who was a 29-year-old model and law graduate, died in a small toilet cubicle when Pistorius shot her four times through the locked door just after 3am on Valentine’s Day last year.

The Court heard how his hollow tipped bullets opened and mushroomed on impact, tearing through her flesh and killing her almost instantly. He claims, he mistook her for an intruder, a version that the judge accepted.

The conviction of culpable homicide can bring a maximum imprisonment of 15 years, although legal experts pointed to five years as a guideline because unlike murder, the judge may use her discretion and suspend the sentence or only impose a fine. Additionally, he was also found guilty on a charge of negli-

gently handling a firearm that went off in a restaurant.

Many legal actors believe that the athlete is getting off lightly, possibly because of his fame. However, legal experts argue that the judge has merely followed the law and the evidence available before her. The onus was on the state to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, which the judge said it had failed to execute.

Following an extensive trial that has spell-bound people around the

The judge put a lot of weight on the genuine remorse Pistorius showed after the fact, saying there’s no way he could have faked that globe till date, Judge Masipa gave a detailed account before announcing her verdict. In judgement-pronouncing time Judge Thokozile Masipa said the athlete acted “negligently” when he fired shots through a toilet door, but in the “belief that there was an intruder.”

It was said by the court that the state had failed to prove that Pistorius intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp. The athlete, who became emotional after being described as an “evasive witness,” seemed to have been expecting this verdict. The judge had uttered Pistorius’s negligence and use of “excessive force” when he fired through the door. Finally for that session, the judge allowed Pistorius to remain on bail until the sentencing which is to take place on October 13.

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Administration (NPA) was found “disappointed” as they were not successful in securing a conviction on the original charge of “premeditated murder” against Pistorius. It was mentioned right after the verdict was pronounced that they would wait until the pronouncement of the sentence to decide whether to appeal against the incumbent verdict.

Many jurists around the world have questioned the presiding judge’s decision to acquit Pistorius of murder and argue that the prosecution has logical grounds to appeal against that leaning judgement.

The double amputee athlete had denied murdering Steenkamp after a row on Valentine’s Day last year, and admitted that he shot her by mistake.

With this the judge agreed, saying “it cannot be said that the accused did not entertain a genuine belief that there was an intruder.” In course of the same trial he was acquitted of another charge of firing a gun in public, through the sunroof of a car, and of a charge of illegal possession of ammunition in the home where he killed Steenkamp.

Now, a query peeks in our judicial mind – can we appreciate the said verdict which seems to be an “unusual judicial pronouncement” based on some unfounded juridical findings?

Whether or not one thinks Oscar Pistorius got off lightly depends largely on where do we stand on the case in the first place. The verdict is certainly a “controversial” one not only in South African legal spheres, but also throughout other major legal systems.

The parents of deceased victim Reeva Steenkamp, amid growing discontent throughout South Africa, expressed resentment and distrust later on after Oscar Pistorius was formally acquitted of their daughter’s murder, contending: “Justice was not served.”

Jacqui Mofokeng, a spokeswoman for the African National Congress Women’s League, who supported the Steenkamps’ side in trial court, said: “They are saddened by the verdict.

It’s like they’re mourning Reeva again.

The double amputee athlete had denied murdering Steenkamp after a row on Valentine’s Day last year, and admitted that he shot her by mistake Emotions are high. Some of the family members were crying when the verdict was given.” Therefore, we are listening many questions echoing about whether the judge applied the law appropriately.

The South African legal system allows for various kinds of murder convictions, and the one that’s important here is what is known as common-law

murder with indirect intentions – or “dolus eventualis.”

According to the criminal law, someone is guilty of murder if s/he knows that her/his action could lead to the killing of a person and reconcile her/him to that fact, and act anyway.

However, the judge seems to have cleared Oscar Pistorius of this charge because she felt that, to be guilty of common-law murder, Pistorius needed to have foreseen that his actions would kill a specific person (read Reeva Steenkamp for this case).

In articulating her ruling, judge Thokozile Masipa said that “a reasonable person would have foreseen if he fired shots at the door, the person inside the toilet might be struck and might die as a result,” which suggests a classic case of dolus eventualis, ie the common-law murder. The state tried to prove that Pistorius was aware that it was Steenkamp behind the toilet door but the judge accepted the defence’s claims that he thought it was an intruder.

The judge put a lot of weight on the genuine remorse Pistorius showed after the fact, saying there’s no way he could have faked that. What is perhaps more interesting is the question whether, even if he did think it was an intruder, he should be guilty of common-law murder in these circumstances – and many people believe he should.

We are in a position to say that the criminal law is clear in this context – it doesn’t have to be a specific person whose death can be foreseen, it can be anyone. This may be debatable; and many people have suggested that if Pistorius had killed Reeva in a heat of the moment, he would still be remorseful afterwards.

To us, an appeal against the said verdict should be preferred by the state after the formal delivery of sentencing mainly on the grounds that the law was misconstrued by the trial court. We suppose there are good prospects for the state to appeal on a point of law. There is every possibility that a superior court, after hearing and appreciating the same evidence, may come to an altered conclusion followed by imposing a stricter sentence or may reassess the verdict of culpable homicide and convict him of murder for ends of justice. l Naurin Aktar Kankon and Mohammad Nayeem Firoz are members, Bangladesh Judicial Service.

JURIS QUOTE

However, it is a statutory obligation of the police to start investigation immediately after lodging of a First Information Report (FIR) by an informant or after getting an order from the concerned magistrate, and the IO is bound to finish the investigation within the stipulated time.

Nonetheless, there is a scope to extend the time limit by taking prior approval from the court.

What is a police report?

The report submitted by the police after concluding an investigation regarding an alleged offence is a police report. The police has the power to submit either a charge sheet if the alleged offence has been primarily proved during the investigation, or can submit final report by showing no sufficient cause to warrant an action. Nevertheless, the magistrate is not bound to take the final reports submitted by the IOs. Hence, one has no reason to feel helpless if the IO submits a final report. One can file a naraji (not agree) petition to the magistrate against such a final report.

How to file a naraji petition

We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.

Jules Verne

French author and a pioneer of the genre of science-fiction February 08, 1828 – March 24, 1905

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Aktar Kankon and n Naurin Mohammad Nayeem Firoz

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n adequate, exhaustive, and proper investigation is a key prerequisite to prove allegations against the criminals, and to bring them to justice. Whereas an impartial investigation helps to reveal the truth of a case, a biased investigation report may divert the fate of the case.

Generally, in criminal cases, state becomes a party of the case to punish the perpetrators, and the police is the sole agency to conduct investigation regarding the suspected fact. Hence the duty of the police, to carry out a fair and independent investigation, is crucial to determine a case.

It is true that the police is not sufficiently equipped with resources, manpower, infrastructure, and, there is a serious scarcity of technology. In addition, investigating officers (IOs) do not get enough time to accomplish an efficient investigation due to their regular workload. At the same time, no one will deny that some police officers are reluctant to expense their merit, dedication, integrity and efficiency to run a proper investigation.

Moreover, there is a longstanding allegation that police are often influenced by the offenders to submit investigation reports in their favour.

In many cases, perpetrators influence the IOs politically, socially or even through illegal transaction. As a result, the IOs submit final reports which indicate that there is no such incident, or the alleged persons are not involved with the occurrence.

all relevant documents including the case diary maintained by the IO. If the appellant is being able to satisfy the magistrate that the submitted final report is a biased or incomplete one, the magistrate may direct the IO to perform further investigation or may order to conduct a fresh reinvestigation.

Alternatively, he/she can order to change the IO if it becomes evident that he/she was negligent while performing his/her duty. The court can also recommend to insert his/ her inefficiency to his/her annual confidential report (ACR), or can propose to take departmental action against him/her to his/her concerned department.

If the magistrate thinks that the charge sheet will be adequate to ensure justice instead of a final report, he/she can pass an order to take the application as complaint petition and register the matter as complaint registered case and issue necessary orders to conduct an investigation.

Further, the magistrate can order the officer in charge of the concerned police station to take the matter as an FIR and start a new investigation.

Moreover, the magistrate can arrange independent judicial inquiry by himself/herself or by his/her subordinate judicial officers to reveal the actual fact of the case after taking oath of the petitioner. He/she may ask local people to render necessary support to conduct that inquiry.

Afterwards, if a prima face case is established, the magistrate may serve summons to the accused

If you have sufficient reason to believe that the IO was biased towards the perpetrators, or the IO did not conduct the investigation efficiently, you can file an application on white paper stating the reasons behind your belief and provide relevant evidences (if any) to reject the final report with a request that the investigation to be conducted again.

That means the petitioner is not satisfied with the police report and he/she doesn’t accept the report. In that case, the appellant can apply for further or fresh investigation.

Consequence of taking cognizance of naraji petition After taking such a petition the concerned magistrate will hear the statements of the accused persons and the IO about the alleged incident.

The magistrate will also scrutinise

persons to appear before him/her to defend the allegation against them.

Alternatively, the court may issue a warrant of arrest against the accused persons. Moreover, if he/she thinks that a name should be inserted into the charge-sheet submitted to him/ her, or a vital name has not been mentioned in that charge-sheet, he/ she can order to investigate the matter further. However, an IO cannot remove or apply for removing any name from the charge sheet once inserted.

Relief against dismissal After hearing both the parties and considering all the materials and documents, if the magistrate believes that there is no reason to proceed further on the basis of such a naraji petition, then he/she can dismiss the petition and can determine the matter at that stage on the basis of the final report submitted by the police. However, an aggrieved can file a revision application before the court of sessions judge or the High Court Division within 60 days from the date of such dismissal to set aside the decision.

Otherwise, if the magistrate discharges the accused persons from the trial by avoiding the petition, then the applicant can file a new complaint case to a competent magistrate, or can lodge a new FIR on the same matter to the concerned police station.

Caution If any person lodges a naraji petition on the basis of false, fabricated and vexatious grounds merely to harass his/her opposite party, the magistrate can take legal action against the petitioner. Therefore, to file a naraji petition one needs to be very cautious about the authenticity of the facts of a case and should produce essential evidences to establish his/ her claim before the court. l Raisul Islam Sourav is a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Department of Law, Dhaka International University (DIU), Dhaka.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

UN: At least 1,119 Iraqis killed in September n AP, Baghdad The United Nations said Wednesday that at least 1,119 Iraqis died in violence in September but that the real figure was likely much higher since the reported death toll did not include killings in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

Iraq has been facing an unprecedented crisis — the worst since the withdrawal of US troops in 2011 — after the Sunni extremist group seized a third of the country in a lightning offensive over the summer.

The onslaught by the Islamic State fighters stunned Iraq’s US-trained army and security forces, which melted away as the extremists advanced and captured key cities and towns.

The militants have also targeted Iraq’s religious minorities, including Christians and others, killing hundreds and forcing hundreds of thousands to leave their homes.

The Islamic State militants captured roughly a third of Iraq and much of

eastern Syria, declaring a self-styled caliphate in the territory straddling the Iraqi-Syria border and imposing their own harsh interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Backed by airstrikes from the US-led international coalition, which started in August, Iraqi government forces together with Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Shiite militias have been fighting, trying to win back land from the Islamic State group.

The UN mission in Baghdad has little or no access to the areas engulfed in the fighting. The figures released Wednesday in the mission’s monthly report were the “absolute minimum” number of casualties and they do not include deaths in the western Anbar province or other militant-held parts of northern Iraq, the UN said.

The September death toll included 854 civilians and 265 members of the Iraqi security forces. Another 1,946 Iraqis were wounded last month, the UN added. The worst-hit city was Bagh-

dad, with 352 civilians killed, it said.

The August death toll stood at 1,420.

In June, 2,400 were killed as the Islamic State fighters launched their blitz.

It was the highest figure since at least April 2005.

Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a police checkpoint on a highway just south of Baghdad, killing four civilians and three policemen, a police officer and a medical official said. They added that 24 people were wounded in the explosion. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.

On Tuesday, militants unleashed a series of attacks by car bombs and roadside bombs, mainly targeting Shiite areas across Iraq and killing at least 47 people, including more than 20 in the capital, Baghdad, officials said.

No one claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, which were likely carried out by Sunni militants. The Islamic State group has claimed similar attacks in the past. l

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Turkey vows to fight IS, coalition strikes near border Mursitpinar, Turkey/ n Reuters, Beirut Turkey signalled it may send troops into Syria or Iraqand let allies use Turkish bases to fight Islamic State, as coalition jets launched air strikes on Wednesday on insurgents besieging a town on its southern border with Syria.

The government sent a proposal to parliament late on Tuesday which would broaden existing powers and allow Ankara to order military action to “defeat attacks directed towards our country from all terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.”

The proposal would also mean Turkey, until now reluctant to take a frontline role against Islamic State, could allow foreign forces to use its territory for cross-border incursions.

But President Tayyip Erdogan said the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remained a Turkish priority and stressed Ankara’s fears that USled air strikes without a broader political strategy would only prolong the instability.

Turkey accuses Assad of stoking the

growth of Islamic State through sectarian policies.

“We will fight effectively against both (Islamic State) and all other terrorist organisations within the region; this will always be our priority,” he told the opening of parliament, but added: “Tons of bombs dropped from the air will only delay the threat and danger.

“Turkey is not a country in pursuit of temporary solutions nor will Turkey allow others to take advantage of it.”

The new Nato chief said the alliance would come to Turkey’s aid if it was attacked, in an apparent reference to the border crisis.

The Islamic State advance to within sight of the Turkish army on the border has piled pressure on the Nato member to play a greater role in the US-led military coalition carrying out air strikes against the insurgents in Syria and Iraq.

The militants are encroaching on the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman Empire’s founder, which lies in northern Syria but which Ankara considers sovereign territory. It has made clear it will defend the mausoleum. l

n AP, Brussels

(Top) A photo that shows the temperature of the surface of the US. Clearly visible is a cold front moving across the plains that is bringing severe thunderstorms to areas in South Dakota and Nebraska. (Bottom right and left) Almost 35,000 walrus gather on shore on September 23, 2014 about 5 miles north of Point Lay, Alaska, US. According to NOAA. The huge gathering was spotted during NOAA’s annual arctic marine mammal aerial survey, spokeswoman Julie Speegle said NOAA/AFP

Egypt offers military training to Libya

Uganda uncovers ‘Al-Qaeda prison plot’

n Reuters, Cairo

n AFP, Kampala

Egypt has offered to train pro-government forces battling rival armed groups in Libya, stepping up efforts to eradicate what it says is a threat to its own stability from the anarchy engulfing its neighbour.

The offer was the latest sign of intervention by competing Arab powers in Libya - a haven for Islamist militants and close to becoming a failed state - while Western governments are preoccupied with Iraq and Syria.

Uganda has intercepted communications between militants in the east African nation and Al-Qaeda groups in north Africa requesting help in a planned attack on a major Kampala prison, the country’s police chief has revealed.

The details of the plot were revealed a week after 10 members of Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels were remanded in custody after appearing in court on terror-related charges that prompted a major security swoop in the Ugandan capital.

Speaking to reporters late Monday, police Inspector General Kale Kayihura said investigations has uncovered links between the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Muslim rebel movement, and the Shebab as well as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

“We intercepted communication between the terrorists who were in the cells here and who were writing to Al-Qaeda of the Maghreb to attack Luzira (prison) and save them. They were begging them,” Kayihura told reporters, referring to the maximum security jail.

Kayihura assured Ugandans they were safe, but urged heightened vigilance. l

British jets strike IS jihadists west of Baghdad

n AFP, London British fighter jets fired on Islamic State militants west of Baghdad overnight, the Ministry of Defence said Wednesday, in their second strikes in as many days in Iraq.

Two Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornados based in Cyprus fired four Brimstone missiles on two IS vehicles, including an armed pick-up truck, the ministry said in a statement.

“Two Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri conducted an armed reconnaissance mission in support of Iraqi government forces west of Baghdad,” it said.

Rebels in eastern Ukraine appeared to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk Wednesday, a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists.

At least 10 people were killed as residential areas near the airport were caught in the crossfire, further undermining a shaky truce that was imposed last month and has been riddled by violations since.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists in Kiev that the airport was still under control of government troops who were “brilliantly carrying out their duty” and holding ground there.

However, rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that the rebels control 90% of the airport, which has been the focus of the worst fighting in the region for weeks.

“In two, or maximum three, days the Donetsk airport will come under our control,” he said. l

Nato gets new chief who has blessings of Putin

N AT U R E ’ S WO N D E R S

NEWS BITES

Ukraine rebels close in on Donetsk airport n AP, Donetsk, Ukraine

At a time of daunting geopolitical crises, Nato is undergoing its own version of regime change, with the arrival of a new chief official who has the blessing, at least temporarily, of one of the West’s biggest adversaries: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former two-term Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg started work Wednesday as Nato’s secretary-general, the 13th in the trans-Atlantic organization’s 65-year existence. And the key question is whether his consensus-building style will be more effective in tamping down the Ukraine conflict and other flashpoints than the hard talk of his predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“I expect more moderate language, and that he will try to keep the dialogue open,” said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, an independent Norwegian research institution.

To allies like Germany, the expectation of a dial-back of the rhetoric from Rasmussen — a former conservative Danish prime minister — was one factor arguing in Stoltenberg’s favor.

Last month, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, though squarely blaming the Kremlin for the continued crisis over Ukraine, said: “I found that some things that came out of Brussels, from Nato headquarters, in these last few weeks weren’t always helpful.”

Stoltenberg was unanimously chosen as Rasmussen’s successor by Nato’s policy-making North Atlantic Council in March. It was a pick that won swift if tentative approval from Putin, who had dealt with Stoltenberg when the 55-year-old Norwegian headed the left-of-center government of one of Russia’s neighboring countries.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic accuses prosecutors of lying n Reuters, Amsterdam Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic accused prosecutors of lying about his role in Bosnia›s descent into civil war to make up for a lack of evidence as he took the floor to wrap up his defence at the end of his long-running genocide trial.

Prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty of life imprisonment against Karadzic, 69, a leading political figure during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia that left 100,000 dead.

He is charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for crimes committed as Karadzic’s ethnic Serb army tried to rid Bosnia of Croats and Muslims.

But Karadzic, who is defending himself after refusing the services of a lawyer, rejected the charges in closing remarks at the International Criminal Tribunal for theformer Yugoslavia.

“Since the distinguished prosecution lawyer, Mr. Tieger, has no evidence, he chose to tarnish my personality, he called me a liar and mobster,” he said, blaming the recklessness of other politicians for the worst bloodshed in Europe

since World War Two. “He probably wouldn’t have if he’d had a single valid piece of hard evidence against Radovan Karadzic.”

Concluding their case this week after four years of proceedings in The Hague, prosecutors said on Monday Karadzic had been the driving force in a campaign of genocide nL6N0RU1V5].

Karadzic faces charges of genocide for the killing of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica, when ethnic Serb forces gunned down prisoners at execution sites.

Karadzic, who remained at large for 13 years after being indicted in 1995, also faces charges relating to the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in which more than 5,000 civilians died.

Genocide charge

Prosecution lawyer Alan Tieger said on Monday that the testimony of hundreds of witnesses and 80,000 pages of transcripts had proved that Karadzic had led a policy of “ethnic cleansing” - the term given to the campaign of killings and forced relocations.

Karadzic denied responsibility but said he would not point the finger of

blame for the massacres, an event which galvanized international opinion and led to peace talks.

“I never blamed others for Srebrenica, because I do not know what happened,” he said.

The massacres in July of 1995 were the worst atrocity of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, which saw the breakup of the federation of Yugoslavia into six successor states.Kosovo, then a Serbian province, later also gained independence.

Karadzic told UN judges he had warned the late Alija Izetbegovic, leader of the rump Bosnian government in Sarajevo, that he risked plunging Bosnia into civil war by pursuing Bosnian secession.

“It was Izetbegovic who first suggested we divide Bosnia and apply his Islamic ideas only in the Muslim part of the territory,” Karadzic said.

“I actually anticipated what would happen,” he said “Hundreds of thousands dead and hundreds of cities demolished.”

In a final defence brief filed on Monday, Karadzic disavowed knowledge of many of the crimes committed in Bosnia, calling Srebrenica a “horrible act,” but not genocide. l

“We have very good relations, including personal relations,” Putin said in an interview on Russian state television last spring. “This is a very serious, responsible person, but we’ll see how our relations develop with him in his new position.”

Traditionally, a European has headed Nato’s civilian headquarters in Brussels, while an American officer holds the post of the alliance’s supreme military commander, beginning with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1951-52.

Stoltenberg will be the first secretary-general to hail from an alliance nation that borders Russia. He becomes Nato’s highest-ranking civilian at a time when Western relations with Moscow are at their lowest ebb since the collapse of the Berlin Wall a quarter-century ago.

Simultaneously, Nato member states are confronted with crises in Iraq, Syria and North Africa, the uncertain future of Afghanistan, and an array of security challenges ranging from the threat of cyber-attacks to pirates preying on commercial shipping in the waters off the Horn of Africa.

“As we all know, Nato is not just a security alliance. It is a family of values which reaches across the Atlantic and defends almost 1 billion citizens of our allied countries,” Stoltenberg told a news conference at the Nato summit in Wales earlier this month.

“We must continue to stand up for those values,” he said.

Stoltenberg, an economist by training, became Norway’s youngest prime minister in 2000 the day after his 41st birthday, though he had to resign seven months later when his Labor Party took a beating at the polls. He joined the party at age 14, and was involved in Vietnam War-era street protests that sometimes ended with rocks being thrown at the US Embassy. l

Garry Kasparov: Putin is ‘the most dangerous man’ in the world’ n Yahoo News, sept 30 Arguably the world’s best chess player ever, Garry Kasparov is on a new mission. He hopes to convince the world that the biggest threat to global unrest is not the Islamic State, al-Qaida or North Korea. Instead it is Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president from 2000 to 2008 and then again from 2012 to today.

In an interview with Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga, Kasparov outlined his reasons for believing that Putin should be what keeps the world up at night. He chided President Barack Obama for being too late in addressing Putin’s aggression in Ukraine — ultimately annexing Crimea.

And while he views the president’s speech at the United Nations— calling Russia’s invasion into Ukraine and ideology of “might makes right” backward —he still believes that actions speak louder than words. Kasparov has extremely harsh words for what he views as European indifference to Putin’s actions, and he compares the world’s complacency with the lead-up to World War II. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

In attack by al Qaeda, lines blur between Pakistan’s military, militants n

2001 when they joined Washington’s global campaign against al Qaeda.

According to an initial statement from al Qaeda, the plan was to use the Zulfiqar to attack a US navy vessel, meaning potential loss of American lives and a blow to relations between the two nations.

A further statement issued by the group identified the target as USS Supply, a US naval ship used to refuel warships at sea. The Indian navy was also a target, the statement said.

It urged followers to “make jihad on the seas one of their priorities,” according to the SITE intelligence group, which monitors extremist communications.

A naval spokesman said an inquiry was still ongoing when Reuters contacted the military with detailed questions about the incident. The military typically does not publish its inquiries.

“The Reuters story is not based on facts,” he said. “All the facts will be ascertained once the inquiry is finalised.”

Most Pakistani military officials deny infiltration is a significant problem.

Yet Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told parliament the attackers could only have breached security with inside help.

One navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press, said at least eight navy personnel had been ar-

Reuters, Karachi, Islamabad

Months after Owais Jakhrani was sacked from the Pakistan navy for radical Islamist views, he led an audacious mission to take over a warship and turn its guns on a US naval vessel in the open seas.

The early September dawn raid at a naval base in the southern city of Karachi was thwarted, but not before Jakhrani, two officers and an unidentified fourth assailant snuck past a patrol boat in a dinghy and engaged in an intense firefight on or around the warship, PNS Zulfiqar.

Four people were killed in the attempt to hijack the Zulfiqar, including Jakhrani and two accomplices, who were serving sub-lieutenants, according to police reports seen by Reuters.

Officials are divided about how much support the young man in his mid-20s had from inside the navy. They also stress that Jakhrani and his accomplices were a long way from achieving their aim when they were killed.

But the attack, claimed by al Qaeda›s newly created South Asian wing, has highlighted the threat of militant infiltration into Pakistan’s nuclear-armed military.

The issue is a sensitive one for Pakistan’s armed forces, which have received billions of dollars of US aid since

rested based on the attackers› phone records, including four aboard the Zulfiqar.

Three serving mid-level lieutenant commanders from Karachi were also arrested in the western city of Quetta, allegedly trying to flee to Afghanistan two days after the botched raid, officials said.

Further arrests were made in Karachi, Peshawar, and northwestern Pakistan, they added.

The ‘mastermind’

The plot’s mastermind was sub-lieutenant Jakhrani, either 25 or 26 years old, whose father is a senior police officer in Karachi, officials said.

He was fired several months ago during his probationary training period, according to a senior naval officer.

“He used to ask questions about why there is no break for prayers given during the course of training sessions,” the officer said. “He used to question seniors.”

Earlier this year, Jakhrani traveled to Afghanistan to meet militant leaders and receive combat training, according to two officials. They said that he had told his bosses before departing that he needed to take leave to study for exams.

But Jakhrani failed his exams and alarmed colleagues with his militant views. l

9

Thursday, October 2, 2014

India set to run out of critical free drug for HIV/AIDS programme n Reuters, New Delhi India could run out of a critical medicine in its free HIV/AIDS drugs programme in three weeks due to bureaucratic bungling, a senior government official said, leaving more than 150,000 sufferers without life-saving drugs for about a month.

Missed dosages for long durations can increase patients’ drug resistance and result in faster spread of the virus, while changes in medication regimens expose patients to side effects.

The supply crunch will be an embarrassment for the four-month-old government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has promised to deliver more affordable and better health services.

As drugs in the open market are expensive, the government provides more than one-third of India’s 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients with free antiretroviral drugs that are procured from pharmaceutical companies via a tender process.

Delays in approving such tenders has left the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) scrambling to secure supplies of tenofovir/lamivudine tablets that are prescribed to thousands of patients during initial stages of treatment.

“We are also fed up. What to do?

There are so many bureaucratic hur-

Philippines won’t send troops to unclear mission n AP, Manila, Philippines

dles. The file goes to so many tables, and so many comments,” NACO Deputy Director General A.S. Rathore told Reuters.

Several sources, company executives and documents seen by Reuters revealed that a tender for the medicine was approved last week, but supplies normally take at least 60 days to reach patients, which in this case would take it to late November.

NACO had raised the demand in January, Rathore said.

Patients and activists complained of shortages of several HIV drugs in September, forcing one group to send a legal notice to India’s health secretary, Lov Verma. Verma directed NACO to take stock of the programme and told Reuters on Sept. 4 that the situation was not as grave as activists described.

However, Rathore said on Tuesday that the programme had only 1.6 months of tenofovir/lamivudine tablets in stock on Sept. 4. That means, supplies will run out in about 20 days from now.

As of Sept. 24, 10 Indian states had less than a month of stocks of such tablets, data available on NACO’s website showed.

NACO is now leaning on companies - including Aurobindo Pharma, one of the manufacturers that has been awarded the contract - to help avert a crisis. l

The Philippine president said Wednesday his government would no longer deploy peacekeepers in “impossible” missions like the Golan Heights, where Filipino forces were attacked by Syrian insurgents.

President Benigno Aquino III said hundreds of Filipino peacekeepers were tasked to guard a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israel and Syria.

But when the Syrian civil war spilled over and Islamic militants started attacking the Filipinos and other peacekeepers, their mission became unclear and highly dangerous.

The Philippines decided to withdraw the peacekeepers ahead of schedule, ending a 5-year presence in the increasingly volatile Golan Heights.

Philippine military officials also feuded with the head of the UN peacekeeping force over his handling of a standoff between Syrian rebels and outnumbered Filipino peacekeepers, who fought back and finally escaped after reportedly refusing his order to surrender.

“The news that reached me was that you were ordered to lay down your firearms and we would never agree to that,” Aquino said in a presidential palace ceremony, where he welcomed more than 340 Golan peacekeepers and pinned medals on some.

“If you were taken hostage, the problem would have become more complicated with our limited ability to send a rescue force,” Aquino said. l

Peaceful Hong Kong protests mark uneasy Chinese National Day Hong Kong protests

CHINA

Main protest areas

1

Shenzhen

Demonstrators continued to gather on the 65th anniversary of the founding of Communist China Wednesday

HONG KONG Huge crowds gathered, as Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying faced mounting calls to resign

Mongkok Kowloon Tsim Sha Tsui

BEIJING

Lantau Island

CHINA

Causeway Bay HK Island

10 km

City Hall

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Chater Garden

Central, Admiralty and Wanchai area Golden Main road sections taken over by protesters Bauhinia Road blocks including police and makeshift Square People’s Liberation HK Convention and Army HK Central Exhibition Centre Government Offices Leung and Communist Party officials appeared at the 8 am National Day flag-raising ceremony Revenue Tower

HSBC HQ Bank of China HK Park

High Court

HK police HQ

Admiralty Centre

(1) A man holds up a Chinese national flag as he sings the national anthem at an event to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of Communist China at Victoria park in Hong Kong. (2) Students from Taiwan and Hong Kong raise their mobile phones in front of the Freedom square during a gathering in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protestors, in Taipei. (3) Pro-democracy protestors sleep in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong on October 1, 2014. Hong Kong protesters who braved thunderstorms to stage their third night of pro-democracy rallies began massing at the city’s Golden Bauhinia Square as China’s National Day holiday, lent their campaign for free elections fresh momentum.

All photos taken yesterday AFP

Immigration Tower

100 m

2

3

n Reuters, Hong Kong Thousands of pro-democracy protesters thronged the streets of Hong Kong on Wednesday, some of them jeering National Day celebrations, as demonstrations spread to a new area of the city, ratcheting up pressure on the pro-Beijing government.

There was little sign of momentum flagging on the fifth day of the student-led protest, whose aim has been to occupy sections of the city, including around the Central financial district, in anger at a Chinese decision to limit voters› choices in a 2017 leadership election.

Many had feared police would use force to move crowds before Wednesday’s start to celebrations marking the anniversary of the Communist Party’s foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Those fears proved unfounded.

The crowds have brought large sections of the Asian financial hub to a standstill, disrupting businesses from banks to jewellers. There were no reports of trouble by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, but witnesses said the number of protesters was swelling.

Riot police used tear gas, pepper spray and baton charges at the weekend to try to quell the unrest but tensions have eased since then as both sides appeared prepared to wait it out, at least for now.

Protests spread from four main areas to Tsim Sha Tsui, a shopping area popular with mainland Chinese visitors on the other side of the harbour. It would usually do roaring trade during the annual National Day holiday.

Underlining nervousness among some activists that provocation on National Day could spark violence, protest leaders urged crowds not to disturb the flag-raising ceremony on the Victoria Harbour waterfront. l

Amid differences, Israel’s Netanyahu to seek reassurances from Obama on Iran n Reuters, Washington President Barack Obama and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu meet for a new round in their often-tense relationship on Wednesday, facing differences over Iran diplomacy and Middle East peace efforts as well as complications from the US-led fight against Islamic State militants.

Hosting the Israeli prime minister in a brief visit to Washington, Obama is expected to try to find common ground with Israel, a traditionally close ally, on the most pressing issues but may have a difficult time narrowing the gap.

Netanyahu has set Iran as his top priority in the White House talks. He will seek Obama›s assurance that he will stick to his pledge that “no deal is better than a bad deal” in Tehran’s nuclear talks with world powers aimed at reaching a final agreement in November, an Israeli official said.

While Obama probably will try to ease

Netanyahu’s suspicions about diplomacy with Iran, the US president will stop short of meeting the Israeli demand that Tehranbe required to completely dismantle its nuclear capability under any comprehensive accord, a US official said.

At the same time, Netanyahu is expected to use the Oval Office meeting to continue sounding the warning he issued in his speech at the United Nations this week that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a far greater threat than Islamic State fighters who have seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.

An Iranian UN delegate accused Netanyahu of “propagating Iranophobia and Islamophobia.”

Though Israel backs Obama›s efforts to forge a coalition to confront Islamic State, some Israelis fear that world powers could go easy on Shi›ite Iran›s nuclear program so that it will help in the fight against the Sunni Islamist group.

“The president will make clear even with

the international focus on combating ISIL, that this does not in any way lessen his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” the US official said.

diplomatic failure.

Obama appeared to chide the right-wing premier, who has a history of rocky relations with the US president, in his own UN

An Iranian UN delegate accused Netanyahu of ‘propagating Iranophobia and Islamophobia’

There could also be lingering strains between Obama and Netanyahu in their first face-to-face meeting since the collapse of US-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians in April.

Washington has blamed both sides, but Israel has bristled over US complaints that continued settlement building in the occupied West Bank contributed to the

address on Wednesday when he lamented that “too many Israelis” were ready to abandon peace efforts. He insisted that the status quo with the Palestinians was “unsustainable.”

Low-profile visit?

Despite that, US and Israeli officials alike may prefer to keep tensions under wraps for

the relatively low-key visit.

Obama and Netanyahu are due to meet at 11:20am (1520 GMT), and their only joint appearance will be statements to a small pool of journalists at the end. The last thing the White House wants is a repetition of a 2011 Oval Office visit when Netanyahu famously lectured Obama on the long struggles of the Jewish people.

There is also little expectation that Obama will use the talks for any serious push for renewed negotiations in the aftermath of a 50-day Gaza war between Israel and theHamas militants, which ended in August with no clear victor.

But the US official said: “The top of our agenda (for the meeting) is current relations between Israel and the Palestinians, including the situation in Gaza.”

That is at odds with Netanyahu’s plan to focus first and foremost on Iran, whose nuclear program he considers an existential threat to Israel. Iran, Israel’s arch-foe in the

region, denies it is seeking nuclear weapons capability. Israel is widely assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal.

While Israel wants Iran stripped of its nuclear capability, Washington has left the door open to a deal that would allow Iran to retain limited uranium enrichment for civilian purposes.

“The prime minister won’t be making demands of Obama or asking for public clarification,” said the Israeli official, a participant in US-Israeli discussions on Iran. “But given Israel’s worries about the direction of the negotiations with Iran, we would like to get reassurances.”

Iran and six world powers ended 10 days of talks in New York last week that made little progress in overcoming disagreements on issues such as the future scope ofTehran’s nuclear program and the speed of lifting sanctions. The talks are aimed at getting a long-term agreement by a Nov. 24 deadline. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Thursday, October 2, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Deeds not words

W

e welcome the comments made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his meeting with Sheikh Hasina in New York, on his support for resolving issues to do with the Land Boundary Agreement and Teesta water-sharing arrangements.

It is long overdue for the Bangladesh and Indian governments to make progress on these key matters.

The obstruction of Teesta waters by the Gazaldoba Barrage and their diversion through a link canal to the Mahananda-MechiFulhar Rivers is of particular concern as India’s unilateral actions in upstream changes to river flow have been highly detrimental to Bangladesh.

Action to resolve these matters will go a long way to building co-operation and trust on other important concerns. It is essential our governments speed up efforts to resolve common water-sharing issues in the spirit of international conventions and Bangladesh’s Ganges water treaty with India.

Resolving land boundary issues should also help to boost efforts to lower non-tariff barriers that limit our cross-border trade and exports to India.

It is further encouraging that both prime ministers discussed improving connectivity in the region. The Indian prime minister is reported to have urged support for removing obstacles hampering Bangladesh’s ability to connect with Bhutan and Nepal. This has huge potential to improve intra-regional co-operation on mutually beneficial water management and hydropower issues.

Connectivity is crucial to help boost trade among members of Saarc and SAFTA. We hope this week’s meeting will help build a head of steam to address these issues. Action on them will help both our nations and provide a platform for the benefit of the entire region.

We welcome recent comments on resolving issues between Bangladesh and India. Action will help both our nations

Preserving wildlife is good for everyone

A

mid the hustle and bustle of daily life, it is exciting to hear that rare species of animals and plants are still making a home right here in Bangladesh.

Researchers recently discovered a couple of rare species of birds and a particularly rare breed of butterfly within forest reserves. The birds – the Slender Billed Gull and the Red Phalarope – were spotted in Bangladesh for the first time ever, while the Jungle Glory butterfly was last seen around 132 years ago.

This is encouraging news, and helps to demonstrate the diversity of our country’s ecology.

In the light of a new World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report, which states that the number of wild animals all over the world, across land, rivers, and seas, has halved in the past 40 years, the government needs to ensure that wildlife conservation and environmental protection remain high on the agenda.

Most of the reasons behind the steep decline in the number of animals are clearly man-made and reflect changes in the global climate.

As a nation undergoing rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, we must not lose sight of the value of integrating environmental goals into our future growth.

For one thing, people need places of calm and natural beauty for reflection and relaxation. Sanctuary spots for wildlife are also points of attraction that can generate new opportunities for our tourism industry.

Everyone can benefit from more effort to preserve and enhance our country’s biodiversity and natural environment.

Everyone can benefit from more efforts to enhance biodiversity

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

7-year jail for defaming Bangabandhu, Hasina September 24

sinbad Seven years for defaming! Wow! How about we teach them proper etiquette and behaviour, and by them here, I meant “us.” It’s a social disease now as I reckon it. We do not know how to behave properly. Putting one or two persons inside bars will not

Traffic congestion following hartal September 24

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 12 represents G so fill G every time the figure 12 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

stop anything. On top of everything, when we see our lawmakers on TV involved in similar activities, we have a hard time accepting this verdict.

Sammy sinbad: Baksal II at its best. lol

Presidential perks September 24

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

Chowdhury Aktaruzzaman “Following two consecutive days of hartal, vehicles flooded the Dhaka streets again on Tuesday, resulting in long traffic congestions on most of the major roads in the city. The picture was taken near the Karwan Bazar intersection.”

Well done, Mehedi Hassan. Thanks for taking this photo. And thanks to Dhaka Tribune for sharing this.

Ittiba Azha Hell. Why wouldn’t people go crazy!

MN Oh man, he’s corrupt now. He belonged to a very poor family. He’s been my neighbour.

MA Still, it’s a nice cartoon.

‘Qatar will not host 2022 World Cup’ September 23

Iftekhar Ahmed Terrible traffic!

Mohammad Tanvir Khalid Private cars are occupying approximately 6070% of the road. Says a lot.

Mohammed Abdullah Look at this traffic, yo. :p Sheikh Jinat Mahmid The day before, it took three times longer than the usual jam! A strange city, Dhaka.

Mahmid Abdullah We people should hold a hartal for putting us through these traffic jam situations.

SK Mashallah … Dhaka city. <3 Alnoor Maherali Now THIS is traffic.

Mehedi Rahman Ehab Oh Dhaka. I cannot wait to come back and weave through your big fat belly!

Humaira Chowdhury I will always love this city. I heart Dhaka! <3 Razit Zulfiquer Don’t go to Karwan bazaar, don’t go to Green Road, don’t go to Gulshan. In fact, don’t go anywhere. The mother of all jams is today.

Kazi Abdullah Yeasir Yes, the Amazing #DhakaCity.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

CROSSWORD Momoaswan “‘They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there,’ said FIFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger. ‘Fans from around the world will be coming and travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something that FIFA Exco members want to answer for.’”

Really hope this is true – but one man against FIFA and the Qataris?

Prime minister’s 48-hour stopover in London on private trip September 23 Dr Ahsan Habib Maybe she will take care of her family’s properties outside Bangladesh in this trip?

ACROSS 1 Insects (4) 5 Acting parts (5) 8 Buccaneer (6) 9 Stage presentation (4) 10 Monkey (3) 12 Rarely (6) 13 Instructive example (6) 15 Fencing thrusts (6) 18 Go back (6) 20 Part of the verb ‘to be’ (3) 21 Chess piece (4) 23 Oozed out (6) 24 Of the sun (5) 25 Gains as clear profit (4)

DOWN 1 Horrify (5) 2 No score (3) 3 Snares (5) 4 Utter (3) 5 Income (7) 6 Heavy substance (4) 7 Slender support (4) 11 Skin opening (4) 12 Serviceman (7) 14 Water pitcher (4) 16 Open space in forest (5) 17 Transmits (5) 18 Rodents (4) 19 Prison room (4) 21 Play on words (3) 22 Raining (3)

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Martin ‘moving in together’ September 23 MM What is it about this guy and American Oscar winners? I don’t think the Beatles and Led Zeppelin got that sort of action.

God save the king September 24

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Hammer, Hammer Toilet-Slammer A textbook case of “king for a day … etcetera, etcetera.”

CROSSWORD

Girl commits suicide PEANUTS

September 24 Pramanik Khocon Any follow-ups? Can you post more details?

What was the reason of her dead?

IS blows away Gulf qualms about joining US military action September 24 Ettore Greco Notice how strange it is that ISIS threatened Europe and the entire world, but not Israel, which is next to it. This masquerade goes on in this great stage while the future of all people depends precisely on how ISIS, al-Qaeda, and 9/11 are intended. A new world apparatus should thoroughly investigate the events of 9/11. There is need for an independent other commission that is free from all influence.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Thursday, October 2, 2014

11

35 teachers in search of two students

T

n Shawkat Hussain he title of this piece may suggest that I intend to make fun of the situation that the Department of English of the University of Dhaka now finds itself in. God forbid!

I was myself a student of the department and spent the best years of my life teaching there.

My title alludes to a Pirandello play that all my former colleagues (and many readers) would be familiar with and points to the absurd situation that has developed because of the department’s search for students who qualify to study English literature. If I were still in the department, I would also join them in their search for students who we consider to be fit for our department.

As we all know by now, only two students out of a total of 1,364 candidates who appeared in the elective English exam were found fit!

What constitutes this fitness that I’m talking about? Ideally I think, a student of the English Department should have an interest in literature (we are not looking for “passion”) and a certain proficiency in the English language, which I believe can only be determined by a written component in the admission test.

department. I would be delirious with a band 7 candidate, happy with a band 6 student, but willing to resign myself to a 5.5 band freshman. But that’s a different story.

The elective English exam that was introduced this year was an attempt – a disastrous attempt I might add – to determine that elusive fitness factor for students seeking admission to the department. First, I should clearly state that the English Department en masse demanded separate entry requirements which included a written component in the admission test.

This was twice rejected by the Dean’s Committee. It was only after this failure that the English Department agreed to a compromise formula: A multiple-choice elective English made mandatory for all who sought admission in English. And that is where everything went wrong and 35 teachers found only two students worthy of their attention.

Of course this was not “intentional” as the education minister so rashly and angrily said at one of his press conferences. The department certainly did not want the education minister to become defensive about his ministry’s stupendous achievement in the education sector or to belittle the thousands of students who achieved GPA 5. Certainly the department

No department has the luxury to say that our students do not exist in Bangladesh, however close to reality that may be Who is fit for school?

The admission policy that existed until last year did not screen candidates for this element of interest and linguistic competence. Instead, students who secured a certain mark in the multiple-choice general English component gained admission to the department.

The department never had problems in filling up the requisite number of seats; we just did not fill them up with the right kind of students. And the right kind – I repeat – are students with an interest in literature and a certain level of linguistic ability.

To put it a bit more concretely, I would even hazard to say that an IELTS band score of 6 in speaking and writing would be acceptable for the

also did not want the VC to become defensive about an admission system that worked reasonably well for other departments in the university.

It is a fact that there are other departments in the university who also set their own standards for admission.

Why not English, which does indeed require a minimum level of proficiency in the English language? You can be an Einstein but you cannot get admission into the Faculty of Fine Arts without displaying some knowledge of drawing; you can be a Dr Johnson, but if your musical ability is as good as mine, the music department will not accept you. The argument is very basic, but bears repetition now as all kinds of

NASHIRUL ISLAM

accusations and counter-accusations are flying around.

The demand of the English Department to set its own standards of admission was therefore perfectly legitimate. What went wrong this time was in the design of the questions in elective English to set the standards.

There is no reason to think that the standard of education at the primary, secondary, and higher secondary throughout the country had radically improved or deteriorated. And the admission policy also remained more or less unchanged. It was the elective English paper that was the only new element in the mix, and that is where the problem lies.

As I look at the elective English questions right in front of me, I get the feeling that the standard set by the

question-setters is a much higher one than the one I set out earlier (linguistic competence of band 6. I have thrown “interest in literature” overboard).

It is an unrealisable and impossible standard given the conditions of mainstream education in Bangladesh.

The questions appear to have been set for students who do not exist. Except for two. And if they do exist, they are mostly students from English-medium schools (IELTS band 7-8 students) who would either go abroad or study in one or two of the better-known private universities.

The questions appear to display an odd mixture of elitism, arrogance, stupidity, and incompetence for which the department might have to pay a high price – the price of an opportunity missed.

The failure thus is not a failure of the students. It’s a failure of the questions (and the question-setters) to search out the best students from the existing pool of students. If we set questions to select 125 students from the 1,364 students who opted for elective English, then the questions have to designed in such a way that at least 125 qualify – even if they do not fit our imagined notions of what an English Department student should be like. No department has the luxury to say that our students do not exist in Bangladesh, however close to reality that may be.

If you do that, you end up with only two students! Or you end up with no department! What is now likely is that the result of the elective English test will be completely scrapped, and the

125 seats of the English Department will be filled up by students who qualified in the General English test.

The department will be back to square one, its genuine and legitimate efforts to attract better-qualified students having back-fired miserably.

But the struggle should not be given up: If departmental insistence, political clout, administrative sympathy, and realistic testing standards cohere, the English Department of the University of Dhaka will surely attract much better students than the ones we have had in the last few years. l

All in all, a woefully common story that would be a good starting point for a discussion of the delicate feelings and sense of entitlement of some religious folk, and the rampant disregard for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest. But, I do not want to talk about that here. Instead, in the spirit of the free exchange of ideas, let us have the conversation that was successfully stifled in India.

I think Suraiya and her fellow activists make a point that deserves serious consideration in Bangladesh too, particularly now that Eid-ulAzha is imminent. “The religion of Islam has always viewed animals as a special part of God’s creation,” Suraiya explains. “We encourage everyone to help make the world a kinder place by taking the opportunity of […] [Eid ulAzha] for choosing delicious, healthy meals that no one has to die for.”

The value of kindness she is appealing to is not only at the core of Islam, but at the core of all great religions of the world. That explains why Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, was equally disturbed when he witnessed the sacrifice of animals at the Kali temple in Kolkata. In his autobiography, he recalls a conversation with a sadhu on said occasion. He asked: “Do you regard this sacrifice as religion?” The sadhu replied: “Who would regard killing animals as religion?” To Gandhi’s mind, killing an animal is a heinous sin that has no place in religion.

A year ago, an open letter signed by close to 90 people, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims, was published in this newspaper. The authors – I was one of them – invited Muslims to reconsider the practice of animal sacrifice. We pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have been sent

as a “mercy to all creation” (Qur’an, 21:107), was an ardent advocate for compassion toward non-human animals.

In Sahih al-Bukhari – a major hadith collection of Sunni Islam – it is reported that he was once asked if kindness to non-human animals was rewarded in the afterlife. Muhammad replied: “There is a meritorious reward for kindness to every living creature.” Yet, what typically happens to sacrificial animals in Bangladesh, and many other places for that matter, has nothing to do with kindness.

to death, and too often other animals are watching. The whole process – breeding, transport, slaughter – stands in stark contradiction to Islamic teachings on kindness and compassion.

We hence suggest that people might want to consider donating vegetables, fruits, or money instead of meat, and argued that replacing animal sacrifice is in line with the spirit of Eid-ul-Azha, and a perfectly legitimate way to commemorate the story of Abraham.

After all, it is written in the Qur’an that the meat of the sacrificed animals “will not reach Allah, nor will their blood,

Shawkat Hussain is Professor and Head of the English Department, University of Asia Pacific. He is a former Professor and Chair of the Department of English, University of Dhaka.

Can slaughter be religion? n Rainer Ebert

A

few days ago, on September 22, a group of Indian animal rights activists went to the Taj-ul-Masjid in Bhopal, one of the largest mosques of the subcontinent, and tried to persuade Muslims to celebrate a vegan Eid ul-Azha this year, by pointing out the many benefits of a plant-based diet for human health, the environment, and the welfare of non-human animals. One of the activists, a Muslim woman named

Benazir Suraiya, wore a green hijab and an Islamic dress covered with lettuce leaves, and held a sign that said: “Make Eid happy for all: Try vegan.”

The program was organised by PETA India, a Mumbai-based animal rights organisation that operates under the principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment. They have organised similar programs on other religious occasions in the past, including Christmas, Easter, Diwali, and Janmashtami.

This time, however, things turned

violent. A mob formed and started to attack the group of female activists.

The women were punched and hit with shoes, and stones were thrown at them, prompting them to flee the scene while police tried to contain the mob.

Disturbingly, some people, including members of the media, seem to believe that the women deserved to be assaulted, and the police in fact booked Suraiya and two others on charges of hurting religious sentiments.

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

We should look for alternative ways to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, and make it a joyous time not only for humans, but all animals

Eid-ul-Azha is not a happy time for Allah’s creatures. Prior to slaughter, many of them are made to walk inhumanely long distances, often for days at a time, from as far away places as India, or they are packed into trucks without adequate space, food, water, and medical care. Many animals die of heat exhaustion or starvation before reaching their destination.

When the time of sacrifice comes, the terrified animals are held down, and a more or less sharp knife is drawn across their throats. A hopeless death struggle commences. Sometimes, it takes minutes for the animals to bleed

but what reaches Him is piety from you” (Qur’an 22:37).

Today, I would like to renew the invitation to Muslims to reconsider the practice of animal sacrifice. If compassion and kindness are in fact at the core of religion, we should look for alternative ways to celebrate Eid-ulAzha, and make it a joyous time not only for humans, but all animals. Eid Mubarak. l Rainer Ebert is a graduate student of philosophy at Rice University in Texas, and an Associate Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment FEROZA BEGUM remembered n Mou Mehzabien Boishakhi Weeks into her passing, iconic singer Feroza Begum was remembered at a commemorative ceremony at the National Museum Auditorium on Tuesday, which was attended by musicians and cultural personalities, the singer’s fans and family.

Among the attendees were Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, veteran cultural personality Kamal Lohani, former director-general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, noted singers Khairul Anam Shakil and Sujit Mustafa, eminent lawyer Rafiqul Haque, Shamsuzzaman Khan, directorgeneral of Bangla Academy, Feroza Begum’s brothers M Asafuddowla and Mosihuddowla, and her sons Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed.

Kamal Lohani, in his speech, said the country will forever be grateful to the late singer for her “enormous contribution” to Nazrul songs. “I would like to request the government to give her the honour she deserves,” he said.

In his speech, M Asafuddowla said his sister was the kind of person who would never tire of pursuing their passions. “She was a great person, a homemaker and an excellent singer,” he said, while Mosihuddowla talked at length about the singer’s personal integrity and benevolence.

Shafin Ahmed, a member of rock band Miles, shared his childhood memories with his mother. Hamin Ahmed, another member of the band, shed light on her passion for Nazrul songs. “My mother was very passionate about Nazrul songs and worked relentlessly to promote it,” he said.

The programme also included video projection of images and interviews of Feroza Begum. l

Sajal-Romana in Eid special drama n Entertainment Desk A special drama titled “Tomar Pothe Dariye” (Standing in Your Path) will be aired on the fifth day of Eid-ul-Azha on ETV at 7:20pm. Starring Sajal and Romana, the drama was written and directed by Sheikh Shakil Rahman.

The story of the play revolves around Akash, a psychiatric patient at an asylum.

Since his admittance to the hospital he has never been seen talking to anybody, although previously he had a record of being prone to violence. In the asylum, he

n

Entertainment Desk Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett has received an honorary doctorate degree at the Macquarie University in Sydney for her extraordinary contribution in the field of arts, philanthropy and community.

The 45-year-old actress said: “The arts are what we stay alive for, what we work for all week, what we dream about, what connects us and indeed, what some will say makes us human.” Earlier, she had been awarded honorary degrees from Sydney University and the University of New South Wales. l

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel in pipeline n Entertainment Desk The sequel to Ang Lee-directed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” will be released simultaneously in selected IMAX theaters and on Netflix on August 28, 2015, reported Ace Showbiz.

Online streaming service Netflix is teaming up with The Weinstein Company to release its first original film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend.”

The upcoming movie starring Michelle Yeoh is said to be one of “several” major films that will be released in this manner.

“Fans will have unprecedented choice in how they enjoy an amazing and memorable film that combines intense action and incredible beauty,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.

The sequel is directed by Yuen Wo-Ping, the director of “Tai Chi Master” and martial arts choreographer for the “Matrix” trilogy and “Kill Bill.” Yeoh will reprise her role as Yu Shu-Lien, and Donnie Yen will star as Silent Wolf. Filming is currently underway in New Zealand.

The first “Crouching Tiger” movie earned an Oscar for best foreign language film and was also nominated for best picture at the 73rd Academy Awards. l

NARGIS FAKHRI bonds with JUDE LAW

silently recalls his rendezvous with Jerin, the love of his life to whom he was engaged. Jui, a female psychiatrist, joins the asylum and Akash is dumbfounded by the sheer physical resemblance between her and Jerin, but he keeps silent.

One day, Akash turns uncontrollably violent after discovering that his journal is missing; he loses consciousness during an electroconvulsive therapy. Meanwhile, Jui comes across the journal and comes to know that Akash was, in fact, engaged to her twin-sister Jerin. The story then takes a fresh turn. l

Cate Blanchett receives PhD

Thursday, October 2, 2014

n Entertainment Desk

The American-born actress Nargis Fakhri has finally found a man to get over her break-up with Bollywood actor Uday Chopra. Recently, the actress, who is shooting for her Hollywood flick “Spy,” was seen hanging around with British actor Jude Law. The bombshell beauty, who is a self-confessed fan of the British actor, was seen having words about their love for yoga and food after finishing the shooting schedule of Paul Feig’s directorial venture in US. It has also been reported that the nymphet diva has invited Jude to plan his second visit to India and have a memorable time with her. Earlier, Jude had come to India in 2007 when he visited Rajasthan.

According to the sources, Nargis Fakhri talked to Jude about Bollywodo films and also told him about the festivals like Holi, Diwali, Eid etc. She also told him about her experience of working in Indian cinema and Jude looked quite impressed with whatever she said to him.

However, this development would definitely have troubled Nargis’ former beau Uday Chopra as the sensuous actress has apparently found a shoulder to cope up with her breakup with him. l

Lux-Channel i superstars contest enters final stage n Hasan Mansoor Chatak The Lux-Channel i Superstars 2014 campaign is drawing to a close as the top five contenders got the nod from the judges. It’s only a matter of time before we have this year’s Face of Lux. Dhaka Tribune caught up with the contenders – Nazifa, Supriya, Nadia, Neela and Prema – who shared their enthusiasm for having made it into the final five.

Nazifa said, “In the early days of the campaign, my performance was average, but I was spurred on by the compliments of the judges and regained my confidence.” Supriya said

she wasn’t sure of her acting capability initially, but then, while performing in a remake of the cult family drama series “Aaj Robibar,” discovered that she could actually act.

Nadia, who portrayed the role of Konka in the remake, said, “I was praised for my performance in the TVC round, which really inspired me. I want to peruse a career in modeling now.” Neela is all praise for the campaign which is where, she said, she “passed the best time of my life.”

One of the fundamental parts of the campaign is the grooming session, where the contenders are trained to perform and shed their

inhibitions. So how did the session help the Final Five? Nadia said it was very helpful because the contenders received lessons from the best mentors in the industry, simultaneously in acting, modeling and dancing.

Prema, whose role model is Angelina Jolie, said, “The session will not only help us survive in industry in future but also in our everyday life.

If one of us does not want to pursue a career in the media, then she will get help in any profession of her choosing.” Nazifa thinks it’s better to have training before entering the media.

Supriya, who was trained as a dancer in her childhood, said she wants to

make a career in dancing as well as in modeling and acting. Nadia prefers modeling but enjoys acting also, but she said she wants to receive further training. Neela also wants to peruse a career in modeling and acting.

This year, the campaign introduced some interesting sessions including underwater photo shoot and carnival photo shoot. In this regard, Nadia said, “I did not know how to swim, so during the underwater photo shoot, I would stay longer than usual in the pool, which made the director say, ‘Hey girl! Come on, are you going to stay there forever?

You seem fit for a mermaid film!’” l

Film

Guardians of the Galaxy (3D), The Equalizer How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D) Brihonnola Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City

Exhibition

Solo Painting Exhibition

By Gopal Ghoshe Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Shilpalaya, Road 27 (old), Dhanmondi

The final five contenders Nadia, Supriya, Prema, Neela and Nazifa (from left)

KHAN HASAN MUHAMMAD RAFI

Did you know?

Xavi (143) is now ahead of Raul (142) as the Champions League’s highest appearance maker (Giggs and Casillas - 141)

Sport

Thursday, October 2, 2014

14 Recordbreakers

Totti, Xavi fail to deliver victory

14 Ronaldo the

best I have ever coached: Ancelotti

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Track, medal,

doping rows cloud Games

Bangladesh A take one-day series 2-1 n Minhaz Uddin Khan

The jubilant Bangladesh A team members pose with the one-day series trophy after the last match against Zimbabwe A in Fatullah yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

A combined effort from left-arm spinners Elias Sunny and Mominul Haque paved the way for Bangladesh A’s win in the third one-day against Zimbabwe A as the home side won the match by 31 runs to clinch the series 2-1 at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium yesterday.

The second-string Bangladesh side rode on Marshal Ayub’s 57 to post a decent 239 before getting bowled out in the last ball of the 50th over.

Chasing the target the visitors faced a very disciplined bowling attack with the spinners creating all the trouble.

Elias removed the dangerous Regis Chakabva (eight) in the sixth over to start the domination act as Bangladesh claimed wickets at regular intervals to slow down the run-rate and put Zimbabwe under further pressure.

Late-order batsman Malcolm Waller’s 77-ball 52 was the highest score as Zimbabwe A managed 208 for 8 in 50 overs.

Sunny and Mominul took three wickets each while Mosaddek Hossain and Jubair Hossain shared the rest.

Tigers trounce Kuwait in Asiad quarters Rain again a headache as Bangladesh face Sri Lanka in the semifinal today mul slammed five fours and a six in his Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain made teur side and get their confidence level n Reazur Rahman Rohan up in the process, but whether he had a 18-ball 38 before being trapped leg-be- no impact.

Kuwait’s 58-year old captain Bastaki Mahmoud could have easily opted to bat first after winning the toss against their mighty opponents Bangladesh in the fourth quarterfinal of the 17th Asian Games men’s cricket competition in Incheon yesterday. The decision to bowl first mainly came because of their performance against Nepal in the group stage where they were bundled out for 20 after taking first strike. However, the decision to field first, with no rain around, made no difference whatsoever as Bangladesh, as expected, landed a huge and comfortable win against the World Cricket League Division 7 side.

The Test-playing nation posted 224 in their 20 overs but the nine wickets they lost should cause a headache for the Tigers think-tank. Kuwait, in reply, bowed out for 21 in 13 overs.

It was the Kuwaiti skipper who drew the first success for his team after Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque, in particular, started off in top gear. Ana-

Women face Iran in semis, men bow out n Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh women’s team will face Iran in the second semifinal of the 17th Asian Games women’s kabaddi today. While the women’s team are eyeing the final of their event and grab at least the silver, the men’s team have only themselves to blame as they lost to Thailand by 37-36 points yesterday to conclude their event in an all-losing note.

Bangladesh men were dominant in the first-half and earned two lonas to lead 18-16 during the interval. Bangladesh looked to run away with the game as they resumed to take a quick 15-point lead, 33-18 points. But the Bangladeshi players meekly surrendered as they eventually lost the lead and the match by one point. Skipper Ziaur Rahman, the most important player of the team, did not take the field due to injury. It was reported that he incurred the injury before the game though he did not disclose it.

Back in 2010 in Guangzhou, Bangladesh women lost to Thailand by 34-23 points in the semifinals. Iran fought India in the other semifinal and lost 2322. India were the eventual gold medalists. It would be mentionable that women’s kabaddi was introduced in the Asian Games in Guangzhou. As per the rules both the losing semifinalists are assured of a bronze medal. l

fore wicket in the fifth over with the scoreboard reading 61.

Kuwait had their moments through their pair of father and son. Mahmoud’s 23-year old son Bastaki Fahad, who initially took the field as the wicketkeeper, joined his father from the other end and the off-spinning duo went on to share five wickets with the junior Bastaki taking three.

Tamim, who survived a head-high catch at point in the first over, lasted 22 balls and looked ordinary in his 28run knock. He holed out to Mahmoud at square-leg off a waist-high full toss off Fahad’s bowling.

As the innings progressed it seemed the Bangladeshi batsmen, who have gone through a miserable patch so far this year, were finding it difficult to cope with the “dolly” full tosses coming their way every now and then.

Mithun Ali slogged to 59 off 25 balls hitting four fours and a maximum, but the rest including Shakib al Hasan,

Bangladesh were 155 for two in the 13th over when Shakib (23) sent a high full toss straight to long-on. Mithun departed next over to another full toss after being caught at mid-wicket.

BRIEF SCORE Bangladesh 224/9 in 20 overs (Mithun59, Anamul 38, Sabbir 35, Tamim 28, Fahad 3/48) Kuwait 21 all-out in 13 overs (Alotaibi 7, Sunny 4/8, Mahmudullah 3/1) Bangladesh won by 203 runs Mahmudullah lasted four balls, Nasir was shaky during his 11-ball eight which included only singles and twos and Shuvagata Hom walked back with a golden duck – enough said.

Coach Chandika Hathurusingha might have asked his players to score as much as possible against the ama-

back-up plan (required just in case) was not clear.

Granted, it was the last half of the innings and Bangladesh had plenty of wickets left in their tank. However, for the 10th ranked Test nation losing nine wickets in 20 overs to the 38th ranked non-Test playing nation should never be a source of comfort.

The score did not matter to Kuwait as their players seemed extremely happy having being able to dismiss nine batsmen. They also visited their portion of the crowd during the interval and bowed to them, thanking them for the enthusiastic support.

The Tigers’ bowling, however, should not be a concern as they did what was expected off them. Mashrafe bin Mortaza bowled two maidens up front while Rubel Hossain gave away just one run off his two overs.

Mashrafe shuffled his bowlers and gave two overs each to Shakib, Mahmudullah, Arafat Sunny and Shuvaga-

ta. Sunny was the most effective with his straight-on deliveries and bagged four victims at the expense of eight runs.

Mahmudullah gave away one run for the three wickets he claimed while Shakib and Shuvagata also chipped in with a wicket each. Leg-spinner Shabbir Rahman, who earlier made 35 off 18 balls, completed the rout claiming Alotaibi Mohammed who made the highest seven runs in the Kuwaiti line-up.

Bangladesh will face a strong Sri Lankan side in the second semifinal today at the same venue. The game is equally important for both sides as defending gold-medal winners Bangladesh will be up against the 1996 ICC World Cup champions who also comprises big names in their side.

However, weather forecasts suggest heavy showers and thunderstorms at Incheon during the game that starts at 11am. A washout will result in a coin toss to decide the winner and Mashrafe and Co will finally need ladyluck on their side if that is the case. l

Mamunul leaves for Indian Super League n Shishir Hoque Following the end of visa complicacy, Bangladesh football team skipper Mamunul Islam left here for Kolkata yesterday to join Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Atletico de Kolkata.

Mamunul, who completed the signing of a three-month loan deal with the newly-established Kolkata outfit in the first week of September, is the only footballer from Bangladesh to play in the inaugural season of the ISL scheduled to kick off on October 12.

The 25-year old talismanic midfielder was originally slated to unite with his new club after the conclusion of the men’s football competition in the Incheon Asian Games w h e r e Bangladesh’s campaign ended in the group stages. The team returned home the following day but it took Mamunul a further seven days to join the club due to visa complications.

This is the first time a Bangladesh captain will play in a foreign league and it will no doubt be a milestone for the left-footed midfielder as he will feature in the same league alongside legendary players like Robert Pires,

Fredrik Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka, Andre Santos, Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet.

More importantly, he will share the same dressing room with former Liverpool, Barcelona and Spanish international Luis Garcia. The club will be coached by former Bolivia coach Antonio Lopez Habas. Despite the star-studded names, Mamunul refused to call this phase of his life the best moment of his career. “Every moment is important for a professional player. I believe I may get even better opportunities in the future,” said Mamunul before leaving Dhaka.

Mamunul added he will give his best to achieve a place in the playing eleven. “Highest six foreign players in each team can play at the same time. Hopefully I will acquire my place. I will give my best in practice and on the pitch whenever I get chance.”

Former legendary Bangladeshi footballer Monem Munna gained much popularity when he played for East Bengal in the Kolkata League. When asked if he could exceed Munna’s fame and level of popularity, Mamunul replied, “Munna bhai is a legend. A player with extraordinary talent. I do not want to go to any comparison between the Kolkata League and the ISL. I will not say anything more other than the fact that I consider myself extremely lucky.”

Mamunul did not forget to express his gratitude to his main club, Bangla-

desh Premier Football League champions Sheikh Jamal DC and visited the club president Manjur Kader before leaving for Kolkata.

Mamunul’s loan period will conclude on December 21, a day after the ISL’s scheduled final, and Mamunul is expected to rejoin Sheikh Jamal accordingly.

Atletico de Kolkata returned to Kolkata on September 27 after spending 15 days in Spain where they trained at the La Liga champions Atletico Madrid’s playing ground Vicente Calderon Stadium. l

ISL FIXTURES Date Opposition 12 Oct Mumbai City 16 Oct NorthEast United 19 Oct Delhi Dynamos 23 Oct FC Goa 26 Oct Kerala Blasters 04 Nov Chennaiyin FC 07 Nov Pune City 14 Nov Chennaiyin FC 18 Nov NorthEast United 21 Nov Kerala Blasters 29 Nov Pune City 02 Dec Delhi Dynamos 07 Dec Mumbai City 10 Dec FC Goa

Venue Kolkata Guwahati Kolkata Goa Kolkata Chennai Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata Kochi Pune Delhi Mumbai Kolkata

Soumya Sarkar (22) and Liton Kumar Das (46) earlier put on 50 runs to give the hosts a healthy start. However, the cheap dismissals of Naeem Islam (nine) and Mominul (six) left the Bangladesh A side in a spot of bother before skipper Marshal paired up with Mosaddek to add 54 for the fifth wicket.

Mosaddek scored 25 before 40 runs came from the seventh-wicket partnership between Nurul Hasan (19) and Farhad Reza (32).

Zimbabwe A medium-pacer Taurai Muzarabani proved to be the main threat as he bagged four wickets for 33 runs from seven overs. Luke Jongwe and Waller also picked up a wicket each. l

BRIEF SCORE Bangladesh A 239 all-out in 50 overs (Marshal 57, Liton 46, Muzarabani 4/33) Zimbabwe A 208/8 in 50 overs (Waller 52, Sibanda 37, Mominul 3/36, Elias 3/53) Bangladesh A won by 31 runs

Sachin to unveil Legends of Rupganj n Mazhar Uddin Gazi Tank Cricketers owner Lutfur Rahman Badal will fly in Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on October 14 to unveil the logo and the new name for their club – ‘Legends of Rupganj’ - in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL).

This will be the first visit for the batting genius in Bangladesh since he retired from cricket. “The Legends of Rupganj name was pending for many days which have been approved in yesterday’s (Tuesday) board meeting. As I earlier informed that I will bring Sachin Tendulkar whenever the name gets the approval. I have finalised this after talking with him (Sachin) today (yesterday) morning and if everything goes well then he is expected to arrive in Bangladesh on October 14,” said Badal.

He also informed Sachin will fly from Guahati in a chartered plane after attending a programme and spend the day in Dhaka before leaving for Mumbai at night.

The unveiling ceremony will be held at Hotel Westin in the capital and the 41-year old batting maestro is also expected to visit a school in Rupganj as part of a CSR programme of Unicef. l

PCB chief set to visit Dhaka on October 6 n Minhaz Uddin Khan Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan is all set to visit Dhaka on October 6 to meet high-ups from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

According to sources, BCB president Nazmul Hasan will not be available for the meet due to which the organisation’s CEO, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, vice president Mahbubul Anam along with a few influential directors will be present to attend the latest PCB boss.

The PCB chief’s visit to Dhaka is part of his marathon tour which starts with his visit to India on October 3 followed

by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The PCB supremo’s visit to Dhaka will emphasise on the hosting of a 50over tri-nation series ahead of the ICC 2015 World Cup. Shahryar’s visit is also likely to improve the relations between the two nations and enhance the prospects of Pakistani cricketers featuring in the domestic cricket tournaments in Bangladesh.

The Pakistani cricketers were earlier barred by the PCB from taking part in Bangladeshi cricket competitions after the BCB refused to tour Pakistan on security grounds in 2012. This had irked the then PCB president Zaka Ashraf who went on to bar the Pakistani cricketers from participating in Bangladeshi domestic leagues. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Recordbreakers Totti, Xavi fail to deliver victory n AFP, Paris European football greats Francesco Totti and Xavi Hernandez set Champions League records for oldest goalscorer and appearances on Tuesday but neither could cap that personal landmark with victory for their sides Roma and Barcelona respectively.

Totti turned 38 last weekend and he made sure he would remember it as he scored against Manchester City to level the game at 1-1 - Sergio Aguero having given the hosts the lead with a penalty - to break Ryan Gigg’s record set when he was 37 years and 289 days old.

The game finished 1-1, a result that is of more help to the Italian side than the English champions.

Bayern Munich top the group with six points from two matches, having beaten CSKA Moscow 1-0 in a match played behind closed doors after UEFA punished the Russians for unrest at a group game last season, with Roma on four and City struggling to avoid bowing out in the group stage for the third time in four years.

“When you talk about Totti, you can only say really banal things,” said Roma coach Rudi Garcia.

“I took great pleasure from his goal today. I hope it’s the start of a fantastic story for Roma.”

Xavi, now no longer first choice after a career at Barcelona that has brought him three Champions League trophies among many other winners medals, broke compatriot Raul’s appearances record of 142 when he came on as a substitute in the second-half of their game with Paris Saint Germain.

However, the 34-year-old was unable to help turn around a gripping encounter as the French champions prevailed 3-2 at the Parc des Princes to split the group wide open.

PSG - who were only denied a semi-final spot by Barcelona on away goals two years ago - top the group on four points with Barcelona a point back while Ajax, who were held 1-1 by APOEL Nicosia, are third on two points.

“I am very satisfied. It was an extraordinary match and what I will take away from it was our collective performance,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc.

Elsewhere 2012 champions Chelsea gave manager Jose Mourinho a joyful return to his home town of Lisbon as another former resident of the Portuguese city Nemanja Matic, who played for Benfica, scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon.

With Schalke having to come from a

goal down to force a 1-1 draw at home to surprise packets Maribor, who are yet to be beaten in the group stage, Chelsea have a two point lead in the group.

“Three points is three points. We lost two at home and now we have picked up three away from home,” said 51-year-old Mourinho.

“Chelsea are a young team who sometimes show a lack of efficiency in front of goal. Sporting lost but they have shown they have the qualities that can see them qualify (for the knockout stage).”

Group H may lack the star quality in terms of glamorous clubs but it looks like being a thriller as Sporting’s rivals and the club where Mourinho established himself as a top coach at Porto showed real character to come from 2-0 down and draw 2-2 with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv.

Colombian star Jackson Martinez was their saviour, netting in the 89th minute and then converting a penalty in the third minute of time added on to take him joint top of this season’s scoring charts with three alongside team-mate Algerian international Yacine Brahimi.

They top the group by one point from Belarus champions BATE Borisov who pulled off a remarkable 2-1 home win over a hopeleslly out of form Athletic Bilbao. l

RESULTS Man City

1-1

Aguero 4-P

CSKA Moscow

Roma Totti 23

0-1

Bayern Munich Mueller 22-P

APOEL Nicosia

1-1

Manduca 32-P

PSG

3-2

Luiz 10, Verratti 26, Matuidi 54

Schalke 04

Barcelona Messi 11, Neymar 56

1-1

Huntelaar 56

Sporting Lisbon

Ajax Andersen 28

Maribor Bohar 37

0-1

Chelsea Matic 34

Shakhtar

2-2

Teixeira 52, Adriano 85

BATE Borisov

PSG’s David Luiz (L) and Lucas react after defeating Barcelona 3-2 during their Champions League Group F match at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on Tuesday REUTERS

Polyakov 19, Karnitskiy 41

Porto Martinez 89-P, 90+3

2-1

Athletic Bilbao Aduriz 45

Herrera adds to United injury problems n AFP, London

Ronaldo the best I have ever coached: Ancelotti

Manchester United have been dealt another injury blow after it was confirmed midfielder Ander Herrera suffered a fractured rib in the weekend win over West Ham. The 25-year-old Spaniard, a £28.8million ($46.6million) signing from Athletic Bilbao, has been an important member of manager Louis Van Gaal’s side and becomes the 10th player in the United squad to be injured.

Herrera, who is facing several weeks on the sidelines, was substituted in the 74th minute of the 2-1 win after sustaining the injury.

It was not immediately clear how long he would be out of action.

The news comes as another blow to Manhester United new manager Luis Van Gaal, who already has captain Wayne Rooney suspended for the whole of October after his sending-off against West Ham for kicking out at Stewart Downing.

Nine other United players were missing from Saturday’s line-up due to injury. l

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player he has ever coached after the Portuguese’s blistering start to the season.

Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in nine appearances this season, including back-to-back hat-tricks as Real got their league season back on track with thrashings of Deportivo la Coruna and Elche last week.

“Without disrespecting anyone else, Cristiano is the best player I have coached,” Ancelotti said ahead of his side’s Champions League match away to Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad on Wednesday.

“He fights for the shirt and he is a leader. Although he doesn’t talk a lot, he leads by example.”

Despite scoring five goals himself, Welsh star Gareth Bale has had a far more subdued start to the current campaign.

However, Ancelotti defended Bale’s contribution to the side.

“There are moments in a game

n AFP, Sofia

Players, officials and staff try to calm UAE’s al-Ain forward Asamoah Gyan (C) following altercation between Al-Ain and Al-Hilal players during their AFC Champions League semifinal match at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in al-Ain on Tuesday AFP

where you are not at 100 percent, but he is having a great season, just like his teammates.

“He is working hard, scoring goals and I don’t have anything I have to explain to him. He knows very well what he has to do and I am satisfied with what he is doing.” l

AS Roma captain Francesco Totti celebrates scoring against Manchester City during their Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northern England on Tuesday REUTERS

Hanover boss Women’s World Cup to be imposes festival ban for Munich trip played on turf, Fifa insists claiming FIFA is discriminating against n AFP, Berlin n Reuters, Ottawa women by having the tournament on

Hanover 96 coach Tayfun Korkut has banned his players from visiting Munich’s Oktoberfest beer festival after Saturday’s Bundesliga match at leaders Bayern Munich -- whether his team wins, loses or draws.

Hanover are sixth in the table, but only four points adrift of leaders Bayern ahead of Saturday’s showdown at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Korkut has forbidden his players from attending Munich’s world-famous festival in the Bavarian capital even if Hanover earn their first away win over Bayern since 2006.

“Festivals are cause for celebration only if you have something to celebrate and a single game is not a good enough reason,” said Korkut.

The annual 16-day Oktoberfest, where 6.7 million litres of beer were drunk in last year’s festival, finishes on Sunday and Hanover travel to Munich in good spirits with ten points from their first six games.

They are only two points off second place.l

Next year’s women’s World Cup in Canada will be played on artificial turf despite threats of legal action from several top international players, an unmoved FIFA executive said after touring one of the host venues on Tuesday.

With players threatening a lawsuit if forced to play on artificial pitches, resolute FIFA officials were unfazed as they began site inspections of the six Canadian venues that will host the June 6-July 5 competition.

“No plans to change that decision,” a stone-faced Tatjana Haenni, FIFA’s deputy director of the competitions and head of women’s competitions, told reporters after inspecting the Ottawa stadium. “I can’t answer if that is fair but that is the way it is going to be.

“It is according to the competition regulations, it is according to laws of the game so all matches will be on artificial turf.”

While FIFA remains adamant the tournament will proceed as planned a group of players is equally determined that the event will be staged on grass,

Gyan says he was racially abused in CL semi n Reuters, Dubai

Everton have nothing to fear in Russia: McGeady

Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan has accused Al Hilal’s Romanian midfielder Mihai Pintilii of racially abusing him during their AFC Champions League semi-final second leg clash on Tuesday.

Gyan was sent off with 20 minutes remaining for a lunging scissor tackle on the skilful Salem Al-Dawsari as the Emirati side were knocked out 4-2 on aggregate.

Pintilii ran over to Gyan to remonstrate after the tackle near the left hand touchline, which sparked a melee between a number of players from both sides.

Ghana captain Gyan posted a message on his Twitter account on Wednesday saying “it happened” with a link to an article claiming the player was subjected to “racist abuse”.

“The player has no right to tell me what he did. He said something to me which made me upset. He said an abusive word - I really didn’t like it,” Gyan said. l

Everton winger Aiden McGeady’s experience of Russian football gives him reason to be confident as the Toffees travel to face FC Krasnodar in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The Premier League club have had a slow start to their domestic campaign but were buoyed by their 1-1 draw with Liverpool in last weekend’s Merseyside derby and are now looking to make it two wins out of two in Group H. Roberto Martinez’s side were impressive 4-1 winners against Wolfsburg in their opening game two weeks ago, while Krasnodar are in their first ever European campaign and started with a 1-1 draw in Lille.

“It’ll be a tough game. Going away to these places in Europe, in the Europa League especially, they are never easy,”

n AFP, Paris

Ireland star McGeady told Everton TV. “But I think we have enough quality to get out of this group easily enough and get as far as we can.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur entertain Besiktas at White Hart Lane also encouraged by their performance in a derby, in their case last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

Besiktas are unbeaten in the Turkish Super League so far but only managed a 1-1 draw at home to Greek side Asteras Tripolis in their opening game in Group C. Among the pick of the ties elsewhere on Thursday, two-time former UEFA Cup winners Feyenoord host Standard Liege in Rotterdam in Group G, while another Dutch side, PSV Eindhoven, go to Dinamo Moscow in Group E. And in Group F, Saint-Etienne take on Ukrainian league leaders Dnipro while Inter Milan entertain Qarabag, the outsiders from Azerbaijan.l

artificial turf.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup for men in Brazil was played on grass and there are no plans to shift future men’s tournaments to artificial turf. Some professional football leagues and some FIFA World Cup age-group matches are played on artificial turf.

The FIFA delegation toured a 24,000-seat stadium that is home to the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks, walking out onto the field to get a close look at the playing surface while the team practised.

Even with plenty of construction going on around the stadium Haenni was full of praise for the venue but refused to comment on the turf.

“It is the first time we have come and seen it almost finished and from our first impression it really looks beautiful. It is very spacious, very modern, great facilities for players, guests, spectators,” said Haenni.

When asked specifically about the playing surface: “I think I just answered that question,” Haenni snapped.l

FIXTURES FC Zurich Villarreal HJK Helsinki Torino Asteras Tripolis Tottenham Astra Giurgiu Celtic D Moscow Estoril Saint-Etienne Inter Milan Feyenoord Rijeka FC Krasnodar VfL Wolfsburg Sparta Prague Bratislava Dynamo Kiev Aalborg Guingamp Dinamo Minsk Lokeren Trabzonspor

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

M’gladbach Apollon Club Brugge FC Copenhagen P Belgrade Besiktas Salzburg Dinamo Zagreb PSV Eindhoven Panathinaikos Dnipro Qarabag Standard Liege Sevilla Everton Lille Young Boys Napoli St Bucharest Rio Ave PAOK Fiorentina Metalist Legia Warsaw

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Thursday, October 2, 2014

This handout photo taken and released by the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC) yesterday shows gold medallists Mohammad Norizan (3R) and Ahmad Abdul Aziz (3L) of Malaysia posing with silver medallists Ibuki Koizumi (2L) and Kotaro Matsuo (L) of Japan and Jia Yi Loh (R) and Jonathan Yeo (2R) of Singapore for a ‘selfie’ during the awards ceremony for the men’s 420 sailing event at the Wangsan Sailing Marina near Incheon. (Right) Thailand’s gold medallist Nichapa Waiwai (L) takes a selfie with her teammate Noppakao Poonpat, Singapore silver medallists Low Rui Xi Priscilla and Low Rui Qi Cecilla, India’s bronze medallists Varsha Gautham and Aishwaya Nedunchezhiyan during the ceremony of 29er - women’s two person dinghy event yesterday AFP/REUTERS

QUICK BYTES Malaysia refuses to give back ‘doping’ gold Malaysia on Wednesday refused to hand back the Asian Games gold medal won by a wushu athlete who failed a doping test, as a fifth athlete became snared in the hunt for banned drugs at the giant event. A teenaged Syrian karate competitor tested positive for clenbuterol, the anabolic agent made notorious by sprinter Ben Johnson at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, in the latest case. Malaysia has been infuriated by the expulsion on Tuesday of wushu champion Tai Cheau Xuen from the 45-nation Games. On Wednesday it made a formal appeal to the international sports court over the way her drug test was handled, Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officials said. The Swiss-based independent Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) has set up a special unit in Incheon to handle disputes at the Games, where 9,500 athletes are competing. “The CAS will make its decision on whether or not to restore the gold within 24 hours,” OCA director general Husain al-Musallam, told AFP. “If the court finds that this player has the right to get back the medal, the OCA will not oppose it.” Malaysian officials say, however, that they still have the gold awarded to the champion in the Chinese martial art on September 20, and they are not about to hand it over.

–AFP

Nishikori wows sold-out Tokyo crowd Japan’s Kei Nishikori began his quest for a second Japan Open title with a comprehensive 6-3 6-4 win over Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in front of a sell-out crowd on Wednesday. The 10,000 Japanese spectators who had thronged the Ariake Colosseum went home satisfied as their national hero took 85 minutes to seal the contest in a tournament which has already seen shock first round exits for top seed Stan Wawrinka and 2009 champion JoWilfried Tsonga. The demand for tickets has soared since fourth seed Nishikori reached the U.S. Open final last month and the 24-year-old, who overcame a sluggish start to hit some pinpoint groundstrokes, did not let them down.

“Winning Kuala Lumpur (last week) gave me more confidence,” Nishikori told local reporters of his third title of the year. “I try not to pay attention to the crowd or what the opponent is doing, but it’s always good to play at home. I can feel the support here,” said the local favourite, who faces Donald Young in the second round after the American beat Japan’s Go Soeda 6-4 6-2. “(Young’s) definitely a tough player, he can play very aggressive,” said the 2012 champion. “He’s also a lefty and that makes things even more complicated.”

–Reuters

Track, medal, doping rows cloud Games n AFP, Incheon All three top finishers in the men’s 800 metres final were disqualified and an aggrieved Indian boxer turned down her bronze medal as disputes flared at the Asian Games Wednesday.

Malaysia also refused to return a gold medal over a failed a drugs test, and a Syrian karate competitor became the fifth athlete caught doping in a day of discord at Asia’s Olympics.

Indian women’s boxing icon Mary Kom was a big winner as she won a split decision in a tight flyweight final to claim her first Asian Games gold, buoying her hopes for the 2016 Olympics.

Qatar’s Femi Ogunode completed a sprint double when he won the 200 metres in a Games record 20.14sec, to add to his new Asian mark of 9.93sec in the 100m.

But controversy broke out in the men’s 800m when Abdulaziz Mohammed, Musaab Bala and Abraham Kipchirchir Rotich, who finished one, two and three, were all disqualified.

The Incheon Asiad’s official website said Saudi Mohammed was disqualified for obstruction, while Qatar’s Bala and Rotich of Bahrain were penalised for breaking lane regulations.

The drama comes just days after Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet was stripped of her steeplechase win as she was about to step onto the victory podium, only to be reinstated the next day.

India rejoiced as Kom finally got an Asian Games gold. But the spotlight fell on Indian team-mate Sarita Devi, who flatly rejected her lightweight bronze in an angry protest against judging standards.

Devi, who was controversially

judged beaten by South Korea’s Park Ji-Na in the semi-finals, walked to the podium in tears and refused to accept her bronze medal from officials.

She then walked over to Park and, as the South Korean fighter bowed in greeting, she placed the bronze medal around her neck.

“I said, ‘This is for you and all Korea, because you only deserve a bronze,’” Devi told AFP afterwards.

“It was a protest for all the sports-

Qatar’s gold medallist Femi Seun Ogunode poses during the medal ceremony for the men’s 200m final at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium during the 17th Asiad yesterday REUTERS

Syria’s karate fighter Nour-Aldin al-Kurdi, 19, became the fifth athlete snared in the doping net when he tested positive for clenbuterol.

But Malaysia lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and refused to hand back a gold medal after wushu winner Tai Cheau Xuen failed a drugs test.

According to reports, the Malaysian delegation believes Tai’s sample may have been accidentally switched with another athlete’s.

“I am convinced Tai did nothing wrong. She strongly denied knowingly taking any illegal drugs or substances,” said Ramlan Aziz, National Sports Institute director-general.

Swim star Joseph Schooling was facing an investigation by Singaporean authorities over an allegedly boozy night out as he celebrated his gold medal success.

As Afghanistan’s men’s cricketers reached the semi-finals with victory over Nepal, the war-torn country’s head of the sport invited top nations to tour.

“I am telling the players to come to my country and play there, they will treasure those memories for ever,” Afghanistan Cricket Board chairman Shahzada Masoud told AFP. Shi Tingmao won the women’s 1m springboard and He Chao took out the men’s equivalent as China progressed to six diving medals, four away from a perfect 10. Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-Jae failed to inspire South Korea to team gold, but Asia’s leading exponent remained favourite for the individual title on Thursday.

And South Korea’s women edged China 1-0 to take the field hockey gold.

China reached 130 golds overall, ahead of 62 for South Korea. l

MEDAL TALLY Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25 27 28 29 30 30 32 33

CHINA 131 90 73 294 SOUTH KOREA 62 61 66 189 JAPAN 39 63 59 161 KAZAKHSTAN 20 17 29 66 IRAN 15 11 14 40 NORTH KOREA 10 10 12 32 THAILAND 9 6 23 38 QATAR 9 4 13 UZBEKISTAN 8 11 14 33 CHINESE TAIPEI 8 9 14 31 INDIA 7 9 34 50 HONG KONG 6 8 22 36 SINGAPORE 5 6 11 22 BAHRAIN 5 5 1 11 MALAYSIA 4 14 10 28 MONGOLIA 4 4 11 19 INDONESIA 3 5 9 17 KUWAIT 2 4 2 8 SAUDI ARABIA 2 2 4 MYANMAR 2 1 3 VIETNAM 1 9 22 32 PHILIPPINES 1 2 5 8 TAJIKISTAN 1 1 2 4 IRAQ 1 2 3 PAKISTAN 1 1 2 UAE 1 1 2 MACAU 3 3 KIRGIZSTAN 2 3 5 TURKMENISTAN 1 3 4 LAO PDR 1 1 2 LEBANON 1 1 2 BANGLADESH 1 1 SRI LANKA 1 1 *Till yesterday (8:00pm)

India, Pakistan end 32-year Djoker, Kvitova win, Wozniacki out wait for hockey final n AFP, Beijing

n AFP, Incheon

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off in a mouth-watering field hockey final at the Asian Games on Thursday with a place in the 2016 Olympics at stake.

Millions of fans in both nations will be glued to their television screens for the title clash which earns the winner a ticket to Rio de Janeiro and the loser left facing a hazardous qualification route.

India and Pakistan last met in an Asiad final way back at New Delhi in 1982 where the Indians suffered a stunning 1-7 rout in front of their hown fans that included then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

In Beijing in 1990 when Pakistan claimed the gold and India the silver, there was no final since the winner was

decided after a round-robin league.

Eight-time Olympic champions India have won the Asiad title just twice, both in the Thai capital of Bangkok in 1966 and 1998.

In contrast, defending champions Pakistan are the most successful team in the continental games with eight golds, highlighted by four successive wins over India in a final from 1970 to 1982.

Pakistan, coached by former international Shahnaz Sheikh, start as favourites following their 2-1 win over India in the preliminary league.

But Sheikh was worried by the failure of his strikers to score against Malaysia in Tuesday’s semi-final which ended in a 0-0 draw before Pakistan edged ahead 6-5 in the tie-breaker.l

DAY’S WATCH Ten Spots 6:00AM Asian Games 2014 1:00AM UEFA Europa League Internazionale v FK Qarabag Ten Action UEFA Europa League 9:00PM Dinamo Moscow v PSV Eindhoven 11:00PM VfL Wolfsburg v Lille 1:00AM Tottenham Hotspur v Besiktas Sony Six 6:30PM World Kabaddi League 2014 Mohali- Day 20 Star Sports 1 Champions League T20 2014 4:30PM Semi Final 1: Kolkata v Hobart 8:30PM Semi Final 2: Punjab v Chennai

men and women of the world against injustice in sport. There should be fair play in sport.”

Afterwards organisers had to send a volunteer to retrieve the medal which was abandoned on the podium. Incheon Asian Games Organising Committee members present were offended by Devi’s gesture, a spokesman told AFP. “If she wanted to refuse the medal she should have not come to the ceremony,” the spokesman said.

Zimbabwe cricket players Hamilton Masakadza (L), Brendan Taylor (R) and Prosper Utseya pose with the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy on Tuesday in Victoria Falls during the trophyís tour to all the countries that will compete in the next ICC Cricket World Cup AFP

Novak Djokovic continued his 100 percent record at the China Open Wednesday overcoming late resistance from Vasek Pospisil to win 6-3, 7-5, while Petra Kvitova powered through her women’s singles match.

The number one seed in Beijing was playing at his dominating best in the first set, breaking serve in the third and final games as he appeared to be in control.

But the Serb lost his trademark composure midway through the second set, screaming to himself in anger as he failed to capitalise on a break point in the fourth game.

Canadian Pospisil was in the ascendency three games later, drawing level at 40-40 with a brilliant crosscourt shot which left the world number

one flat-footed.

The 41st ranked player in the world then went on to force break-point and took the game following an incredible 26-shot rally.

In the women’s competition, world number three Kvitova opened her campaign to win a second consecutive event in China in commanding style.

The Czech player defeated homecrowd favourite Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-2 in her first match since her victory at the Wuhan Open last Saturday, advancing in Beijing with the same confidence she showed at the earlier tournament.

Kvitova will now meet 16th seed Venus Williams for a tricky thirdround match. The third seed in Beijing has enjoyed a return to consistency in China after a poor run in the North American swing.

She won her second tournament of the year at New Haven, but crashed out of the US Open in the third round to 145th-ranked Serbian qualifier Aleksandra Krunic. l

Play in our land, Afghanistan tells cricket world n AFP, Incheon

More than gold on the line in Korean shootout

Afghanistan’s cricket chief on Wednesday called on top nations to tour the country, insisting it is safe and has world class facilities boosted by foreign money.

Money from Germany is being used to build one stadium in the war-torn nation and interest is growing as Afghanistan has qualified for next year’s WC. “I am telling the players to come to my country and play there, they will treasure those memories for ever,” Afghanistan Cricket Board chairman Shahzada Masoud told AFP at the Asian Games.

“Cricket is one of our favourite sports. You get 20,000-30,000 people watching our local league matches. The security is good, especially for cricketers. Our teams travels around the country without guards. People love them because they represent the country.” l

North and South Korea will be playing for more than just a gold medal when they clash in the Asian Games football final on Thursday.

The countries remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the tournament decider in Incheon takes place, symbolically, just 120 miles (195km) from the world’s most fortified border. The rewards for giving their ideological enemies a bloody nose will have a considerable impact on both sets of players.

South Korea’s players will be excused two years of mandatory military service if they end a 28-year title drought and win the men’s competition, which is played under the same

n AFP, Incheon

under-23 format as the Olympics.

Victory over the hosts and tournament favourites, who are under intense pressure to win, would be a valuable propaganda tool for the communist North.

Should they upset the odds, their players can expect a hero’s welcome in Pyongyang, known to lavish cars and apartments on athletes who bring glory to the state.

North Korea’s athletes and officials held a special “longing for the leader” gathering at the Asian Games, dedicating tear-jerking songs and poems to the country’s leader Kim Jong-Un, who is reportedly suffering with gout after eating too much imported cheese.

The North fired the opening volley on the eve of the football final, coach Yun Jong-Su criticising the refereeing of his side’s 1-0 extra-time victory over Iraq in the semi-finals. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Touts use websites to sell tickets ahead of Eid, Puja They ask for prices two or three times more than the original cost to profit from ticket seekers desperate to go home “But what can we do if anyone deAC service was Tk1,200 during Eid, n Abid Azad while the tickets for non-AC service mands higher price over telephone,

With Eid-ul-Azha just around the corner, boats packed with cattle - similar to the one pictured here - are being brought to the capital from all over the country. The photo was taken on the Buriganga River near Postogola yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Bangladeshi businessman gunned down in Johannesburg n Tribune Report A Bangladeshi businessman was shot dead by criminals in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday.

Quoting witnesses, family sources said the victim, Salauddin Babu, was shot by a group of armed criminals when he was closing his shop around 9pm. Later, locals rushed him to a local hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

Babu, who was from Faridganj of Chandpur, went to South Africa some two years back to set up a business with his sister and her husband.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Khondker Showkat Hossain said: “It is true that Bangladeshi migrants at times are attacked and killed by local criminals in South Africa. Even the South African authorities are struggling to control such heinous activities.

“We have held a meeting in Dhaka last month with the South African High Commission located in Colombo and requested them to ensure safety of our migrant workers.”

Earlier, a good number of migrants were killed by the terrorists, according to the expat ministry.

Sources said around 70,000 to 80,000 Bangladeshis are now involved in different types of commercial activities in South Africa. l

With almost all the advance tickets for buses and trains already sold out ahead of Eid and Puja festivals, unscrupulous brokers are taking advantage of the ticket seekers’ desperation by selling tickets online for prices that are several times more than the original.

Instead of the actual passengers, a large number of tickets reportedly end up in the hands of profiteers during times when the demand for tickets are at the peak. As a result, an artificial shortage of tickets is created, allowing the unscrupulous scalpers to sell the tickets at outrageous prices.

Although most of such transactions were earlier dealt in person, touts were now also preferring to use websites that post classifieds.

Users at clickbd.com – a popular e-commerce site – post online advertisements offering tickets at higher prices.

A user named palas001 posted an advertisement for four Dhaka-Dinajpur bus tickets on Nabil Paribahan air-conditioned buses for October 4. Each ticket was offered at Tk3,000.

In the post, the seller claimed that he had bought the tickets from another website but had to sell them as his plans for travel had changed. When contacted, the user who claimed to be from Dhaka’s Uttara said he had bought the tickets for Tk2,500 each.

However, Nabil Paribahan officials said the bus fare for Dhaka to Dinajpur

was Tk700.

Asked about the advertisement by palas001, Mahfuz, an assistant manager at Clickbd.com, could not comment as he did not know details about the ticket price.

“Actually, we do not sell anything directly. We are just like a platform for e-commerce business. But when any user posts any ad for business, we verify the posted ad and we do not keep any unverified ad,” he said.

Meanwhile, touts also posted classifieds offering to sell train tickets to a variety of destinations ahead of Eid. A user named Akram posted an advertisement on another e-commerce platform – ekhanei.com – on Monday, offering to sell train tickets for Khulna, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Sylhet for October 3 and 4 at the price of Tk450 each.

However, the pictures of the tickets that he submitted on the advertisement showed tickets dated for 2009 and 2012.

When contacted by this correspondent, Akram demanded Tk900 – double his asking price – for each ticket.

Asked if the user’s posts and asking price were verified before being uploaded, Ekhanei.com’s content manager Shamim Ara said: “We are very much conscious regarding this matter and we also have a moderator team that works for verifying the posted ad and price matters.

despite posting the ad with the actual price. Sometimes we keep some ads that ask for a higher price, but we do not keep any that demand twice or thrice the actual price,” she added.

However, when asked how the website verified advertisements which offered so many tickets on a variety of routes, she refused to comment.

Transport terminals

Visiting the Gabtoli bus terminal, the Kamalapur Railway Station and the Sadarghat launch terminal in the past two days, the Dhaka Tribune found that the rush of ticket-seekers was lighter than the previous few day as most of the tickets had already been sold.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune at the Kamalapur Railway Station, Pritam, a private university student, said: “I have just come from Sayedabad bus terminal as I did not find any advance bus ticket to go to my home in Feni. But I could also not get any advance ticket here as all of them are sold.

“Now I am trying to find a scalper who can manage an advance rail ticket for me,” he added.

Sources said touts and seasonal ticket scalpers are likely to become active at the transport terminals from today, in order to get the maximum profit from people who are desperate to head home to their families to celebrate the festivities. l

Private medical admission, tuition fees to be capped n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The Health Ministry is considering to set Tk15 lakh as the ceiling on the admission fee for MBBS and BDS courses at all private medical and dental colleges soon. The monthly tuition fee could also be set at between Tk8,000 and Tk10,000.

The ministry is unlikely to allow any institute to charge anything extra in the name of development fees or miscellaneous charges.

Of the total admission fee, Tk13,80,000 will be considered tuition fees and the remaining sum will be counted as intern fees.

The admission fee ceiling was discussed on Sunday at a meeting at the ministry attended by experts and it is expected be finalised soon. Aiyubur Rahman, additional secretary of medical education and manpower and also the head of the tuition fee regulation committee, presided over the meeting.

A four-member committee was earlier formed to set the admission fee ceiling and it invited senior medical professionals to Sunday’s meeting to hear their views on the subject.

Aiyubur yesterday refused to give any details, saying the final decision should be taken first.

Professor Dr M Iqbal Arslan, secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association and also a member of the committee, told the Dhaka

Tribune the proposed amount was discussed and the ministry would take the final decision.

Professor Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, director of medical education at the health directorate, said the final decision would be taken following the health minister’s return from the US. The health minister was a member of the prime minister’s entourage to attend an assembly of the UN, and is expected to return today or tomorrow.

At present, there are 5,325 seats at 56 private medical colleges and another 1,280 seats at 23 dental colleges.

Seeking anonymity, an official of Bangladesh Private Medical College Association told the Dhaka Tribune the proposed ceiling would not be a suitable figure.

He said: “We heard that Tk1,20,000 will be counted as intern fee which means it will have to be returned to students during their internship. Besides, if public medical colleges spend Tk2224 lakh for each student during the entire course period then how the private ones can manage with Tk15 lakh?”

A member of the fee regulation committee said the private institutions charge students Tk18-30 lakh, with the average being Tk21 lakh.

“Many institutions enrol students mentioning Tk9-12 lakh as the total cost but, after admission, they charge a huge sum in the name of development fees, exam fees and others,” he added. l

CU suspends five students for attack on teachers’ bus n CU Correspondent The Chittagong University syndicate yesterday suspended five students in connection with the crude bomb attack on teachers’ buses that injured at least 14 persons including 10 teachers on September 10.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that the decision was made at a syndicate meeting chaired by VC Prof Anwarul Azim Arif.

The punished students are Md Abdul Halim, Md Amin Uddin, Md Ibrahim Khalil, Md Towhidul Islam and Md Yusuf. Of them, Halim is a second-year student of mathematics department while the others are students of Islamic studies department, Proctor Siraj Ud Dowla said.

Pro-VC Prof Iftekhar said the syndicate had suspended the five on the basis of confessions made by the arrestees before

the court, news reports and police reports, adding that they were served show-cause notices to explain why they should not be expelled permanently.

Meanwhile, the CU Teachers’ Association (CUTA) observed a sit-in programme during the meeting in front of the institute, demanding exemplary punishment to the attackers.

CUTA President Prof Benu Kumar Dey said they had postponed their work abstention programme following the suspension of the students. He said the association would place a memorandum to the Home Ministry.

On September 10, at least 14 people, including 10 teachers, were injured as Shibir men allegedly made a bomb attack on two buses of teachers at Chararkul of Hathazari while enforcing a strike on the campus.

After the attack, police and CU authorities filed two cases accusing at least 90 persons, including 25 Shibir activists. l

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confidence up in sluggish recovery

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Coding skill offers huge job opportunities

Bangladesh-Nepalese youths declared as regional coding champions for gainful employment,” she added. n Tribune Report She also hoped that initiative like The global lender World Bank in association with Microsoft yesterday announced two teams – one from Bangladesh and another from Nepal – as the champion of a youth competition titled “Coding your opportunity”.

Better Stories Limited from Bangladesh and Robotics Association from Nepal were announced champions who had been awarded with $10,000 for implementing their innovative ideas that will expand coding knowledge among the youth helping them secure and create gainful employment.

The champions received the certificates at a programme in the capital.

In general, coding refers to scriptwriting of programmes in computer through binary digits. It refers to an executable file or executable programme which instructs the computer to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions.

The annual regional grant competition was rolled out in four South Asian Countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The rest of the participating organisations were awarded with certificates. The final competition between Maldives and Sri Lanka will be held soon in Sri Lanka.

“South Asia is home to world’s largest working age youth population.

Learning about coding and computing has become an essential job-skill in today’s world,” said Christine Kimes, acting Country Head of World Bank Bangladesh.

“The competition received many good proposals and we are hopeful that the winning projects would create awareness about coding and help the condition of the participating countries

this can help create more and better young people able to meet the demands of the today’s world.

Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility lead for Asia Pacific Clair Deevy said her organisation, through its global YouthSpark programme, is committed to helping young people around the world to achieve their employment, education or entrepreneurship dreams.

Microsoft’s Country Manager for Bangladesh Sonia Bashir Kabir said: “Bangladesh is a country with population of 160 million of which 50% are under the age of 25. I think investing, promoting and encouraging you (the youths) to do whatever is right is needed not only for yourselves, but also for the country and the rest of the world.”

She also suggested the youths to make coding on health and education, which has very much demand across the globe.

Chief Executive Officer of bdjobs. com AKM Fahim Mashrur and University Grants Commission member Mohibur Rahman also spoke at the programme.

The regional grant competition has invited youth-led initiatives and organisations to showcase fresh, innovative ideas that bridge the existing coding gap in South Asia between those who have access to the gaining skills they need to be successful and those who do not.

Coding is an essential and desirable job skill in computing works. Jointly implemented by the World Bank and Microsoft, the competition was organised aiming to enable youth to expand coding knowledge amongst their peers, in turn helping them secure gainful employment. l

Commerce MInister Tofail Ahmed greets filmstar Ananta Jalil on his winning CIP status at a function in the city yesterday

Tofail: CIP areas, number to be extended n Tribune Report Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said both the areas and number of CIP will be increased to recognise the contribution of the country’s businessmen.

He was addressing a function held at a city hotel yesterday to hand over CIP status for the FY2012-13.

A number of 147 have been awarded status in the function for their contribution to the country’s export sector and trade.

The names of the commercially important persons (CIP) for the fiscal year 2013-14 will be declared by June next year, Tofail Ahmed said.

“The areas to award CIP status are now limited. They will be extended to give more businessmen the status,” commerce minister said.

Of the 147 awarded CIP, 101 got the

Foreign portfolio investment jumps n Kayes Sohel Net foreign investment at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) roared back last month after a sharp decline in the previous two months.

A large number of shares were purchased by the overseas investors in block trade in September, which was higher than any month in recent time.

It has helped to increase net position of investment that spiked more than 300% compared to August, DSE sources said.

A block trade involves a significantly large number of shares being traded at an arranged price between the parties, outside the open markets, in order to lessen the impact of such a large trade hitting the tape.

“Some foreign investors took part in block trade last month, accounting for more than 50% of shares they purchased,” sources said in the DSE. They mostly pumped their funds into the fundamentally sound companies, like tobacco, telecommunication, leather and pharmaceuticals, they said.

Overseas investors had bought shares worth more than Tk589 crore in September with 257% growth over the previous month, according to the DSE data released yesterday.

During the period, they sold shares worth Tk163 crore, a marginal increase of 7% and their trading turnover spiked 137% or Tk753 crore.

Data showed that the September

net foreign investment figure stood at Tk426 crore, rising 322% from almost three-year low of Tk12.5 crore in August. It is the single-month highest since April this year.

In April, 2014, the foreign investors came up with the highest ever fund of Tk572 crore into Bangladesh’s stock market when they bought shares of Tk876 crore and sold Tk304 crore.

The foreign investment, however, accounts for less than 2% of DSE’s total market capitalisation, the lowest among the South Asian countries.

“Stable economic growth, faster than expected growth due to relatively calm political situation and a vast group of young share investors were the factors in attracting foreign funds,” said an analyst at a top brokerage firm.

He said they usually prefer longterm investment in the companies with good fundamentals at discount rate.

The long-time stability of local currency against the greenback was a reason behind the increase of foreign investment in the stock markets, he added. l

Citi to expand microcredit in Bangladesh n Tribune Report Citibank up with tives for PAN) to

N.A. Bangladesh has teamed United Development InitiaProgrammed Actions (UDDIexpand its microcredit dis-

bursement channels in Bangladesh.

Rashed Maqsood, Managing Director and Citi Country Officer for Bangladesh and Md Emranul Huq Chowdhury, Executive Director and CEO of UDDIPAN, signed the agreement on be-

NASHIRUL ISLAM

half of their respective organisations, says a Citibank press release yesterday.

“Our expanded partnership with UDDIPAN will allow Citi to offer greater disbursement of microcredit to root level farmers,” said Maqsood. l

status for their outstanding performance in export of different products and 46 for contribution to trade.

FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed also spoke at the function as special guest.

“The recognition will encourage other businessmen,” chief of the apex trade body said.

He urged the government to ensure all the facilities under the status to the businessmen who received it.

FBCCI first vice president Monowara Hakim Ali received the status in the ex-officio category.

She said there is a good number of indigenous women entrepreneurs in the hill tracts making different exportable items.

Recognition of their works will also encourage them, Monowara Hakim said.

She alleged although the government is giving CIP status, the holders do not receive all due facilities under the 2013 policy.

MD Saiful Islam, Managing Director of PICARD Bangladesh Limited, called on the government to form an advisory council for product and market diversification.

Saiful Islam, also a recipient of the CIP status, said 94% of the country’s export earnings come from seven traditional products.

Despite global recession in 2008, euro zone crisis 2010 and Bangaldesh’s political unrest in 2013, the country has continued to register a steady growth in export as well as in the GDP, which was possible for the businessmen, he said.

According to the CIP Export Policy-2013, the government gives CIP status to the businessmen from 22 sectors

based on the export earnings, market diversification and exploration and volume of export in the previous year.

But this year the status was given to 18 sectors.

The ministry can award CIP status to 188 businesspeople in two categories of which 140 from exporters and 48 from ex-officio category.

According to the policy, the CIP card holders will enjoy privileges for the next one year, which include a pass and a car sticker for entering the Secretariat, invitation to national functions or municipalities, seat reservations in the government transports including Bangladesh Biman and railway and letter of introduction from the foreign ministry for travelling abroad.

They will also be allowed to use VIP lounge-2 at the country’s airports during travels. l

Banks in industrial zones open on Saturday

BASIC Bank gets new MD n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

The scam-hit BASIC Bank has got new managing director yesterday.

Khondokar Md Iqbal, former managing director of the state-run Karmasangsthan Bank, has been appointed as the MD of BASIC Bank.

Earlier on May 25 this year, BASIC Bank MD Kazi Faqurul Islam were removed from his position on charges of irregularities.

Bangladesh Bank made the decision afterng the allegations of irregularities and loan forgery against Faqurul.

Faqurul had admitted to the central bank to his involvement in loan forgery of Tk4,500 crore that was carried out between December 2009 and November 2012. The new Managing Director, Khondokar Md Iqbal, started his banking career as a class 1 officer in Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) in 1981.

The new Managing Director, Khondokar Md Iqbal, started his banking career as a class 1 officer in Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) in 1981.

During his long banking career he worked in different divisions in ICB and demonstrated outstanding performance in the respective area of opera.

He was also the Chief Executive Officer of ICB Asset Management Company Limited. He worked as general manager in Agrani Bank and Sonali Bank Limited, plus as a CEO of Sonali Bank (UK) Limited and Deputy Managing Director of Sonali Bank Limited. l

The banks located in industrial areas will remain open on Saturday ahead of the Eid ul-Azha.

Bangladesh Bank in its circular issued yesterday asked the commercial banks in industrial zones to function half day in a bid to facilitate salary payment for garment workers ahead of the Eid. The branches of commercial banks located in Dhaka city, Ashulia, Tangi, Gazipur, Savar, Narayanganj and Chittangong industrial areas will come under the jurisdiction, said the circular.

The banking activities will continue from 10am to 1pm on the day.

BB also advised the scheduled banks to pay allowances to those officials attending the office on that day.

Keep ATM booths full

Besides, all banks have been instructed to fill the ATM booths with adequate money during Eid vacation from October 5 to 7, said another circular issued yesterday by Bangladesh Bank.

BB also suggested ensuring security for the ATM booths, said the circular. l

Internet users now 4 crore n

Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Bangladesh’s internet users are now more than 4 crore.

According to the BTRC data, the number of active internet users stood at 4.08 crore at the end of August.

The telecom regulator released the number on its website yesterday.

“We have been waiting for a long time to get this milestone,” said a BTRC spokesperson.

The number was 3.94 crore at the end of July and a total of 14.7 lakh new users, mostly of mobile internet, have been added in the following month.

Of 4.08 crore internet subscribers, mobile internet has some 3.93 crore subscribers.

Besides, 2.72 lakh are using internet through Wi-MAX and 12.3 lakh through ISP or landline phones.

Market insiders said the launch of third generation mobile broadband has played a significant role in crossing the 4-crore landmark.

Besides, the number of mobile active SIM cards has also stood at 11.75 crore, according to the BTRC data.

The market leader Grameenphone is close to touch the number of 5 crore subscribers of its mobile phone service. l

Bangladeshi develops best digital app in Asia n Tribune Report Mobile phone operator Grameenphone has announced the winner of GP digital apps competition.

Tanvir Hassan Sourov, Founder and CEO of Kaaktaruaa, was selected as the winner of the competition for his Kaaktarua’s LIVE TV app, said a release yesterday.

The winner will represent Bangladesh at

the Telenor Digital Winners’ “Best App in Asia” competition in Oslo during October 21-22.

Grameenphone made the announcement of the winner at a ceremony at the GP House in city. The competition is part of Telenor Group and Grameenphone’s ambition to provide “Internet for All.” The release said Kaaktarua’s LIVE TV app users could stream 1800 free TV channels broadcast from 153 countries all over the

world on a relatively fast internet connection.

The app has had worldwide downloads of nearly 76,000, despite being available only on a Windows 8 and Windows platform.

The LIVE TV app faced stiff competition but was finally chosen for ease of use, creativity, uniqueness and scalability.

Nine app developers, pre-selected by Startup Dhaka through an open recruitment process, showcased their products and pre-

sented about their ambitions for the future.

Applications ranging from games and reference materials to bangla keyboard apps were presented during the competition.

The “GP Digital Winners” competition was an app competition jointly organised by Grameenphone, Startup Dhaka and Telenor Digital. The panel of five judges from GP represented areas of marketing, social media and digital services scored the participants. l

B2

Stocks stage sharp rise on buying binge n Tribune Report

The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,985, soaring nearly 25 points or 1.3%.

The benchmark DSEX surged 79 points or 1.6% to close at 5,153, which is all-time high and the best single-day gain this year.

The Shariah index DSES gained about 19 points or 1.6% to 1,214.

The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,985, soaring nearly 25 points or 1.3%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was up by 184 points to 9,448.

After a pause in the previous day, trading activities geared up as turnover at DSE hit Tk977 crore, an increase in more than 11% over the

DSE LOSER

Bangas -A BD Building Systems -A SAIF Powertec-N EXIM Bank 1 MF-A GeminiSeaFood-Z Ratanpur Steel -N Hakkani P& Paper -B BSRM Steels-A Atlas BD-A National Housing Fin.-B

Closing (% Change) -27.52 -13.04 -11.16 -9.23 -5.68 -4.71 -3.36 -2.85 -2.72 -2.70

CSE LOSER Company Bangas -A BD Building Systems -A SAIF Powertec-N Reliance1 M.F.-A NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A Sonargaon Tex -Z Ratanpur Steel -N H.R. Textile -A Dhaka Ins. Ltd.-A Dutch Ban. Bnk- A

Closing (% Change) -27.51 -14.54 -11.83 -7.59 -6.67 -4.44 -3.58 -3.54 -2.37 -2.35

5153.26797

(+) 1.56%

1985.57023

(+) 1.26%

15902.75160

(+) 1.79%

13122.94590

(+) 2.39%

9645.51110

(+) 1.92%

Average (% Change) -27.12 -9.91 -8.51 -9.54 -5.69 -3.55 -2.01 -0.22 -3.34 0.12 Average (% Change) -27.27 -11.32 -8.16 -7.59 -6.67 -1.45 -4.49 -2.96 -0.71 -2.35

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 358.49 54.25 61.20 5.88 138.00 76.95 26.27 114.34 165.33 32.95

ClosingAvg. 359.59 53.28 61.23 7.30 5.60 8.84 77.15 30.13 29.25 91.50

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 855.67 754.24 77.97 932.24 522.00 2182.63 1.45 626.27 1259.53 17.54 255.39 112.14 185.08 322.65 145.15 92.27 613.00 456.24 88.57 270.99 0.21

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

DHIGH

358.50 52.70 57.30 5.90 137.80 74.80 25.90 112.30 164.50 32.40

Closing

358.50 55.40 65.40 6.20 139.00 81.00 27.00 118.70 169.90 33.80

DHIGH

360.00 52.30 57.40 7.30 5.60 8.60 75.50 30.00 28.80 91.50

193,652,317

360.00 55.00 65.00 7.30 5.60 8.90 80.10 30.50 29.80 91.50

158,992

Traded Issues

302

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

217

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

84

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

1

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,731.96 33.11

32.70

DSE key features October 1, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

499.58

Turnover (Volume)

12,732,141

Number of Contract

17,891

Traded Issues

229

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

172

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

53

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,619.19

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.75

Turnover in Million

DLOW 340.00 46.00 56.20 5.90 135.50 74.00 25.50 108.00 153.00 31.50

350.00 52.00 56.20 7.30 5.60 8.60 74.50 30.00 28.80 91.50

Latest EPS

9.485 76.155 114.387 0.050 0.207 126.595 0.578 154.259 5.595 10.367

Turnover in Million

DLOW

% change 8.76 7.72 0.80 9.54 5.34 22.34 0.01 6.41 12.89 2.61 1.15 1.89 3.30 1.49 0.94 6.27 4.67 0.91 2.77 0.00

Million Taka 43.94 38.91 3.10 70.77 27.52 69.48 50.83 52.85 11.35 26.51 11.66 17.81 16.04 11.05 3.05 21.69 16.75 14.73 19.39 0.00

CSE

% change 8.33 7.38 0.59 13.42 5.22 13.17 0.00 9.64 10.02 2.15 5.03 2.21 3.38 3.04 2.10 0.58 4.11 3.18 2.79 3.68 0.00

5.03 3.08 1.63 1.28 -1.80 3.03 0.28 4.80 2.99 1.88

Latest EPS

2.895 0.559 21.101 0.015 0.017 0.022 10.694 0.060 0.059 0.046

Million Taka 899.61 793.15 81.07 1003.00 549.51 2252.11 1.45 677.10 1312.38 28.88 281.89 123.80 202.89 338.69 156.20 95.32 634.69 472.99 103.31 290.38 0.21

PragatiLife Insu. -Z SummitAlliancePort.-A Popular Life Insu. -A Progressive Life-A Sandhani Life -A Mithun Knitting -A Meghna Life Ins. -A Rupali Life Insur.-B Takaful Islami Insu-A People`s Leasing-A

Closing (% Change) 9.78 9.68 9.49 8.86 8.52 7.17 6.74 6.74 6.64 6.54

CSE GAINER

5.03 3.08 1.63 1.38 0.46 -0.96 3.03 1.75 2.60 9.28

Latest PE 71.3 17.6 37.5 4.6 -ve 25.4 93.8 23.8 55.3 17.5

Total

Company GSP Finance-A SummitAlliancePort.-A Rahima Food -Z Meghna Life Ins. -A Sandhani Life -A Prime Islami Life -A Fareast Islami Life -A Rupali Life Insur.-B NLI 1st M F-A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A

Closing (% Change) 9.95 9.94 9.15 9.14 8.92 8.02 7.92 6.60 6.49 6.13

Average (% Change) 8.00 8.38 8.93 6.21 8.39 5.43 2.71 3.44 4.78 4.57 Average (% Change) 10.10 7.73 7.28 4.41 11.83 7.97 10.22 4.86 17.14 6.13

ClosingAvg. 99.00 57.30 197.82 98.34 71.20 95.67 109.61 54.72 28.74 27.25

ClosingAvg. 22.02 56.60 52.78 110.48 70.90 91.56 98.86 55.45 8.20 1125.00

Closing 101.00 57.80 200.80 100.80 71.30 97.20 110.80 55.40 28.90 27.70

Closing 22.10 57.50 53.70 112.20 70.80 91.60 100.80 56.50 8.20 1125.00

DHIGH 101.10 57.90 200.80 101.10 72.20 99.00 111.40 56.00 29.10 28.50

DHIGH 22.10 57.50 53.70 112.80 71.50 92.00 99.90 57.00 8.20 1125.00

DLOW 88.00 48.00 185.00 92.00 62.90 88.10 100.00 50.00 26.50 23.40

DLOW 21.70 50.00 52.00 107.50 70.00 91.00 100.00 52.80 8.20 1125.00

Turnover in Million 2.943 87.172 33.691 4.794 57.479 15.609 38.639 23.557 7.085 187.259

Turnover in Million 0.275 3.151 0.158 1.099 0.355 0.041 0.392 1.469 0.041 0.338

Latest EPS 2.38 0.96 17.00 2.30 2.12 2.69 6.45 5.33 1.50 0.82

Latest EPS 1.56 0.96 -1.01 6.45 2.12 4.95 4.60 5.33 1.41 40.74

Latest PE 41.6 59.7 11.6 42.8 33.6 35.6 17.0 10.3 19.2 33.2

Latest PE 14.1 59.0 -ve 17.1 33.4 18.5 21.5 10.4 5.8 27.6

News, analysis and recent disclosers From TradeServers: FAREASTLIF: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2014 (Jan'14 to March'14), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 238.97 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 25,486.99 million as against Tk. 377.92 million and Tk. 21,182.15 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

RELIANCINS: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has announced the CPA (Claim Paying Ability) Rating of the Company as "AA+" along with a stable outlook in consideration of audited financials of the Company up to December 31, 2013, unaudited financial up to June 30, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

PADMALIFE: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on October 01, 2014 at 3:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

PRAGATILIF: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to approve the proposal

to float an Open-end Mutual Fund in the name of "UFS-Pragati Life Unit Fund".

BSCCL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has instructed Mr. Md. Abdus Salam Khan, FCS to serve his duty as the Managing Director of the Company in addition to his current post of Company secretary until further instruction with effect from October 01, 2014.

IPO Subscription: Hamid Fabrics Limited subscription date 28 September to 02 October 2014, NRB upto 11 October 2014. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 100. National Feed Mill Limited subscription date 26 -30 October 2014, NRB upto 08 November 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.

Right Share: MIDASFIN: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 03.08.2014.

ICB: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014. BIFC: subscription period for rights issue of the Company will be from 09.11.2014 to 30.11.2014. Record Date for entitlement of rights share: 19.10.2014.

Dividend/AGM APOLOISPAT: 15% stock, Date of AGM: 21.12.2014, Record Date: 21.10.2014.

QSMDRYCELL: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 27.11.2014, Record Date: 20.10.2014.

PENINSULA: 10% cash, AGM: 13.11.2014, Record Date: 15.10.2014.

FAREASTLIF: 40% cash, AGM: 03.11.2014, Record date: 16.10.2014.

UNITEDAIR: 10% stock, Record date: 20.10.2014.

EHL: 15% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 30.10.2014, Record Date: 02.10.2014.

BANGAS: 50% stock, AGM: 21.10.2014, Record date: 30.09.2014.

BDBUILDING: 5% cash & 20% stock, AGM: 23.10.2014, Record date: 30.09.2014.

MATINSPINN: 25% cash, AGM: 30.10.2014, Record date: 02.10.2014.

CENTRALPHL: 5% cash and 15% stock, AGM & EGM: 23.10.2014, Record date for AGM & EGM: 29.09.2014.

DBH: 25% cash, AGM: 25.11.2014, Record date: 25.09.2014.

DESHBANDHU: 10% stock, EGM & AGM: 19.10.2014, Record date for AGM & EGM: 21.09.2014.

MHSML: 25% stock, AGM: 30.10.2014, Record date: 25.09.2014.

FARCHEM: 20% stock, AGM: 09.10.2014, Record date: 11.09.2014.

SAIHAMCOT: 10% cash, AGM: 23.10.2014, Record date: 17.09.2014.

Latest PE 71.5 17.3 37.6 5.3 12.2 -ve 25.5 17.2 11.3 9.9

Penultimate session ahead of Eid vacation showcased strong buy pressure, especially in mid-cap scrips

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

9,771.20

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Thursday, October 2, 2014

DSE GAINER

DSE key features October 1, 2014

previous session.

The breadth of the market was positive as out of 302 issues traded, 229 advanced, 52 declined and 21 remained unchanged.

IDLC Investments said penultimate session ahead of Eid vacation showcased strong buy pressure, especially in mid-cap scrips.

“Volatility returned with investors’ continuous search for spread.

As a result, 96 scrips faced more than 2.5% change of their respective prices,” it said.

It added that since index sustained above 5,000-point level for the last few sessions, investors’ optimism condensed a lot and still fuelling upbeat vibe across the market.

Lanka Bangla Securities said with persisting buoyant move in the market, benchmark index closed above 5,100 level with the highest level of single-day gain on index in this year.

Financial stocks dominated the bourse in continuation of previous trading sessions, where banking stocks alone gained 1.6% in market-cap and non-banking financial institutions gave 1.4% return.

Titas Gas topped the liquidity chart with total turnover value of Tk96 crore, which is also the highest single-day turnover by a company this year.

It was followed by Grameenphone Ltd, Square Pharmaceuticals, Delta Life Insurance, Mobil Jamuna Limited Bangladesh, Jamuna Oil and Olympic Industries. l

Stocks staged sharp rise yesterday, extending their rally for the second session in a row.

The market opened on a happy note in the morning and the pace of momentum continued as the days passed lifted by mainly the power sector that rose 1.8% driven by heavy-weight Titas Gas which saw 4.8% rise following the recent news of gas price hike.

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

% change 8.74 7.70 0.79 9.74 5.34 21.87 0.01 6.57 12.74 0.28 2.74 1.20 1.97 3.29 1.52 0.93 6.16 4.59 1.00 2.82 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Titas Gas TDCLA Grameenphone-A Square Pharma -A Delta Life Insu. -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Jamuna Oil -A Olympic Ind. -A Beximco Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Padma Oil Co. -A

People`s Leasing-A IDLC Finance -A LafargeS Cement-Z RAK Ceramics-A Active Fine Chem.-A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company SAIF Powertec-N Square Pharma -A RAK Ceramics-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Delta Life Insu. -A BSRM Steels-A Delta SpinnersA MJL BD Ltd.-A Jamuna Oil -A People`s Leasing-A

Golden Son -A Emerald Oil Ind. -N Grameenphone-A Ratanpur Steel -N Titas Gas TDCLA

VolumeShares 10,431,598 1,079,768 1,497,431 1,880,312 1,936,027 1,104,573 1,122,546 3,439,847 4,514,785 556,418

Value in Million 966.71 415.08 398.54 372.74 296.27 286.43 285.52 243.81 205.30 192.90

% of TotalTurnover 9.89 4.25 4.08 3.81 3.03 2.93 2.92 2.50 2.10 1.97

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

6,871,081 2,413,607 1,310,000 2,482,567 2,049,338

344,600 70,073 253,118 374,298 83,714 139,840 895,200 96,958 57,707 472,606

232,102 44,650 27,800 138,600 101,687

187.26 184.38 181.60 171.56 164.43

21.10 18.62 17.52 17.05 16.61 16.05 15.33 14.96 14.84 12.87

12.59 11.42 10.70 10.69 9.45

1.92 1.89 1.86 1.76 1.68

4.26 3.76 3.54 3.44 3.35 3.24 3.09 3.02 2.99 2.60

2.54 2.30 2.16 2.16 1.91

ClosingP 92.80 384.20 267.40 197.30 150.40 259.20 257.60 70.10 45.00 345.20

27.70 77.20 138.30 68.20 80.60

ClosingP

57.40 266.20 68.10 45.20 199.00 113.10 17.20 151.40 259.10 27.80

53.70 259.20 385.20 75.50 93.10

Change % 4.74 0.60 2.61 4.78 -0.92 1.97 4.42 0.29 0.22 0.67

6.54 3.07 0.73 2.71 3.47

Change %

-11.83 2.70 1.79 0.22 6.13 -2.50 4.24 0.07 2.70 6.92

-0.56 5.67 0.84 -3.58 5.32

ClosingY 88.60 381.90 260.60 188.30 151.80 254.20 246.70 69.90 44.90 342.90

26.00 74.90 137.30 66.40 77.90

ClosingY

65.10 259.20 66.90 45.10 187.50 116.00 16.50 151.30 252.30 26.00

54.00 245.30 382.00 78.30 88.40

DHIGH

DLOW

95.10 390.10 275.00 204.00 160.00 261.00 258.80 72.90 48.00 351.00

79.80 370.00 238.10 172.00 137.00 235.00 235.00 63.00 41.00 316.00

DHIGH

DLOW

65.00 270.00 70.90 46.50 204.90 118.00 17.60 157.00 260.20 28.50

56.20 259.00 67.40 45.10 191.00 112.00 16.50 146.60 255.00 26.10

28.50 78.00 139.80 72.00 81.80

55.40 260.00 389.00 80.10 95.00

23.40 68.00 137.10 60.00 72.00

53.50 250.00 381.00 74.50 90.00

AvgPrice 92.67 384.42 266.15 198.23 153.03 259.32 254.35 70.88 45.47 346.68

27.25 76.39 138.63 69.11 80.23

AvgPrice

61.23 265.67 69.20 45.54 198.42 114.80 17.13 154.27 257.12 27.23

54.24 255.66 384.90 77.15 92.90

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Japan business confidence up in sluggish recovery n AFP, Tokyo Confidence among major Japanese manufacturers improved in the last quarter after a precipitous drop in the previous three months, a Bank of Japan survey showed yesterday, but analysts warned the economy was not yet back on track.

The surprise result followed a string of weak data - including a fall in factory output and household spending - that fanned fears about the damage inflicted by an April sales tax hike.

The tax rise slammed the brakes on the world’s number three economy, underscored by a sharp contraction in gross domestic product between April and June.

Worries about another downturn in the three months to September have fuelled expectations the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will unveil further monetary easing measures next week.

It has also thrown into question Tokyo’s plans to raise sales taxes again next year as it tries to rein in one of the world’s heaviest debt burdens.

On Wednesday, the BoJ’s closely watched Tankan survey showed confidence among large manufacturers stood at plus 13, up one point from the previous quarter and beating market expectations for a plus 10 reading.

The survey of more than 10,000 companies - the most comprehensive indicator of how Japan Inc. is dealing with the tax rise - marks the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those that see conditions as unfavourable.

In another positive sign, expectations for capital spending also rose while the report suggested that the labour market was tightening.

‘Path to recovery slow’

However, the reading for large companies in the non-manufacturing sector tumbled to plus 13 from plus 19 in the

A shopper looks at vegetables at an Ito-Yokado shopping centre previous three months.

“The sharp deterioration in business conditions in the non-manufacturing sector in today’s Tankan suggests that output may have shrunk yet again in the third quarter,” warned Marcel Thieliant from Capital Economics.

“The outlook doesn’t suggest a rapid recovery, either. Large manufacturers expect conditions to remain unchanged this quarter, while large firms in the non-manufacturing sector pre-

Dollar breaks 110 yen for first time in six years n

AFP, Tokyo

The dollar broke the 110 yen barrier for the first time in more than six years yesterday, following a string of generally upbeat US data and expectations of more Bank of Japan monetary easing.

The greenback soared to 110.09 yen in late morning Tokyo trade, its highest level since August 2008 and up from 109.64 yen in New York, as investors turn their attention to a key US jobs report later this week.

The dollar has been rising against the yen and euro as the US Federal Reserve’s stimulus tapering policy increasingly diverges with expectations for fresh easing moves by Japanese policymakers and the European Central Bank.

The greenback was at 109.86 yen in afternoon Tokyo trade.

In other trading, the euro weakened to $1.2615 against $1.2631 in the US, while the single currency strengthened to 138.62 yen against 138.50 yen.

“Even after crossing the 110-line, the dollar-yen may gain a bit more,” said Yuzo Sakai, manager of FX business promotion at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow.

Hopes for an earlier-than-expected

US interest rate hike have been drawing investors back to the dollar amid signs that a recovery in the world’s number one economy was taking hold.

But the employment figures on Friday will be crucial to cementing that optimism after US consumer confidence fell for the first time in four months and weakness in Chinese manufacturing stoked renewed fears about the global economy.

The surprisingly weak US data came after the economy grew at the fastest pace since 2011 in the second quarter, expanding at an annualised rate of 4.6 percent, and reversing a contraction in the first three months of the year.

Easing expectations

Yesterday morning, the Bank of Japan released its Tankan quarterly business confidence survey which pointed to a sluggish improvement following a sharp drop in the prior quarter as a sales tax hike slammed the brakes on the world’s number three economy.

The closely watched report came after separate figures this week pointed to poor industrial production and household spending in Japan following the April 1 levy hike to 8% from 5% - the country’s first in 17 years. l

Fair & Lovely Max Fairness, a brand of Uniliver has recently started a consumer promotional campaign named Confidence Jar Bike Tar. The offer to win a sport bike every day will last till Nov 4, 2014

dict a small improvement,” he added.

Tsuyoshi Ueno, a senior economist at NLI Research Institute, said: “This is not a perfectly rosy picture...Big companies see economic conditions plateauing over the next three months.

The latest Tankan cannot be seen as a sign of recovery yet.”

Business sentiment improved when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in late 2012 on a pledge to kickstart the laggard economy.

REUTERS

But the Tankan reading slumped in the three months to June, after Abe moved ahead with the sales tax hike.

On Tuesday, government figures did little to alleviate fears about the recovery with factory output taking a surprise drop and household spending weakening again.

Ueno said he expected Abe to press on with lifting sales taxes to 10% next year -- they rose to eight percent from five percent in April - not-

ing that the conservative premier has publicly pledged to tackle the debt mountain.

“The Japanese economy is still on the path of recovery although it is very slow,” he added.

“The government will likely go ahead with another tax hike next year, while taking measures to stimulate the economy... It wouldn’t be a popular decision, but (Abe’s) government will have to do it anyway.” l

Oil prices rebounded in Asia yesterday following sharp falls the day before, with a decline in US consumer confidence and tepid data from China dampening buying sentiment.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery rose 36 cents to $91.52 a barrel in afternoon trade and Brent crude advanced 38 cents to $95.05.

WTI plummeted $3.41 a barrel and Brent tumbled $2.53 Tuesday owing to a supply glut and a pick-up in the dollar, which is sitting at a six-year high against the yen and a two-year high against the euro. After rising for four months, the Conference Board index a key barometer of US consumer confidence -- fell to 86.0 in September from 93.4 in August on mounting concerns about the jobs market.

Consumer spending is a key growth driver in the world’s biggest economy and any dip in the index indicates weak demand. But analysts said the US outlook remains positive.

“The steeper-than-expected decline in consumer confidence would have partially contributed to the sell-off (in oil) although the extent could have been limited given that it has fallen off a really high base and ultimately sentiment remains strong in the US,” said Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.

In China official data showed manufacturing activity stalled in September as leaders struggle to address a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

The official purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 51.5 in September, unchanged from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

On Tuesday HSBC said its September PMI came in at 50.2, the same as August but lower than a preliminary reading of 50.5. The bank’s July figure was 51.7. l

Microsoft gives peek at coming Windows 10 software n AFP, San Francisco Microsoft on Tuesday offered its first glimpse of its Windows 10 software that it hopes delivers a winning formula for powering tablets and smartphones, along with laptops and desktop computers.

The US software colossus focused on its core business market while unveiling an “early technical preview” of next-generation Windows software slated for release next year.

Microsoft executives said the naming decision to skip right from Windows 8 to Windows 10 was intended to reflect that the new software will be a big leap and not a small step.

While pulling back the curtain on an early technical build of Windows 10, Microsoft heralded the operating system as a blend of what was best in the previous two generations.

“This is what Windows 8 should have been,” analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley said after attending the unveiling event in San Francisco.

“Now, they have the most advanced platform to deal with a BYOD (bring your own device) world.”

An “Insider Program” for developers who want to dabble with Windows 10 and provide feedback will kick off on Wednesday.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella addresses the media during an event in New Delhi REUTERS “Windows 10 represents the first step of a whole new generation of Windows, unlocking new experiences to give customers new ways to work, play and connect,” said Microsoft operating systems group executive vice president Terry Myerson.

“This will be our most comprehensive operating system and the best release Microsoft has ever done for our business customers.”

Aimed at businesses

Pressure has been on Microsoft to win over companies that have shunned the current version of Windows, which was

Symphony has recently made the modality of its campaign named ‘Symphony Protidin, Bangkok Jite Nin’ more convenient. As on now, customers do not need to send any SMS to participate as the winners will be called directly from 09666777007 after the IMEI number of the customers (who will buy any Symphony handset from 19th September to 31st October) are filtered out in a lottery system. Rafiq Uddin, head of marketing at Edison Group, has recently made the announcement in a press conference

radically overhauled to adapt to the booming popularity of computing devices with touch screen controls.

While Windows 8 was tuned into personal lifestyles rich with smartphones or tablets, it was not a hit at companies where people still work using traditional computers with keyboards and mice.

More than a year after its release in late 2012, the number of businesses using Windows 8 were vastly outnumbered by those using Windows 7 and even using the earlier Windows XP, according to market trackers.

The operating system is crafted to automatically adapt to whichever device someone is using, from Xbox consoles and desktop computes to tablets or “tiny gadgets,” according to Microsoft.

“Windows 10 will run across the broadest range of devices ever from the Internet of Things to enterprise data centers worldwide,” the US software firm promised.

Microsoft also said the coming version of Windows will provide developers a converged platform that will allow them to write a single application that can run across the array of devices powered by the software.

Windows 10 will also boast enhanced security, including separating and securing data in ways more resistant to breach or theft.

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently opened its 95th branch at Panchdona Moor in Narshindi. Deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, Md Abul Kashem inaugurated the branch as chief guest at the presence of the bank’s chairperson, Major (retd) Dr Md Rezaul Haque

A beloved “start menu” missed by users will make a comeback, providing ‘quick one-click access to the functions and files that people use most,” according to Microsoft.

Windows 10 is also designed to make it easier to work using multiple files or applications simultaneously.

The software can also segregate personal and work activities on mobile devices, allowing companies to wipe their information as needed but leave anything else untouched.

Windows 10 is also the first platform to aggressively handle biometrics “up through eyeball recognition,” according to Enderle.

“I had a list of things Microsoft needed to do, and they ticked off everything,” Enderle said of how Windows 10 is shaping up.

“It looks like they really hit on all the elements.”

Microsoft even improved a command prompt, addressing a long-running lament of Windows users stretching back for generations of the software.

Microsoft’s Windows remains the dominant platform for traditional PCs but has been overtaken in the fastgrowing mobile segments of tablets and smartphones by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Shares in Microsoft fell 0.19% to close at $46.35 after the announcement. l

Walton has recently opened an exclusive showroom at Pokhara in Nepal. Bindu Kumar Thapa, president of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce & Industries has inaugurated the showroom at the presence of the company’s directors

A meeting of former top executives of first private sector joint venture bank in the country, Arab Bangladesh Bank Limited was recently held at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka. The meeting was presided over

by Anwar Ahmed, former MD of National Credit & Commerce Bank Limited and AlBaraka Bank Limited MJL Bangladesh Limited has recently launched an offer named “Mobile Talk Time Offer” for its consumers. The offer is an opportunity to win up to Tk200 with every purchase of Mobil Special 5 or 4 liters can. Khondaker Sanaul Haque, CEO of MJLBL has come up with the announcement at a press conference held in a hotel at Dhaka

Oil prices rebound in Asia n AFP, Singapore

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, October 2, 2014

If analysts don’t ask questions, expect stock declines: Study n Reuters, New York Earnings conference calls that inspire little more than silence are not a great sign for the company’s shares in the days that follow, according to a study released yesterday.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found that when executives did not receive questions or significant feedback on earnings calls, the company could expect to see its market capitalization fall between $4.3m and $6.1m in the next five days.

After calls with limited questions, researchers found, company executives are perceived to have more information than investors and other market participants, resulting in a negative market reaction. Small companies covered by fewer analysts were more likely to receive no questions.

The study’s authors analyzed about

50,000 earnings calls from 2002 to 2012, focusing on the nearly 9,500 that received little feedback during the open question-and-answer session of the call.

The companies’ negative returns lasted for five days after such calls, performing up to 135 basis points worse than companies comparable in size and analyst coverage in which the conference call was a bit more lively.

“When you do not interact, the unintended economic consequences are going to catch up with you,” said Shuping Chen, associate professor at the university’s McCombs School of Business and lead author of the study.

Chen said earnings calls help improve transparency and information flow, but without analyst engagement, companies don’t see that benefit. “The very set of firms who need more visibility, more liquidity, are hammered because they [receive] no questions,” she said. l

Raders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Podcasts: Don’t leave home without them n Kashif Choudhury There are waves of heat travelling in front of his eyes while his body sweats from every pore and his back drips with sweat.

He stares blankly at the seat in front momentarily wondering what his life would be like if all those cars stationary in front him did not exists. And then blankness once more. This is a most common occurrence among the readers of this blog; sitting in impossible jams, hours on end in the blood searing heat. Once upon a time the TV was called the idiot box, now its cars and buses that have taken that coveted title.

But, what if someone told you that while you were wasting away in you tin can of choice, you could be downloading the world’s information to your brain just like in the matrix; whether it be goofy and amazing science experiments (Radiolab), the wonderful and philosophical world of economics (Freakonomics, Econtalk), a collection of the best TED talks (TED Radio Hour), tricks to making your startup work (Fizzle Show) or the miraculous Quranic Tafseer (Bayyinah)? You’d probably think the concept is straight out of the matrix and impossible in reality.

Well, you would be wrong. I hereby introduce you to ‘podcasts’. Weekly Audio Documentaries on every subject you can imagine, produced by people with passion for them. The topics range from astrophysics to anesthesia and from cats to cardiology; meaning there is something for absolutely everyone in the world of podcasts. Now, you may be thinking that you’d get bored listening to these because after all, they are just radio shows. But you will not believe the kind of production values of these podcasts and the amount of work that goes into these. It will get you hooked like cocaine (I’m sorry but there has to be at least one reference to drugs in my personal development articles).

Freakonomics: An awesome podcast that uses the tools of economics and applies it to everyday problems ranging from traffic jams to taxation. Produced by the people behind the Freakonomics books, it is one of the most popular podcasts out there, hooking people to their show with high production values and amazing content.

NPR TED Radio Hour: TED talks are 20 minute talks by inspirational people on never thought of before ideas. This podcast from National Public Radio (NPR) takes

the best TED talks on a particular topic and produces an episode on them.

Radiolab: It’s about science. Science that is so weird that they cannot be put into words.

Stuff you should know: This podcast comes straight from HowStuffWorks. com and explores all topics everywhere.

Literally. From 3 D printers to the American Revolution to Eid. Everything.

Econtalk: If you like economics, you’ll love this podcast. It is a one on one interview with the top economists of the world at present and some from the past.

Greats like Milton Friedman, Garry Becker and Ronald Coase have appeared on it. It is heaven for an economics nerd.

NPR Planet Money: Don’t know much about finance? Baffled by all the terminology in stocks, international trade and overall business? This podcast is a back to basics view of the world of finance which simultaneously and beautifully manages to capture the complexity of the current issues in the field.

The Fizzle Show: Bangladesh is currently experiencing a flood of startups as the use of internet mushrooms and people with great ideas try to solve our society’s chal-

Kashif Choudhury is a business analyst at LightCastle Partners, an emerging market specialized advisory and market intelligence firm. The article was originally published in the LCP Blog (lightcastlebd. com/blog)

OECD: Inflation eases in advanced nations for third month n AFP, Paris

Inflation in the world’s richest nations eased for the third straight month in August, the OECD said on Tuesday, dragged down by slowing price rises in Europe’s moribund economy.

Consumer prices rose by 1.8% in the year to August in the 34 advanced democracies which make up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, down from 1.9% in July.

The fall has been driven by Europe, where concerns about stalling inflation have already prompted the eurozone’s central bank to take unprecedented action to stimulate the bloc’s moribund economy.

Low inflation can be a drag on economic growth as consumers tend to spend less, weakening business output and cutting government revenues - a particular issue for highly indebted eurozone governments.

OECD data showed that all of the nine

members that experienced a decline in prices over the 12 months to August were in Europe. Only six countries registered falling inflation in the year to July.

The figures come after the European Union published figures on Tuesday showing inflation fell again to 0.3% in September, the lowest level since the peak of the financial crisis some five years ago.

Food prices were a key reason why EU inflation was so much weaker than in other rich nations. In the 28-member bloc, food price inflation fell 0.9%, compared to a 2.9% rise in the US. OECD inflation overall was also dragged down by weaker energy prices, which rose 0.7% in the year to August compared with 2.3% in the year to July.

In the Group of 20 leading developed and developing economies, which account for nine tenths of global economic output, inflation also eased by 0.1% from the previous month to 2.7% in August. l

Asian factories slow in September, push inflation ever lower

IMF warns advanced economies of weak demand

n BSS

Rich countries are facing the risks of weak demand, and the time is right for an infrastructure push, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report on Tuesday.

Borrowing costs are low and demand is weak in advanced economies, and there are infrastructure bottlenecks in many emerging markets and developing economies, the IMF said in the analytical chapters for its World Economic Outlook.

“Public infrastructure is an essential factor of production. Increasing public infrastructure investment raises output in the short and long term, particularly during periods of economic slack and when investment efficiency is high,” the report noted.

In a sample of advanced economies, the report said, a one percentage point of GDP rise in investment spending increases the level of output by about 0.4% in the same year and by 1.5% four years after the increase.

Also in this report, IMF said systemic risks to the global economy had been diminished since 2006 by the significant decrease in global current account imbalances. However, some concerns remained. Global current account imbalances have narrowed by more than a third from their peak in 2006. Key imbalances - the large deficit of the United States and the large surpluses of China and Japan - have more than halved.

The narrowing in imbalances has largely been driven by demand contraction in deficit economies, the report noted, and underlined that “The narrowing of imbalances is expected to be durable, as domestic demand in deficit economies is projected to remain well below pre-crisis trends.”

Risks of a disruptive adjustment in global current account balances have decreased, but global demand rebalancing remains a policy priority. l

lenges. This show is about them and how they can increase their chances of making their startups work. These guys are fun, knowledgeable and approachable (because they replied to my emails).

So why is this the first time many of you are hearing about podcasts? And why aren’t more people listening to these shows? This is the question that all avid listeners of podcasts have. The answer I believe is that there are barriers to entry into the podcast world; the barrier being that most people with smartphones are not aware of the process of subscribing to and listening to podcasts.

Now that you have the tools and are aware, hopefully you will use it to enrich your knowledge about the things that interest you and utilize the wasted time that you are forced to have every day in the form of traffic jams, long queues and boring classes. l

REUTERS

n Reuters, Sydney

A Japanese air-bag maker Prop employee displays the new air-bag for the electric mobility for seniors 'Pia-bag II' at the annual International Home care and Rehabilitation exhibition in Tokyo on October 1. The air bag works when the cart collide on the road AFP

Factory activity stumbled across much of Asia in September, with slowdowns in India, Japan and Taiwan and an outright decline in South Korea delivering a setback to hopes for a pick in world growth this year.

The lacklustre performance helped lift the US dollar above 110.00 yen for the first time since mid-2008 while punishing commodity prices globally, a positive for consumers but also a force for disinflation.

Indeed, subsiding price pressures was a feature of many of the manufacturing surveys out yesterday.

Even Taiwan, one of the stronger economies in the region, reported output prices were cut for the eighth month in a row, while input inflation was the lowest in over a year.

“This should give the authorities plenty of room to keep policy accommodative to support growth,” said HSBC economist, John Zhu, a conclusion that goes for plenty of other countries.

China this week cut mortgage rates and downpayment levels for some home buyers for the first time since the global financial crisis, escalating efforts to boost an economy threatened by the sagging housing market.

Beijing has for some time now found it can no longer rely on exports and manufacturing as an engine for growth.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of activity stayed stuck at 51.1 in September, only modestly above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.

“The economy still faces a degree of downward pressure,” said Chen Zhongtao, an official at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing which helps to publish the PMI. International investors have also been unsettled by reading pro-democ-

racy protests in Hong Kong, watchful for any signs of fallout for China’s economy.

Activity wanes

In Japan, the economy is still struggling to get over a hike in the sale taxes that took effect five months ago.

The final Markit/JMMA Japan PMI eased to 51.7 in September, from 52.2 in August, and followed data showing industrial output, consumer spending and real wages all fell in August.

There was a glint of light as the Bank of Japan’s closely watched survey of business confidence improved for the first time in two quarters. Yet sentiment for the services sector still worsened.

All of which did little to relieve pressure on policymakers to expand stimulus ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision by year-end on whether to proceed with a second tax hike.

Taiwan’s version of the PMI cooled to 53.3 in September, from a robust 56.1 the month before. The country’s manufacturers have been riding a wave of popularity for Apple new iPhones but growth in new orders and new exports still slowed in the month.

Indian factory activity expanded at its slowest pace in nine months in September with an index reading of 51, down from 52.4 in August, breaking what had been a promising run.

Faring even worse was South Korea,

DILBERT

where the HSBC/Markit PMI slid to a three-month trough of 48.8 in September, indicating activity contracted.

Separate official figures showed South Korea’s exports to China rebounded in September, while annual growth in exports to the United States reached almost 20%. Shipments fell over 5% to European Union, underscoring its role as an albatross around the neck of global trade.

Inflation in reverse

With so much of manufacturing struggling, worries about demand have plagued oil and commodities in general. World oil prices tumbled to their lowest in more than two years this week, iron ore a five-year trough and copper a four-month low.

The weakness engulfed food as well.

Corn prices fell to a five-year low on Wednesday, while soybeans were near the lowest since early 2010 and wheat not far from a four-year trough amid plentiful world supplies.

While falling commodity prices are a boon to consumer spending power in much of the world, it comes at a time when inflation is already ominously low in many developed nations.

Euro zone inflation matched a record low of 0.7% in September, piling pressure on the European Central Bank to do more to revive the economy at its policy meeting later Thursday. l