5 Oct, 2014

Ashwin 20, 1421 Zilhajjj 9, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 184

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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

ARTS & LETTERS

7 | CAREER

11 | OP-ED

13 | SPORT

MOVIEMAKING: LET GO OF THE WORDS

CREATING A FAIL-PROOF BUSINESS PLAN

WHERE HAVE THE POOR GONE?

ZIA RECLAIMS NATIONAL TITLE

Braving odds to celebrate Eid

Security beefed up Dhaka-Tangail highway sees 25km-long tailback; train, bus schedules go haywire in the capital n Ashif Islam Shaon

Gridlocks on highways, queues for ferries at terminals and jumbled up schedules of buses and trains continued adding to woes of home-bound people who were now in a franatic rush to reach their village home before Eid-ul-Azha.

Reports filed from across the country yesterday also stated that several road accidents, huge number of cattle-laden vehicles and presence of unfit vehicles on the highways had made matters worse for home-goers.

At Chandra and its adjacent areas in

Gazipur, people heading towards the country’s northern districts faced a 25-kilometre tailback on Dhaka-Tangail highway. On Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, vehicles had to move slowly due to heavy traffic.

Several hundred vehicles were seen queuing up near Mawa ferry ghat as the vehicles trying to cross the Padma River outnumbered the capacity of ferries on the route. Most launches leaving the capital were overcrowded.

The outbound train schedule from Kamalapur and Airport railway stations almost collapsed yesterday.

However, Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader expressed his satisfaction over traffic situation on the highways when he visited Chandana intersection in Gazipur.

Apologising for the sufferings of home-goers on the highways, the minister said: “It’s not that I am fully satisfied. But some accidents have worsened the traffic flow on Dhaka-Tangail highway.”

“The overall situation is good. As Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja are been celebrated almost at the same time, a portion of our law enforcers has been

posted at Puja Mandaps, another at cattle markets while the rest deployed on highways. Thus the situation could have been worse, but it did not happen,” he claimed.

Gazipur highway police said some vehicles have had accidents while some went out of order at Mirzapur and Narinda in Tangail and Kodda in Sirajganj, causing gridlocks again on the highways.

“Since the morning, there is a 25-kilometre tailback stretching from Kodda to Konabari, Safipur, Chandra  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Standoffs get ugly at Hong Kong democracy protests n Hong Kong, AP Standoffs between Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters and their antagonists grew increasingly ugly yesterday, as the two sides traded insults and at times taunted police. The city’s leader said streets occupied by the protest must be cleared by Monday.

Although the mostly student-led protesters stuck to their pledges of non-violence, holding up their arms to show peaceful resistance, some shouted abuse at people who gathered to challenge their occupation of a major street in the blue-collar Mong Kok district, which is home to many migrants from the Chinese mainland.

“Go back to the mainland,” some shouted, cursing them in Cantonese.

Minor skirmishes broke out constantly, broken up by police or bystanders. Adding to the disorder, some residents dumped water from their apartments onto the people below.

The students accused police of failing to protect them from attacks Friday by mobs intent on driving them away, shouting “Black Police!” — a reference to their claim that the police had allied with “black societies,” or criminal gangs, to clear out the protesters. The claim was vehemently denied by the government.

Thousands of supporters attended an evening rally in solidarity with the pro-democracy movement’s calls for wider political reforms.

“Go Hong Kong!” they shouted.

“The more suppression by the government, the more resistance by the people,” Joshua Wong, a 17-year-old student leader declared.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Tribune Report A draft government plan would secure discriminatory policies that deprive Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar of citizenship and lead to the forced resettlement of over 130,000 displaced Rohingya into closed camps, Human Rights Watch has said.

Myanmar’s international donors, the United Nations, and other influential actors should press the government to substantively revise or rescind its “Rakhine State Action Plan.”

The plan, a copy of which was obtained by the New York-based HRW, does not recognise the term Rohingya, referring throughout to “Bengalis” – an inaccurate and derogatory term commonly used by the government officials and nationalist Buddhists.

Muslims are only mentioned in the plan with reference to religious schools.

The plan follows the April 2013 recommendations of the Rakhine Investigative Commission, established by President Thein Sein after widespread

killings and violence against Rohingya in 2012 in the state.

In an address on September 29 to the United Nations General Assembly, the Myanmar foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, stated that the plan was “being finalised and will soon be launched” and called on the UN to provide assistance.

“The long-awaited Rakhine State Action Plan both expands and solidifies the discriminatory and abusive Burmese government policies that underpin the decades-long persecution of

INSIDE

The Dhaka Tribune wishes all its readers, advertisers, hawkers and well-wishers a very happy Eid-ul-Azha.

H O L I D AY 12 | World

8-9 | Entertainment

13 | Sport

2 | News

al Crimes Tribunal Act, keeping a provision to bring organisations involved with crimes against humanity to justice, will be tabled at the cabinet’s first meeting after Eid-ul-Azha.

33, for crossing Mawa-Kewrakandi route by speedboat and launch respectively.

Social media network Ello is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join its platform, its founder has told the BBC. It was initially designed to just be used by about 90 friends of its founder Paul Budnitz. But the bike shop owner, from the US state of Vermont, opened it to others on 7 August.

Fears are high that rawhide might be smuggled into India through Feni district border as its price is quite low in Bangladesh. Pachgasia rawhide market traders said Indian businessmen have already appointed more than 100 brokers on the district border to collect raw hides from local traders.

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Members of law enforcement agencies have taken special measures to ensure the security of cattle markets, bus and launch terminals as well as railway stations in the capital ahead of Eid-ulAzha to be celebrated tomorrow.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the Rapid Action Battalion have already made three-tier security arrangements. Detective Branch of police has also made security plan while navy police would play a role in this regard during this Eid vacation.

Sources said apart from regular services, 15,000 additional forces-- 10,000 policemen, 3,000 RAB members and 2,000 intelligence officials-- will be on duty to provide city dwellers with foolproof security.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of police under the DMP said: “Eid-ul-Azha will be followed by Durga Puja. So, the DMP has tightened security in the city.”

“Three-tier security measures have been taken in the cattle markets, bus and launch terminals and railway stations. On Eid day, security will be stepped up at Eidgah Maidan, entertainment centres and amusement parks. Law enforcers will also keep watch on fireworks, stalls set up blocking the road and reckless motorcycle riding.”

As many people left Dhaka, he said, law enforcers would remain alert to ensure the security of banks, shopping malls and business establishments.

“We will also try our best to make sure that selling and buying of rawhides can go unhindered,” he added.

Law enforcers had increased their patrols on city streets to combat crimes like mugging and snatching.

Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of RAB’s Legal & Media Wing,

told the Dhaka Tribune: “As the city saw less people this time due to vacation, our top priority is to ensure the security of business establishments, residential areas and shopping malls.”

“While returning to the capital, people sometimes fall victim to muggers.

Our team will be deployed at railway stations and bus and launch terminals to fight mugging,” he said.

Security at Eidgah Maidan The police will ensure the security of the devotees who will offer prayers at the National Eidgah Maidan adjacent to the High Court.

A total of 64 closed-circuit cameras will be installed in the area along with a police camp on the northern side of

‘Three-tier security measures have been taken at cattle markets, bus, launch terminals and railway stations the main entrance. RAB has set up a makeshift camp on the southern side in the area.

There will be around 800 fans and 1,000 tube-lights at the ground. Also, a waterproof canopy has been set up on an area of 2.8 lakh square feet, using bamboos.

The main Eid congregation will be held at the National Eidgah Maidan at 8:30am. Khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Maulana Mohammad Salahuddin will conduct the prayers. A total of 1.2 lakh devotees are expected to join it.

Five Eid congregations will be held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.

The first congregation will be held at 7am, followed by the second at 8am, the third at 9am, the fourth at 10am and the last one at 11am. l

Human Rights Watch: Myanmar wants to segregate Rohingyas

GREETINGS

All offices of the Dhaka Tribune will remain closed for three days from today for Eid. Therefore, there will be no issue of the daily on October 6, 7 and 8. However, our online www.dhakatribune.com will keep you updated.

n Tazlina Zamila Khan

3 | News

The draft of new ‘Bangladesh Citizenship Act, 2014’ has been prepared having provisions of seven category citizenship for the permanent Bangladesh nationals and those foreigners who have been living in the country continuously for a long time.

***

The draft for amending the Internation-

Like every year, TV channels this Eid are beginning a week’s worth of holiday programming starting with the Eid day. The programmes include Eid specials, miniseries, telefilms, single-episode plays, special episodes of fan-favourite drama series, musical shows, celebrity talk-shows, movies and many more.

5 | News

Dhaka Zoo authorities are expecting a whole slew of visitors during Eid-ulAzha vacation. The zoo is visited by 10,000-15,000 people on an average every day but the number soars up to seven times on the Eid day and remains so for the next four to five days.

***

Transport operators are charging extremely high fares from people heading for home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. A passenger is having to pay Tk Tk200, instead of 180, and Tk35-50, instead of Tk

The Bangladesh cricket team reached Dhaka yesterday night after securing a bronze medal in the men’s cricket competition in the 17th Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea. The national cricketers will now head into a seven-day vacation for Eid-ul-Adha and return to business refreshed for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe.

6 | Nation

Fifteen teachers and employees of Tetulia Pilot High School did not get their due wages and bonuses for September as the district education officer did not sign the bill. The non-payment brought untold miseries for the family members of those teachers.

11 | Op-Ed

Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s latest military action in Gaza, has amply unmasked the Zionists and their defiance of international law. Israel is wrong-footed with the growing support for the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

the Rohingya,” Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, said in a report published on its website.

“It is nothing less than a blueprint for permanent segregation and statelessness that appears designed to strip the Rohingya of hope and force them to flee the country.”

The plan is supposed to serve as the general blueprint for development and post-conflict reconstruction in the state.

The draft is in six sections with detailed bullet points: Security, Stability,

and Rule of Law; Rehabilitation and Reconstruction; Permanent Resettlement; Citizenship Assessment of Bengalis; Socio-Economic Development; and Peaceful Coexistence.

The section on “Permanent Resettlement” sets out steps for the relocation and encampment of 133,023 Rohingya people from existing internally displaced persons camps around the state capital, Sittwe, and other townships to as yet unspecified sites in the state.

The plan does not discuss the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Traders fear smuggling of rawhide in Eid n Our Correspondent, Feni Fears are high that rawhide might be smuggled into India through Feni district border as its price is quite low in Bangladesh.

Panchgasia rawhide market traders said Indian businessmen have already appointed more than 100 brokers on the district border to collect raw hides from local traders.

BGB will put 43 checkposts across the 122-kilometre district border to prevent smuggling Local rawhide traders were frustrated after having failed to get any bank loan for continuing their business during Eid-ul-Azha when they profit a lot in the business every year.

Indian businessmen then made it a case for taking the chance of lending them without any interest on the condition that raw hides would not be sold anywhere except them.

A Panchgasia raw hides trader Nizam Uddin said rawhide comes to

this market from different parts of this district as well as those from Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Comilla during Eid-ulAzha every year.

Rawhide however might not come in here in large quantities this year as in the previous years because a major part of the rawhide are feared to be smuggled into India, he said.

He added that a strong syndicate has already completed its all formalities for collecting, preserving and smuggling out raw hides from the district’s various places like Fulgazi and Parshuram bordering India, said rawhide trader Nizam.

The Border Guard Bangladesh officials are however aware of the possibility of smuggling out the rawhide and now in preparation for stemming it.

Acting director of BGB Battalion 4 Maj Shamim Iftekhar said they were in preparation for setting up check-posts at 43 points across the 122-kilometre district border in order to stem the smuggling of cattle skins into India.

Comilla BGB Sector Commander Col Md Zillul Haq on September 29 announced a reward for helping arrest any raw hides smuggler while holding a meeting with local administration and public representatives at Parshuram and Fulgazi upazilas in the district. l

Ministry in dark about BD envoy in Manila’s inviting Israeli ambassador n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

A traffic police annoyed with a rickshaw-puller for taking the wrong way in the capital’s College Road slaps him with his cap. The photo was taken yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Rape protested Robbers loot cash and jewellery in Sylhet in Khagrachhari Their third plunder took place Locals said the robbers came to the n Our correspondent, Sylhet on three boats using the Dholai at Asad Telecom shop, where they n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari A gang or marauding bandits attacked area grabbed Tk2 lakh and 20-25 mobile River.

Local students and civil society members yesterday organised a procession and rally in the district town to protest against the recent rape incidents at Bhaibonchora and Ghilachari areas.

Speakers demanded exemplary punishment to the culprits. The victims are undergoing treatment at sadar hospital. l

three houses and looted Tk30 lakh cash, 135 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables in Doyarbazar area of Sylhet’s Companyganj on Friday night.

Such daring robbery incident right before Eid-ul-Azha has caused much terror among the locals.

After anchoring the boats, the robbers first attacked Aziruddin’s home.

They broke the doors, entered the house, and looted Tk 17 lakh cash along with the gold jewellery.

Done with their first house, the bandits moved to the adjacent house and looted another Tk17 lakh cash.

Standoffs get ugly at Hong Kong protests  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

The city’s top leader, Chief Secretary Leung Chun-ying, appeared on television Saturday evening to once again urge everyone to go home, saying things needed to get back to normal by Monday.

“There are many problems to be resolved in society, but the right way is through rational communication to seek common ground while holding back differences,” he said. “Not fighting on the streets, which makes things worse.”

Friday and early Saturday, police arrested 19 people during a night of running brawls in which at least 12 people and six officers were injured.

Eight men were believed to have backgrounds linked to triads, or organized crime, said Senior Superintendent Patrick Kwok Pak-chung.

Officials vehemently denied rumors they might have coordinated with the gangs to clear the streets.

“Such rumors linking us to ‘black societies,’ are utterly unfair,” Hong Kong’s visibly agitated security chief, Lai Tung-kwok, told reporters.

Cheung Tak-keung, the deputy police superintendent, said the police were trying their best to maintain “buffer zones” between people of opposing views.

“The situation was not easy to handle. There were thousands of people,” Cheung said, noting that many of those gathered were just onlookers who could get caught up in a “very high risk activity.”

“We strongly condemn all violent acts,” he said, cautioning people to avoid such areas because “unsettled people’s emotions may cause more confrontations.”

The confrontations, mostly in the gritty, blue-collar Mong Kok district, led protest leaders to call off planned talks with the government on political reforms. Students and other activists object to China’s decision to require a committee of mostly pro-Beijing figures screen candidates for the city’s first-ever election of its top leader in 2017. They are also demanding Leung’s resignation.

With the talks suspended, the next steps were uncertain. Police have re-

peatedly urged protesters and their opponents to clear the streets but have shown tolerance after the use of pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters last weekend just drew more people into the streets.

The standoff in Mong Kok, across Victoria Harbor from the activists’ main protest encampment, continued Saturday after a tense night when hundreds of supporters of the protesters gathered to protect them.

Kwok said those arrested were facing charges of unlawful assembly, fighting in public and assault. On Saturday, the situation remained tense as the anti-protest groups regrouped in Mong Kok, at times chanting “Pack Up!” at the protesters.

The opponents of the demonstrations are using blue ribbons to signal their support for the mainland Chinese government, while the protesters are wearing yellow ribbons. At least some opponents of the protests are residents fed up with blocked streets and related inconveniences.

Some people on the “blue ribbon” side rallied in Kowloon’s waterfront

phones.

Learning about the incident, police forces led by Companyganj police station Officer-in-Charge Delwar Hossain visited the location in the morning.

The OC said he learned about Tk24 lakh being looted. Police are investigating the incident. l

Tsim Sha Tsui. “Love Hong Kong” and “Support Police” they chanted, holding up flags and heart-shaped signs with the slogan, “Alliance in support of our police force.”

“Now the students are trying to control the government,” complained a man who gave only his first name, Jackie. “If there was a riot on Wall Street in America they wouldn’t tolerate such troublemaking.”

The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the groups leading the protests that drew a peak crowd of tens of thousands of people earlier in the week, said they saw no choice but to cancel the dialogue they had agreed to after Leung proposed talks. They demanded the government hold someone responsible for the scuffles Friday.

The allegations that organized crime members were involved fueled jitters at the movement’s main camp, outside government headquarters.

“Many people are gathering here and they are very determined to unite against the triad members,” said Amy Ho, 21, who was studying translation at university. l

Human Rights Watch: Myanmar wants to segregate Rohingyas  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

possibility that Rohingya displaced by the violence of 2012 will be permitted to return to their original homes and dispels hopes that Rohingya would be permitted to reintegrate into areas also inhabited by the local Buddhist population.

The plan has scheduled the resettlement of the entire displaced Rohingya population for April and May 2015, just ahead of Myanmar’s annual monsoon season. In preparation, residences, schools, community facilities, and necessary road, electrical, and water and sanitation infrastructure would be constructed by next April.

After the foreign secretary level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar in late August this year, the latter agreed to take back 2,415 Rohingyas stranded in Bangladesh’s two authorised camps in Cox’s Bazar. The process of repatriation would begin within two months.

After 2005, it is the first time Myanmar has agreed to repatriate Rohingyas from Bangladesh. There are over 30,000 registered Rohingyas in the two camps while the number of unregistered Rohingyas is between 2.5 lakh and 5 lakh.

Since sectarian violence erupted in June 2012 and again in October 2012, an estimated 140,000 mostly Rohingya displaced people have been living in camps around Arakan State, where they are wholly dependent on international humanitarian assistance.

Another 40,000 Rohingya live in isolated non-camp communities receiving little outside assistance. The government has failed to arrest or prosecute those responsible for the violence against the Rohingya, particularly the coordinated “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya communities in October 2012 that the HRW found rose to the level of crimes against humanity.

Rohingya, who have effectively been denied Burmese citizenship since 1982, were excluded from the MarchApril 2014 nationwide census and face tight restrictions on freedom of movement, employment, livelihoods, access to health care, and freedom of religion.

Conditions in the displaced person camps are desperate and have evolved into long-term internment in which Rohingya are not permitted outside of camp zones. The permanent resettlement zones envisioned in the draft

plan will deepen the isolation and marginalisation of the Rohingya in violation of their freedom of movement and other rights.

“The Burmese [Myanmar] government’s plan proposes segregation measures that have been advocated by extremists,” Robertson said. “Moving

‘It is shocking that a government that claims to be reform-minded has proposed bigoted policies...International donors should reject this plan with one voice’ the Rohingya further from urban areas to isolated rural camps will violate their basic rights, make them dependent on outside assistance, and formalise the land grab of Rohingya property.”

Part IV of the draft plan outlines steps for citizenship assessment of the Rohingya, using as its guide the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law, which has been used to deny Rohingya citizenship for decades. The plan includes a nationality verification

process that started in August and is supposed to register all “Bengalis” by March, says the HRW. The recorded population will then be divided into three categories: those previously recorded (or) registered; those not recorded previously but willing to go through the assessment process according to Myanmar existing laws; and those who reject definition in the existing laws.

Any Rohingya refusing the pejorative label “Bengali” would be placed in the third category and denied the right to be considered for citizenship.

For people in the first two categories, the determination of eligibility for citizenship will take place between January 2015 and October 2016. For any Rohingya failing to meet the criteria for citizenship, the authorities will “construct temporary camps in required numbers for those who refuse to be registered and those without adequate documents” and sequester them in closed camps in what amounts to arbitrary, indefinite detention with the possibility of deportation.

Myanmar authorities conducted a pilot phase of the verification process in Myebon. Out of the 1,094 Muslims who took part, 209 were found eligi-

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes invited his counterpart from Israel at a dinner at his residence in July.

“Eighteen ambassadors attended a dinner party I hosted and the Israeli ambassador was one of them,” John Gomes told the Dhaka Tribune.

The Israeli ambassador, Menashe Bar, who went on retirement in August, is a veteran diplomat and had met Gomes on different occasions.

In March, Gomes and his wife attended a reception where other ambassadors were present and they requested his wife to treat them with Indian food. She instantly invited all for a dinner.

“Bar was present at the reception, so we invited him also. It was just a gesture of courtesy,” Gomes added.

According to Gomes, the Israeli envoy had good relationship with other Bangladeshi diplomats posted in Manila.

“Bar praised the economic progress and development in Bangladesh,” he said.

When contacted, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said: “It should not have happened.

“Bangladesh has no diplomatic relations with Israel and no Bangladeshi diplomat should invite an Israeli diplomat. So far I know, it has never happened before.”

He, however, said the ministry was yet to get any report from the ambassador on the matter. l

Braving odds to celebrate Eid  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

and Gorai, Kaliakoir and Nabinagar,” Gazipur Assistant Police Superintendent Sanjit Kumar Roy told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Removing the damaged or unfit vehicles from the highway is time-consuming. We had to unload cattle from damaged trucks before we could remove them from the highway,” he added.

Talking to our correspondent at Chandana intersection, Gazipur Traffic Assistant SP Md Shakhawat Hossain said vehicles were moving slowly as the pressure of vehicles had intensified in Bhogra bypass area.

“Besides, the construction of four lanes on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway had intensified the pressure of vehicles,” he added.

According to Gazipur police, 42 police teams on motorcycle and cars, three watchtowers and 14 IP cameras were being used to ease traffic jam in Kaliakoir, Maona, Chandra and Chandana areas. Besides, 800 policemen were working to deal with the situation.

At Kamalapur railway station, it was found that almost all trains had missed its schedule. Dinajpur-bound Ekota Express was scheduled to leave the station at 10am, but departed around 2:30pm, Rangpur Express was scheduled to depart around 9am, but it could not reach the station by 4:30pm. Later, the railway authority arranged a substitute train for Rangpur passengers.

Chattola Express was two-and-ahalf-hour late while leaving the station for Chittagong while on the same route, Mohanagar Godhuli was supposed to reach the station for outbound journey around 2:50pm, but the authority announced that the train would reach the platform by 10pm and start for Chit-

tagong an hour after.

Surprisingly, Chittagong-bound Subarna Express left the station on time, around 3pm, when Railway Minister Mujibul Haque was present at the station for a visit.

Saying the schedule collapse was “unintentional,” the railway minister told the media: “It’s not true that all trains missed the schedule. For extra passengers, including women, senior citizens and children, it took extra time to leave the stations,” he said.

He also blamed the BNP for the bad condition of railways, saying: “They [BNP] did not take care of the railways during their rule. Trains now need to slow down at many points due to fragile condition of the rail tracks.”

At Sadarghat launch terminal, crowd of home-goers intensified as the day followed. Most of the launches left the terminal with passengers beyond its capacities.

At Mawa ferry ghat in Munshiganj, hundreds of vehicles were seen waiting for ferry while small vessels were carrying extra passengers. Some 13 out of 17 ferries at Mawa ferry ghat were now working to transport the vehicles.

Asked about the overloaded launches, BIWTA Traffic Inspector Riad Hossain said: “The passengers are not paying heed to our warnings. Launch operators are also not asking them not to board overcrowded launches.”

Many passengers were boarding launches as the ferries were not operating on time.

Most buses could not maintain the schedule due to traffic congestion on highways and queues at ferry ghats.

However, the pressure of passengers was lower at Mohakhali, Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals. l

ble for citizenship, including: ethnic Kaman Muslims – listed as an ethnic group under the 1982 Citizenship Law; those who self-identified as Bengali; and an unspecified number who were accepted as Rohingya.

The total number of Rohingya in Arakan State has been estimated at over 10 lakh according to the estimate of uncounted persons in the 2014 MarchApril Nationwide Census, and most are concentrated in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships along the border with Bangladesh.

Although not directly included in the draft plan, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships will be directly affected by provisions calling for strengthened border security and operations to stem illegal immigration.

“International donors and concerned governments should not delude themselves that this plan will lead to the Rohingya’s integration with citizenship into Arakan State,” Robertson said.

“Those concerned about human rights in Myanmar should stand firm and demand changes to the citizenship law to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Rohingya.”

All international donors should re-

ject the plan in its current form. Donors should urge the Myanmar government to develop a citizenship plan based on the principle of non-discrimination, and that upholds the right of displaced people to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country, says the HRW. Several UN agencies work in Rakhine (also known as Arakan) State.

They have slowly been increasing their activities since they were suspended following attacks against aid workers in March ahead of Myanmar’s controversial nationwide census, which discriminated against the Rohingya population.

“It is shocking that a government that claims to be reform-minded has proposed bigoted policies,” said Robertson. “It would be even more shocking if UN agencies and others play along instead of denouncing a plan that would entrench ethnic cleansing and put in place permanent segregation. International donors should reject this plan with one voice and insist the government come up with solutions that protect the rights of some of the world’s most persecuted people.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Scrutiny of draft citizenship act under way n Mohosinul Karim The draft of new “Bangladesh Citizenship Act, 2014” has been prepared having provisions of seven category citizenship for the permanent Bangladesh nationals and those foreigners who have been living in the country continuously for a long time.

It also kept a provision for the children of foreigners who were or will be born in Bangladesh or in such ships or aircraft recognised by the Bangladesh government.

The act contains a provision of two years’ jail and Tk5 lakh fine or both for giving false information or hiding any information deliberately. It would be doubled for repetition of the offence.

The citizenship of Bangladesh nationals who have got citizenship of any other country due to stay in abroad will not be terminated. He/ she will be considered dual citizen After preparing it, the Foreign Ministry has recently sent the draft to the home and law ministries seeking suggestions.

The draft has been formulated following and updating the Bangladesh Citizenship (temporary provisions) Ordinance of 1972 and incorporating the suggestions given by the Law Commission in 2005 and 2012.

The categories proposed are citizenship by born in registered or unregistered ship or aircraft, citizenship by birth, citizenship by descent, dual citizenship, citizenship by naturalisation, citizenship by marriage, citizenship by incorporation of territory and rights of permanent residence in Bangladesh.

The proposal also says the applications of those persons will never be considered who fought or are fighting a war against Bangladesh by joining the military or para-military forces of any other country. The applications will also be rejected if any persons regret Bangladesh’s independence.

State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “We have received the draft from the Foreign Ministry. The Home Ministry’s senior secretary is examining the draft in consultation with the experts of the ministry. We will send our recommendations as soon as possible.”

According to the Home Ministry officials, the move of preparing the new draft was taken as some foreigners living in Bangladesh by marrying Bangladeshi nationals went to the High Court for justice.

The initiative of enacting the act will remove the obstacles to deciding about the citizenship prayers.

The draft says persons bellow 18 years of age would be considered as minors and those who are not minor or fuddled would be considered as adult and capable.

The persons who are interested

to be a citizen of Bangladesh will have to apply to the authorities concerned following proper procedure. The authorities will issue certificate or register the applicant as Bangladeshi citizen after completion of the procedure including examining information given in the prayer. The applicants will not be allowed to stay abroad for six months continuously during the scrutiny period.

The persons, who will be born in government-owned, registered or unregistered ships or aircraft of any country that Bangladesh recognises, will be considered that he/she was born in that country.

The persons whose parents or father or mother is Bangladeshi will be considered as Bangladeshi citizen by descent. The children of a persons who got Bangladeshi citizenship will also be a Bangladeshi by descent.

The children of a foreigner will get the citizenship of Bangladesh if he/she was or will be born in Bangladesh.

But, the children of the persons who have been serving as diplomat or different foreign missions in Bangladesh or enjoying diplomatic immunity in Bangladesh will never be considered for the citizenship.

However, despite being the children of a Bangladeshi national or citizen a person will not be considered as a Bangladeshi whose birth registration was not completed within two years of his/her birth at the Bangladesh missions of that country where the person was born.

The citizenship of Bangladesh nationals who have got citizenship of any other country due to stay in abroad will not be terminated. He/she will be considered as dual citizen.

But, to get such citizenship, the persons will have to submit written application following proper procedures.

However, the citizens of the countries where Bangladeshi nationals had to or have to surrender Bangladeshi citizenship to get their citizenship, will not be considered for dual citizenship.

The persons who have taken Bangladeshi naturalisation certificates or living in Bangladesh for a long time marrying a Bangladeshi national will be allowed to get registered as a Bangladesh national.

The government may only consider the citizenship prayers of the persons who have been living in Bangladesh legally.

The government will have authority to register those persons as Bangladeshi citizen who have contributions on development of science, philosophy, artistry, literature, peace and human development of Bangladesh.

The registration or naturalisation certificates of those persons, who will be convicted for above two years in any country within five years or lives outside the country for 10 years continuously after getting registration or naturalisation certificates, will be cancelled or terminated.

The citizenship of the persons, who will make or involve with a relationship with the enemies while a war between Bangladesh and the enemy continues, will also be terminated. l

A clash breaks out between brokers and a trader after the middlemen had forcefully taken away his animal at Rajshahi city cattle market. The photo was taken yesterday

ICT Act amendment proposal to be placed before the cabinet after Eid n Mohosinul Karim The draft for amending the International Crimes Tribunal Act, keeping a provision to bring organisations involved with crimes against humanity to justice, will be tabled at the cabinet’s first meeting after Eid-ul-Azha.

The amendment draft is also expected to propose reducing the number of ICT tribunals.

The next cabinet meeting will be held on October 13 after around a month due to the prime minister’s visit to the US to join the United Nations General Assembly and an officials tour to the UK. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune last week, officials at the Law Ministry and Cabinet Division said the ministry has already sent the draft to the cabinet division.

Last month, Law Minister Anisul Haq

said: “We have prepared the draft of amending the law carefully so that it remains error-free. It was already sent to the cabinet division. I hope it will tabled in the cabinet meeting after Eid.” “There is no option but to amend the ICT Act to try Jamaat-e-Islami as an organisation involved in war crimes,” he added.

Asked on provisions allowing bail for the accused, the minister refused to make further comments and said: “Nothing has been finalised yet. It may take more time to finalise it. The cabinet will finalise all of the provisions that would be kept in the law. The media will be informed about the amendments.”

In March last year, investigators of crimes against humanity finalised a report against Jamaat, but could not submit it to the tribunal as there is no provision for trying any organisation under

the ICT Act, 1973.

According to proposal of the ministry, the word ‘organisation’ will be included next to the word ‘persons’ or ‘individuals’ in the Section 20(2) of ICT Act. In this section, words such as ‘individuals or organizations responsibility’ will also be added.

It will also keep a provision where the ICT could take offences in cognizance if any organisation found guilty.

According to the draft, the proposal of reducing the number of tribunals into one from existing two was also kept in the draft.

The ministry also considers dissolving a court of the ICT as the numbers of crimes against humanity cases have already been lessened. At the same time, the ICT prosecution team may also be reorganised. l

Study: 50pc of old age allowance beneficiaries spend it on medicines n UNB Almost half the beneficiaries of the government-sponsored Old Age Allowance spend their full receipt in purchasing medicines, says a study.

The Old Age Allowance is meant for protecting poor elderly people from insecurity and the monthly transfer is very low – Tk 300 per month. These poor elderly people have to spend this low allowance on food and healthcare.

The study also reveals that the beneficiaries of the Social Safety Net Programme (SSNP) spend 39 and 28 percents of their SSNP supports on consumption and healthcare respectively, followed by household items (13 pc), investment (8 pc), school cost (5 pc), others (5 pc) and savings (2 pc).

Principal investigator Dr Ismat Ara Begum, and co-investigators Prof Dr Shaheen Akter, Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam and Prof Noor Md Rahmatullah jointly conducted the study, titled

‘Social Safety Nets and Productive Outcomes: Evidence and Implications for Bangladesh’.

The study was carried out with financial support from the National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP). The NFPCSP is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Food with financial support from the European Union and USAID. During the community-level field survey concluded in February 2014, data was collected from Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet and Khulna divisions.

The study shows that the Old Age Allowance and allowance for widowed, deserted and destitute are casting a positive impact on some productive outcomes, but that is not that much significant.

Many of the male and female beneficiaries, the study says, reallocated their labour from agricultural activities to non-agricultural ones. Non-agricultural

activities include, rickshaw-van pulling, day-labour, running small business, paddling of vegetables or daily essentials.

The study further reveals that investment avenues of SSNs are mainly starting small businesses such as grocery shop, library, cloth store, dispensary, electronics shop, tea stall, vegetable shop and cosmetics shop.

More than 50 percent of SSNP beneficiaries mentioned that they faced shocks while the increased prices of daily commodities.

One major objective of the government’s National Food Policy 2006 is to enhance the coverage of the Social Safety Net Programmes targeting the hardcore poor and disadvantaged groups and their effective implementation.

Currently, 30.1 percent of rural household receive SSNP benefit (HIES 2010), which was 13 percent in 2005.

In 2012-13 fiscal, Tk 227.5 billion was allocated under the Social Protection and Empowerment. l

AZAHAR UDDIN

Five injured in clash over VGF distribution n Our Correspondent, Barisal

At least five people, including three women, were injured in a clash over distribution of rice under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme at Charbaria union parishad in Barisal city yesterday afternoon.

One village security personnel and a local Awami League leader were also injured in the incident.

Witnesses said, more than one thousand distressed women with distribution slips came to collect rice under the VGF scheme arranged by Charbaria UP on occasion of Eid-ul-Azha at its office.

Alamgir Hossain, organising secretary of union BNP, attended the event in absence of Ziaul Hasan Sabu, UP chairman and union BNP president.

At that time, organising secretary of local AL Sultan Mahmud stormed into the office and shut down the main entrance. He also ordered his men to forcibly collect the distribution slips from the females disrupting the rice distribution.

Agitated women at one point protested and an altercation broke out between the AL men and the VGF collectors.

Three women, Naznin Aktar, Shefali Begum and Hosne Ara, were injured by AL men at that time. They were taken to a local clinic for treatment.

Later, AL leader Sultan Mahmud fleeing from the scene beat up Mizanur Rahman, Chowkidar of the union, for letting the women attack him. And in protest, Mizan's son Mamun with his group beat Sultan and locked him up.

Later police rushed to the spot, rescued and brought Sultan to the Kawnia police station.

When contacted, AL leader Sultan Mahmud blamed the political rival for instigating the attack on him. He claimed that he had collected the VGF slips to check the identity of the women.

Kazi Mahbubur Rahman, officer incharge Kawnia police station, said police had started investigating the matter following a written allegation from Sultan Mahmud. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Spotlight

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Last glimpse of Durga Durga Puja, which began last Tuesday, come to its conclusion with Biyoya Dashami and the immersion of the Goddessยบ.

Draped in colourful dresses, devotees of all ages gather on the bank of Buriganga River to bid farewell to Durga amid festivity.

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/ DHAKA TRIBUNE

Cattle markets heat up as Eid nears With only a day to go, city dwellers gather at different cattle markets in a frantic search for their preferred sacrificial animal for Eid-ul-Azha. As bargains continue between cattle traders and buyers, most cattle markets have become a happening place for people of all ages MEHEDI HASAN SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Dhaka Zoo ready to welcome visitors A 21-member supervision committee was formed n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Dhaka Zoo authorities are expecting a whole slew of visitors during Eid-ulAzha vacation.

The zoo is visited by 10,000-15,000 people on an average every day but the number soars up to seven times on the Eid day and remains so for the next four to five days.

On the second day of Eid last year, a record 120,000 people visited the zoo.

Dr Enayet Hossain, curator of the zoo, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday the zoo authorities want the visitors to have a pleasing visit to the zoo.

“With that in mind, we have taken necessary measures to ensure that the visitors have a pleasant visit in the upcoming Eid,” he said.

A 21-member supervision committee, headed by Estate Officer of the zoo Ashim Kumer Das, was formed while more than 170 staff will not be allowed to go on leave in order to ensure smooth management.

More than 50 security officials, including 20 Ansar members, will be on

duty during Eid vacation. RAB and police will be present at the entrance as well as the car parking area.

There will also be security officials at several spots: control room area, lion cages, the area between the bird section and the animal museum, elephant house, animal nutrition area and the hippo area.

Children coming with parents to visit the zoo at this time of the year often go missing, with more than 40 children aged blow five going missing in a single day last year.

Like the previous year, an information cell will remain open to help guardians find the missing children.

“The ticket costs only Tk20 but it is free for children under the age of two as well as disabled people. The visitors will be watching around 1,500 different kinds of animals and birds at the zoo,” Dr Enayet said.

A five-day clean-up programme was conducted throughout the zoo ahead of Eid. The zoo authorities will also provide fresh drinking water for the visitors.

All the shopkeepers inside and out-

side the zoo have been directed not to harass visitors or sell food items at inflated prices. No hawkers will be allowed inside the zoo.

A visitor recently complained about the availability of toilets inside the zoo.

Sources said there are only three toilets for the visitors, a number which is really inadequate in view of how many people are expected to pay a visit to the zoo during Eid vacation.

Dhaka Zoo, which is the largest in the country, was established back in 1974 on 186 acres of land, and is operated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

There are 1,500 animals and birds of 121 species, including elephants, cheetahs, rhinos, zebras, otters, hyenas, deer, giraffes, impala, black bears, tapirs, hippos, lions, monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, peacocks, rheas, African grey parrots, cassowaries, owls, ostriches, emus, teals, finches, babblers, eagles, vultures, snakes and crocodiles.

The aquarium at the museum has 797 preserved specimens of 23 species of fish.

“At present, there are nine Royal Bengal Tigers, 12 lions (10 Indian and two African), 22 crocodiles, 25 python snakes, 80 cuckoos, four Arabian horses and three elephants in the zoo,” Enayet said.

Other amusement parks ready

Apart from Dhaka Zoo, other amusement parks, both public and private, are ready to welcome thousands of visitors during Eid vacation.

Shishu Park at Shahbagh, National Museum and Lalbagh Fort authorities have taken preparations ahead of Eid. Shishu Park is one of the cheapest entertainment attractions in the country, with an entry ticket costing only Tk8 and the rides Tk6 each.

Jamuna Future Park at Kuril in the capital is a state-of-the-art amusement facility. The entry fee is Tk50 and the package, which gives a visitor access to all rides, costs Tk800.

The entry fee at Shyamoli Shishu Mela is Tk50 while each ride costs Tk20. Tk 20 is the entry fee at Lalbagh Fort. l

Transport operators fleecing passengers ahead of Eid n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj Transport operators are charging extremely high fares from people heading for home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

A passenger is having to pay Tk Tk200, instead of 180, and Tk35-50, instead of Tk 33, for crossing Mawa-Kewrakandi route by speedboat and launch respectively.

Most of them are not being offered any life jacket.

The plying of trawlers is banned in the turbulent Padma river but it is still on under the very nose of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.

A passenger is paying Tk60 by day and Tk100 at night for crossing the river by trawler while they each used to pay Tk 40 at other times.

When an BIWTA officer at Mawa, Md Mohiuddin, was asked about the charging of extra fares by speedboat operators, he said: “I do not understand why they are charging extra fares when the fare has been increased by Tk 60.

“If any passenger got into the launch rented by any transport company. In that case, that passenger might have to pay

Teenager killed in road accident A teenager was killed and two others were injured after a covered-van rammed a three wheeler in Chittagong city’s Fakirhat area yesterday.

The dead was identified as Md Sagor, 18, son of Abul Bari, hailing from Golachipa area of Patuyakhali, said Assistant Sub-Inspector Pankaj Barua of Chittagong Medical College Hospital Police Outpost.

The injured Parvin Akhtar, 24, and Nibaron Mazi, 30, received primary treatment from CMCH, said the ASI. SI Hamidul Islam of Bandar police station said a covered-van had hit the three-wheeler from behind at Fakirhat area near the Bandar police station around 2am, leaving three passengers critically injured. l

WEATHER

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:42PM SUN RISES 5:52AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 34 32 33 34 33 33 35 32

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 23 23 24 24 24 24

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.2ºC Khulna

22.8ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:37am 5:51am 11:47am 4:03pm 5:42pm 6:57pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Tk50. We have nothing do do about it.”

He said “Trawlers are plying on the route where only launches are permitted. It is the duty of the river police to prevent such things.”

He added that there might be trawlers operating on the Mawa-Kewrakandi route in violation of the relevant authorities’ order.

Mawa River Police Outpost-in-Charge Khalid Hossain said: “Trawlers are operating on this route in line with the instructions from the higher authorities.

What else can we do when they permit it.

Trawlers and launch might be permitted running in the river late into the night today. Talks are on about this at the higher level. We will take steps as per their order about this.”

Bus operators are also charging Tk 100-120, instead of Tk70, from a passenger on Dhaka-Mawa route, Tk70, instead of Tk55, on Dhaka-Munshiganj route.

When Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Saiful Hasan was asked about the realising of extra fare, he said: I did not know they are charging extra fare. However, Steps will now be taken about this.” l

Long tailback on Mawa-Kawrakandi highway n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

PARTLY CLOUDY

5

Sunday, October 5, 2014

An Awami League factional clash yesterday caused a 5km-long tailback on the Mawa-Kawrakandi road in Munshiganj. The picture shows homebound passengers are stranded on the road for hours ahead of Eid-ul-Azha MEHEDI HASAN

Medical and banking facilities disrupted

254 Eid congregations in Chittagong

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Medicare services in Barisal are largely being hampered as most of the physicians and nurses went on Eid vacation on Thursday.

Hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres in the city have been in a vacation mood since Tuesday following Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha.

During the week-long vacation, only a few doctors and staffs will be available at Barisal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH), the largest medical service provider in the region.

Around 76% of the doctors and nurses of SBMCH would remain out of station during this period, said hospital sources.

One hundred and thirty-six out of 149 intern doctors, 158 out of 175 registrars, assistant registers, emergency unit medical officers and 284 out of 429 staff nurses are already out of station

for Eid celebrations, said Dr Qamrul Islam Selim, director of SBMCH. “We cannot deny them the right to leave during Eid. Doctors and nurses of other religion and city residents will be available,” he said.

“Generally 1,300-1,500 patients receive treatment in the indoor unit of this 500-bed hospital every day. However, during Eid holidays the number of admitted patients remain from 9001,000,” said the director.

“The upazila level clinics and hospitals have made special but limited arrangements to offer health services and usually they refer the patients to district and divisional level hospitals during this period,” Dr ATM Mizanur Rahman, district civil surgeon, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shortage of manpower would not affect much as number of patients will reduce during Eid vacation and fewer doctors and nurses can manage emergencies, said hospital officials. l

The district administration of Chittagong and Chittagong City Corporation are preparing for a total of 254 Eid jamaats (congregations) in the port city as well as all 14 upazilas in the district for Eid-ul-Azha tomorrow.

The city corporation has arranged 158 congregations, and Chittagong Central Eid Jamaat Committee of the district administration is in charge of hosting 96 congragations across the rest of the district, said sources in both the organisations.

The first and main Eid jamaat in the city will be held at Jamiatul Falah Masjid ground in the city’s WASA area at 7:45am, followed by another jamaat at 8:30am at the same venue.

Maolana Nur Mohammad Siddique, senior imam of Jamiatul Falah Masjid, will lead the first jamaat, while the second one will be led by Mufti Mohammad

Jalal Uddin, senior imam of the same mosque, said Abdur Rahim, public relations officer at the city corporation.

The rest of the jamaats under the city corporation’s supervision will be held in 41 wards under its jurisdictions in the respective mosques, he added.

Meanwhile, the main Eid jamaat under the supervision of the central Eid jamaat committee will be held at the gymnasium ground of MA Aziz Stadium in the port city around 8:30am, to be led by Baitush Saraf Madrassh Principal Maolana Syed Abu Noman, said Abul Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of Chittagong district.

The rest of the jamaats under the committee’s supervision will be held in the upazilas, he said.

The preparation for the congregations is almost complete, according to the authorities concerned, who added that there would be tight security in the major Eid congregation spots. l

A large number of home bound passengers on the eve of Eid ul Azha and Puja formed a long tailback of 5kmon Friday, which was seen from Mawa to Shreenagar as hundreds of vehicles were in queue to cross Padma river There are 17 ferries, including 3 Ro Ro ferries operating at Mawa-Kawrakandi route which is less than what is needed during holidays.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) manager at Mawa Sirajul Haq said: “All the ferries are operating properly.”

Passengers of 21 districts use this route, among them a large number use waterways as many were spotted at launch and speed boat stations.

Munshiganj police superintendent Biplab Bijoy Talukder said: “Measures have been taken to ease the sufferings of the commuters. Loaded trucks are kept aside while cars and buses are allowed to cross the road in a disciplined way.”

Four hundred police members have been deployed to ensure security of the passengers. Rab, Ansar, Bangladesh Coast Guard and Rover Scout members are also working with them while Naval Police is working at 42 points. l

15 cattle traders doped n Tribune Report Fifteen cattle traders fell victims to a dope gang, commonly known as “ogyan party,” in the capital yesterday.

The gang members intoxicated them and looted around 150,000 from their possession.

The victims are Md Ripon, Abdur Rouf, Kartik, Shafiqul Islam, Abu Taher, Ekramul Haque, Md Yasin, Md Mizan, Sumon, Polash, Zinnat, Md Osman, Babul, Md Siddique, and Rakibuddin.

The incident occurred around 2:30am in capital's Mirpur Beribandh area, said Rupnagar police station Officer-inCharge Shikder Mohammad Shamim.

“The cattle traders cooked hotchpotch for dinner near Eastern Housing cattle market in the area. After eating their meal, they became senseless.

Dope gang members mixed tablets in the food,” he said. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Teachers unpaid as education officer refuses to sign n Our Correspondent, Panchagarh

Fifteen teachers and employees of Tetulia Pilot High School did not get their due wages and bonuses for September as the district education officer did not sign the bill.

The non-payment brought untold miseries for the family members of those teachers ahead of Eid and Puja festivals.

Sources said, the school had been run by acting headmaster since 2012.

Usually the monthly salary bill of the teachers and employees gets approved by the acting headmaster and district education officer.

However, as the current acting headmaster Rafiqul Islam filed a few cases against the school, the district education officer FA Abdul Jabbar sought court’s direction on whether Rafiqul could be appointed as an acting headmaster on September 30.

The court initially said Rafiqul was not eligible but after a review appeal from Rafiqul, it said he could be appointed as the acting headmaster.

It has been learnt that Md Shahjahan, the chief assistant of the district

education officer, had been illegally making money by appointing the acting headmasters of the school.

He had been trying to oust Rafiqul and appoint someone else out of his own interest. There are also numerous allegations of fund embezzlement and corruption against the chief assistant.

However, Md Shahjahan refused all the allegations against him and said someone else was in charge of dealing with Tetulia Pilot High School. “After knowing the situation, I asked the acting headmaster to bring the bill but he could not do it in time and by that time sir has gone for Eid vacation,” he added.

FA Abdul Jabbar, the district education officer said, “I requested the acting headmaster to withdraw his cases against the school. He did not do so.

But I still asked him to bring the billing papers so that I could sign. He failed to do so in time and I am already on Eid holidays.”

When contacted, acting headmaster Rafiqul Islam said, the officer denied to sign the bill saying that the school had no lawful acting headmaster and there had been complaints against Rafiqul. l

Prisoner commits ‘suicide’ n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

Injured Petrobangla electrician dies

A prisoner of Brahmanbaria District Jail reportedly committed suicide yesterday. The deceased Abdul Karim, 75, was accused of murder case. Jail Caretaker Gias Uddin said: “Karim hung himself at the jail hospital around 9:30am.”

He said: “Karim was admitted to the jail hospital due to gastric problems on Friday. The body has been sent to the district sadar morgue for autopsy.”

Nasirnagar police station Officer-inCharge Md Abdul Quader said Karim was accused of a murder case. l

n

Housewife killed n Our Correspondent, Gazipur A housewife was allegedly killed by her husband at Kopaleshwar village under Kapasia upazila in Gazipur district yesterday. The deceased was identified as Nazmun Nahar, 24, wife of Jalal Uddin of the village. Police said Jalal, son of Shahab Uddin is also an expatriate of Kuwait who had come recently in Bangladesh.

Sub-Inspector Mahmud of Kapasia police station said Jalal claimed that her wife had committed suicide.

But Nazmun’s father Nurul Islam claimed that Jalal had killed his daughter by mixing poison with meals over family fued. The police also arrested Jalal. A case was filed. l

1.20 lakh yaba seized n Tribune Report Members of Border Guard Bangladesh seized 1.20 lakh pieces of yaba tablet sluice gate area Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar yesterday. BGB personnel, in a drive, recovered the tablets. BGB 42 Battalion Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Abujar Al Zahid said: “Acting on a tip off, a team conducted drive in no 4 sluice gate area and challenged a boat coming from Myanmar around 3am.” l

Our Correspondent, Savar

An electrician of Petrobangla, who was stabbed by miscreants, succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.

The deceased is Shahjahan Ali Khan, 63, a resident of Dogormora area in Savar. Shahjahan’s son Mithun Khan said: “Me and my father went to Ulail Bazaar to purchase animal for Eid-ulAzha on Thursday afternoon.”

“While we were returning home, some unidentified masked miscreant attacked us with local weapons at Shimultola near our residence around

One killed in clash

On the occasion of Durga puja, people of Hindu community in Kotalipara upazila of Faridpur district arranged a boat race in the Ghagor River yesterday

12:30am on Friday. One of them was a hijra,” he said.

He said: “They stabbed my father and looted Tk1 lakh and six mobiles from our possession.”

Savar police station Officer-inCharge Mostafa Kamal said: “Locals took him to a local clinic. Later, he was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning.”

He said: “A case has been filed with Savar police station in connection with the incident. Necessary steps have been taken to arrest the suspected miscreants.” l

NEWS IN BRIEF

A person was killed and five others were injured in a clash between two groups over trifling matter in College road area under Sreenagar upazila in Munshiganj yesterday.

The deceased is Shiraj Chokdar, 55. Srinagar police station duty officer Sub-Inspector Md Saiduzzaman said: “Jogorgaon village’s Rahad got into a quarrel with another Rahad of Bejgaon over a trifling matter leaving Shiraj dad on the spot .” -Our Correspondent

Youth electrocuted A young man died from electrocution at Malipara village in Sadar uapzila yesterday. The deceased was identified as Malin Chandra, 22, son of Amatu Barman of the village. Witnesses said Malin died on the spot when he came in contact with a live electric wire at Farabari Puja Mandap while celebrating Durga Puja in the night. -Our Correspondent, Thakurgaon

50 hurt in Habiganj clash At least 50 people were injured during a clash between two groups of villagers at Shahpur village in Baniachang upazila yesterday. Among the injured, 10 received bullet injuries. Locals said two groups of villagers locked into an altercation during a village arbitration. Suddenly, they attacked one another with some local arms around 11am, leaving 50 people injured. OC Liakat Ali of Baniachang police station said, additional police had been deployed in the area. The injured were admitted to Habiganj Sadar Hospital and different local hospitals. -Our Correspondent, Habiganj

Land dispute kills one Laboratory technician of upazilla health complex Mushtapha Kamal was hacked to death regarding a conflict on a piece of land at Faridganj in Chandpur. Kamal’s father, brothers and four other relatives were also injured during the incident. The deceased’s family members said Sirajul Islam and Abul Khaer of Rustompur village were in a land dispute for a while.

On Friday evening, men supporting Abul Khaer attacked Sirajul’s family with sharp weapons when Sirajul’s son Kamal received severe injury. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital late Friday night where he died during treatment. - Our Correspondent, Chandpur

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Highway police yet to have their own station n Our Correspondent, Tangail Despite being declared an individual police station nine years ago, Gorai highway police have yet to get land for their own station in Tangail district, making it difficult for them to run their day-to-day operation smoothly.

Sources in highway police said, Gorai station, which until June 2005 operated under Mirzapur police station, is currently being run at a rented house in Gorai area under Mirzapur upazila and has a 26-member team including one officer-in-charge, two sub-inspectors, one sergeant and one assistant traffic sub-inspector.

Sources said a proposal was submitted to the authorities concerned on April 13, 2011 requesting to allot 57 decimals of abandoned land of the Roads and Highways Department at Sohagpara in Mirzapur.

Money had been allocated as well for

the construction of the police station, but due to bureaucratic complexity no land has been assigned for the police station, they said.

Around the same time that Gorai was declared to have an individual highway police station, the stations in Shalna, Savar and a few other places had been declared the same, and the construction of their own station building is nearly complete by now, the sources added.

The police station also lacks adequate number of vehicles to monitor the stretch of highway under its jurisdiction.

Jobaidul Alam, OC of Gorai station, said it was too difficult to watch over 45km highway between Srifaltoli of Kaliakoir, Gazipur and Korotia of Tangail Sadar upazila, and another 28km between Madarjani and Kalihati, with only one pick-up and three motorcycles.

“Over 10,000 vehicles commute to 23 north and northwest districts moved via the two-lane Dhaka-North Bengal high-

way every day. If there is any mishap with the vehicles anywhere on the highway, a long tailback of traffic is created within a few minutes,” the OC said.

“We need to borrow wreckers from the district police to tow away vehicles, and lack of ambulances makes it difficult for us to send people injured in accidents to hospital immediately. A lot of casualties could be avoided if we had our own wreckers and ambulances,” he said.

“We cannot keep the vehicles damaged in accidents, or the ones that we seize during highway patrol, as we do not have our own station. In the emergency cases, the district police has to come and work with us. All these problems could be solved if we had a permanent base and proper logistic support.”

Asaduzzaman, deputy inspector-general of highway police, said: “A demi-official letter has been sent requesting an allocation of 57 decimals of abandoned land owned by the RHD.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Creating a fail-proof business plan n Career Desk

to predict their likelihood of purchasing the product.

If you want to start a new business, the first thing you will need to do is invest some time developing your business plan. One of the best things about having your own business is that you get to be your own boss and work with something you believe in.

However, the reality may sometimes be different from what you expect.

Suppose you believe that there is a huge market for coconut flavoured ice cream because you absolutely love the flavour, whereas in reality the situation may not be so.

How do you weigh the success of your business idea? There are only three ways to know: research, research and some more research. The following are a few things you must remember while constructing your business plan.

Competitors

If you are selling a product that is already marketed then you should try to set yourself apart from the existing companies. Try to figure out the things which you can offer that others can’t.

Do you offer better price or better quality? Visit trade shows, supermarkets and internet sites to identify their weakness and your strength. Figure out why people will buy from you and not them.

Promotion and distribution

Select strategies to promote your product effectively to the potential customers in the most cost effective manner.

There are countless options of advertisement to choose from actively taking part in social media and/or print media, participating in trade shows, providing brochures, etc.

It is also very important to know where and how you should make your products available. Do you want to sell through independent sellers or shops or through your own outlets? All these are important strategic decisions and it is wise to conduct market research to select the most effective method of promoting and selling.

Are you providing people with something for which they are willing to pay a price?

If yes, then how much? These are the questions you should be asking Originality of the idea

Before starting anything else, ask yourself how genuine your business idea is.

The “newer” your idea is the more the chance of success. Small niche markets are more likely to thrive in the initial stages than an already marketed idea.

Resources

You may find it helpful to consult industry experts or conduct market research about your idea. However, this does not imply that any idea is novel simply for its newness. Keeping it relevant in the context of the needs of the

industry and consumers is a good point to start.

Marketability

Are you providing people with something for which they are willing to pay

a price? If yes, then how much? These are the questions you should be asking when evaluating the market value of your product or service. Identify your target market.

Do you have a particular group of

people in mind who you want to sell to?

For example, is it a product women or specific people are more likely to use?

Analyse the income patterns, age, geographical location or any other information about your customers needed

To start any business, finance is required. Preparing forecasts of your first year’s sales and expenditures will make your business plan seem more practical.

Instead of working with rough estimates, try to calculate the actual costs of acquiring assets needed to start the business. You might also find it helpful to state the sources of your finance and the amount of money you expect to get from them. l

Not being a n00b with it Handling the 'always-urgent' client n Career Desk

BIZ VOCAB

Adware – A software application which displays unwanted pop-up advertisements on your computer while in use. Adware is often installed at the same time as free software or

shareware Bloatware/fatware – Pre-installed software that occupies a lot of space, leaving little memory for storing personal data Bug – A defect or fault in a programme that prevents it from working correctly.

Bugs are caused by mistakes or errors made by those who write the programme Cache – A sort of fast memory used for temporary storage of recently accessed web pages, which enables the browser to display them more quickly on the next visit Cookies – Small piece of information on the times and dates you have visited web sites.

A web server can temporarily store this information within your browser. The main purpose is to identify users and possibly prepare customised web pages for them Crash – What happens when a programme or the entire operating system, unexpectedly stops working Cursor – A blinking symbol on the screen that shows where any new text will next be entered Driver – A special programme which enables a computer to work with a particular piece of hardware such as a printer e-Business – Business done over the internet or any internet-based network Font – A particular kind of lettering Firewall – Specialised hardware or software designed to prevent unauthorised ac-

cess into or out of a computer or network

n Career Desk

Hit – A visit to a website

If you work in an agency, do freelance work, or have to deal with clients in your current position, then you probably already know how to spot one of these “problem” clients. Their emails are always marked “high priority.”

They think it's the most ordinary thing in the world to call you at 12am for an update because they need somebody to hold their hands and tell them it is going to be alright.

They often work on weekends and well into the night and assume everyone else does too. “Always-urgent” clients think they are your only client. Their job is their first priority and they think that it should therefore be your highest priority.

Netiquette/Network etiquette – A set of informal rules defining proper behaviour on the intenet Portal – A website that acts as a gateway or entry point to the internet (for example, Yahoo).

Typically, a portal offers a search engine and links to other sites grouped into categories, as well as news or other services Provider – Company that provides access to the internet Spam – Unwanted, irrelevant or inappropriate e-mail messages, especially commercial advertising. Also referred to as “junkmail” Spyware – Software that collects information, without your knowledge, about your web-surfing habits and uses it for marketing purposes. Very often contained in free downloads or shareware programmes Trojan – A computer programme that is hidden in a useful software application and actually used to gain access to your computer. It then performs malicious actions such as displaying messages or erasing files. Trojans may be found in a hacked legitimate programme or in free software Worm – A self-replicating computer programme, similar to a computer virus.

It infects additional computers (typically by making use of network connections), often clogging networks and information systems as it spreads Wysiwyg – What you see is what you get (pronounced ‘ wizzy-wig’). A WYSIWYG application enables you to see on the screen exactly what will appear when the document is printed Zip – To zip a file is to compress it so that it occupies less storage space and can be transferred quickly over the internet

Advantages

v They usually tend to give feedback on work relatively quickly v They are not the biggest fans of prolonged discussions and inefficient and frequent meetings v They generally know when they are being unreasonable v They do their best to pay you quickly

Drawbacks

v They are stressed all the time which is infectious and it will get you too v They always want the output as soon as possible and don't take into account that you just received the

– ESTEE LAUDER

How to handle them

Know that everything will be desperate and require breakneck speed; decide whether the job is worth the inconve-

nience. Ask a lot of questions and understand their perspective as soon as possible.

Make it clear when their requests are unreasonable, right from the beginning; be reasonable yourself and show them the problem instead of getting into arguments.

Enter into a contract with them in-

stead of an hourly rate.

A word of caution

At any given time, having multiple “always-urgent” clients can lead to severely stressful situations, as everything is needed right now! So unless you thrive on pressure, you are advised to limit engaging the number of this type of client. l

Basic hacks for a powerful job interview n Career Desk A job interview is more than just preparing for a set of answers and delivering them appropriately. You can never be too sure about how the interview will go until it is over. Interviews can be of various types and you should be prepared to face anything that comes your way. Prepare yourself with these basic principles before walking into a real interview.

Know yourself

I NEVER DREAMED ABOUT SUCCESS. I WORKED FOR IT.

briefing, and haven't had as much time to think about it as them v They make repeated late night work requests

Evaluate your skills, abilities and accomplishments. Back up your accomplishments with evidence. Give clear and specific examples of the things you have accomplished. Example: if you claim to be a good writer, provide examples of your published work in print media, if available. If not, find another way in which you can provide this evidence.

Know the organisation

Do your research on the organisation.

Before walking into the interview gather as much information as possible about the mission statement, operations etc, of the organisation.

Anticipate certain questions

You will know answers to most of the

technical questions so prepare for them. Rehearse at home. Questions about your education, ability to work with others, past experience, personality, work habits or career goals are likely to be asked in most interviews.

Don't lose your cool

Be aware of different questioning techniques. There may be some very straightforward questions about yourself and the job. Others might be tricky, conditional or stressful to test how you deal with specific situations in reality.

In certain cases you may be goaded simply to see how you handle the pressure.

Be your best self

Do not sit unless your interviewer asks you to do so. Greet your interviewer or anyone you come across in the office politely. Address them with their respective title unless asked otherwise.

Introduce yourself by your first and last name. Do not ramble. Do not keep anything on the desk. Do not fidget and play with anything on or near your hands.

Do not be self-centered

Do not make yourself sound too self-centered by being too concerned

about the compensation, work hours etc. Rather try to develop a feel for the need of the employer or the job.

Filter what you say and how you say it

Be strategic with your weaknesses;

when asked what your weaknesses are, there is no need to be too honest about them. Examples of weaknesses include being a perfectionist, a workaholic, being too friendly and other "issues" which can be given a positive spin. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Like every year, TV channels this Eid are beginning a week’s worth of holiday programming starting with the Eid day. The programmes include Eid specials, miniseries, telefilms, single-episode plays, special episodes of fan-favourite drama series, musical shows, celebrity talk-shows, movies and many more. Below are Dhaka Tribune’s picks of the must-see programmes featured in the first three days of Eid. Eid Mubarak to all our readers!

Single-episode plays Sei Saat Din

Nayika

Single-episode teleplay “Sei Saat Din,” written by Sagor Jahan and directed by Shariful Islam Ripon, will be aired on ATN Bangla on Eid day at 5:35pm. The play portrays a love affair between a studious man and a happy-go-lucky woman, who is not serious about anything.

Intekhab Dinar, Dolly Zohur and Saberi Alam are among the leading actors.

Eid special teleplay “Nayika” is a dramatic adaptation of Rabeya Khatun’s story by Abul Hayat, who also directed the play which will be aired on the second day of Eid at 7:50pm on Channel I. The play depicts the struggles of a young mother of two, who finds herself in trouble after her husband dies and her in-laws abandon her. She decides to work in the film industry to change her fate. Abul Hayat, Wahida Mollic Jolly, Intekhab Dinar and Kusum Sikder played leading roles in the play.

Off-frame

Soulmate

“Off-frame,” featuring Moushumi Hamid and Rawkak Hasan in leading roles, will be aired on Maasranga TV on the third day of Eid at 8:50pm. Moushumi plays a photographer who meets Saurav (Rawnak) while on a trip to Srimangal and takes his photos without permission. Saurav insists she deletes the photos but Rupa is unwilling to do so. Saurav, an alleged murderer, decides to pretend to fall in love with her and gets closer to her so that he can erase the photos himself. But things do not pan out as planned.

The play was written by Tamzid Rahman and directed by Abdullah Al Mamun.

Eid special teleplay “Soulmate” will be aired on Banglavision at 11:30pm on the second day of Eid. Written and directed by Imraul Rafat, the play depicts a university student who is more interested in music than study. He gets engaged to a classmate and eventually there were married.

However, their conjugal life turns sour when the man fails to establish himself as a musician. John, popular musician from rock band Black, and Tisha were paired up for the play.

Nijhum Ratri

Eid special single-episode teleplay “Nijhum Ratri” will be screened on NTV on Eid day at 11:15pm. Written by Mansur Rahman and directed by Shahiduzzaman Selim, the play portrays a young man from a conservative family, who goes a radical change when he comes across a beautiful lady who lives a carefree life. Intekhab Dinar and Moutushi Biswas played leading roles in the play.

Kabya Kotha

“Kabya Kotha,” written by Bina Alam and directed

by Sokal Ahmed, will be aired on RTV at 11:30pm on Eid day.

The teleplay depicts the homecoming of a Bangladeshi expatriate living in the US, who returns after 12 years to apologise to his former girlfriend for his failure to come back in three years, as he had promised her he would.

Sajal and Momo played the lead characters in the play.

Blockbusters premiere on TV Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini

“Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini” will premiere on the small screen on the second day of Eid-ul-Azha. To be premiered on ATN Bangla at 10:30am, the film has an ensemble cast that includes Jaya Ahsan, Shakib Khan, Arefin Shuvo, Mimo, Diti, and Razzak.

In the film, Shakib is engaged to his cousin (Mimo), but promises his grandfather that he will not tie the knot until he finds his missing aunt and uncle. He goes to Malaysia in search of them, where he meets a United Nations official, Jaya, who helps him find his aunt. Shakib, despite his commitment back home, falls for Jaya.

But Jaya starts to avoid him and starts seeing another man, Arefin Shuvo.

Tarkanta

“Tarkanta” will be aired on the second day of Eid at 10:05pm on NTV. With a striking star-studded and unique script, three leading stars of Dhallywood, Moushumi, Arefin Shuvo and Bidya Sinha Mim have shared a screen space together.

Tarkanta is a movie which features humour, action, romance and drama. Moushumi will be seen as Shuvo’s sister and Mim as his girlfriend.

Cinema-goers

Rajotto

“Rajotto” will be aired on the second day of Eid at 10:30am on Channel i. Starring Shakib Khan and Bobby, directed by Iftakar Chowdhury, the flick is a TV premiere.

The story of the movie revolves around a deadly gangster named Ten Percent. His mother knows that he is a police officer who he is not. While travelling with his mother, he meets the woman of his dreams. A few days later, he meets her again but she fails to recognise him. That makes him angry and he becomes determined to win her heart. Meanwhile, his involvement with the underworld brings trouble in his love life.

Celebrity talk show

Kothin Protishodh

Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas stars in another flick titled “Kothin Protishodh,” which will be released in more than a hundred cinemas in this Eid-ul-Azha. Produced by Sondhani Films, the film is directed by Najrul Islam Khan. Apart from Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas, the film’s cast also includes Ujjal, Diti, Aliraaz, Miju Ahmed, Misha Sawdagor and Kabila.

Murder 2

Directed by MA Rahim, the film casts Amit Hasan, Shah Riaz and Bindia in lead roles. The romantic action film is produced by Monowara Films.

Rahim said about the film that the audience will find a milieu of contemporary society in the film.

Hitman

On the day of Eid-ul-Azha, Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas starring “Hitman” will be released in cinemas. Directed by Wazed Ali Sumon, the film is produced by Sajib Films. The film casts Misha Sawdagor, Joy, Bipasha, Shakil Shila and others along with Shakib Khan and Apu. Sudeep Kumar Deep has written all the songs in the film while Ali Akram Shuvo composed the music.

The director said that the story of the film revolves around family sentiment.

Ananta Jalil is set to open yet another chapter in his career as he turns anchor for a celebrity show titled “Face to Face: Ananta Jalil.” The show, consisting of seven episodes, will bring on stage film stars like Emon, Nirob and Parimani as well as politicians, including Asaduzzaman Noor and Hasanul Haque Inu. Besides, celebrated musicians, writers and intellectuals will also be present as guests. The show will be aired on Desh TV everyday, at 9pm from October 6 to 12

Kistimaat Sera Nayok

Directed by Wakil Ahmed, the film titled “Sera Nayok” will be released on the day of Eid-ul-Azha. Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas will be seen in lead roles while Ali Raaz, Suchorita, Misha Sawdagor, and Subrata graced the list of cast. About the film, Wakil Ahmed said that love, emotion and action are beautifully portrayed in it.

Director Ashiqur Rahman’s action romantic flick “Kistimaat” will be released in more than a hundred cinemas this Eid, with Arefin Shuvo pairing up for the first time with actress Achol.

The film tells the story of a police officer with a casual attitude to his job, who suddenly changes himself to become dutiful, fighting valiantly against bad guys and putting them behind bars. Achol, who had a brief stint as a model early in her career, finds herself in a familiar zone as she plays the role of a model.

Jaya Ahsan will talk about different aspects of her career and personal life in celebrity profile show ‘Star Night.’ Anchored Nawshin the programme will be aired on Maasranga TV at 7.40pm on Eid day

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Telefilms

9

Sunday, October 5, 2014

‘Krishoker Eid Anondo’

72 Kakrail

Telefilm “72 Kakrail” will be aired on Maasranga TV at 2.30pm on Eid day. Written by Litu Sakhawat and directed by Sokal Ahmed, the film depicts an expatriate couple living in the US, who visit Bangladesh to sell the husband’s ancestral home. However, the wife is opposed to the sell-off and begins to secretly discourage potential buyers. Riaz and Tisha acted in the telefilm.

Bajro-Atuni

GTV will air telefilm “Bajro-Atuni” on Eid day at 2:10pm. Written by Morshed Chowdhury and directed by Adittyo Nazrul, the telefilm portrays two families —one struggling with financial constraints but is united and happy, while another rich in economic terms but lacking happiness and mutual trust. Dipa Khandokar, Golam Farida Chhanda, Litu Anam and Murad performed in leading roles of the drama.

As in the previous years, Channel i will telecast a farmers’ game show titled “Krishoker Eid Anondo” on the second day of Eid-ul-Azha.

The programme, designed, presented and directed by Shaikh Siraj, will be aired at 4:30pm on the day.

This year’s programme will take place in Lalmonirhat district which will feature the unscrupulous group of stone-lifters who are illegally digging the earth to fetch stones. These people have strangled humanity and nature to death as they dig stones from under the soil without any hesitation.

As a consequence, the arable lands in Lalmonirhat, even the households, are going down under. Many have already died due to this very illegal act by the local musclemen and power-practices. Shaikh Siraj will feature these unknown and unheard stories on this year’s show. l

Sisimpur

Ajmeri Nama

Banglavision will air telefilm “Ajmeri Nama” at 2:10pm on the second day of Eid. Written

by Kazi Sushmin Afsana and directed by Golam Sohrab Dodul, the telefilm’s story revolves around the struggles of a woman who comes from a well-off family background but gets married to a man financially insolvent. Bipasha Hayat and Azad Abul Kalam acted in the telefilm.

Soroker Naame Naam

The popular children’s TV show “Sisimpur” will telecast live over three consecutive days starting from Eid day at 10:05am on RTV. Produced by Shahriar Islam, Sisimpur is the Bangladeshi

Channel 9 will air telefilm “Soroker Naame Naam” at 3:00pm on the second day of Eid. Written by Abu Sid and directed by Dipankar Dipan, the play depicts a wealthy man who wants a newly inaugurated road to be named after him so he can impress a young woman.

However, it so happens that a dog is killed in a road mishap on that road and people begin to call the road as ‘Dead Dog Road.’ Dinar and Nadia played the leading roles in the drama.

adaptation of “Sesame Street,” designed to meet the learning needs of three to six-year-olds across social classes and different regions of the country.

With a curriculum defined by Bangladeshi educators, the series emphasises not only on literacy, math and science, but also helps foster values such as self-respect, empathy and cooperation. Other key objectives include improving educational opportunities for young girls; promoting good nutrition, hygiene and safety; and encouraging appreciation of the shared cultural heritage of diverse segments of Bangladeshi society. The puppets will talk to the children calling the show and share valuable life lessons and provide advice. l

Drama serials Bhai

Six-episode drama series “Bhai” will start airing on Maasranga TV from Eid day at 6:15pm. Written by Matia Banu Shuku and directed by Ruman Runi, the series depicts an influential, wealthy man who loves a woman but the woman gets romantically involved with his younger brother. He gets furious when he learns about it and plans to murder her.

Sajal, Arsha and Tarik Anam Khan played the lead characters in the play.

Bou

ATN Bangla will air telefilm “Bou” on the third day of Eid at 3:05pm.

Written by Israfil Babu and directed by Zahid Hasan, the telefilm depicts an illiterate but very wealthy man who marries a university student and begins to learn how to talk like educated people from his wife.

Jitu Ahsan, Swarna and Ahona are among the leading actors.

Ratargul

Banglavision will air telefilm “Ratargul” on the third day of Eid at 2:10pm.

Written and directed by Sumon Anwar, the play revolves around a boatman who tries to rescue a woman from a trafficker who wants to sell her off as a prostitute in India.

Tisha, Mamunur Rashid and Rawnak Hasan played the lead characters in the drama.

Deadline

Seven-episode drama series ‘Deadline’ will be aired on NTV starting from Eid day, at 6:50pm. Written by Shafikur Rahman Shantonu and directed by Golam Sohrab Dodul, the play depicts the professional rivalry between two up-and-coming models cum actresses; however, in the course of time the rivalry turns increasingly personal. Mou, Richi, Abul hayat and Joyraz are among the leading actors in the play.

Sikandar Box Ekhon Bandorban-e

Six-episode drama series “Sikandar Box Ekhon Bandorban-e” will start airing on Banglavision at 6:25pm, starting from Eid day. Written and directed by Sagor Jahan, the play depicts different comic events that take place when Sikander Box sets off for Bandorban with his wife and maternal uncle. Mosharraf Karim, Shokh, Salauddin Lavlu and Saju Khadem played the lead characters in the play.

Dhong er Pagol

Telefilm “Dhong er Pagol” will be aired on the third day of Eid at 4:30pm on Channel i. Written and directed by Wahid Anam, the comedy revolves around a film director so passionate in his work that he only talks about filmmaking, and nothing else, whenever he meets someone. Zahid Hasan, Kusum Sikdar and Hasan Masud played the lead characters in the play.

Spy Agency

Channel 9 will air drama serial “Spy Agency” at 6:00pm on Eid day. The storyline of the play revolves around a man who wants to be a famous spy like James Bond and opens a detective agency, but no one seems willing to give him assignment.

Riaz, Tarik Swapan, Bijori Barkatullah and Sajjad Reza played the leading roles in the play.

Tomay Notun Kore Pabo Bole

Chhoto Kaku

Nisho and Farhana Mili play the lead role of the telefilm Tomay Notun Kore Pabo Bole where two lovers fall apart after one shows disrespect to another in a continuous manner. Nisho plays an angry young man named Raja who was brought up in a broken family. As per the nature’s rule of being attracted to the opposite character, he falls for a very tender-hearted girl Shiuli (played by Mili). They develop a romantic relation but Raja’s bad temper makes Shiuli scared and she decides to pull herself out from Raja’s life. But Raja does not accept her decision and becomes furious after knowing that Shiuli is getting married to someone else. He decides to meet her for one last time. Written by Kawshik Shangkar Das, the telefilm will be aired on SATV on Eid day.

Popular character “Chhoto Kaku” is back on this Eid. Channel i will air this instalment of the series, titled “Raat Birate Satkhiratey,” at 6:10pm from Eid day until the eighth day of the festival. The series was written

by Faridur Reza Sagor and scripted as well as directed by Afzal Hossain.

The story revolves around Chhoto Kaku who will solve a new mystery at the Dublar Char area in the Sundarbans. Afzal Hossain, Arsha, Probal and Simato played the leading roles.

Music and dance shows

This Eid Channel 24 brings a unique musical show featuring the popular band Joler Gaan performing in various scenic locations of Bangladesh. Titled “Pahare Sagore Joler Gaan,” the five-episode show will be aired on 9pm everyday during the five-day Eid celebration of the channel. Presenting a blend of travel and music, the programme has been shot at Khagrachari, Bandarban, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazaar and St Martin’s Island

A special dance programme titled “The Dancing Diva” will be aired on the second day of Eid-ul-Azha on RTV at 5:50pm, in which Bidya Sinha Mim will be seen performing five different dance forms

Bappa Mazumder and Partha Barua will pay a tribute to Sanjeeb chowdhury, Sheikh Ishtiaque and Niloy Das in a show titled Tribute to Legends which will be telecast on Channel 9 on the 2nd day of Eid at 9pm

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, October 5, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Remember the Rohingya this Eid

M

yanmar’s recent decision to demand Rohingyas in Myanmar register as “Bengali” in official records is a continuation of the discriminatory policies which created the unsafe climate that has forced so many Rohingya to flee their homes.

The government of Myanmar does not include “Rohingya” as an ethnic group in its population census. By asking that they register as Bengali, the state is demanding that they be considered as “recent migrants” from Bengal, rather than be accepted as an ethnic community which has lived in Myanmar for centuries.

Bangladeshis are fortunate to enjoy extended national celebrations this holiday period, thanks to the near convergence of Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja this year. As a time for piety, as well as relaxation and thanks-giving, these festivals should remind us of the need to end the discrimination endured by people in our neighbouring nation.

It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of undocumented Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis should be proud of the fact that we have accepted so many more refugees from Myanmar than other richer countries, both officially and unofficially.

Rohingya refugees deserve every possible sympathy.

Nonetheless, Rohingya refugees were forced upon us by the apartheid regime and communal violence sponsored by the government of Myanmar. The Myanmar government must end its institutional discrimination and allow the safe repatriation of refugees who want to return to their homes. Otherwise, the international community may wish to rethink decisions to lift economic sanctions against the Myanmar military regime.

The Myanmar government must end the institutional discrimination that forced so many to flee their homes

Government’s duty to end extortion

E

xtortionists have been busy extracting illegal tolls from cattle owners and transporters carrying sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Although authorities say official markets are better monitored and run than ever, and claim there is less scope for corruption and criminal activities, large sums of money are openly being extorted even in spaces where police officers are present.

It is the public who pays the price of extortion, through higher prices and the corruption of public officials that it brings.

The inspector general of police has said that necessary measures have been taken to stop extortion from cattle-carrying transports.

However, this has been insufficient to stop organised criminals from blatantly carrying out their activities.

In at least one case, animals have been drowned while being moved away by extortionists.

Unfortunately this epidemic of criminality is a year-round phenomenon. To take just one example, our investigations last month found that extortion was so rampant on one small stretch of the MawaKawrakandi road that truckers had to pay tolls five times to travel just two kilometres from Pachchar Bazar to Pantun.

The harm done to honest hardworking business people by extortionists is inexcusable. The fact that criminals often have or claim the patronage of political organisations puts the onus on the government to take a lead in clamping down on extortion.

It must disown ruling party officials who engage in criminal activity and ensure they are brought before the law. The government must fulfill its responsibility to uphold rule of law and protect the public.

The government must take a clearer lead to uphold the rule of law

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

Yes, please assess the cadets

September 27 because something is there for 50 years does not Truth be told necessarily mean that it has to be continued.

Dear writer, being an ex-cadet, your concern about the parliamentary standing committee’s stance Rahat Jobayar is well understood. You have tried hard to justify Truth be told: Well, to get your facts straight, I the spending by writing the positions cadets have should rather say this. Forget the many, except 9 decorated. Well, similar achievements can be to 10 chiefs of the armed forces were all ex-cadets. shown by way more people who haven’t studied You do not have the statistics; we do. So, we know. in cadet colleges (ie without spending Tk22,000 As the writer requests to carry out a statistical per student per month). So, this is the best logic survey about the output of these students, it will you’ve got? become clearly evident that this investment behind “ … and many former chiefs of army staff are all those students was never in vain. ex-cadets.”

The cadet college system is a brainchild of the Your facts are not straight. In a denselyBrits. Yes, they had and they have such institutions. populated country like Bangladesh, cadet colleges I agree cadet colleges have sufficient territory. occupy huge amounts of land and infrastructure, Shouldn’t that be true of all educational institutions? for what? Only 50 students per batch? Are you Adding to that, the older cadet colleges have such serious? Just think, with the same amount of large land areas. All cadet colleges built after 1980 money and land/infrastructure, how many times own less land. My district school owns more land more students could be provided with educational than some of the newer cadet colleges. services.

From 2001, the educational cost borne by And why does there have to be dedicated students also rose. I have seen and known students educational institutes to prepare students for of 12 batches. If you compare them to the same the armed forces? Just do a Google search to find number of non-cadet students, you will find a out how many countries in the world have cadet definite difference in the quality of both types. colleges, given they have a professional army. Just

Charlie Sheen back on Two and a Half Men September 27 Minhaj Shuvo Yay. :-)

Masum Muhammad Minhaj Shuvo: I did tell you. :D

River boundary pillars on Turag September 27

Fake SP arrested in capital September 27

Sayid Al Hasan Shimul He should be beaten for his idiocy.

Tamim to play on Eid for Asia XI September 28

Shohidul Islam Jony Bad decision for Asia. We want to win and so we pray that Tamim does not play. He wastes his wickets.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

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.

What women don’t want September 27

Rafidah Rahman Beautiful!

Neda Shakiba Wonderfully written. :) Thank you.

Maisha M Samiha Yes, beautifully written!

Nazia Tariq Finally! Keep writing, and speak out more and more. :) Maahi Maherin Excellent article! Things are things, though!! :)

Mahmid Abdullah “River boundary pillars have been erected on much of the inside of Turag’s boundaries in violation of a High Court directive, allowing land grabbers to set up establishments on the riverbed.”

Despite the horrible news, the photo is nice.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 13 represents H so fill H every time the figure 13 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.

Zakiur Rahman Things are changing and every change takes time!

Struggles come in different forms in life. Life in the West is not free from stress and struggle!

I fully agree with the positivity in the writing of Mustabeen Quazi, who said: “Let not the resistance offered by society blind us from seeing the positive side and potentials of life.” It is always wise to “stay away from negative people” before we ourselves become pessimistic!

Rifat Simoom Rient Women want all rights to share front seats on any form of our local public transportation with physically ill patients. Okay, alright!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Appropriate (6) 4 Ship’s record (3) 7 Make up for (5) 8 Drives back (6) 11 Part of a play (3) 12 Flower (4) 13 Conceal (4) 15 Glossy fabric (5) 16 Deputised group (5) 20 Pace (4) 23 Incline (4) 24 Tree (3) 25 Decrees (6) 26 Embellish (5) 27 Colour (3) 28 Heavy hammer (6)

DOWN 1 European capital (5) 2 Be in the chair (7) 3 Skin eruption (4) 4 Burden (4) 5 Single occasion (4) 6 Obtain (3) 9 Period of time (3) 10 Mine (3) 14 Worship (7) 17 Dry, of champagne (3) 18 Used a chair (3) 19 Result from (5) 20 Flank (4) 21 Walked (4) 22 Female swans (4) 24 Distant (3)

Mark Heasley My family has brave women in it. The females in this family are strong, educated, confident, and ready to take on the world. They should be equal partners in all relationships or businesses. I am proud of my better halves.

Uttarakhand hunter outdoes the great Jim Corbett

CALVIN AND HOBBES

September 27

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Javak Pity such a beautiful animal has to die.

CROSSWORD

10 tips for a healthy festive Eid PEANUTS

September 27

BraveStar Good advice, but Bangladesh grows GM rice all over the country, and everyone eats it. Do they even know the health implications of GM? The fact that the rice seed cannot germinate after harvest, which the paddy farmer needs for next season, is not the bad news. The bad news is that anyone who consumes GM rice for a certain period of time has a higher chance of getting cancerous tumors.

So, be wary. Healthy eating. Bon-appétit.

We need global taxes on fossil fuels September 28

OM Keep campaigning for this to happen asap.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Follow the leader n Faruque Hasan

I

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

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Where have the poor gone?

M

n Mamun Rashid y friend looked very dismayed. He does not see enough “poor people,” or to be precise, “real poor people” available to hand out qurbani meat to. He could not reconcile this fact with himself. While government statistics tell him that 25% of Bangladesh’s population is living below the poverty line, and newspaper reports still talk about “Monga,” or seasonal unemployment, of pervasive poverty in the northern districts, why is it that there is not enough people to distribute fitra or zakat to during Eid-Ul-Fit’r, or even for joining Milad prayers after the death of a near and dear one in the family?

Statistics do tell us that there has been a sharp reduction in Bangladesh’s poverty numbers in recent decades. However, another group of people say that if we take $1.75 to be the minimum threshold limit per day, then almost 40% of our people are living below the poverty line. Social scientists also point to a rise in “poor people statistics” during any natural calamity or political impasse.

During our early days, we used to see day labourers coming from the northern region to work in paddy fields in Sylhet or Noakhali during the harvest period. That scene is increasingly fading away. The

minimum daily wage for day labourers has increased manifold in recent years. A day labourer can buy a higher amount of rice today than he could in the late 90s. During the harvest season, a day labourer could easily earn Tk15,000 per month, if not more.

A rickshawpuller in the urban areas earns more than Tk20,000 per month.

Courtesy of inward remittances, rural Bangladesh is now thriving with new spenders.

social safety net programs, or even political harnessing, even a rural denizen can earn Tk72,000 per annum. Of course, I have not included the emerging small entrepreneurs in rural Bangladesh, a convertible trading community among urban slum dwellers, or non-resident Bangladeshis, joining or floating businesses abroad and employing other Bangladeshis and supporting establishments back home.

In the near future, we may not have enough beggars asking for money

Because of an inadequate and corrupt rural healthcare system, there is an increase in the mentally and/or physically-challenged populace, or “passenger population.” Preliminary studies show that almost 8% of our population is comprised of this passenger population. Many of them resort to begging. Guess how much a beggar earns a day? There are juicy stories: A beggar in Dhaka could easily earn Tk120,000 per year at the minimum.

Thanks to NGOs or government

Though there may be a seasonal rise in favour of help-recipient groups, there will be a reduction in the number of regular beggars, or “desperate for help” groups, in the coming days. We may not get enough people to “pray on rent” for our departed beloved ones, or to hand out fitra or zakat.

Most of this money won’t go to the target market or the really needy people, unless we smoothen the “supply chain” or the distribution network.

All this money would only enter

a few pockets of a beneficiary group, not in compliance with Islamic Shariah or directives. Poor people who are not willing to travel to urban places won’t be receiving these. Really poor people, though their numbers are also reducing, won’t receive a sustainable benefit in the remote corners of the country.

A portion of these favours or giveaways must reach the educational institutions or health centres through capable NGOs. Some Pakistani or Indian NGOs have already established a good track record in this regard.

Continuous and massive urbanisation is forcing us to change our lifestyles – the way we sacrifice cattle, distribute alms, or organise religious programs. People are increasingly resorting to floating small businesses or shifting modes of earning. We don’t get enough people to join political rallies on rent – even for Tk500 – for half a day. In the near future, we may not have enough beggars asking for money, telling concocted stories about their health, their relatives, or their wretched poverty either.

We have to change, change for good, and change through the respectable transporter to make sure our money is well spent and has reached out to the right target group. We should also look for visible impacts of the distributed sum. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

s the caliphate Islamic, as it is often assumed? Neither the Holy Qur’an nor Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has endorsed the political caliphate. The concept of the political caliphate started after the death of the prophet, with Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) as the first caliph.

In the West, there is a misconception that a person needs to fulfill certain conditions for being a caliph, one of which is proof of descent from the Prophet’s tribe, the Quraysh. In the past, a caliph didn’t need to be a descent from the Prophet’s tribe. None of the 37 Ottoman caliphs were descents from the Quraysh. They were not even Arab, but Turks, and they belonged to the Turk Ottoman tribe.

Nowhere in the Holy Qur’an is it mentioned how a ruler of a country is to be elected – whether he will be directly elected by the people or by the oligarchy, or whether he will ascend to the power by dint of heredity, or it is the prerogative of the ruler in power to say who will be the ruler after his death.

It is not said whether a country will be democratic or absolute monarchy or constitutional monarchy. It is not said how the law of a country will be enacted, or who will enact that.

The answers to all these questions have been left to the prudence of the people.

The Prophet himself did not mention once who would be the ruler/ leader of the Muslims after his death.

He left the decision to the prudence and will of his followers.

Those who are in favour of the political caliphate use some ayahs (verses) from the Holy Qur’an to argue for its Qur’anic basis, such as the Surah An-Nisaa, ayah 59, which reads: “O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves refer it to Allah and His Apostle, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best and most suitable for final determination” (Yusuf Ali). They also refer to Surah Al-Nur, ayah (verse) 55, Surah Al- Mā’idah, ayah 49. These verses do not categorically refer to a political leader, but to a religious leader.

The Prophet (pbuh) did not refer to political caliphs or rulers, but only to religious caliphs

The supporters of political caliphate also cite from the Prophet’s sayings (hadiths). Muslims reported on the authority of Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, who said: “I accompanied Abu Hurairah for five years and heard

him talking of Muhammad (PBUH)’s saying: The prophets ruled over the children of Israel, whenever a prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophet after me.

There will be Khalifahs and they will number many …”

It is up to the people how they will choose their political leaders

Only two prophets, Hazrat Daud and Hazrat Suleiman, ruled over a country (Judah/Israel) as kings. The rests of the prophets were religious leaders.

Some of the prophets were even belittled by the Israelites. So obviously, in this saying the Prophet (pbuh) did not refer to political caliphs or rulers, but only to religious caliphs.

So, we can see that it is up to the people how they will choose their political leaders. After the death of the Prophet (pbuh), the Muslims (at that time they were a small community) gave bay’ah (oath of allegiance) to Abu Bakr (RA) to elect him as their caliph.

Nowadays, due to the huge population of a country, it is not possible to elect a ruler by giving bay’ah to him. So the best alternative to bay’ah is to cast votes in the general elections. People may call their elected rulers caliph/ Amir/president/prime minister or whatever they like.

Only the first four caliphs – Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA), Hazrat Umar (RA), Hazrat Utman (RA), and Hazrat Ali (RA) – were elected by the people through the bay’ah system. They were the religious leaders as well as the political rulers. Hazrat Ali (RA), in a letter written by him, mentioned himself as an Amir (ruler), not as a caliph.

He wrote: “I did not approach the people to get their oath of allegiance, but they came to me with their desire to make me their Amir …” (Nahj ul Balagha, Letter 54). Except the first four caliphs, the Umayyad, Abbasside, Ottoman, and Fatimid rulers were not the elected caliphs by any means.

They were, in fact, kings and emperors in disguise of a caliph, and were not religious leaders/caliphs.

The first four caliphs did not inherit the caliphate from their fathers. The rest of the caliphs inherited the throne of caliphate from their deceased fathers who were caliphs. The prophet of Islam did not have a son when he died, but a daughter and two grandsons from his daughter. After his death, neither of his grandsons became the caliph, but one of his companions, Abu Bakr (RA), was elected the caliph by the people. l Faruque Hasan is a freelance contributor.

Not buying it n Sushovan Dhar

O

peration Cast Lead, Israel’s latest military action in Gaza, has amply unmasked the Zionists and their defiance of international law. Israel is wrong-footed with the growing support for the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Certainly, the latest military aggression has contributed to create favourable conditions for this movement. The BDS movement was launched in July 2005 by an overwhelming majority of the Palestinian civil society to respond to the military occupation by Israel and also to challenge a host of corresponding repressive policies directed at Palestinians.

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls on all supporters of human rights “to take effective actions, particularly in the shape of BDS campaigns, to show solidarity and pressure Israel to end its regime of occupation, colonialism, and apartheid.”

In the words of political scientists Abigail B Bakan and Yasmeen Abu-Laban: “This campaign has challenged an international racial contract which, from 1948, has assigned a common interest between the state of Israel

and international political allies, while absenting Palestinians as simultaneously non-white, the subjects of extreme repression and stateless.

The BDS campaign also points to an alternative – the promise of a real and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

The Palestinians face the worst denial of human rights in the world.

Do we have instances of even greater undeniable realities? Forcibly thrown on the other side of a “separation” wall, they are locked in a place that can easily win the race for the largest prison on the world.

The world looks at the fencing with amazement. However, there are also hundreds of checkpoints at the borders and inside the Palestinian territory which produces apathy.

These posts are diligently maintained to systematically harass and humiliate the people. There is an immensity of segregation between the Jews and the Palestinians enforced by the Israeli State, pervading all spheres of life.

The Palestinians are permanently under surveillance and need permits for many things, including going to Israeli hospitals. Everything in the West Bank and Gaza, including the air, trade, and commerce, and essential supplies like water and electricity as well as access to the Mediterranean Sea, are under Israeli control. A few

thousand Palestinians are permanent residents of Israeli jails.

They neither have any knowledge of crimes committed by them, nor any charge registered against them for those alleged crimes. The Zionists have no fear in carrying on occupation in violation of international laws but with the support of the “international community.” Palestinians are second-grade citizens in the lands they historically considered as their own while the occupying army settles thousand of outsiders in Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

ity. 170 Palestinian civil society groups joined hands. Taking inspiration from the successful anti-apartheid struggles of South Africa they launched the movement.

In the meantime, Unesco organised a World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance at Durban South Africa in 2001. This conference issued a statement against “movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas, in particular the Zionist movement, which is based on racial superiority.” Palestinian intellectuals

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has spread around the world. It should not be judged by economic success alone

The Palestinians have no military machine nor any Wehrmacht. In the face of the extreme brutalities unleashed by the Israeli forces, they are forced to defend themselves. The 2005 BDS call emerged from such historical specific-

and academics, in 2003, initiated the call for a boycott of the academic institutions of Israel and within a year they set about the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

From Ramallah, they appealed to Palestinian intellectuals and academics to unite with the growing international boycott movement. Out of this, a national committee was established, that brought together Palestinian civil society groups the BDS movement, was launched.

More than 20 years have passed since the signing of the much touted Oslo accord. The fiction of this “peace process” now stands emptied of any meaningful content. With the signing of the Oslo Accords (1993-1994), presidents, diplomats, and commentators around the world jumped with joy.

It was seen as the “the death of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

However, most ignored the fact that these accords were a hash over of the old Israeli project, called Allon Plan which targeted to shift the cost of occupation to a Palestinian puppet regime. The situation now has only worsened. Under such conditions, the BDS is an indispensable and ethical response. The regime of illegal and brutal occupation is most embarrassed with the movement.

In the eight years since its existence, the movement has only grown.

Israeli companies can’t help the fact that Scandinavian nations like Norway and Sweden, and also Holland, have withdrawn their retirement funds

from them. The US retirement funds like TIAA-CREF faces pressure, both from home and abroad, to disinvest from corporations that support the occupation.

The most interesting part is that there is growing support for the BDS from the international Jewish community and in Israel itself. This ranges from a total boycott of all Israeli merchandise to boycott of settlement projects. Last month, 60 leading Israeli actors and playwrights refused to play in the new theater in Ariel, one of Israel’s largest settlements.

They were attacked by the Israeli government but another 150 major Israeli academics and writers came to their defense. The campaign for BDS in the “mainland” is spearheaded by an Israeli group, Boycott from Within.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has spread around the world. It should not be judged by economic success alone, it is certainly a powerful political strategic plan of action. We must force all actors towards a just solution of the Palestinian cause based on equal rights and respect and status for all.

Till that time, the BDS is here to stay. l Sushovan Dhar is an activist.

He is based in Kolkata.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Cameron, British Muslims condemn IS beheading of aid worker

New video post shows the beheading; Cameron vows to use ‘all assets’ to fight IS Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the The masked man spoke briefly with Britain’s Muslim leaders have in n Reuters, London the same southern British accent as Muslim Council of Britain, tweeted: the past been criticised for what some Muslim groups across Britain united yesterday to join Prime Minister David Cameron in condemning the beheading of aid worker Alan Henning by Islamic State insurgents, with one leading cleric calling it a “despicable and offensive act.”

Prayers for the 47-year-old taxi driver from Salford in northern England were said in mosques throughout the country at the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival.

Cameron called Henning a gentle, compassionate man who had simply tried to help others. Britain would do all it could to destroy his killers, he said.

Speaking after meeting the heads of Britain’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, Cameron said in a broadcast message: “we will use all the assets we have ...to defeat this organisation which is utterly ruthless, senseless and barbaric in the way it treats people.”

Henning had been held captive in Syria for nine months before a video was posted on YouTube on Friday showing him kneeling before a masked knifeman against a desert setting.

that of the killer of previous hostages widely dubbed “Jihadi John.”

Henning had been held captive in Syria for nine months before a video was posted on YouTube on Friday showing him kneeling before a masked knifeman against a desert setting He was the fourth hostage to have been beheaded by Islamic State (IS), which has faced air strikes by US, British, French and Arab fighter jets since seizing swathes of Iraq and Syria.

His case had prompted a wave of appeals for his release from British Muslim leaders and on Saturday morning several expressed their shock at the murder.

“Saddened by reported murder of Alan Henning. A despicable and offensive act. He helped Muslims. My thoughts and prayers with his family.”

A group calling itself Muslims of the North of England called Henning a “national hero” while Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation that aims to help young Muslims, said: “This barbaric killing is an attack against all decent people around the world.”

Air strikes

Henning had been part of aid convoy taking medical supplies to a hospital in northwest Syria in December last year when it was stopped by gunmen and he was abducted.

Fears for his safety had grown since the British parliament voted last month to take part in air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq.

In the YouTube video he appears to read from a script before being killed.

“Because of our parliament’s decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision,” he says.

critics have said is a lack of willingness publicly to confront what Cameron has called the “poisonous ideology” of Islamic extremists.

But the case of Henning, who had taken unpaid leave and left behind his wife and two teenage children to help Muslims deliver aid to children in Syria, had prompted a united response.

Last month, a letter signed by over 100 British Imams and Muslim leaders condemned Islamic State.

“The despicable threats to Mr Henning at the hands of so-called ‘Muslims’ cannot be justified anywhere in the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic traditions),” it read.

“The un-Islamic fanatics are not acting as Muslims, but as the Prime Minister has said, they are acting as monsters,” it added. “They are perpetrating the worst crimes against humanity.

This is not Jihad (Holy war) - it is a war against all humanity.”

On Friday, Paul Cantlie, the father of another Briton being held captive

by Islamic State, journalist John Cantlie, issued his own appeal for his son’s release. l

S E A R C H O P E R AT I O N AT O N TA K E S H R I N E

Why are thousands flocking to new ‘antiFacebook’ site Ello? n Agencies Social media network Ello is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join its platform, its founder has told the BBC. It was initially designed to just be used by about 90 friends of its founder Paul Budnitz. But the bike shop owner, from the US state of Vermont, opened it to others on 7 August.

It has been dubbed the “anti-Facebook” network because of a pledge to carry no adverts or sell user data.

However, some experts have cautioned that it might struggle with plans to charge micro-payments for certain “features.”

The site has a minimalist design and does not appear as user-friendly, at first glance, as more established networks.

It has already survived a reported Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack - a targeted flood of internet traffic - which briefly knocked it offline over the weekend.

“We’re learning as we go but we have a very strong tech crew and back end,” founder Paul Budnitz told the BBC. “It’s in beta and it’s buggy and it does weird stuff - and it’s all being fixed as quickly as we can.”

Budnitz added that he was “flattered” by the “anti-Facebook” description, but said that was not the way he saw his service.

“We don’t consider Facebook to be a

competitor. We see it as an ad platform and we are a network,” he explained.

The network will eventually make money by selling access to features, Budnitz added.

“Like the app store, we’re going to sell features for a few dollars,” he said.

Members can already check out features in development on the page and register their interest.

However, the traditional model of a free-to-use network has historically been the key to success, said James McQuivey, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester.

“Over all the other social media experiences from Whatsapp to Instagram to Pinterest - the reason they work is because they’re free,” he told the BBC. “You don’t invite your friend to connect with you if it costs your friend money.

Even in the world of digital music - you can pay for services but most people don’t.”

“Ello is walking into a habit which consumers already have about digital services that they can’t change on their own.”

McQuivey also suggested that people’s attitudes towards advertising and data mining might not be as negative as they seem.

“We may all think we don’t like advertising, we may believe we think it’s wrong for companies to profit from our personal data but our behaviour suggests these companies give us what we want and we don’t mind what they do in return,” he said.”

“The fact is nobody has ever made a significant move away from any internet provider because of advertising or data.” l

Taliban tweet appears to locate spokesman n AP, Kabul

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and other rescuers arrive to conduct search operations at the ash-covered Ontake Shrine near the summit of Mount Ontake in central Japan. Rescuers yesterday retrieved four more bodies near the summit of the Japanese volcano that erupted last weekend, raising the death toll to 51 AP

NEWS BITES Stampede at Hindu festival kills 32 in India

n Reuters, New Delhi At least 32 people were killed in a stampede during a Hindu festival in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Friday, most of them women and a few children, the state police chief said. A huge crowd had gathered at an outdoor venue in the state capital, Patna, for the burning of effigies at dusk, part of the Dusshera festival. Officials said the stampede happened as people were leaving at the end of the event. Television channels quoted a witness as saying there were not enough lights when the ceremony ended. At least 15 injured people were taken to hospital, the police chief, PK Thakur said. l

Ukraine forces kill 12 rebels at Donetsk airport

n Reuters, Kiev Pro-Russian separatists have suffered their worst casualties since a ceasefire officially began on September 5, losing 12 men in attacks on buildings at Donetsk airport, Ukrainian military officials said yesterday. The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has become increasingly frayed in recent days, leading to the death of a number of civilians and soldiers as well as a Red Cross worker in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

“The airport of Donetsk remains the priority target for terrorists. Yesterday they resorted to a few, fortunately unsuccessful, attempts to storm it,” military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said. l

An apparently errant tweet by the Taliban’s spokesman in Afghanistan has given his location as being in neighbouring Pakistan.

On Friday, the tweet by Zabihullah Mujahid, which was claiming an attack, included geolocation information that suggested he sent the message from Sindh, Pakistan.

Mujahid later sent a tweet on Saturday describing the location leak as an

“enemy plot.”

He also offered his Afghan telephone number to confirm his identity and wrote: “With full confidence, I can say that I am in my own country.”

Twitter says such geolocation data is based on latitude and longitude data or other information provided by users at the time of their message.

In an explanation of geolocation, Twitter itself warns: “Remember, once you post something online, it’s out there for others to see.” l

US loosens arms embargo on Vietnam.

Why now?

Ebola outbreak casts pall over Eid holiday in West Africa

n Agencies

The raging Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa cast a pall yesterday over celebrations in the region of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most important holidays.

In Guinea, the day appeared almost as any other. The usual fields and squares where people gather to pray on the holiday were empty, as people heeded their government’s warning to avoid large gatherings. People slaughtered their sheep — the traditional rite of Eid — in small groups at home, rather than at the usual large parties.

Merchants complained that few people bought new clothes, as is typical for the

The United States has partially lifted a 40-year ban on lethal weapons to Vietnam, a move that comes at a tense time in the South China Sea. The easing of the ban applies only to maritime equipment. But the decision reflects growing concern in Washington over China’s rising assertiveness in the region as Beijing pushes its claims to resource-rich territorial waters and islands that other countries claim as well.

The move was announced Thursday as Secretary of State John Kerry met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington. Vietnam has long called on the US to lift the embargo.

The new policy is intended to strengthen Vietnam’s coast guard, and would allow the country to receive armed boats and surveillance planes from the US, The New York Times reports.

It comes in the wake of a heated exchange in May, when Beijing placed an oil rig near the Paracel Islands, an area in the South China Sea claimed by both Vietnam and China. The move sparked deadly riots in Vietnam that targeted Chinese and Taiwanese-owned factories.

US officials denied the policy change toward Vietnam was directed against China, Al Jazeera reports. They insisted there were no specific sales outlined yet, and said such sales would be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The State Department said the de-

cision to lift the ban, which was established after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, comes amid warming ties and modest improvements in Vietnam’s human rights record.

US officials denied the policy change toward Vietnam was directed against China, with no specific sales outlined yet But human rights organizations were quick to object. John Sifton, spokesman for Human Rights Watch, said that “Vietnam’s record on political prisoners is “bad and getting worse,” according to the Associated Press. Amnesty International said the country detains scores of people for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

While US officials warned that further easing of the ban would require additional progress on human rights, they said the policy shift was primarily driven by national security interests, the AP reports.

About 40% of the world’s trade passes through the sea. Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, China, and the Philippines all claim regions of it. l

n AP, Conakry, Guinea

holiday, called Tabaski in many parts of West Africa.

“Look at how people are unkempt.

Poorly dressed. Have you ever seen Tabaski celebration like this? I never have,” said Mamoudou Conde, a 28-year-old who sells car parts in Conakry, Guinea’s capital.

In Sierra Leone, the United Council of Imams warned believers not to shake hands or embrace. It was a reminder that even on holidays, the Health Ministry’s “ABC” guidelines — Avoid Bodily Contact — must be followed.

Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of the sick, and with no licensed treatment available, the only way to stop an outbreak is to completely

isolate those who are infected. But with more than 7,400 people believed infected, there are far more sick people than beds in isolation units to treat them.

In a bid to stop the spread, the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have encouraged people to keep their distance and wash their hands frequently. The disease has also touched Nigeria and Senegal, but neither country has had a new infection in weeks. The United States confirmed its first case this week.

“Ebola is undermining the very foundations of our traditions,” said Idrissa Sall, a 32-year-old driver in Conakry.

“How can I greet my parents, my children when I’m barred from giving kisses?” l

North Korea’s number two makes surprise visit to South n Agencies A man widely considered in North Korea to be the most important official after Kim Jong-un has led a delegation in a rare trip to South Korea, in the first high-level face-to-face talks in five years, The Independent reported.

Hwang Pyong-so, the country’s top political officer, made the surprise trip to Seoul to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games.

Hwang and two North Korean offi-

cials met with South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae on Saturday.

The pair agreed to a second round of high-level talks between the end of October and the beginning of November, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The topics of discussions or the future talks were not immediately known.

Their visit comes as speculation mounts over the health of Supreme Leader Kim, who has not been seen in public for over a month.

The heavily overweight North Korean leader was last seen limping and state media has confirmed he is suffering ‘discomfort’. Reports have suggested a variety of reasons as to his monthlong absence, including that he may be recovering from ankle surgery or even suffering from gout.

Hwang’s visit suggests the notoriously secretive country is looking to build ties with South Korea, despite the two countries still technically being at war. l

Did you know?

Jose Mourinho has never lost as an opposition coach against Arsene Wenger in any competition (W6 D5 L0)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Sport

14 Fabregas

in focus in Arsenal clash

ROLL OF HONOUR

Unbeaten champion Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman makes a move against his last round opponent GM Enamul Hossain Razib (unseen) in the 40th Berger Paints National ‘A’ Chess at the Bangladesh Olympic Association media centre yesterday MUMIT M

Zia reclaims national title n Raihan Mahmood Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman emerged as the unbeaten champion of the 40th Berger Paints National ‘A’ Chess after drawing his last-round game with GM Enamul Hossain Razib at the media center of the Bangladesh Olympic Association yesterday.

Playing with black pieces, Zia chose Caro-Kan Defense while Enamul continued with Classical Variation. Following the 11th move Enamul offered a draw and Zia accepted it. Zia earned

11 points and reclaimed the title after a three-year gap. This was Zia’s 13th national chess title.

GM Niaz Murshed was the runners-up and earned 10 points. In the last round Niaz drew with IM Minhazuddin Ahmed. GM Enamul Hossain and last year’s champion GM Abdullah al Rakib both earned 9.5 points each.

They will contest playoff matches for the third and fourth positions.

In the final round Rakib beat FM Rezaul Haque to join Razib in third position. IM Minhazuddin Ahmed and FM

Sheikh Nasir Ahmed were tied with 8.5 points each and will play playoff matches for the fifth and sixth positions.

Uten became seventh with 7.5 points.

Masum Hossain finished eighth with 5.5 points. FM Amin and FM Debaraj Chatterjee will go through the playoff match for the ninth and 10th positions.

CM Sohel Chowdhury with 3.5 points, FM Rezaul Haque with three points, Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan with 2.5 points and CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed with two points finished 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th respectively. l

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GM Ziaur Rahman GM Abdullah Al-Rakib GM Niaz Murshed GM Ziaur Rahman IM Minhazuddin Ahmed GM Ziaur Rahman GM Ziaur Rahman GM Abdullah Al Rakib GM Enamul Hossain GM Ziaur Rahman GM Ziaur Rahman GM Reefat Bin Sattar GM Ziaur Rahman GM Ziaur Rahman GM Reefat Bin Sattar GM Ziaur Rahman GM Ziaur Rahman GM Enamul Hossain GM Ziaur Rahman GM Reefat Bin Sattar GM Ziaur Rahman GM Reefat Bin Sattar GM Reefat Bin Sattar GM Reefat Bin Sattar FM Syed Tahmidur Rahman FM Rezaul Haque GM Ziaur Rahman IM Zillur Rahman IM Zillur Rahman Sayed Ahmed Sohel FM Younus Hasan FM Jamilur Rahman GM Niaz Murshed GM Niaz Murshed GM Niaz Murshed GM Niaz Murshed FM Rezaul Haque Not held Dr. Mirza Akmal Hossain Dr. Mirza Akmal Hossain Miah Abdus Salek

14 Small crowd, big

hopes for Afghan women’s league

n

Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh Football Federation declared a 28-member preliminary squad for the two Fifa International Friendlies against Sri Lanka. The squad includes two new faces in Brothers Union defender Mezbahuddin and Rahmatganj goalkeeper Samiul Islam Masum.

The two matches are scheduled to be played in Jessore and Rajshahi on October 24 and 27 respectively. The preparation camp for the series will start at BKSP from October 10.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Shahidul Alam Sohel,

Russel Mahmud Liton, Mazharul Islam Himel, Samiul Islam Masum.

Defenders: Raihan Hasan, Md.Linkon.

Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Yasin Khan, Yeanim Ahmed Chowdhury Munna,Atikur Rahman Mishu, Ariful Islam, Topu Barman, NasirulIslam, Mezbahuddin.

Midfielders: Monaem Khan Raju, Mamunul Islam, Sohel Rana, Omar Faruk Babu, Zahid Hossain, Hemanta Kumar Vincent, Yusuf Sifat, Atikur Rahman Fahad and Jamal Bhuiyan.

Forwards: Toklis Ahmed, Wahed Ahmed, Zahid Hasan Emily, Aminul Islam Sajib. l

The WICB has decided to withdraw offspinner Sunil Narine from the entire India tour. A WICB spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Narine was being called back home after the Champions League T20 banned him from bowling having called his action illegal.

The West Indies board later sent a press release stating that Narine had been withdrawn to allow him “the opportunity to have his action assessed and plan his return to cricket”. The decision to stand down Narine leaves West Indies with no specialist spinner for the one-dayers against India. A replacement player is yet to be named.

Clive Lloyd, the West Indies chairman of selectors, was unhappy with the

Champions League T20’s procedure for dealing with suspect actions. “I am disappointed that our best bowler could suddenly be out of the tour,” he said. “I am quite disappointed about the procedure that surrounded the ‘calling’ of Sunil in the Champions Trophy tournament. These things have the potential to disrupt the team’s preparation for a critical series against India but we will have to overcome this hurdle.”

From October 8, West Indies will play five ODIs and a T20 against India, before three Tests. Narine’s bowling ban is restricted only to the Champions League and other BCCI-run tournaments like the IPL, but the decision to remove him from the tour means scrutiny on him has now extended into international cricket as well.

n Minhaz Uddin Khan The Bangladesh cricket team reached Dhaka yesterday night after securing a bronze medal in the men’s cricket competition in the 17th Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea.

The national cricketers will now head into a seven-day vacation for Eid-ul-Adha and return to business refreshed for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe later this month.

Bangladesh entered the 17th edition of the Asiad as the defending gold medalists and started their campaign on a high defeating International Cricket Council associate member side

Murray, Kvitova wins in Beijing

Kuwait by a whopping 203 runs. Bangladesh’s title defence, however, was cut short courtesy the toss of a coin in their rain-interrupted semi-final game against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh then defeated Hong Kong in the third place play-off by 27 runs and sealed the bronze medal.

Following the Eid holiday, the Bangladesh cricketers will prepare themselves for three Tests, five ODIs and a solitary Twenty20 international against Zimbabwe. Before locking horns with the visitors in the first Test on October 26 at Mirpur, Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up game against Bangladesh A from October 20-22. l

COURTESY

Narine’s absence will be more immediately felt by his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, who will be without their best bowler in Saturday’s CLT20 final against Chennai Super Kings. The Knight Riders management was surprised with the umpires’ ruling on Narine, particularly the fact that two days after his faster delivery was reported, his action for several deliveries was termed suspect.

However, Venky Mysore, Knight Riders’ CEO, said that the franchise would comply with the measures recommended by BCCI, so that Narine can bowl in BCCI-run tournaments like the IPL. Mysore said he did not want to question the authority of the umpires. “Those are the rules. We accept that. We will be very supportive of everything that Sunil wants to do,” Mysore said. l

Brazil draft Kaka for Asia encounters n AFP, Sao Paulo Brazil coach Dunga on Friday drafted Kaka into his squad for upcoming friendlies with Argentina and Japan after Cruzeiro forward Ricardo Goulart pulled out through injury.

Kaka, the 2007 world player of the year, returns 18 months after his last cap, having missed out on the World Cup under Dunga’s predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari. The playmaker has not featured for the Selecao since March 2013, when Scolari included him in his squad for friendlies against Russia and Italy.

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka, 32, is currently on loan with Sao Paulo and will next year play for Major League Soccer side Orlando. l

China take 2 more gold on final day to break 150-mark n Reuters, Incheon

Total CHINA 151 108 83 342 SOUTH KOREA 79 71 84 234 JAPAN 47 76 77 200 KAZAKHSTAN 28 23 33 84 IRAN 21 18 18 57 THAILAND 12 7 28 47 NORTH KOREA 11 11 14 36 INDIA 11 10 36 57 CHINESE TAIPEI 10 18 23 51 QATAR 10 4 14 UZBEKISTAN 9 14 21 44 BAHRAIN 9 6 4 19 HONG KONG 6 12 24 42 MALAYSIA 5 14 14 33 SINGAPORE 5 6 13 24 MONGOLIA 5 4 12 21 INDONESIA 4 5 11 20 KUWAIT 3 5 4 12 SAUDI ARABIA 3 3 1 7 MYANMAR 2 1 1 4 VIETNAM 1 10 25 36 PHILIPPINES 1 3 11 15 PAKISTAN 1 1 3 5 TAJIKISTAN 1 1 3 5 IRAQ 1 3 4 UAE 1 3 4 SRI LANKA 1 1 2 CAMBODIA 1 1 MACAU 3 4 7 KYRGYZSTAN 2 4 6 JORDAN 2 2 4 TURKMENISTAN 1 5 6 BANGLADESH 1 2 3 LAO PDR 1 2 3 AFGHANISTAN 1 1 2 LEBANON 1 1 2 NEPAL 1 1 Final Medal Tally

15 Djokovic defeats

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza (L) and opener Shamsur Rahman take a selfie during their transit at the Singapore International Airport yesterday

MEDAL TALLY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 25 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 33 35 35 37

13

Luckless Tigers return home from Asiad

BFF names prelim squad Narine withdrawn from India tour n for Sri Lanka friendlies Cricinfo

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Artistes perform a routine during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games at The Incheon Asiad Main Stadium in Incheon yesterday

AFP

China won two more table tennis gold medals at the Asian Games on Saturday, pushing their overall tally to 151 for the multi-sports event, while hosts South Korea finished runners-up for a fifth straight Games ahead of Japan in third.

The South Koreans earned 79 golds in total, 11 shy of their pre-Games target, while Japan ended on 47 and were some way short of displacing the hosts as the next best in Asia.

A strong performance in boxing and canoeing helped Kazakhstan to fourth place (28 golds) ahead of Iran (21) and Thailand (12).

North Korea, whose participation in the 17th Asiad was in doubt just a few months before the opening ceremony, finished in seventh place with 11 gold medals, their best performance since finishing fourth in 1990 with 12 golds.

The backbone of the North’s success was their impressive weightlifters, who won four golds and broke five world records. On the final day of competition, Xu Xin won men’s singles gold and compatriot Liu Shiwen the women’s crown as China scooped six of the seven table tennis titles at the Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 Games.

North Korea’s mixed doubles team put paid to their chances of a clean sweep by beating them in the quarter-finals earlier in the week.l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Ronaldo, Bale fit for Athletic Bilbao clash

Fabregas in focus in Arsenal clash n AFP, London All eyes will be on Cesc Fabregas in the Premier League on Sunday when he plays his first game against former club Arsenal in the colours of new side Chelsea.

Fabregas spent eight years with Arsenal, including three as captain, but when he returned to England from Barcelona in June, it was at Stamford Bridge that he alighted, rather than the Emirates Stadium.

The 27-year-old has been an instant hit at Chelsea, supplying seven assists in eight games, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he has no regrets about not exercising an option to bring the midfielder back to the club.

FIXTURES Chelsea Man United Tottenham West Ham

v v v v

Arsenal Everton Southampton QPR

Asked if he believed that Fabregas would have preferred to return to Arsenal, Wenger said: “Certainly, yes.

“I don’t want to make a big story of that because you have to accept that once he went to Barcelona - and it was the first separation, which was difficult for us - he could have gone anywhere else after. “I personally believe that deal was done a long time ago, early 2014.”

Wenger has urged Arsenal’s fans not to boo Fabregas when he lines up against the club he once symbolised at Stamford Bridge.

“When Cesc looks back at his career, he will find that Arsenal and myself had a very positive impact on his career. Nobody can dispute that,”

Wenger said.

“After that, I hope that everyone has the feeling we had a positive influence and that he had a great career.

That is all you can do.

“I have no personal animosity against Fabregas. I wish him well.

He is a great player, and a person and player I love. Once he left us, he left us. We are all professionals and we have to accept that.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, whose side are six points above fourth-place Arsenal at the top of the table, says he is not interested in the debate about whether Fabregas would have preferred to return to his old club.

“I don’t think that’s important.

For me he is a Chelsea player and he has been phenomenal for us,” said the Portuguese, whose side won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in mid-week.

“He has responsibilities and the fact the team is playing well and getting results, I couldn’t be happier with the moment we decided to bring him to the club.

“I don’t know if Chelsea was his first choice and I’m not even interested in that. For me, he is just one of my players.”

Chelsea romped to a humiliating 6-0 victory in last season’s corresponding fixture in March, in what was Wenger’s 1,000th game as Arsenal manager.

The Frenchman has never won against Mourinho in 11 attempts, but he believes his team will draw extra motivation from the desire to erase memories of last season’s capitulation.

“It was of course a very bad memory,” said

n AFP, Madrid

We n g e r, whose side are unbeaten in the league this season and overwhelmed Galatasaray 4-1 in the Champions League.

Wenger will be without midfielders Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Mikel Arteta (calf), while winger Theo Walcott is unlikely to make his return from a knee problem until after the international break.

France pair Mathieu Debuchy (ankle) and Olivier Giroud (fractured foot) are long-term absentees.

Mourinho announced on Friday that Chelsea’s eight-goal top scorer Diego Costa will start the game despite concerns about the condition of his hamstrings.

But veteran striker Didier Drogba (ankle), who has scored 13 goals in 14 games against Arsenal, and Brazilian midfielder Ramires (groin) are both unavailable. l

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will start his side’s La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday after recovering from minor injuries.

Ronaldo and Bale had failed the train with their team-mates on Friday due to knocks picked up in Real’s hardfought 2-1 win away to Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad in midweek.

However, Ancelotti was handed a huge boost as both took a full part in training on Saturday and the Italian also confirmed that Iker Casillas would continue in goal.

“Cristiano is fine, he is completely recovered and will play, as will Bale and Iker,” he said.

Despite scoring five times in 11 appearances so far this season, Bale’s performances have come under scrutiny in the Spanish press for not helping out defensively as the European champions have struggled to keep clean sheets.

And Ancelotti has demanded more, not only from the Welshman, but from all his forward players to help win the ball back higher up the field.

“Defensive work isn’t an individual thing. Everyone has to give more in that sense.

Henry’s future hazy after Bonucci wants order restored Houllier comments in Roma v Juventus clash n AFP, New York

French football star Thierry Henry gave no hints about his future plans Friday after his boss said the 37-year-old New York Red Bulls striker likely will not return to the Major League Soccer club next season.

Gerard Houllier, Red Bulls global

football director, told France Football in a story published Thursday that the former French national team star likely would leave the MLS squad after five seasons but might continue his career with another team rather than retire.

Henry’s only comment on the matter after a workout Friday was “If you see him, ask him. Ask him when you see him.”

That left Red Bulls coach Mike Petke to dance the delicate line between his boss and his star player, a former standout for Arsenal, Barcelona and Monaco who joined the Red Bulls in 2010.

“I can’t speak for what Gerard said,” Petke said. “All I can speak for is what I’m saying and that is I have zero idea and I believe that nobody has an idea.

“Only Thierry knows what he’s going to do next year and he will announce that when he feels comfortable.”

Henry has scored 50 regular-season goals in MLS matches, including nine in 27 games this season.l

n AFP, Milan Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has called for the champions to underline their status in Italy’s Serie A after a European slipup in midweek that has injected extra belief into Roma ahead of the sides’ Serie A showdown on Sunday.

Roma were humbled 3-0 in the corresponding fixture last season but travel to Turin buoyed by a fine overall performance that earned them a creditable 1-1 draw at Manchester City in midweek.

Rudi Garcia’s men succumbed to a Sergio Aguero penalty in the opening five minutes of their Champions League clash.

But only three days after his 38th birthday, captain Francesco Totti levelled for the visitors to succeed Ryan

Giggs as the competition’s oldest scorer as Roma earned a deserved share of the points two weeks after an impressive 5-1 drubbing of CSKA Moscow.

Roma president James Pallotta admitted confidence is high.

FIXTURES Empoli Lazio Parma Sampdoria Udinese Juventus Fiorentina Napoli

v v v v v v v v

Palermo Sassuolo Genoa Atalanta Cesena Roma Inter Torino

“The result (on Sunday) will depend on a lot of things, but we now know we can face any team in the world,” Pallotta told Radio Roma.

Juventus boasted 66 percent possession against Champions League Group

A rivals Atletico Madrid on Wednesday but Massimiliano Allegri’s men failed to get a shot on target in a frustrating 1-0 defeat away to the Spanish champions.

Although Roma are on the rise, Juve’s Leonardo Bonucci said it’s time to put the record straight.

“We have to focus on domestic matters again and after tonight (Wednesday) we have even more reason to prove that we’re still the team to beat,” Bonucci told Sky Sport.

Fellow defender Giorgio Chiellini admits Garcia’s men won’t be taken for granted.

“Roma are not just Francesco Totti, they have important players all through the squad and we have the utmost respect for them,” Chiellini said.

Juventus will be without defender Andrea Barzagli (right heel) and midfielder Andrea Pirlo (thigh), while defender Martin Caceres is a doubt after dislocating his shoulder against Atletico.l

“I ask of Gareth the same I ask of all the forward players. They have to work more both offensively and in regaining the ball.”

Madrid have recovered from a poor start to the season with five consecutive victories in all competitions to move to within four points of leaders Barcelona.

Athletic’s form, meanwhile, has been awful as the Basques sit outside the relegation zone only on goal differ-

FIXTURES Sevilla Celta Vigo Espanyol Real Madrid

v v v v

La Coruna Villarreal Real Sociedad Athletic Bilbao

ence and were beaten by BATE Borisov in the Champions League in midweek.

“They are a team that fight a lot, with a lot of quality and character,” warned Ancelotti.

“They haven’t started well, they had to prepare for the Champions League qualifiers and then have missed important players, but we need to be very careful with them. This could be the ideal game for them to turn it around.”

However Athletic’s top scorer Aritz Aduriz is a serious doubt for the trip to the Bernabeu as he limped out of training on Saturday with an abductor injury. l

Spanish court rejects Messi tax fraud appeal n AFP, Madrid Barcelona star Lionel Messi on Friday moved closer to facing trial over alleged tax fraud after a Spanish court rejected his appeal against being named in the case and ordered the probe to go ahead.

The Argentine forward and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, were accused last year of not paying 4.16 million euros ($5.26m, 3.26m pounds) in tax on earnings from the player’s image rights from 2007-2009 through the creation of a web of shell companies in Belize and Uruguay.

Both Messi and his father, who is also the player’s manager, denied wrongdoing and pointed the finger instead at a former agent of the player when they were quizzed at a court in Gava, the Barcelona suburb where the player lives, in September 2013.

Based on the Messis’ testimony, public prosecutors called for the case to be shelved.l

Small crowd, big hopes for Afghan women’s football league n AFP, Kabul The final scoreline read Kabul 5 - Herat 1, but for the players and noisy supporters who cheered them on Friday, women’s football was the biggest winner at the climax of Afghanistan’s first female sport’s league.

Empty stands at Kabul’s 6,000 seat all-weather stadium failed to diminish the enthusiasm of the hundred or so spectators urging on their teams, in a country where women were rarely allowed to leave their homes under the Taliban’s oppressive rule.

The groundbreaking four-team league was held in parallel with the Afghan Premier League (APL), a competitive and well-established men’s event now in its third year.

“I came here to support my team because football is not only for men,” said Waheeda Bahrami, 17, a high-school student in Kabul, wearing the yellow replica shirt of her team and waving pictures of the players.

“Backing the girls is so important for us. Football is good for health and we need to show girl power.”

“Kabul! Kabul!” chanted the supporters in the stands, almost all young women.

Players meanwhile wore black headscarves and full leggings to adhere to the country’s conservative Muslim culture in the trophy clash between the home side and western Herat.

Even 13 years after the fall of the Taliban, gender segregation remains

wouldn’t allow my husband to come in.

They told me only I could go in. But we insisted.”

The Bayat family, eating chips as they enjoyed the match, live in Kabul but are originally from Herat in western Afghanistan.

Afghan supporters cheer as football players of Kabul team take on their Herat opponents in the final match on Friday. The stands were almost empty but those supporters who did turn up were determined to mark the occasion with noisy chants and cheers AFP

sharp in Afghan life, with women in cities and rural areas often wearing the all-encompassing burqa when they venture out of the house.

“I feel sad. Most of the families don’t allow women to come watch football,” said Najeela Bayat, 35, who attended the game with her husband and 10-year-old son.

“We had problems at the gate. They

“My husband told me that Herat was going to have a football game so we came. Watching this game is amazing to me. I’m lucky to be here,” said Bayat.

“Of course it’s difficult because most of the women in Afghanistan have problems with their families who do not want them to play.”

Nasir Ahmadzai, press officer for the

APL, said the match was a symbol of progress for women, and denied there was a ban on men attending the fixture.

“They’re allowed, it’s just the level of interest that is a problem,” he said.

“We wanted as big a turnout as possible. We’ve advertised on TV, put it on social media. It’s the best turnout we’ve had for a women’s game. Hopefully it will improve next year.”

On the pitch, the star player was Madina Azizi, 19, agricultural student and striker for Kabul, who scored four goals.

“My family never told me not to play, they encouraged me. Here in Afghanistan there is war, suicide attacks, everything. When I play football I forget everything,” she said.

“I think the future for women’s football here is bright, if we work hard.”

Frozan Tajali, 21, the Kabul team captain and member of the national team, said she had battled against people who disapproved of women playing football.

“At the beginning my family didn’t want to let me play,” she said.

“But then when they understood I could play well, they encouraged me.

As a captain, I also train the other girls, a lot of them play well. But unfortunately they don’t always show up because of family pressure.” l

Afghan female football players of Kabul team, Madina Azizi (R) and and her opponent from the Herat team vie for the ball during the final match at the Afghanistan Football Federation stadium in Kabul on Friday AFP

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Asian Olympic boss slams India over cricket no show n Reuters, Incheon The head of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has launched a scathing attack on India over its refusal to enter a cricket team at the Asian Games, saying its decision was “killing” the sport.

Twenty20 Cricket was added to the Asian Games programme four years ago as a way to try and promote the sport in the region.

But India, the world’s richest and most influential cricketing nation, has steadfastly refused to send a men’s or women’s team to either the 2010 or the 2014 Asian Games.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) said its players were too busy with their other commitments. The Asian Games, which ended in South Korea on Saturday, clashed with the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 taking place in India.

But the OCA president, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, said India’s stance was short-sighted and damaging the game.

“They are killing cricket, limiting the NOCs participating in cricket and killing the market,” Sheikh Ahmad told a news conference at the Asian Games on Saturday.

“Sorry to say this as a sports fan, but this is the reality. This is why cricket is only a Commonwealth sport.”

India has also opposed the inclusion of cricket at other multi-sports events, including the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, a stance that has put them at odds with other cricketing nations and players.

Sri Lanka, the current Twenty20 world champions, sent a team to the Asian Games and won the men’s gold medal, beating Afghanistan in the final. l

DAY’S WATCH SUNDAY: Sony Six 4:30PM World Kabaddi League 2014 Mohali- Day 23 Star Sports 4 11:30AM FIA F1 World Championship Main Race: Suzuka Japan Star Sports 1 7:00PM Barclays Premier League Tottenham v Southampton Spanish Liga Bbva 9:00PM Celta de Vigo v Villarreal 11:00PM Espanyol v Real Sociedad 1:00AM Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao Star Sports 2 Italian Serie A 10:00PM Juventus v Roma 12:45AM Napoli v Torino Star Sports 4 English Premier League 5:00PM Manchester United v Everton 7:00PM Chelsea v Arsenal 9:00PM West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers 12:45AM Italian Serie A 2014/15 Fiorentina v Internazionale Ten Cricket 10:00PM Pakistan v Australia 1st T20 Ten Action 11:00AM ATP World Tour 500 Rakuten Japan Open Finals French Ligue 1 6:00PM Saint-Etienne v Toulouse 8:30PM Olympic Lyon v LOSC Lille 1:00AM Paris Saint-Germain v AS Monaco

MONDAY: Star Sports 1 1:00AM English Premier League Sunderland vs. Stoke City

TUESDAY: Ten Cricket 5:00PM Pakistan v Australia 1st ODI

WEDNESDAY: Star Sports 1, 3 3:00PM West Indies Tour of India 1st ODI

Athletes from Nepal (L), Lebanon, Bangladesh and other countries lead the parade of competitors during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games at The Incheon Asiad Main Stadium in Incheon yesterday

Korean show of unity as Asiad closes n AFP, Incheon Top leaders of North and South Korea made a rare show of unity on Saturday as the Incheon Asian Games closed in celebratory mood.

Fans turned out in numbers to farewell thousands of athletes who have competed in the South Korean city over the past 15 days.

And North Korea’s de facto number two, Hwang Pyong-So sat near to South Korean Prime Minister Jung Hong-Won in an unusual scene between the rival states who are technically at war.

Hwang and two other top officials

are on a surprise visit which marks the highest-level contact in years and will raise hopes of a breakthrough in ties.

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Falah Al-Sabah declared the 15-day Games closed and then made a heart shape with his arms above his head.

“It’s time for us all to say goodbye to Incheon and goodbye to Korea,” he told the crowd at Incheon Main Stadium, before the OCA flag was lowered.

“The Asian Games are not only about medals, however they are about representing your country, trying your best and taking pride in your flag. They

are about sportsmanship and fair play and about friendship and team spirit,” said the Kuwaiti official.

The ceremony, including K-Pop acts and a taekwondo display, ended the Games for another four years until Jakarta hosts the next edition in 2018.

China topped the medals table with 151 golds, roughly a quarter down on their 2010 record haul of 199 and their lowest total in 12 years.

Games attendance has been patchy but a respectable crowd turned out on a chilly evening for the closing ceremony, where K-Pop quartet Sistar, a children’s choir and a Kazakh folk dancer were

among the diverse attractions.

South Korean prime minister Jung took his seat in the VIP area and he was shortly joined by North Korea’s Hwang.

Both men stood as a giant South Korean flag was brought into the arena, and they rose again and waved when North Korea’s team entered as part of the athletes’ parade.

One of the biggest cheers of the night was reserved for North Korean weightlifter Kim Un-Guk, a nominee for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

South Korean fans have been sup-

AFP

portive and respectful of the North Korean athletes, who are kept segregated from the public and media by tight security.

Hwang’s trip comes at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has not been seen in public for a month, fuelling speculation about his health and even triggering unsubstantiated rumours of a coup.

Finally the Games flame was extinguished, symbolically marking the end of the regional Olympics with 439 gold medals handed out in 36 sports, plus 17 world records and six doping cases. l

Pakistan, Australia target T20 future Vonn relishing World n Cup comeback AFP, Dubai

Pakistan and Australia look to build up their squads in the shortest format of the game when they meet in the lone Twenty20 international in Dubai on Sunday, but both are missing key men.

Pakistan, who were World Twenty20 champions in 2009, will be without their key spinner Saeed Ajmal who is suspended from international cricket after his bowling action was found illegal last month.

Ajmal had been single-handedly shouldering Pakistan’s bowling attack, having taken 85 wickets in 63 Twenty20 matches - the highest by any bowler in this format.

The wily spinner has missed only three T20 matches out of the 66 Pakistan have played since his debut in 2009.

If Ajmal’s loss wasn’t enough, spinner and allrounder Mohammad Hafeez was also ruled out of the Twenty20 and three one-days after injuring a hand during a practice game on Friday night.

Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi said

Hafeez’s loss added more responsibilities onto the team’s youngsters.

“Hafeez always plays a key role and its unfortunate to lose him,” said Afridi on Saturday.

“But this gives an opportunity to youngsters to fill in and show their talent. I am confident with the side I have,” said Afridi.

Pakistan had a miserable World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in April where they failed to reach the last four for the first time in five editions of the tournament.

That prompted captain Hafeez to step down, handing the responsibility to all-rounder Shahid Afridi for a second time.

Pakistan have included left-arm spinner Raza Hasan to replace Ajmal and also have an exciting leg-spinning all-rounder in Saad Nasim who is uncapped at this level.

Afridi hopes he will be able to guide the young squad towards the 2016 World Twenty20.

“We don’t have to look back, who is not available. We have to think of re-

building the squad for the 2016 World Twenty20,” said Afridi.

Australia too have a new captain in Aaron Finch who took over after George Bailey stood down to concentrate on one-day cricket.

Australia also went out of the last World Twenty20 in the group stages but they have won six out of their nine shorter format games this year compared to Pakistan’s two from four.

Finch also has a young squad at his disposal after experienced all-rounder Shane Watson was ruled out of the full tour with an ankle injury.

His likely replacement Mitchell Marsh was also out of the tour due to a hamstring injury.

Paceman Pat Cummins will also miss out due to his involvement in a Twenty20 tournament in India, but dashing hitter Glenn Maxwell and uncapped leg-spinner Cameron Boyce have joined the squad. Finch said Pakistan will miss Hafeez.

“He (Hafeez) is obviously a great player and its unfortunate for Pakistan (to lose him),” said Finch on Saturday.l

n AFP, Sölden Lindsey Vonn is back in training this week in the Austrian Alps looking to put behind her nearly two years of injury misery and compete with the new wave of skiers coming through.

Her appearance on skies at Sölden marks a new landmark in the career of the glamour-girl American who won four overall World Cup titles between 2008-2012 before badly injuring her right knee while competing in a super-G at the 2013 World Championships.

After surgery and a lengthy layoff, Vonn returned to World Cup competition at Lake Louise in December of 2013. But by that time she had already re-injured her knee and opted for further surgery in January, meaning she missed the Sochi Olympics.

Nine months later the 29-year-old is ready to consider competitive skiing once again and she is aiming to return

to World Cup action at Lake Louise, Canada in December and be ready to compete in the World Championships

which will be held in February in Vonn’s backyard of Beaver Creek, Colorado.

“I’ve been working on technique, nothing fast, just taking it slow, doing a couple of draws and gates,” she said.

“I won’t do speed training for few more days still. My first race will be in Lake Louise. I have enough time and there is no stress, take it easy.l

Djokovic defeats Murray, as Kvitova wins in Beijing

‘Hijab must be accepted’ n AFP, Incheon

n AFP, Beijing

Asia’s Olympic chief on Saturday urged all sports to let women wear the Islamic hijab headscarf, after an Asian Games row which saw Qatar’s basketball team quit in fury.

Qatar’s women forfeited their matches and left after being told the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) would not allow hijabs.

Many sports, including football, now allow women to wear the hijab and Qatar slammed the ban as an “insult”.

The set-to fed into controversy over female Muslim athletes following criticism of Saudi Arabia for bringing an allmale squad to South Korea.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said he was upset by the Qatar episode and called on FIBA to change.

“Hijab has been approved in all sports, all the FIFA, volleyball, track and field - everywhere there is hijab, only in basketball (is it banned),” he said.l

World number one Novak Djokovic continued his brilliant 100 percent record at the China Open on Saturday, overpowering Andy Murray in straight sets to make his way into the final.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova remained on course for a second consecutive women’s title in China as she defeated Samantha Stosur 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in her semi-final.

It was another ruthless serving display from Djokovic, the top seed in Beijing, who overcame a brief fightback from the 27-year-old Scot midway through the second set to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win.

Djokovic broke serve in the eighth game, taking advantage of some risky groundstrokes by Murray, to take the opening set.

The British sixth seed appeared to lose concentration early in the second

set, dropping his serve in the first game and losing the next in a spell during which he failed to score a point.

But Murray took the upper hand thereafter, forcing two break points from his opponent in the fourth game, before finally clinching a deserved break at his next attempt.

The world number 11 was having his best moments of the match, taking points from Djokovic at the net during an attractive spell of tennis from both players.

However, Djokovic stepped up a gear when Murray pulled in front at 4-3, winning the next three games and allowing his opponent to take just one point.

“I felt like I could swing through the ball. I could dictate the play from the baseline better than I did in the previous games in the second set,” Djokovic said, explaining how he closed in on victory. l

Novak Djokovic of Serbia tosses his racquet after losing a point against Andy Murray of Britain in the men’s singles semifinal at the China Open in Beijing yesterday AFP

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

9 killed, 28 injured in road accidents n Tribune Report A total of nine people were killed and 28 others were injured in road accidents in four districts across the country yesterday.

The death victims included students and passers-by while the injured were admitted to different clinics and hospitals.

their hometowns to celebrate Eid with family members.

The third accident at Gharinda area, which left six people injured, involved a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a pickup truck.

The six were admitted to Kumudini Hospital and Tangail Medical College Hospital.

Madaripur

Mymensingh

Five people, including three students and a child, were killed in a road crash at Bandarkhola in Shibchar near Dhaka-Khulna highway yesterday morning.

The five were Halima Akhter, 17, Imran Howladar, 18, Rehana Akhter, 17, Shakib, 4, and Arjuda Begum, 40.

A Kawrakandi-bound passenger bus of Ruposhi Paribahan, which was travelling from Khulna, ran over three people, leaving two of them dead on the spot.

Students and passersby were among those who lost their lives in road accidents The third person and two others, who were in a van near the scene, received serious injuries and died while being taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

Angry locals blockaded the highway for three hours and vandalized the bus, causing a 15km tailback. They lifted the blockade when police arrived.

Madaripur Police Super Khandakar Faridul Islam said driver of the bus fled the scene and could not be held.

Tangail

An unidentified passer-by was killed and 21 others were injured in three separate road crashes in the district yesterday.

Gorai Highway police station Officer-in-Charge Jobaidul Alam said a north-bound passenger bus ran over the passer-by at Cotton Mill area in Gorai, leaving him seriously injured.

He was admitted to Kumudini Hospital in Mirzapur where he later died.

In another incident, 15 garment workers were injured when the driver of a passenger bus of Boghdad Paribahan lost control after reaching Sohagpara area in Mirzapur and plunged into a ditch.

Firefighters rushed to the scene, rescued the injured and sent them to Kumudini Hospital.

All 15 work at Increment Apparel Limited in Karnaphuli area of Chittagong, and they were travelling to

Back Page

Sunday, October 5, 2014

M I L E S TO G O

A man was killed and two others were injured in a road accident at Haluaghat bus terminal yesterday.

Witnesses said the driver of a passenger bus, while entering the bus terminal, lost control and ran over some passers-by, leaving Nurul Amin, 40, dead on the spot.

The injured were Nobi Hossain, 45, and Borhan Uddin, 40, a newspaper hawker by profession. Borhan was admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

The bus was seized but the driver managed to flee, police said.

Natore

Two people, including a schoolgirl, were killed and five others were injured in separate road accidents in Natore yesterday.

The deceased were Maharam Ali, 45, son of late Md Ali of Kechowakora village, and Rahima Khatun, 12, daughter of late Hasan Ali of village Gurumshoil in Baraigram upazila.

Sub-Inspector of Banpara highway police camp Samiul Islam said, a Pabna-bound truck collided head-on with an autorickshaw at Khejurtala area.

Maharam, driver of the autorickshaw, died on the spot while five passengers of the vehicle were injured.

They were admitted to local clinics.

In another incident, Rahima, a sixth-grader at Banpara Model High School, accidentally got her throat wrapped with her dupatta while riding an autorickshaw. The incident happened when the dupatta got tangled in the wheel of the vehicle, causing her to fall on the road and pass out.

She was rushed to a local clinic where doctors pronounced her dead.

Besides, police recovered a body which was floating in the Nandakuja River near Rasunhata bridge area.

Ibrahim Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gurudaspur police station, said police went to the spot and recovered the body after local people had informed them of it.

“The victim’s two hands were cut off and the body might have been dumped in the river around a week ago,” he added. l

Thousands of homebound people thronged Sadarghat launch terminal yesterday to travel to their village homes to celebrate Eid with families

Government to set up oceanography research centre in Cox’s Bazar n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The government has taken decision to set up an oceanography research centre in Cox’s Bazar aiming to gain knowledge about the blue economy.

“Japan will provide necessary equipment for the centre,” Maritime Affairs Unit Secretary Khurshed Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.

The government has adopted a blue economy outlook as the Bay of Bengal is becoming strategically important for progress in Bangladesh.

“We don’t even have water temperature equipment which is very vital for fishing as fish movement depends on water temperature,” Alam said.

The government is working on preparing a national strategy on the blue economy to tap marine resources in a sustainable manner, he added.

“We want to understand the blue economy from foreign experts to prepare our national plan to tap marine resources.”

A high-powered delegation is going to attend Indian Ocean Rim Association ministerial meeting to acquire knowledge about the blue economy.

Alam will lead the delegation at the IORA ministerial meeting to be held in Australia from October 8-9.

Bangladesh is expected to focus on maritime security, disaster management and fisheries in the meeting, he said.

Officials and experts from over 20 countries will take part in the meeting where Bangladesh will get an opportunity to seek cooperation from other littoral and coastal states.

“Bangladesh arranged an international workshop on the blue economy where officials from Mauritius, India and South Africa attended. These three countries will also attend the IORA ministerial meeting. We will have an opportunity to discuss future cooperation,” Alam said.

Lack of skilled manpower, technology and equipment are the main barriers to utilising marine resources in Bangla-

desh, he added.

The government emphasises the need for preservation, protection and utilisation of ocean resources as Bangladesh exercises its right to explore marine resources in the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh won more than 118,813 sq km of waters altogether comprising territorial sea and an exclusive economic zone extending out to 200 nautical miles (370km).

It also has undeniable sovereign rights in the seabed extending as far as 354 nautical miles [around 656km] from Chittagong coast in the Bay of Bengal with all the living and non-living resources.

The Bay of Bengal is the largest among 64 bays in the world and 1.4 billion people live along its coastline in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Myanmar.

Some 30 million people of Bangladesh have had direct livelihood dependence on oceanic economic activities like fisheries and commercial transportation. l

World’s first woman to give birth after womb transplant n Reuters

A Swedish woman has become the world's first to give birth after having a womb transplant, opening up the possibility for thousands of infertile women to have babies, the doctor in charge of the research project said yesterday.

The unnamed Swede in her mid-30s delivered a healthy baby boy by caesarean section in early September, around two years after receiving a uterus donated by an unrelated, 61-year-old.

She was one of seven women who successfully underwent a womb trans-

plant from a live donor - in most cases the recipient's mother - and subsequently had in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

"There are some more pregnant," Mats Brannstrom, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University of Gothenburg told Reuters. "They are more than 28 weeks pregnant."

Brannstrom said other hospitals around Europe, the United States, Australia and China had been waiting for results of the Swedish research before beginning their own programmes.

"When we have the results of other studies, we will know how effective the

procedure is and what the risks are," he added. Medical advances in treating infertility and helping women to get pregnant have sparked widespread ethical debate, with some critics saying scientists shouldn't "play God".

Others question the morality of spending huge sums to enable women to get pregnant when they have the option to adopt.

Brannstrom said the treatment, the first available for women who were born without a viable womb or who have had their uterus removed because of cancer, was "a matter of justice".

"If we decide as a society that infertility is a type of disease - which we have - we should try to treat it," he said.

Around 200,000 women in Europe suffer from uterine infertility. Brannstrom said a transplant was "the only solution to the problem" although it was too early to say whether the procedure, which costs around 100,000 euros ($125,000), would become common.

The University of Gothenburg has permission to do 10 womb transplants with up to two full-term pregnancies for each woman.

The university has already treated

nine women, two of whom had to have their transplanted wombs removed. All the women treated will have their uteruses removed again after their pregnancies.

"This is the first type of transplant that is temporary," Brannstrom said.

The programme's first pregnancy was confirmed in the spring and the baby weighed around 1,775 grams when delivered by caesarean section after the mother developed preeclampsia in the 32nd week of pregnancy.

"The mother and child have both returned home. The new parents are of course happy," Brannstrom said. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Eid celebrated at some places in four districts n UNB Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated in several places in Satkhira, Jhenidah, Chandpur and Laxmipur districts yesterday in line with the “schedule of Saudi Arabia”.

However, Eid will be celebrated in the country tomorrow. The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Moon Sighting Committee held at the Baitul Mukarram conference room of Islamic Foundation on the evening of September 25.

According to reports, residents of 40 villages in Chandpur celebrated Eid following the Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

The festival was also celebrated in some villages in Matlab North, Shahrasti and Kochua upazilas of the district.

Maulana Abu Jafar Md Abdul Hye said the main congregation of Eid was held at 9am on the premises of Shadra Senior Fazil Madrasah.

A large number of devotees attended the congregation conducted by Abdul Hye’s eldest son Maulana Md Arif Chowdhury.

In Satkhira, Eid was celebrated in 15 villages in Tala, Kalaroa, Ashashuni, and Sadar upazilas.

The Eid congregation was held at Shaheed Abdur Razzak Park Municipality auditorium at 8am.

In Lakkhipur, Eid was celebrated in eight villages in three upazilas.

The villages are Noagaon, Joypura, Bigha, Dakkhinpara, Kalakopa, Bashikpur, Purbapanch Para and Mahadebpur.

In Jhenidah, Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated at Rishipara village in Harinakunda upazila.

Maulana Delwar Hossain conducted the Eid jamaat here in the morning. l

Scientists check the engine of cheetahs, animal world's 'Ferrari' n Reuters Cheetahs can aptly be called the race cars of the animal kingdom: sleek, graceful and supremely speedy.

Scientists have now taken a bit of a look under the hood of these feline Ferraris to gauge how much energy they burn as they traverse their African habitats and to gain insight into factors that may be contributing to their precipitous population plunge.

A study published on Thursday in the journal Science described how researchers tracked 19 free-roaming cheetahs for two weeks at two sites in South Africa and Botswana. They measured energy expenditure after injecting cheetahs with isotope-laden water and later analyzing their feces.

They were surprised to learn that cheetahs used relatively little energy in their high-speed chases for prey like gazelles and impalas. The world's fastest land mammals, known for their spotted coat, cheetahs accelerate from a standstill to 60 mph (96 kph) in three seconds in amazing short bursts of speed.

"Our data suggest that they are indeed perfectly adapted to this hunting technique. They recover pretty fast, so the high-speed hunting doesn't really affect their quality of life," said one of the researchers, North Carolina State University biologist Johnny Wilson.

The findings also contradicted the hypothesis that cheetahs expend an inordinate amount of energy catching new prey after bigger competing predators like lions and hyenas steal carcasses brought down by them.

Their biggest energy drain was the distances cheetahs must walk while seeking prey thanks to man-made problems like habitat loss in grasslands and other areas, fences restricting free travel and people killing too many of the animals cheetahs eat.

Queen's University Belfast biologist Michael Scantlebury, who led the study, said the cheetahs traveled up to nearly 19 miles (30 km) per day.

He said "cheetahs may be Ferraris but most of the time they are driving slowly," traipsing over sand dunes in baking heat with no water to drink.

"It is us humans that are going to be responsible for their dwindling numbers. We need to be even more careful to look after and maintain the remaining areas of the world that are truly wild, and we need to think about the consequences of our actions," Scantlebury said.

Another study in the same journal used a different approach to assess energy expenditure in another big cat, the mountain lion of the Americas, also known as a puma or cougar.

Scientists studied energy expenditure by mountain lions by somehow putting some on treadmills. They then used a special tracking collar to monitor their movements in the wild. Mountain lions do not use speed, but use an energy-conserving sneak attack with a lethal pounce.

"The more time that the animals could spend in low-activity level behaviors - stalking, sit-and-waiting, slow walking - the greater the relative benefit of the kill, basically less calories expended for obtaining prey calories," said University of California-Santa Cruz wildlife physiologist Terrie Williams. l

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B3 Putin dismisses concerns as officials sound alarm over economy

B4 Investors batten down

hatches for volatile end to 2014

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Illegal cell phone sets flood market before Eid

The government is incurring a loss of huge revenues due to illegal sale of handsets losing revenues of more than Tk4 crore n Muhammad Zahidul Islam every month due to these illegal handPopular cell phone handsets with other gadgets are frequently entering into the country with garment accessories and other products stuffed in the containers to dodge huge tax revenues.

Market sources said after the tax increase, handsets’ markets are facing a volatile situation specially the highpriced handsets.

In the last budget for the current fiscal 2014-15, 15% VAT has been introduced to the mobile handsets for the first time.

The government also imposed on handsets an “education surcharge” for the first time thought it reduced import duty.

“We know that lots of garment containers are loaded with mobile devices with other garment accessories and thus the government is being deprived of huge taxes,” said Ingmar Wang, director of device business, Huawei, a new brand that newly entered the market.

‘Luggage Party’ while back home from travelling abroad bring the handsets in their personal luggages to evade tax Ingmar, however said, the market has much potential and so they have a plan to secure at least second position here in terms of market share.

“We are well aware about the taxation and other regulations and we think high tax (22.5%) is helping flourish the illegal market,” Ingmar said.

Visiting different popular markets, the Dhaka Tribune found that the city markets are flooded with mostly highpriced illegal mobile handsets.

Sources said a gang of namely “Luggage Party” is behind the supply of those handsets in the market.

The Dhaka Tribune visited Bashundhara Shopping Mall, Motaleb Plaza and Eastern Plaza, prominent centres for handsets, and found that illegal trading is on the rise ahead of Eid. The shopkeepers in the malls are found to have been selling the brand handsets that have no authorised importer or distribution channels.

These shops sell popular brands of handsets like Apple, Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, Sony even without any warranty and with a much cheaper price than the legal channels.

Sources in the market added that these products are mostly used, refurbished and low configured while some users are careless about it also.

Recently, Samsung sent a letter to the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) where it clearly narrated structural problems of taxation, adding that some business entities were cashing in on the situation.

In the letter, Samsung also mentioned that the company in its own survey found that the government was

sets.

Samsung collected data from Bashundhara City Shopping Mall and Eastern Plaza for the month of June on its Galaxy S5 and found the government lost revenues of Tk16.60 lakh on the single item alone.

The Dhaka Tribune obtained a copy of the letter and learned that Samsung sold 1,200 products for Tk60,000 each, whereas in the grey market, 350 units were sold at Tk44,900 each.

Samsung said the government duty is Tk4,743 each on S5, and the illegal sale of the device in the market made the government lose revenues of Tk6.60 lakh every month.

Following the Samsung allegations, the law enforcement agency raided a shop in Gulshan and ceased products illegally imported and sealed the shop.

But some days afterwards, that shop opened again and is running its business now.

Contacted, Hasan Mehdi, head of marketing of Samsung Electronics, said: “They are facing challenges and are bound to cut costs and reduce the price of different products also.”

Another senior executive of the company said if this situation continues, Samsung would have to think otherwise.

Traders of different markets also said “Luggage Party” while back home from travelling abroad bring the handsets in their personal luggages to evade tax.

Md Murad Hossain, proprietor of Mobile House at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, said most handsets did not have clearance from the telecom regulator or customs.

Jamal Uddin, an authorised dealer of Symphony in the shopping mall, said most high-priced handsets come through illegal channels as the international brands like Apple, HTC or Blackberry do not have distribution networks in Bangladesh.

Some shopkeepers, however, admitted that they bought handsets from those importers that bring handsets in that way.

Asked why they do not provide warranty of the handsets if those are legal, a shopkeeper of Eastern Plaza said those handsets need to be sent to Singapore or Taiwan for servicing.

“Seriously we are frightened about the situation, and the situation is going out of control day by day; no doubt taxation is the only reason there,” said Aminur Rashed, chairman and CEO of Symphony, a brand that obtains 50% market share of Bangladeshi market.

According to Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association data, in the financial year 2001-02, around 95% handsets were imported illegally, but reduced to 4% in the FY14.

The association also commented after the budget proposal that the increased tax would lead to availability of illegal handsets in the markets.

It said the import of handset increased to 2.01 crore in the FY14 from 6.22 lakh in the FY05. l

Sale of sacrificial animals gains momentum in the cattle market of the city. The picture was taken from Gabtali yesterday

Syndicates cash in on market regulators’ absence n Asif Showkat Kallol

Prices of sacrificial animals and other essentials in the market are behaving abnormally ahead of the holy festival of Eid ul-Azah as the government failed to rein in syndication.

According to sources in the Commerce Ministry, the much-sought after Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) is yet to come into being though three years have elapsed and Tk10 lakh was allocated by the Finance Division for smooth operation of the commission.

Over the past three years, the government failed to find a suitable chairman for the regulatory body, and formulate a competition policy, added the sources.

The BCC was thought to be curbing collusion, monopoly and oligopoly in the market, but it is yet to be known

when the proposed commission will start functioning.

In the wake of the government failure to start such a consumer-friendly commission, a wide cross-section of poor individuals reel under the price spiral, particularly in the lead-up to any religious and social festivals.

As per the market insiders, a total of 40 unscrupulous traders have been masterminding the price spiral of essentials for reasons unknown in the port city market.

In the capital’s wholesale kitchen markets, per kg cumin was being sold at between Tk230 and Tk360, but in the retail market, it was being traded between Tk400 and Tk500 a kg.

The cattle traders’ syndicate has already raised the prices of cows, specially the small ones, and the price ranges between Tk30,000 and Tk50,000, said

market insiders.

Secretary to the Ministry of Information, Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, ndc told the Dhaka Tribune to appoint a chairman for the BCC is a pending issue which will be solved very shortly.

“We will do everything to protect consumers’ right in the country.”

In September 2013, Bangladesh Competition Commission got its secretary nearly one year after establishing the regulatory body to monitor and control the market cartel.

The government appointed joint additional Secretary Md Sujayet Ullah to the post.

As per the law, the government will select one commissioner from five possible commissioner candidates.

The BCC will be comprised of a chairperson and a maximum of four members and may investigate into any

allegation on its own.

Besides, the regularity body will oversee the market situation and take necessary measures against unscrupulous businesses and organisations.

Under the law, if found guilty of violating the commission’s order, one will be punished with a jail sentence of maximum one year and a fine of up to Tk100,000 per day in case of non-compliance with the orders.

The government will take appropriate measures against business syndication to ensure healthy competition in trade and commerce as per the law.

The Commission, equivalent of a civil court, will be responsible for ensuring the enforcement and implementation of the Competition Law 2012 to resist any anti-competition designs and ensure healthy competition for all, particularly small and medium enterprises. l

Liquid milk prices surge ahead of Eid

IMF helps countries for stabilisation growth

n Asif Showkat Kallol

n Tribune Business Desk

Liquid milk prices have increased by Tk2-3 per litre just days before Eid-ulAzha.

The state-run Milk Vita brand was retailed at TK65 per liter Tk62 two days ago while Aarong, Aftab and Pran milks were found selling at Tk63-65.

Supply disruption has been blamed for the surge in liquid milk prices.

During visits to different city areas including Arambagh, Purana Paltan, Naya Paltan, Kamalapur, Shahjanpur and Tikatuli, the retailers were found selling the milk at the increased prices.

They said the distributors of Aarong, Aftab, Amo, Bikrampur, Pran and Rangpur dairy milk increased the price

by Tk2 per litre.

The retailers also said they were also facing supply crunch ahead of Eid-ulAzha. Many customers said they didn’t get milk in the shops and others said

they bought the milk at the increased prices. The customers alleged that a group of traders were creating artificial supply shortage to make extra profit.

“I went to buy some milk before Eidul-Azha to prepare foods on the occasion. But the milk was not available,” Rahima Akter, an insurance company official in Tikatuli area, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Milk Vita supplies 3 lakh litres of liquid milk everyday across the country.

The state-owned company has 70% share in the country’s market of liquid milk, said a company official.

The other leading private milk-producing companies -- Aarong, Aftab, Akiz, Amo, Bikrampur, Pran and Rangpur Dairy -- meet the remaining 30% demand together, he said.

According to the Agriculture and Food Security Programme of Brac, Bangladesh has a demand of approximately 1.28 crore tonnes milk. l

Seven years after the onset of the global financial crisis, the world still has a way to go to secure a sustainable recovery marked by strong growth that supports rapid job creation and benefits all, says MD of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde.

In her foreword to the institution’s Annual Report 2014-From Stabilization to Sustainable Growth, published on Friday, she says, “The recovery is ongoing, but it is still too slow and fragile, subject to the vagaries of financial sentiment. Millions of people are still looking for work. The level of uncertainty might be diminishing, but it is certainly not disappearing.”

Lagarde said, “Throughout the crisis and in the recovery period, the IMF has been, and continues to be, an indispensable agent of economic cooperation for its membership.”

Tuba workers suspend agitation till October 15 n Tribune Report

Tuba Group workers stage demonstration in front of the BGMEA office in the city yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Being failed materialising their demands for wages and bonuses, Tuba Group Sramik Sangram Committee yesterday decided to stage demonstration on October 15 in front of National Press Club where fresh agitation programmes would be announced.

“Go home with the anger against the factory owners and come back with more spirit of demonstration to fight for your rights,” Committee Convenor Moshrefa Mishu told a demonstration staged in the capital yesterday.

At around 11 am, the agitated workers besieged

BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim’s residence, followed by BGMEA complex in the city, demanding their dues.

However, there were no officials or office bearers in the BGMEA to pay heed to their demand.

A good number of police were deployed in front of BGMEA Bhaban from the morning to avert untoward incidents. The workers demanded salaries for the months of August and September as well as the Eid bonus. On August 18, the Tuba Group owners announced shut-down of five factories, leaving around 1,500 workers jobless. l

The report covers the work of the IMF’s Executive Board and contains financial statements for the year May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014, reports UNB. It describes the IMF’s support for its 188 member countries, with an emphasis on the core areas of IMF responsibility: assessing their economic and financial policies, providing financing where needed, and building capacity in key areas of economic policy.

On the financial front, the IMF continued to support members’ reform efforts across the globe. This year, the Fund’s Executive Board approved $21.5 billion in financing for member countries, plus $220 million in concessional financing for low-income countries.

The Board reviewed facilities such as the Flexible Credit Line, the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and the Rapid Financing instrument-to make sure that they continue to help countries as effectively as possible. l

B2

Bull-run continues to hit stock market n Tribune Report

Banks posted highest return of almost 7% and non-banking financial institutions 6.5%. Pharmaceuticals also rallied 5%, food and allied 4.4% and power 4%.

IDLC Investments said hope for further upswing and expectation of grabbing better return continued fuelling optimism across the market. Albeit, investors neutralised short term return, buying binge was strong. Fresh fund injection remained vigilant, it said.

Additionally, investors continued search for lucrative scrips intended market to remain volatile throughout the week, it said.

Government’s plan to raise fuel and gas price soon attracted investors towards Titas Gas, the stateowned lone natural gas distribution company, making the week’s top turnover leader with shares worth Tk390 crore changing hands.

It was followed by Delta Life Insurance, Square Pharmaceuticals, Familytex, Grameenphone and Mobil Jamuna Limited Bangladesh.

Popular Life Insurance was the biggest gainers posting a rise of more than 39 points, followed by Summit Alliance that rose 24%, Bank Asia 21%, Envoy Textiles 21%, Peoples Leasing 17% and Takaful Islami Insurance 16%.

Bangas, the week’s worst sufferer, plunged 23%. Other top losers included Padma Islami Life Insurance, Mozaffar Hossain Spinning Mills, Bangladesh Building Systems and Gemini Sea Food. l

Stock market finished the week with bull-run ahead of long vacation and weekend holidays, extending its rally for the fifth consecutive week.

The week that ended Thursday staged steep rise ahead of the six-day Eid-ul-Azha and four-day weekend holidays that began from Friday. The DSE will resume its trading from October 12.

Crossing 5,000-mark for the first time in the previous week, the benchmark index DSEX added 210 points or 4% to 5,237, its highest level since launching in the past week.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index rose 43 points or 2.3% to 1,993. The DSE Shariah Index closed at 1,219, rising 37 points or 3%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was up 136 points to close at 9,781.

However, the turnover slowed down somewhat hovering around Tk900 crore in the three sessions out of five. The average daily turnover stood at Tk960 crore, down 4.5% over the previous week’s Tk1,010 crore.

Of the total turnover, power and pharmaceuticals accounted for 20%, indicating that investors concentrated over these stocks.

Among the major sectors, only telecommunication and engineering closed in red, losing over 4% and 1% respectively.

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS Company Bangas -A Padma Islami Life*-N Mozaffar H.Spinning-N BD Building Systems -A GeminiSeaFood-Z ACI Formulations-A Central Pharm-A Navana CNG-A EXIM Bank 1 MF-A Ratanpur Steel -N

Closing (% change) -23.64 -18.92 -18.61 -12.81 -12.43 -12.43 -11.23 -10.18 -9.23 -9.07

CSE LOSERS Company Bangas -A Mozaffar H.Spinning-N Padma Islami Life*-N BD Building Systems -A 6th ICB M F-A Samata LeatheR -Z Central Pharm-A ACI Formulations-A Apex SpinningA Ratanpur Steel -N

Closing (% change) -22.88 -18.91 -14.95 -12.85 -12.10 -11.76 -11.20 -10.86 -10.64 -8.35

5026.92534

(+) 3.30%

1949.63620

(+) 2.65%

15615.0721

(+) 3.89%

12385.4207

(+) 2.07%

9439.0548

(+) 3.95%

Average (% change) -23.34 -16.92 -18.06 -12.94 -12.54 -13.13 -11.98 -7.37 -9.54 -13.81 Average (% change) -22.97 -18.65 -15.67 -12.99 -12.16 -11.76 -12.08 -12.57 -10.70 -13.22

ANALYST

Closing average 375.00 45.43 22.27 52.48 138.18 151.47 33.14 70.99 5.88 75.32

Closing average 378.79 22.24 46.65 52.26 52.30 22.50 33.12 151.66 71.38 75.48

Weekly closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 3920.68 3673.96 443.41 5566.89 2278.75 9416.70 11.32 3491.87 6750.95 119.18 1266.19 434.98 783.16 1918.74 497.02 471.49 2190.76 2446.19 668.58 1624.40 3.13

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Weekly high

372.70 45.00 22.30 52.40 138.80 150.10 33.20 70.60 5.90 77.20

Weekly closing

499.00 58.40 23.00 62.00 162.50 176.00 37.90 79.80 6.20 84.90

Weekly high

378.60 22.30 47.20 52.20 52.30 22.50 33.30 151.00 71.40 76.80

499.00 22.60 56.70 61.90 55.30 23.10 37.90 176.00 73.10 84.80

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features Sep 28-Nov 2, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

Company

47,978.34

Turnover (Volume)

994,110,821

Number of Contract

857,523

Traded Issues

312

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

235

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

74 3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,759.72

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

33.45

CSE key features Sep 28-Nov 2, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

2,997.49

Turnover (Volume)

76,878,382

Number of Contract

107,864

Traded Issues

254

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

178

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

73

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,652.10

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.15

Turnover in million

340.00 40.00 21.00 46.00 135.00 140.00 32.00 65.00 5.90 72.80

Weekly low 350.00 21.10 45.00 52.00 52.30 22.00 31.20 150.00 70.00 72.50

Latest EPS

113.675 51.568 72.499 257.806 0.551 324.956 130.735 418.426 0.050 878.083

Turnover in million

Popular Life Insu. -A SummitAlliancePort.-A Bank Asia -A Envoy Textiles Ltd-N PragatiLife Insu. -Z People`s Leasing-A Takaful Islami Insu-A Eastern InsurA Progressive Life-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A

Closing (% change) 39.24 24.85 21.67 21.22 18.68 17.50 16.67 16.42 15.45 14.81

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Sunday, October 5, 2014

5.03 1.10 2.10 3.08 -1.80 3.36 1.86 4.56 1.28 3.03

Latest EPS

9.250 6.861 2.301 7.259 0.316 0.190 5.224 22.120 0.144 86.313

5.03 2.10 1.10 3.08 6.47 0.09 1.86 3.36 2.24 3.03

Latest PE 74.6 41.3 10.6 17.0 -ve 45.1 17.8 15.6 4.6 24.9

Latest PE 75.3 10.6 42.4 17.0 8.1 250.0 17.8 45.1 31.9 24.9

Company SummitAlliancePort.-A Bank Asia -A Envoy Textiles Ltd-N People`s Leasing-A First Lease- A Takaful Islami Insu-A Eastern InsurA National Life I -A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Meghna Life Ins. -A

Closing (% change) 24.09 20.88 17.88 17.08 16.82 15.63 15.29 14.86 14.81 14.53

Average (% change) 35.32 28.31 21.35 19.61 20.28 19.20 15.38 21.22 16.54 12.45 Average (% change) 27.37 18.76 18.87 19.12 16.11 15.01 15.29 13.82 12.97 14.37

Closing average 205.99 62.32 21.88 61.18 105.61 28.56 29.79 40.62 105.47 24.30

Closing average 62.03 21.46 61.62 28.53 24.65 29.88 39.20 255.00 24.48 113.13

Weekly closing 212.90 62.30 21.90 61.70 104.20 28.20 30.10 39.00 104.60 24.80

Weekly closing 61.30 22.00 61.30 28.10 25.00 29.60 39.20 255.00 24.80 115.10

Weekly high 216.90 63.50 22.50 63.30 109.90 30.00 30.60 41.00 110.00 24.80

Weekly high 63.20 22.00 62.90 29.00 25.00 30.00 39.20 255.00 24.80 116.90

Weekly low 150.00 45.00 17.40 49.00 86.30 21.60 24.50 33.90 85.00 21.60

Weekly low 50.00 17.00 50.00 23.80 19.60 26.80 35.00 220.00 21.70 102.00

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

92.936 478.817 116.826 360.257 13.232 843.102 25.288 27.198 12.683 428.654

Turnover in million

17.00 0.96 1.74 2.04 2.38 0.82 1.50 2.42 2.30 4.34

Latest EPS

31.710 3.324 12.159 54.656 5.867 2.731 0.029 0.611 67.309 2.885

0.96 1.74 2.04 0.82 1.38 1.50 2.42 12.46 4.34 6.45

Latest PE 12.1 64.9 12.6 30.0 44.4 34.8 19.9 16.8 45.9 5.6

Latest PE 64.6 12.3 30.2 34.8 17.9 19.9 16.2 20.5 5.6 17.5

Weekly news from trade server AGM/Dividend QSMDRYCELL: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% cash dividend and 10% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 27.11.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Hall-2, RAOWA Complex, Mohakhali, Dhaka. Record Date: 20.10.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.55, NAV per share of Tk. 53.85 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.26 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

PENINSULA: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 13.11.2014, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: The King of Chittagong, In front of Panchlaish Thana, Chittagong. Record Date: 15.10.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 2.70, NAV per share of Tk. 54.75 and NOCFPS of Tk. 3.00 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

APOLOISPAT: The Board of Directors has recommended 15% stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 21.12.2014, Time: 12:00 Noon, Venue: Dream Holiday Ltd., Chaltaba, Panchdona, Narshingdi. Record Date: 21.10.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.84, NAV per share of Tk. 31.37 and NOCFPS of Tk. (0.71) for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

PADMALIFE: The Board of Directors did not recommend any dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 20.11.2014, Time: 11:30 AM, Venue: Jamuna Resort. Record date: 29.10.2014.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: SAIFPOWER: (Q3): The Company has reported its consolidated profit after tax Tk.

24.78 million and basic EPS Tk. 0.56 for the 3 (three) months ended on 31 March 2014 (Jan 2014-March 2014) as against consolidated profit after tax of Tk. 15.52 million and basic EPS of Tk. 0.35 for the same period of the previous year. It is to be noted that basic EPS has been calculated based on weighted average Pre-IPO paid-up number of shares i.e. 43,894,000 shares for both periods.

However, considering Post-IPO 55,894,000 number of shares the Company's basic EPS for the 3 (three) months ended on 31 March 2014 would be Tk. 0.44 For the period of 9 (nine) months (July 2013 to March 2014) ended on 31 March 2014 consolidated profit after tax was Tk. 68.22 million and basic EPS was Tk. 1.55 as against consolidated profit after tax of Tk. 62.33 million and basic EPS of Tk. 1.42 for the same period of the previous year. It is to be noted that the said EPS has been calculated based on weighted average Pre-IPO paid-up number of shares i.e. 43,894,000 shares for both periods.

However, considering Post-IPO 55,894,000 number of shares, Company's basic EPS would be Tk. 1.22 for 9 (nine) months ended on 31 March 2014 (July 2013 to March 2014) and NAV per share would be Tk. 26.75 as on 31 March 2014.

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.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: BIFC: The Company has further informed that the 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.

GOLDENSON: The Company has further informed that the experimental production of GSL Export Ltd., a subsidiary Company of Golden Son Ltd. has been completed successfully. The Company will start its commercial production from October 01, 2014. This 100% export oriented Company will initially manufacture soft and plush toys and will export those to international market. More than Tk. 7 crore has already been invested in this internationally standard company. The amount of investment will subsequently reach Tk. 40 crore within next 3 years. The Company's first year export target has been set as Tk. 40 crore which will lead the company earn a lot of foreign currency and business profit. Apart from that, Golden Son Ltd. has invested Tk. 20 crore and Tk. 60 crore to capital machineries and factory building respectively from January 2014 to September 2014. After installing these machines, commercial production will start from January 2015. As a result, the production and sales of the Company will be increased by around 50%.

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".

Hope for further upswing and expectation of grabbing better return continued fuelling optimism across the market

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 8.17 7.66 0.92 11.60 4.75 19.63 0.02 7.28 14.07 0.25 2.64 0.91 1.63 4.00 1.04 0.98 4.57 5.10 1.39 3.39 0.01

Million Taka 250.09 193.19 18.54 440.27 122.33 396.88 0.00 333.69 334.62 58.91 176.54 54.50 78.08 130.10 50.61 20.51 72.06 131.19 110.08 168.08 0.03

CSE

% change 7.96 6.15 0.59 14.02 3.90 12.64 0.00 10.63 10.66 1.88 5.62 1.74 2.49 4.14 1.61 0.65 2.29 4.18 3.51 5.35 0.00

Million Taka 4170.77 3867.15 461.95 6007.16 2401.08 9813.58 11.32 3825.57 7085.57 178.09 1442.73 489.48 861.24 2048.84 547.63 492.00 2262.82 2577.39 778.66 1792.47 3.16

Total

% change 8.16 7.57 0.90 11.75 4.70 19.20 0.02 7.48 13.86 0.35 2.82 0.96 1.68 4.01 1.07 0.96 4.43 5.04 1.52 3.51 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Titas Gas TDCLA Grameenphone-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Square Pharma -A Jamuna Oil -A Delta Life Insu. -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Beximco Pharma -A Olympic Ind. -A Padma Oil Co. -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A SAIF Powertec-N Square Pharma -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Ratanpur Steel -N BSRM Steels-A RAK Ceramics-A BD Submarine Cable-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A UNITED AIR-A

Volume shares 26,427,595 5,159,728 12,104,143 6,905,503 6,065,444 7,526,574 28,143,918 18,189,302 4,397,996 2,858,837

Volume shares 3,164,232 2,009,400 389,636 642,798 1,097,200 676,575 1,132,578 452,960 2,869,500 5,904,769

Value in million 2382.07 1995.20 1835.82 1801.38 1530.18 1459.33 1307.26 1303.27 1071.82 993.44

Value in million 147.22 138.64 101.23 98.18 86.31 77.98 74.78 67.98 67.31 65.49

% of total turnover 4.96 4.16 3.83 3.75 3.19 3.04 2.72 2.72 2.23 2.07

% of total turnover 4.92 4.63 3.38 3.28 2.88 2.61 2.50 2.27 2.25 2.19

Weekly closing 92.90 380.20 148.50 264.70 257.30 202.50 45.20 69.30 250.00 343.00

Weekly closing 45.40 61.10 263.40 148.60 76.80 115.40 65.10 148.40 24.80 10.80

Price change 10.99 -4.62 -6.66 13.56 12.60 11.75 -3.62 -2.81 12.31 1.78

Weekly opening 83.70 398.60 159.10 233.10 228.50 181.20 46.90 71.30 222.60 337.00

Weekly high 96.00 409.00 161.10 290.00 265.00 205.90 52.20 75.00 260.00 357.50

Weekly low 75.40 370.00 135.30 230.00 220.00 166.00 40.50 63.00 210.00 315.00

Weekly average 93.29 381.32 148.86 263.24 260.09 200.38 45.17 69.63 252.82 344.92

Price change -3.61 0.00 12.81 -6.72 -8.35 -5.49 -4.82 6.61 14.81 -1.82

Weekly opening 47.10 0.00 233.50 159.30 83.80 122.10 68.40 139.20 21.60 11.00

Weekly high 49.40 77.00 275.90 161.00 84.80 121.30 71.00 159.00 24.80 12.00

Weekly low 44.80 56.00 233.10 143.80 72.50 111.30 61.70 139.40 21.70 10.00

Weekly average 45.22 59.24 262.81 151.70 75.48 114.28 65.68 147.76 24.48 10.73

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Putin dismisses concerns as officials sound alarm over economy

Dollar edges up in Asia ahead of US jobs data

n AFP, Moscow

The dollar rebounded against the yen in Asian trade Friday after tumbling from a six-year high, as investors await the release of a key US jobs report later in the day.

In Tokyo the greenback changed hands at 108.98 yen, up from 108.42 yen.

However, it is well off the levels above 110 yen it touched in Asia Wednesday before succumbing to profit-taking and disappointing US data.

The euro was at $1.2643 and 137.80 yen against $1.2667 and 137.34 yen in US trade after the European Central Bank Thursday held off further rate cuts, but said they were committed to taking steps to combat deflation.

“Tonight’s US payrolls data will be important; a strong labour report could push the dollar back up,” Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.

But traders were cautious with various concerns hitting sentiment, including the Federal Reserve’s plans to exit its stimulus and raise interest rates, the first US Ebola virus outbreak and unrest in Hong Kong.

“A sense of risk-off tone still prevails as markets continue to be buffeted by a combination of factors, including the ever-closer Fed normalisation, growth worries particularly regarding the eurozone and China, as well as geopolitical risks,” Credit Agricole said in a note..

Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong scuffled with police outside government headquarters Friday despite

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed concerns that Russia’s development was heading in the wrong direction as officials sounded the alarm over the economic outlook.

Putin spoke at an investor forum after Russia’s economy minister said a combination of high inflation and low growth was “explosive” and the head of the country’s largest bank warned Russia could repeat the fate of the Soviet Union.

Putin chose to make light of the doom-and-gloom predictions, pledging Russia would remain an investorfriendly economy and ruling out capital controls or any major revision of privatisations.

Speaking at the annual “Russia Calling” investment forum, Putin jokingly suggested that investors should simply watch his facial expressions to gauge the state of the economy and government policies.

“I guess I should just smile sometimes to show the Devil is not so black as he is painted - forgive me, Lord - or knit my brow to show that we won’t permit something,” he said.

“We sincerely want to build a strong, prosperous, free country open to the world.”

Officials are considering how to mitigate the negative effects of the confrontation with the West over Ukraine which include pressure on the ruble, which has lost a fifth of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.

Russia responded to Western sanctions by ordering an embargo on EU and US food and threatened to ban other imports.

Sanctions coupled with the prosecution of billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov have undermined investor confidence and delivered a blow to economy, which is on the brink of recession.

Some Western companies are cutting back their presence or choosing to leave the country altogether.

Putin spoke after his economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev warned that a combination of 8.0 percent inflation and economic growth below 1.0 percent was a “crass and explosive situation.”

Russia’s RTS stock index plunged below 1,100 points on Thursday for the first time since March.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the presidential council at the Kremlin in Moscow

People cannot make creative products when they don’t understand the current economic policies and business climate

‘Gulags don’t motivate people’

The chief executive of Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, Herman Gref, launched an unusually open critique, warning Russia could repeat the fate of the USSR. Gref pilloried a state-led model of economic development, pointing to a lack of competition and poor governance.

“Why did the Soviet Union break up?” said Gref, a former economy minister.

“There is one key reason which de-

termined the rest: it’s mind-boggling incompetence of the Soviet leadership.

They did not respect the laws of economic development.

“We cannot allow the same situation,” he said, citing a book by the architect of Russia’s market reforms, Yegor Gaidar, “Collapse of an Empire.”

Gref seemed to question the Kremlin’s policies, including the ban on imports, saying: “I beg your pardon but we import nearly everything.”

He also said a lack of competition meant that even if the ruble rebounded, consumer prices would not go down.

“Half of our economy is monopolised,” he said.

Gref appeared to target the state’s increasingly repressive policies.

“You cannot motivate people through the Gulag - like in the Soviet Union,” he said, referring to Stalin’s system of forced labour camps.

“People cannot make creative products when they don’t understand the current economic policies and business climate.”

REUTERS

‘Close to the abyss’

The IMF warned this week that Russia’s “economic outlook appears bleak” with growth forecast at just 0.2% this year and 0.5% in 2015, although it noted the country has “substantial buffers” such as large reserves.

Chris Weafer, senior partner at Macro Advisory, said the remarks by Gref and Ulyukayev had acted as a “reality check.”

Economist Andrei Yakovlev said the officials’ grim assessments showed they were losing influence and noted they had chosen to air their views in public.

“Before, these discussions also took place, but not in public,” the director of the Institute for Industrial and Market Studies at the Higher School of Economics, told AFP. “We are close to the edge of the abyss and are moving ever closer towards it.”

Anvar Amirov, an analyst at the European Public Policy Advisers, added that Putin had delivered a political speech aimed at his supporters - and not at investors.

“If he says that things are bad then that begs the question: what have you been doing all these years?” l

n AFP, Tokyo

an eleventh-hour agreement for talks, as China said the demonstrators were “doomed to fail”.

The campaign for full universal suffrage has led to the closure of some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares and comes during the Chinese Golden Week holiday when cashed-up mainlanders usually visit its numerous shopping outlets.

National Australia Bank said investors were nervous about the possible resignation of the city’s top politician Leung Chun-ying.

“The apparent fear was that if Leung announced his resignation, as demanded by...protestors, he would be replaced by an even more pro-Chinese premier and that the protests could escalate rapidly,” it said.

The euro was lower against the dollar after rallying in response to the ECB policy meeting on Thursday.

Bank chief Mario Draghi announced various programmes to inject cash into the single currency bloc’s moribund economy.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It rose to Sg$1.2731 from Sg$1.2706 on Thursday, to 32.45 Thai baht from 32.40 baht, and to 1,061.68 South Korean won from 1,058.93 won.

It weakened to 12,146.00 Indonesian rupiah from 12,165.00 rupiah and was flat at 44.74 Philippine pesos, Tw$30.41, and 61.61 Indian rupees.

The Australian dollar fell to 87.93 US cents from 88.08 cents, while the Chinese yuan bought 17.73 yen against 17.70 yen. l

Oil prices rise ahead of US jobs report n AFP, Singapore The cost of oil rose in Asia Friday ahead of the latest US jobs report and after hitting multi-month lows a day earlier in response to key exporter Saudi Arabia cutting prices.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery rose 56 cents to $91.57, while Brent crude for November gained 43 cents to $93.85 in afternoon trade.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank

(UOB) said investors are keenly eyeing the release of the September US jobs report later Friday.

“For the September non-farm payrolls, markets are looking at a job creation of 215,000, up from 142,000 in August, while unemployment is expected to stay unchanged at 6.1%,” UOB said.

US jobs figures are closely watched by crude investors for clues on the state of economic recovery and demand in the world’s top oil consumer. l

GM’s 2025 platform plan: Simplify and seek to save billions n Reuters, Detroit

Bikroy.com, an online marketplace has recently handed over a cow and a goat to the winners of its Korbani Eid competition named “Post a free ad and win a cow or a goat”.

The winners SM Sajol and Amina Sultana Daizy were given the rewards at the presence of the company’s marketing manager, Eshita Sharmin

Bank Asia has recently opened an ATM booth at 69 Agrabad C/A in Chittagong. The bank’s deputy director and head of Chittagong zone, Mohammed Roshangir has inaugurated the branch

Clemon Clear Drink, a beverage of Akij Food & Beverage Limited has recently launched a campaign named “Clemon City Freshness Programme” in association with Dhaka North and South City corporations, with an aim to keep the country fresh by putting the wastes of this Qurbani in the right places. The executive director of Akij Food & Beverage Limited, Altaf Hossain was present on the occasion among others

It could be a defining element of Chief Executive Mary Barra’s legacy at General Motors Co: A drastic shift over the next 10 years from 26 global vehicle production platforms to just four by 2025, a bold stroke that could eventually save the US automaker many billions of dollars in production costs.

The radical streamlining of GM’s basic architectures, announced on Wednesday at a day-long investor briefing near Detroit, is intended to simplify the engineering and manufacturing of GM’s future cars and trucks, while enabling the company to deliver betterdifferentiated designs more quickly to customers around the world.

If it succeeds, then GM will be able to save on components, tooling and other manufacturing-related expenses.

However, to get there GM faces a challenge of enormous complexity that many of its global competitors, notably Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp, already have begun and are still sorting out. The up-front cost is also staggering.

Such a massive overhaul of the development and production processes is “incredibly disruptive, expensive and painful,” said Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas, and requires “a welloiled machine, culturally, managerially and financially.”

Basic building blocks

In fact, Barra, 52, began the process when she headed GM’s global product development organization before succeeding Dan Akerson as CEO in January.

“It’s something we’ve been working on for more than a couple years,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve done extensive benchmarking (and) there’s been tremendous progress made already.”

Even the vocabulary is changing.

Different companies use different terms - platform, architecture, toolkit to describe the basic building blocks on which vehicles are based.

Joe Langley, principal analyst at research and consulting firm IHS Automotive, refers to the concept of “Legolike component sets (that) redefine what the industry traditionally referred to as platforms.”

The target, however, remains aggressive. By 2020, VW intends to build nearly 8 million MQB-based cars a year - some 47 different models - at its plants in Europe, China and the Americas, according to IHS.

Staying in the game

Mary Barra, Chief Executive Officer for General Motors Company, speaks during the plenary session titled ''Valuing What Matter'' at the Clinton Global Initiative 2014 (CGI) in New York REUTERS Barra’s 2025 strategy envisions GM developing four highly flexible and scalable “vehicle sets” to cover frontwheel drive vehicles, from the compact Chevrolet Volt to the full-size Impala; rear-wheel-drive vehicles, from the sporty Chevrolet Camaro to the luxury Cadillac CT6; crossover and sport utility vehicles, and trucks.

GM’s vehicle-set concept employs some common components and structures, which will save engineering, purchasing and tooling costs, while allowing the automaker, at least in theory, to better tailor individual models to regional markets and specific sectors - a small crossover for China, say, that might share some basic parts, but not sheet metal, with a mid-size sedan for Europe.

Vw’s sobering example

The largest US automaker is starting from well back in the pack. GM next year will build roughly 9 million vehicles on 26 vehicle platforms. In comparison, U.S. rival Ford Motor Co expects to be building most of its vehicles on just nine platforms by the end of 2015.

But GM has no choice, said Morgan Stanley’s Jonas: “You have to do it just to survive.”

Some industry experts are skepti-

cal of GM’s ability to implement such a sweeping plan. Said a former GM executive: “You are not going to get from a large rear-wheel-drive Cadillac to a Volt, crossovers, large SUVs and fullsize pickups with four architectures/ platforms/component groups, call them what you will.”

The competition, meanwhile, is racing toward even greater platform consolidation. According to IHS, three of these so-called mega-platforms - one each from VW, Toyota and the RenaultNissan alliance - will account for roughly 20 million vehicles in 2020, or close to 20% of total global production.

But such transitions are rife with risk, as exemplified by VW’s experience in implementing its so-called MQB “modular toolkit.”

VW began mapping out its platform consolidation strategy in 2007, and put the first MQB-based small cars into production in 2012. At the time, Morgan Stanley estimated it would cost VW $70bn to fully roll out MQB through the end of the decade, and projected gross annual savings of $19bn by 2019.

The reality has been sobering. VW has run into technical and labor snags while adding new MQB variants at its home plant in Wolfsburg, indicating the execution continues to fall short of the theory.

While GM’s vehicle set concept sounds relatively simple on paper, it involves variations of three different modules - the engine compartment, the passenger compartment and the cargo compartment - with provisions to change such specific hardware as engines and suspensions to match vehicle size and type, as well as market segment and geographic region.

It is “a pretty amazing transformation” of GM’s processes, said Mark Reuss, who succeeded Barra in January as head of global product development.

“This is the key to unlocking scale and (meeting) specific customer requirements around the world,” he told investors on Wednesday.

Former GM executives who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity raised questions about the cost and competitiveness of the vehicle-set concept, but noted that Barra and Reuss have the technical background and “chops” to pull it off.

While the transition to the new processes could be expensive, once the systems are in place, the company may not exceed the current $15bn it spends each year on engineering, R&D and capital equipment, said one former executive, adding: “Those bills are already pretty significant.”

Another said Barra’s new vehicle-set strategy “is basically about keeping GM in the ballgame. It’s not going to put them ahead.”

Analysts said it is too early to predict the impact on labor costs. Further, to avoid some of the issues encountered

by VW, GM’s global communication and coordination “will have to improve exponentially,” said Bill Rinna, senior manager of forecasting at research firm LMC Automotive.

And while tearing up and retooling dozens of GM assembly plants could cost billions of dollars, “once done, the economies of scale will be massive - if everything works properly,” he said. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Investors batten down hatches for volatile end to 2014 n Reuters, London Global investors are starting to cut back on stock market positions, wary of a wave of financial market turbulence in the final quarter of 2014 as the era of cheap money ends.

The tide turned abruptly this week with the close of the third quarter and major stock markets have lurched down at the start of October, a month associated with previous market shakeouts including the 1929 and 1987 crashes.

Two weeks earlier, the benchmark S&P 500 index reached an all-time high, prompting many investors to speculate that shares were too expensive by most historical measures. Since reaching that peak on Sept. 19, Wall Street has dropped nearly 4% and many expect more volatility to come.

“The last three years have been quite good for equities but now it’s going be a lot harder. Unfortunately you’ve now got to invest with seat-belts on ... You have to accept more volatility. We expect the next six months to be very challenging,” said Remi Ajewole, a multi asset fund manager at Schroders, one of Europe’s largest independent investment groups.

Markets are starting to price in the US Federal Reserve calling time on the easy money policies which it brought in as economic life support after the financial crisis of 2008.

Quantitative easing, a pillar of this policy which involved the Fed buying up bonds to add liquidity to the financial system, is due to end later this month.

A second aspect, keeping official interest rates in the United States at historic lows, is also expected to end within months as the world’s largest economy strengthens.

The prospect of a relative scarcity of US dollars has driven the currency higher in recent weeks. While this may seem a benign development to American consumers who see their international purchasing power increase, it is proving disruptive to financial markets.

A new period of dollar strength risks

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange drawing American investment back home, fearful of heavy currency losses on overseas assets. This in turn can affect US corporations because it devalues their overseas earnings in dollar terms and risks making American exports less competitive.

Charles Morris, London-based head of Absolute Return at HSBC Global Asset Management, said the currency market was going through one of its phases when a decisive dollar move

pushes everything else in the opposite direction.

“Every single currency is going down except the dollar which is shooting up like a rocket. It’s like a water bed with a big fat man on it,” he said.

Morris said he has been reducing risk before the last quarter, cutting back on equities, high yield credit and emerging market debt while adding dollar assets which he calls “the number one defensive thing you can do”.

Risks to ‘Abenomics’ growing, whether Japan PM raises tax or not n Reuters, Tokyo If history is a guide, a string of disappointing economic reports in Japan would seem to argue against raising the country’s sales tax again. But the risks for “Abenomics” are increasing whatever Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decides to do.

A recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy is faltering, despite Abe’s massive monetary easing and government spending over the past 21 months, and Japan may already be sliding into recession just as Abe must decide whether to raise the tax once again.

The damage from an April tax hike has been worse than expected and worse than an increase in 1997, which began a tailspin that ended the career of the then prime minister.

At the same time, delaying the tax hike is looking riskier. Some economists, investors and businesspeople say it could spook financial markets already worried about Japan’s commitment to curbing its runaway government debt.

“If they don’t go ahead with it, that will shake confidence in Japan’s finances to some degree,” said Takao Yasuda, chief executive of discount retailing giant Don Quijote Holdings Co. “People would interpret it as evidence of just how weak the economy is,” Yasuda told Reuters on Tuesday. “If you ask me, it would be better to raise it to 10% soon and get all the negative factors out there.”

Economists generally expect Abe to decide by year-end to proceed with a longstanding plan to raise the tax to 10% next October. That would complete a two-stage doubling over 18 months in a bid to rein in a debt that is over twice the size of the economy, the heaviest in the industrial world.

Abe raised the tax in April to 8% from 5% and says he will decide on the next step based on his judgment of whether the economy is strong enough to withstand another blow.

In fact, the economy may already be shrinking. The Bank of Japan’s tankan survey on Wednesday showed

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REUTERS

However, some investors point to a risk that the end of cheap money could affect smaller US companies.

“In the US we are very sensitive to small cap stocks. We think they were the primary beneficiary of QE and in an environment where the Fed turns off the liquidity taps, they could struggle,” Ajewole said, adding that while her Schroders team still regards stocks as “a good asset class”, she has reduced exposure.

A Reuters poll of investment man-

that while sentiment has ticked up for big manufacturers thanks to a weaker yen, service companies were markedly less confident, highlighting prolonged weakness in domestic demand..

A separate central bank survey showed yesterday that more households felt they were worse off than three months ago as the cost of living rose and earnings fell, casting further doubt on Abe’s growth revival strategy.

The economy shrank by an annualised 7.1% in April-June, more than twice as steep as in 1997, when thenpremier Ryutaro Hashimoto raised the sales tax.

It is expected to claw back 3.6% in the July-September quarter, a Reuters poll forecast before the latest bleak data, a bigger bounce than 17 years ago but only because the drop was deeper this time.

Hashimoto’s recession was compounded by the start of the Asian financial crisis, but that will be scant comfort to Abe as he decides whether to hike again.

Delaying the tax hike carries its own risks, given the need to control the debt as the rapidly ageing population makes budget-balancing ever more difficult.

The government promises to balance the budget – net of new bond sales and debt servicing – by 2021, which already looks ambitious.

The impression that Abe is losing his nerve on fixing Japan’s debt problem could undermine the very confidence that has underpinned the early success of Abenomics.

“It’s an extremely tough decision.

Delaying the tax hike by, say half a year, may be one option. But then, there’s no guarantee the economy will improve by then,” said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute.

“Proceeding with the tax hike despite a weak economy is also politically risky with nationwide local elections looming early next year,” he said. “It’s a huge dilemma for Abe.” The main scenario among economists is for Abe to press ahead with the tax hike while ordering more government spending to bolster growth to soften the blow, perhaps joined by the BOJ expanding its already massive monetary stimulus.

Confidence shaky already

More important is the potential impact on confidence.

“If the second tax hike is shelved and Japan’s fiscal sustainability is questioned, that could cause unpredictable events such as a market turbulence,” said economist Naoki Iizuka at Citigroup Global Markets Japan.

“Maintaining fiscal sustainability is crucial when Japan’s ability to finance its own debt is waning due to the smaller current-account surplus and persisting trade deficit.” l

On the bright side

Some investors nonetheless say the overall economic outlook remains benign. The Fed raising interest rates is a symptom of robust economic growth,

Will the European economy’s summer squalls turn into an autumn tempest? n Anatole Kaletsky

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gestures as he gives a speech during the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo REUTERS

agers around the world published on Sept 30 found a sense of caution manifested in people putting their biggest bets since March on bonds, which are typically regarded as a shelter against market volatility.

they say, even if it carries risks.

Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Rosenblatt Securities, said heavy appetite from pension funds and other institutions for credit means corporate bond sales will remain robust even if interest rates rise a bit. That will help underpin stock markets.

“What we’re going through now is a short-term panicky selloff and when it runs its course the credit boom will resume,” he said.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is going in an opposite direction with easier monetary policy aimed at jump-starting a moribund economy. The Reuters poll found Europeans raising equity exposure, partly on account of optimism for corporate earnings if European companies get access to cheap money.

“For the remainder of the year we expect higher volatility in markets, but still prefer equities over other asset classes,” said Boris Willems, a strategist at UBS Global Asset Management.

“Monetary policy overall continues to be accommodative, in spite of some policy divergence over the coming months and years... The OECD (developed) economies remain in expansion.”

The VIX index of volatility, known as “the fear index”, sits at around 17, up nearly 50% since the end of August.

However, it remains about 80% below the peak reached in the crisis year of 2008 after swinging between 20 and around 47 through the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Andrew Milligan, Head of Global Strategy at British fund manager Standard Life Investments, says the rise in volatility belies what should be seen as an opportunity to snap up good stocks on the cheap.

“The underlying trend in corporate cash flow remains positive. The only reason that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in 2015 is because the US economy would be strong enough, demonstrating tighter labour markets and thus reassuring investors that policy tightening is needed to ensure the recovery is long-lasting,” he said. l

Following the grim market response to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s latest monetary policy pronouncements, Europe is approaching another make-or-break moment comparable to the crisis of 2012. The summer quarter ended this week, and financial markets delivered their judgment on just how bad things are, pushing the euro down to its lowest level since September 2012. Europe’s quarterly stock market performance was the worst since the nadir of the euro crisis. The question is whether the miserable summer will give way to a milder autumn. Or whether the summer squalls will turn into a catastrophic tempest.

Given the absence of any decisive action at this week’s European Central Bank meeting, the answer will depend on three events in the month ahead: the Ukrainian elections on Oct. 26; the bank stress tests due to be finalized in late October by the central bank, and the judgment on French and Italian budget plans due to be delivered in outline by Europe’s political leaders at the Milan “growth summit” on Oct. 8 and then in detail by the European Commission at the end of the month.

To understand the significance of these events for the European economy and financial markets we must consider the causes of Europe’s summer slump. Not just the general lack of competitiveness or dynamism often blamed for Europe’s economic problems - but the specific things that went wrong since early May, when the euro peaked at 10% above its current dollar level and the ratio between euro zone and US stock markets was 18% higher than it is today.

The abrupt slump has three plausible explanations. First, disappointment about the timidity of monetary action, as confirmed by the market response to this week’s European Central Bank meeting.

Though the ECB in early June announced negative interest rates and other plans to ease the credit crunch in southern Europe, it soon became apparent that banks in the region would continue to reduce their lending. At least partly because they lacked the capital to support more loans.

Second, German politicians spent much of the summer ratcheting up pressure on the French and Italian governments to abandon planned tax cuts, which threatened to push their deficits beyond euro zone budget targets.

Finally, the war in Ukraine, which seemed to subside after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in mid-March, took a sharp turn for the worse after Ukraine’s presiden-

tial election in May and the downing of the Malaysian airliner on July 17. The conflict and the sanctions against Russia caused a collapse in consumer confidence and business investment in the euro zone’s one strong economy, Germany.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko speaks to the media during a news conference in KievThe good news is that all these causes of Europe’s summer malaise could be reversed in the next month or so.

Starting with Ukraine, the ceasefire is holding for reasons I described here two weeks ago. Better still, the apparent split between Ukraine’s pragmatic President Petro Poroshenko and his more belligerent prime minister, Arsenyi Yatsenyuk, looks increasingly like pre-election political posturing rather than an indicator of fundamental unwillingness to do a deal with Russia after Oct. 26. If so, fears of an escalating war in Ukraine will soon cease to be an influence on economic conditions in Germany and the rest of the European Union.

The outlook for European fiscal policy should also improve in the coming weeks.

Next week’s growth summit in Milan was convened by Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, with the specific intention of persuading German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to some fiscal stimulus at the pan-European level, in addition to tax cuts in France and Italy. Perhaps in exchange for promises of more intensive structural reforms. Even if Merkel refuses openly to endorse an easing of fiscal austerity, a more flexible interpretation of the EU fiscal rules is likely after the appointment of Pierre Moscovici, the former French finance minister, as the EU commissioner responsible for budgetary enforcement.

Third, and perhaps most important, the ECB stress tests could transform credit conditions in southern Europe. The central bank’s main instruments for stimulating economic growth in Europe are securities purchases and “targeted long-term refinancing operations,” designed to stimulate corporate credit.

But these policies only work if banks have enough capital to be able to expand their loan books. Which is why the stress tests are so important. Their stated purpose is to establish beyond doubt that all major European banks are adequately capitalized. Not only to support their present loan books, but also to support future credit growth.

If the ECB could persuade financial markets that major banks are either already adequately capitalized or have credible plans to raise capital for what will

genuinely be the last time in the current business cycle, finding investors to provide that extra capital should not be a problem.

Once banks are adequately capitalized, the ultra-cheap money provided by the central bank through its refinancing operations and securities purchases would have a genuine chance of relieving the credit crunch, especially in Italy and Spain.

The combination of easing credit conditions in southern Europe, moderate tax cuts in Italy and France and reduced military confrontation in Eastern Europe would seem to provide a good foundation for a revival of economic growth in early 2015.

The conflict and the sanctions against Russia caused a collapse in consumer confidence and business investment in the euro zone’s one strong economy, Germany But now for the bad news. In the past few days, all three components of this recovery story have been thrown into doubt. Despite the Ukrainian ceasefire, Western governments have suggested that the Russian sanctions will be maintained indefinitely, thereby damaging one of the strongest markets for German exports and removing any incentive for President Vladimir Putin to compromise with a new Ukrainian government.

Last week, ECB officials warned that market expectations that the stress tests would produce a major capital restructuring of the EU banking system were “probably exaggerated.” This week, the European Commission indicated that, far from increasing budget flexibility, it might actually tighten the interpretation of budget rules.

These stories may all turn out to be false because policymakers often try to lower market expectations ahead of major moves. But if European governments really tighten austerity instead of relaxing it, if banks fail to recapitalize and if relations with Russia deteriorate instead of improving, then Europe’s miserable summer will turn into a long, dark winter.

Anatole Kaletsky is a columnist for Reuters.

The article was initially published at Reuters.