13 Oct, 2014

Ashwin 28, 1421 Zilhajjj 17, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 189

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages | Price: Tk12

7 | LONG FORM

8 | WORLD

11 | OP-ED

13 | SPORT

GHOST SHADOWS: WOMEN AND FINANCE

ISIS SUICIDE BOMBERS KILL 28 KURDS IN IRAQ

BRING SEXUALITY OUT IN THE OPEN

TIGERS BEGIN CAMP FOR ZIM SERIES

Molested and murdered by mentor Witness tells DB that Zubair was assaulted and left for dead in Uttara pond

Latif Siddique removed from the cabinet

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

n Tribune Report

Detective Branch of police yesterday claimed they had solved the mysterious drowning death of O-level student Zubair Ahmed, saying they believed that Abuubaida Kadir killed the teenager while trying to sexually assault him.

The DB announced its findings following the questioning in remand of a 17-year-old suspect, the only eyewitness to the murder.

The alleged perpetrator of the crime remains a shadowy figure. He is known to have befriended many teenagers as a teacher, on the football pitch and in the swimming pool. When Kadir was first implicated in Zubair Ahmed’s death, many young people defended him on his Facebook page. But as details of his more unsavoury conversations with youngsters come to light, comments on his Facebook page have become increasingly outraged.

Abuubaida Kadir, 46, a sometime football and swimming coach and language teacher with a penchant for befriending teenage boys, is believed to be an Algerian national, but even that is not certain. What is known is that he is

President Abdul Hamid yesterday terminated Posts and Telecommunications Minister Abdul Latif Siddique on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s advice for his derogatory comments on Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat.

Later in the evening of yesterday Latif was removed from Awami League presidium membership. His party primary membership was also suspended for his anti-Islamic comments and violating party charter.

The cabinet division issued a gazette notification on Latif’s removal from the cabinet. However, the reason for his removal was not mentioned in the gazette.

As per (c) of clause 1 of section 58 of the constitution, the appointment of Latif Siddique as minister was cancelled.

According to clause 2 of 58 of the constitution, the prime minister advised the president to terminate the appointment of Latif Siddique.

Briefing journalists, Cabinet Secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan yesterday said: “President Md Abdul Ha-

Zubair Ahmed

Abuubaida Kadir

an undocumented immigrant in Bangladesh whose statements about his professional and financial backgrounds have left the police with lingering questions.

Zubair Ahmed, 17, an O-level student of the private coaching institute QED Academy, drowned in a shallow pond on October 4, at the sector 4 playground in Uttara in front of Kadir, his

swimming instructor, despite knowing how to swim.

Police recovered his body with the help of fire service rescue and salvage divers on October 5 after Kadir told police the boy had drowned.

The victim’s mother Dilara Begum filed a murder case with Uttara East police station and the DB was put in charge of the investigation, Shaikh Naz-

mul Alam, deputy commissioner of DB (north), said. He said the prime suspect, Abuubaida Kadir, was arrested on October 6 and a key suspect, ninth grade student, was arrested on October 10.

Both are now in police remand, Nazmul said at a briefing at the media centre of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

mid has terminated Latif as a minister following the advice of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”.

Asked whether the reason for termination is mentioned, the cabinet secretary said the reason is not mentioned in the gazette, and it is not necessary. In this regard, nothing is said in the constitution.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Sunday afternoon.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Unstoppable and untouchable Bodi A controversial career to say the least

AL MP Bodi lands in jail in graft case n Tribune Report n Adil Sakhawat Abdur Rahman Bodi, Awami League MP from Cox’s Bazar, was sent to jail yesterday after a Dhaka court had rejected his bail plea in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission for amassing wealth beyond his known source of income.

Bodi thus became the first ruling party lawmaker to land in prison during the current tenure of the Awami League. Yesterday, before seeking bail, he surrendered before the court of Dhaka Metropolitcan Magistrate Maruf Hossain, who rejected the plea and sent him to jail.

On August 21, ACC Assistant Director Md Abdus Sobhan filed the case against Bodi with the capital’s Ramna police station.

A few days later, the lawmaker issued a threat saying he would expose all secrets of the graft buster and its chairman M Bodiuzzaman if they tried to prove him corrupt.

“Respected Mr Bodiuzzaman, the ACC chairman, your name is Bodi and my name is Bodi too. If one Bodi wants to drive out another Bodi, every secret will be disclosed,” he said at that time.

When contacted, ACC lawyer Kabir Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune

Many say he is unstoppable; he is hard to be moved from his stance even if he is wrong. Some poor people in his constituency even worship him because of the financial assistance they get from him.

He is ruling Awami League lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi who was sent to jail yesterday in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission for earning huge illegal wealth between 2008 and 2013.

Not only possessing huge illegal wealth, many allegations are there against him in his constituency, Cox’s Bazar 4 that covers Teknaf and Ukhiya upazilas. Local people, especially the businessmen, claimed that they had

been held hostages by the influential Awami League MP and his family.

Bodi joined politics in 1996 and tried to buy a ticket of the BNP for the controversial February 15 election. Failing to get one, he fought as an independent candidate but lost. He finally got nomination from the BNP for the June 12 election the same year but this time his nomination paper was cancelled.

Soon he joined the Awami League.

In 2000 when the BNP-Jamaat government was in power, he was selected an administrator of Teknaf municipality. But he was removed for engaging in conflict with a top Jamaat-e-Islami leader of the area.

In 2003, he was elected the chairman of the municipality.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

INSIDE

4 | News

Government officials, NGO representatives and donor agencies yesterday emphasised on taking proper steps to develop resilience among the poor and vulnerable groups across the country for an effective disaster risk management.

5 | News

Road accidents in Comilla, Feni, Chandpur, Jessore, Natore and Kurigram claimed 20 lives yesterday. Eight people were killed and 29 others injured in separate accidents on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Comilla.

6 | Nation

Rainy seasons are a bother for the students of Bhauman Talabaha Model High School in Kaliakoir, Gazipur, as the school compound gets waterlogged and forces the students to cross a ramshackle bridge every day.

9 | World

To judge from the shrill outrage of India’s TV news channels, the past week’s bloody clashes along the border dividing Kashmir are all Pakistan’s fault: one network has been plugging the Twitter hashtag #PakBorderDare.

12 | Entertainment

‘Shikawr’ is a musical project about a journey back home, about coming back to all that we can’t leave behind but we strangely do, about a city lost and then found again, about faces lost and never found, and things in between.

B1 | Business

Authorities of four private banks have been violating the Bank Company Act, putting family members on the board of directors.

According to the act, a boards cannot have more than two members of a single family.

Bodi was arrested during the military-backed caretaker government.

He became a member of parliament for the first time in 2008 with Awami League ticket and then in the January 5 poll this year.

He had at least 23 cases filed against him at different times. All the charges against him, except for in two-three cases, were withdrawn by the Home Ministry’s committee that dealt with “politically motivated cases.”

He has no position in the local or central Awami League units.

Adil Uddin Chowdhury, president of Ukhiya unit Awami League, alleged that Bodi had been abusing power after becoming a lawmaker.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Emran Hossain Sheikh Abdul Latif Siddique, the eldest brother of the “notorious” Siddique family of Tangail, has made more headlines over the years for his arrogance and controversial actions than for his political enterprises.

Yesterday, post, telecommunications and information technology minister Latif was fired by President Abdul Hamid as a punishment for his widely criticised remarks about Hajj.

Although he had been elected parliament member five times with Awami League ticket and given two important

portfolios over the last few years, his relation with the party had historically been bittersweet.

His tenure as the jute and textiles minister of the last Awami League government has been marked by allegations of widespread irregularities.

The Siddique family that practices a lot of power in Tangail, is often locally referred to as the “family of robbers.”

Straightforward or Arrogant?

On September 20, during a meeting of senior Awami League leaders and policymakers, Latif reportedly told party  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Latif to retain MP post despite dual removal n

Mohammad Zakaria

Despite his removal from the cabinet and the party’s presidium, Awami League leader Abdul Latif Siddique will continue to be a member of the parliament, said Election Commission officials yesterday.

Commission officials told the Dhaka Tribune the former posts, telecommunications and information technology minister would retain his House membership in accordance with the constitution although he was removed both from the cabinet and the presidium.

A circular announcing Latif’s removal from the cabinet was issued

yesterday. Later in the day, the Awami League Central Working Committee removed him from the presidium and also suspended his primary membership of the party.

After Latif’s removal from the party and the cabinet, he will become an independent parliamentarian, EC officials said.

According to the constitution, the House membership of a person, elected as a member of the parliament through an election in which he was nominated as a candidate by a political party, will be announced vacant if he resigns from the party or votes in the parliament against the party.

Jatiya Party lawmaker Golam Reza was earlier removed from the party, but he retained his position in the ninth parliament.

Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz said the seat of an MP would not fall vacant as per the constitution even if he was removed from his party.

If the MP loses his party’s primary membership, he will become an independent lawmaker in the parliament, he added.

While addressing a programme in the US on September 28, Latif made derogatory remarks on Hajj, Tablighi Jamaat and the prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. l

BD-US partnership dialogue postponed n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The third partnership dialogue between Bangladesh and the US has been postponed due to conflicting schedule.

The dialogue, between Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and his US counterpart Wendy Sherman, was supposed to 0be held in Washington, DC on October 21-22.

“We are working on finding a new date,” the foreign secretary told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shahidul will accompany Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Asia Eu-

rope Meeting to be held from October 16 and 17, and he will attend the Compact Review meeting to be held in Brussels on October 20.

The foreign secretary will also visit the United Arab Emirates along with the prime minister on October 26 and 27.

He was supposed to visit Canada after the partnership dialogue, accepting an invitation a by the Canadian government, but it was deferred as well.

“I will visit Canada when the new date for partnership dialogue is fixed,” he said.

An official at the Foreign Ministry commented that the bilateral visit would create an opportunity for Bangladesh “to engage more with Canada.”

The third partnership dialogue between Bangladesh and the US will be similar to the last two meetings.

The first dialogue was held in Washington in 2012, and the second one in Dhaka last year.

Three broad areas – development and governance, trade and investment, and security – will be discussed in the dialogue, according to another official at the Foreign Ministry. l

Molested and murdered by mentor  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

The boy who had witnessed the murder told the police that he had played football with Kadir, Zubair and some other friends at the Uttara sector 4 playground from after 5pm until Maghrib prayers, Nazmul recounted.

“They concluded their game just before Maghrib prayers and only Zubair, that boy and Kadir were left at the playground. They then sat next to the pond at the park and Zubair took off his jersey and shoes and got into the water. Kadir followed him in,” the DB officer said.

Kadir later held Zubair tightly and tried to become sexually intimate with him, Nazmul quoted the witness as saying.

Zubair rejected Kadir’s advances and a brawl ensued between them, the DB officer said, quoting the boy’s state-

ment. Kadir then forcefully pushed Zubair under water and left him there, presumably dead.

The DB officer said the exact time and cause of death would be contained in the morgue report which the police were waiting to receive.

“After the murder, Kadir told the boy to kept his mouth shut and said if he did that, he would receive a good reward and Kadir would help him go abroad,” Nazmul said.

Later, Kadir forced him to go to Kishoreganj but he was arrested by the police when he returned on October 10, said Nazmul.

Nazmul said Kadir was living in Bangladesh without any passport or documentation. The DB policeman said Kadir preyed on teenage boys and chose to be a swimming instructor so

that he could be physically close to them in the water.

“Although Kadir claims to be Algerian, we have no proof of this yet. Kadir has lived in Bangladesh for the past 10 years,” said the DB officer.

The DB said it was verifying his Bangladesh entrance history with the assistance of the Special Branch of police. Asked if the DB had been contacted regarding consular access for Kadir, he said they had not received any request.

Nazmul said Kadir’s professional and financial profile remained unclear.

He said the suspect had described himself as a French and English language teacher, an English medium school teacher and a football coach. He is known to have taught teenagers how to swim.

Asked if Kadir had sexual relations

Unstoppable and untouchable Bodi  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

“He does not maintain the rules and regulations of the party. He has grabbed the sea and river ports here, and faces allegations of smuggling and extortion,” Adil told the Dhaka Tribune.

The construction of 660-metre embankment at Shah Porir Dwip has been stalled since 2011 as the owner of its contractor firm Development International refused to pay the MP the amount he had demanded.

No one knows when the project would be completed for which the people of 10 villages on the island are facing troubles as tidal water submerges the villages.

The owner, Atiqul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune: “After getting the work from the Water Development Board three years ago, I recruited workers to construct the embankment. But the people of MP Bodi threatened me to stop the work as I denied to pay them any toll.

“When I met the MP personally, he told me that no one will be able to work in his constituency without paying him a percentage of the estimated project cost.”

Atiqul said he had formally complained to the Home Ministry, the district’s deputy commissioner and the WDB. “But no one took any step against the MP.” During a visit to Teknaf and Ukh-

iya, this reporter also learnt that after becoming an MP, Bodi and his four brothers – Abdul Amin, Moulovi Mojid, Abdus Sukkur and Mohammad Shafiq – started controlling all the businesses in the areas.

Amin and Sukkur are listed as top Yaba traders and criminals by the Home Ministry. Amin’s men allegedly collect Tk50 as toll from each ticket price the passengers pay to travel to the Saint Martin’s Island from Teknaf on the lone ship, operated by a private firm.

The two other brothers too are allegedly involved in Yaba peddling.

MP Bodi has also established unauthorised Kayuk Khali port to import smuggled goods. It is renowned as “MP’s port” locally. This port is controlled by Bodi’s brothers-in-law Gias Uddin and Syed Alam.

According to intelligence sources, this port is used mainly to smuggle Yaba, alcohol and fruits.

The Awami League MP also faces allegations of torturing many people including government officials and teachers of his constituency.

Only 23 days after the 2008 election, he had tortured Gias Uddin, who served as presiding officer in Teknaf upazila election held that year. The other victims are forest official Mujibur Rahman and teachers of Teknaf Prima-

ry School Abdul Jalil and Pulin Deb. The victims confirmed the incidents to the Dhaka Tribune.

An arrogant Bodi also publicly assaulted former assistant commissioner (land) of Cox’s Bazar Abdur Rahman, Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Division Abdul Hakim, former Ukhiya UNO Golamur Rahman and Shyamlapur High School Headmaster Monjur Alam between 2011 and 2013.

Over these incidents, the only case filed by Abdur Rahman is still pending.

One month ago, this reporter talked to Bodi over the phone to meet with him physically. He did not give any appointment.

Denying all the allegations brought against him, he then told the Dhaka Tribune: “Most of the goods [80%] imported from Myanmar are mine. So how can I take bribe from the businessmen? I am a businessman and my family members are also doing business since long.

“No one in my family is involved in any illegal business. Every year I pay huge amount of tax.”

He also denied capturing the Kayuk Khali Ghat. “Anyone can do business here. But the Myanmar businessmen are interested to do business only with influential or renowned businessman like me. That is why I am doing most of

A controversial career to say the least  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

chief Sheikh Hasina: “Organisational activities are worthless. If you [Hasina] stay alive then everything will be fine.

The party cannot do anything. You mean everything to us.”

On August 16 this year, in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a programme in the capital, he slammed the Awami League leaders and activists for not being present on the streets during a Jamaat-enforced hartal.

He said: “If anyone stages a hartal, [you] will have to enter their houses and kill them. Jamaat has called a hartal against a court verdict. Only police were there to face them on the streets.

Our leaders and activists wait for instructions from the leader...Why would you need the PM’s instruction for everything? Do you wait for her order when you [illegally] become owners of houses and cars?”

On June 11, while discussing the budget in parliament, he announced out of the blue that he would not give up electoral politics; instead, he would

try to implement party leader Sheikh Hasina’s instructions.

On April 19, he said in a seminar at the Jahangirnagar University: “The journalists always try to find my flaws...

The electronic and print media of the country are nothing but paid servants of the businessmen and the so-called civil society.”

In March, he called an engineer of the Power Development Board (PDB) to his house in Tangail and beat him up. Just a few days later, he ordered an engineer of the Gazipur High-Tech Park to get down into the water of a fountain after he found that the water there was dirty.

In December 2012, Latif, who was then the jute and textiles minister, took on the organisers of a programme in the presence of Finance Minister AMA Muhith because he was not given the “due” respect.

“The finance minister was a freedom fighter. Am I not?” he said on that occasion.

In October 2009, he came down hard on the then parliament speaker

and now President Abdul Hamid, who criticised MPs and ministers for remaining absent.

“The speaker is a servant of the parliament, not the master...Talent and wordplay are not the same,” he told the then speaker.

Veteran leader Md Bazlur Rahman Faruq, general secretary of Tangail district unit Awami League, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “Those who always try to exert force on people can be perverted sometimes. I think Latif Siddique’s current predicament is an example of that.”

Awami League and Latif

When younger brother Kader Siddique was with the Awami League, Latif was not a front-row figure in the party. It was only after Kader left the Awami League to form his own party in the late 1990s, that Latif started gaining prominence.

Many Awami League leaders from Tangail alleged that Latif Siddique was not happy when Sheikh Hasina became

Monday, October 13, 2014

Nepalese FM in Dhaka to invite PM n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Nepalese Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey has arrived in Dhaka to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend the 18th Saarc summit to be held in Kathmandu in November.

“He will officially hand over the invitation letter to the prime minister tomorrow [today],” Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The Saarc programme will begin on November 22 and the summit will be held on November 26 and 27 when heads of states and governments of eight Saarc member countries are expected to attend.

“Prior to the summit, there will be a senior officials’ meeting and a foreign secretary-level meeting followed

by Saarc ministerial one,” said another senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

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

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

The member countries are negotiating to finalise two instruments – Motor Vehicle Agreement and Railway Agreement – for getting approval in the summit. l

AL MP Bodi lands in jail  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

yesterday that investigation had revealed that the lawmaker had accumulated huge wealth beyond his known sources of income.

“He had only Tk50 lakh when he first became an MP. But it [his wealth] now stands at over Tk16 crore. The ACC has the authority to go deeper into how he has accumulated this wealth and investigation is going on now,” he said.

In February, the ACC sought a statement of wealth from the lawmaker.

In that document, he showed that his family owned tangible and intangible assets worth over Tk5.20 crore. However, the income tax return that he had submitted in November last year showed that the value of their assets was more than Tk16.06 crore.

Two years ago, Bodi purchased a 0.6 decimal land in Teknaf upazila for nearly Tk42 lakh. Documents showed that eight months later, he sold that land for Tk2.4 crore, which was nearly five times higher than the purchase price. According the local land office, the current market price of 0.6 decimal land in that area can be Tk6 lakh at best.

Although he told the ACC in the wealth statement that he had acquired the assets with income generated from his “export-import” business, he could not produce any valid document when investigators went to him. The ACC believes that he has hidden assets worth over Tk10 crore.

In February, Bodi challenged the

ACC claiming that he would resign if investigators could prove the allegations.

When the ACC first moved to investigate, he claimed that the allegations were baseless and were intended to tarnish his political image.

“Some journalists, in collusion with the opposition party, have published negative reports against me to tarnish my image...I belong to a family of businessmen and I did not whiten any black money; rather I ran my businesses and paid taxes properly,” he told journalists at that time.

According to the affidavit that Bodi had filed with the Election Commission before the January 5 election, his net asset was worth Tk49.79 lakh in 2008, which rose to Tk15.57 crore in 2013 at the end of his five year term as a lawmaker.

Section 26(2) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 reads that if any person, after having received notice from the ACC, fails to furnish the information or provides any false or baseless information, then that person will be sentenced to a prison term of up to three years or an amount of fine or both.

Section 27(1) of the same act says if there are sufficient and reasonable grounds to believe that a person has obtained ownership of property through dishonest means which is not consistent with known sources of income, then that person will be sentenced to minimum three to maximum ten years’ imprisonment and the properties will be confiscated. l

Latif Siddique removed  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Many local people, mostly the poor, of Teknaf are happy with their MP as he assists them financially whenever needed, said a locally-renowned rights activist who is also a family friend of the lawmaker.

“The poor are never disheartened when they go to the MP for any of help.

There are instances that the MP provided a poor fisherman all the costs needed for the weeding of his daughter,” the person said wishing anonymity adding that Bodi later takes advantage from these people by engaging them into the illegal businesses.

“But when the MP’s interest is involved, he never compromises. He has been self-centred like this since childhood.” l

Until someone was appointed, the prime minister herself would be in charge of the ministry.

On September 28, during a programme in the USA, Latif Siddique made derogatory comments on Hajj, Ijtema and PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. At the programme organised by the Tangail Samity at a hotel in New York, Siddique said he was against hajj and Tabligh Jamaat more than he was against the Jamaat-e-Islami.

He also said: “Hajj is a waste of manpower. Those who perform hajj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy and spend a lot of money abroad”.

“If 1,00,000 people perform hajj every year on an average and spend Tk5 lakh each then the total cost stands at Tk500 crore,” he added.

About the history of hajj, Latif said Prophet Muhammad was worried about the people of Arab as they were robbers.

The prophet then made an arrangement that his followers meet at a place every year, which will generate income.

Castigating Tabligh Jamaat, he said: “Tabligh Jamaat brings together about 20 lakh people every year. It has no specific duties. It just clogs traffic across the country.”

Latif also criticised Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, saying: “Why do you often mention of Joy? Who is Joy Bhai?

Joy is nobody in the government. He cannot make any decision.”

After a video clip of the speech emerged on social media, several senior Awami League leaders came down hard on Latif for his “irresponsible” remarks.

Different Islamist parties brought out protest processions in the capital as well as elsewhere in the country, demanding capital punishment to minister Abdul Latif Siddique for his recent comments on hajj, Prophet Muhammad (SM) and Tablighi Jamaat.

Under the banner of Sammilita Islami Dalsamuho, several Islamist parties including Hefazat-e-Islam, Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Bangladesh Tarikat Federation brought out processions in the capital and staged demonstrations.

The government had to deploy police and RAB members to avoid any untoward incidents.

Yesterday while addressing party central working committee meeting at Ganabhaban, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned Latif Siddique as former minister and her party presidium member.

Referring to Latif Siddique’s controversial comments on hajj and Tabligh Jamaat, the premier said such kind of statement was not acceptable.

Hasina, also the Awami League president, said they had dropped Latif Siddique from the cabinet in light of the constitutional guidelines.

“Today (yesterday) I along with the cabinet secretary met President Abdull Hamid and finalised all procedures to remove him,” she said.

“It (his termination) was done, in line with the constitutional guidelines set for removal of a minister,” she added.

Syed Ashraful Islam, general secretary of Awami League, briefed reporters after the central working committee meeting.

He said the party had taken the decision to suspend Latif’s primary membership and issue him a show-cause notice asking for his explanation as to why his primary membership should not be cancelled.

“We will issue the show-cause notice to his permanent address asking for his explanation within seven days and then the party will take further action,” he said.

The meeting was held at Ganabhaban with party Chief Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Meanwhile, Latif flew to Kolkata via New Delhji from London on Sunday evening, our Kolkata correspondent reported quoting a source in the state administration.

The source also said Latif, now on a private tour, was staying in a five-star hotel in Kolkata from where he would fly to Dhaka.

He did not answer to a volley of questions thrown by journalists as he was checking in the hotel.

He said he was too tired to speak.

“Let me take a rest. Whatever I say I will say that after I go to Dhaka. Everything will depend upon the decision of the prime minister.”

As he was asked about the time of his return to Dhaka he declined to talk about it. l

the leader of the party in 1981. He even joined an offshoot of the Awami League out of discontent, but had to come back to the Awami League soon, they said.

However, when the Awami League was going through tough times during the regime of the army-backed caretaker government in 2007-08, the same Latif stood strongly in support of Hasina.

Many Awami League leaders believe that giving important party posts and ministries to Latif was meant for bringing a “balance.” After the departure of Kader Siddique, who was a very influential leader, the Awami League tried to fill in by bringing Latif to the front, they said.

Before the 1971 Liberation War, he was the general secretary of a local unit of Awami League’s student front Chhatra League. But he failed to hold on to his post.

During the war, he was a member of the fabled “Kaderia Bahini, named after his brother Kader Siddique. Allegedly, that armed group, alongside fighting in the Liberation War, forcefully occupied houses, staged robberies and

were involved in other criminal activities. Local Awami League leaders from Tangail said their activities continued even after the war ended.

He first became a member of the Awami League central committee in 2002. In 2009 and 2012, he was twice elected member of the party presidium.

During the regime of military ruler HM Ershad, Latif was in jail. He was released in 1988 after his wife Laila Siddique became a female MP of the Ershad government. There are allegations that he accepted a house and a car from that government.

Veteran Awami League leader Faruq told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “There is no doubt that they [Latif and Kader] believe in the spirit of the Liberation War. But their stances have always been controversial. Often they act against the Awami League’s policies.

That is harmful for the party.”

Nuh-ul-Alam Lenin, a member of Awami League presidium, said: “Kader Siddique’s role after the assassination of Bangabandhu can be questioned.

[His brother] Latif Siddique issued a statement supporting the then Khondker Mushtaque Ahmed’s government after the assassination.”

Asked why then were they given important posts in the party, Lenin said: “The party leader gave them the posts.

And now she has reached a realisation and has removed him [Latif].”

with other teenagers and if so how many, Nazmul said the police could not answer this question at the moment but a number of complaints were being investigated and a case was being built.

He said investigators would seek the maximum punishment from the court.

Abdul Ahad, additional deputy commissioner of DB, and Saidur Rahman, additional deputy commissioner (media) of DMP, were present at the briefing.

Responding to the police’s claims to have solved the murder, Zubair’s elder brother, Jamil Ahmed, told the Dhaka Tribune that the family were mourning the loss of Zubair and had nothing new to say.

Jamil said Zubair’s friends and family demand capital punishment for the culprit or culprits who killed his brother. l

the businesses with Myanmar.”

Branding Headmaster Monjur as a criminal, the lawmaker said: “How can a teacher become the president of a local bazar committee? He owns that position only to take bribes from the businessmen.

“I never tortured anyone that you mentioned except for Monjur and the AC (land). I do not want to say anything more about the torture of Abdur Rahman since the case is pending with the High Court.”

Motivated philanthropy

Ministerial irregularities

There are allegations that Latif Siddique misused his powers as the jute and textiles minister of the last Awami League government to privatise several state-run jute mills. He has also allegedly allotted government lands to private individuals going against law.

Reportedly, because of these and some other allegations, Latif’s portfolio had been changed to the post, telecom and IT ministry in the current Awami League government.

Being directed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the government has recently formed a high-powered probe body to look into these allegations. l

s

e

n

l

d t

.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 13, 2014

3

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 13, 2014

Report: Pharmaceutical storage facilities not up to the mark n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Storage facilities for pharmaceutical and health commodities have remained poor in the country, and an investment of Tk100 million is needed to improve the situation, according to a survey report.

The report titled “Health Sector Development Programme Assessment of Storage Capacity and Conditions for Health Commodities in Bangladesh 2014” was submitted to Ayubur Rahman Khan, additional secretary (development and medical education) and line director of physical facilities development, by the World Bank office in Dhaka on August 21.

Health, family planning and Expanded Immunisation Programme (EPI) are the three supply chains of pharmaceutical and health products.

According to the report, 46% of health stores had roof leak or water pipe problems. 55% of the health stores, 25% of family planning and 35% of the EPI stores had damaged ceilings.

Besides, 49% of the stores did not have a functioning fan. None of health or EPI stores had air conditioning facilities while only 5% of family planning

stores had the facility.

A mere 18% of the health stores had a functioning fridge. Moreover 64% of the health, 60% of the EPI and 42% of family planning stores were never cleaned, and obsolete or unusable items were not disposed of.

Pharmaceutical products are sensitive to temperature, humidity and contamination, and degrade and lose efficacy over time. In order to prevent loss of quality of the products, proper physical conditions of the building of the stores, light, ventilation, air conditioners, freezers, shelves, power, water and sanitation facilities have to be ensured.

The survey was jointly conducted by the Directorate General of Drug Administration, Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General of Family Planning, the EPI, Central Medicine Stores Depot and the World Bank.

Selim Barami, a DGDA director, told the Dhaka Tribune the survey was conducted to get a better understanding of the existing challenges and issues relating to storage facilities.

“The main goal is to ensure that the products are stored in the recommended condition to ensure their quality, efficacy and safety. This will result in

improved health outcomes,” he said.

The report said the CMSD is a big complex divided into smaller rooms but the only part of the storage in the building which is air conditioned is a big store room. The room measures 17,000 square feet with a low ceiling of approximately 10 feet. It is overloaded with pharmaceutical products while the ceiling is old and partly falling down, dusting the products.

The main warehouse of family planning measures 18,000 square feet. It has three-level steel racks in most of the area. There is no cooling mechanism and the store has metal walls without insulation. The cement floor is fragile and does not hold the forklifts well. The 26-year-old metal roof needs to be replaced. Temperature inside the warehouse goes beyond 40 degrees Celsius in the hot season and lasts two to three months.

The central EPI and management of the EPI program are physically together in what used to be a three-storey building with parking at the bottom of the building. The parking space at present is filled with 22 cold rooms with a total capacity of 19,000 cubic feet, with a freezer capacity of 4,000 cubic feet.

The cold rooms and the freezer are protected against the weather but are not located inside the temperature-controlled area. Temperature immediately outside the cold rooms can reach 40 degrees Celsius in the hot season, and there is no real storage area apart from the cold rooms.

It was learnt that health has four regional stores but due to decentralisation of the flow of health products, those are not in use anymore. Family planning has 22 regional stores, with three substantially bigger than the rest. Challenges exist in terms of store rooms being in bad shape and without air-conditioning facilities. There are also problems with space, but less than the health and the epi.

The EPI and health have stores at district level. Those are in poor condition and without air conditioners.

The storage for health products at upazila level was found inadequate, with stocks occupying four to five times as many rooms as were set aside for this purpose. Family planning has problems with storage in terms of overall storage capacity and store rooms which are not in line with the standards. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 13, 2014

RISKY RETURNS Enjoying the Eid holidays with their near and dear ones, Dhaka-dwellers have come back to the city much in the same way that they left – without much regard to safety while travelling. The photos were taken yesterday at the capital’s Sadarghat launch terminal MEHEDI HASAN

Four blackbucks released in Gazipur safari park n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Four blackbucks – a deer species imported from the Netherlands – were released in the Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur on Saturday.

Environment and Forests Secretary Nazibur Rahman in a programme as the chief guest made the release, where Director of Safari Park Project and Forest Conservator Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, Dhaka Divisional Forest Officer (wildlife management division) Shahabuddin, and the local OC were present, among others. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:35PM SUN RISES 5:56AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 32 32 30 30 29 30 32 32

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

25 25 24 24 24 25 24 24

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

33.6ºC Cox's Bazar

21.4ºC Madaripur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:40am 5:54am 11:45am 3:56pm 5:34pm 6:50pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

20 killed in road accidents across the country n Tribune Report Road accidents in Comilla, Feni, Chandpur, Jessore, Natore and Kurigram claimed 20 lives yesterday.

Our Comilla correspondent reports: eight people were killed and 29 others injured in separate road accidents on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Comilla.

Of the deceased, one was identified as Jamal Ahmed Sohel, 43, manager of Brac Bank Baddarhar branch. The others could not be identified immediately.

Sub-Inspector Shahabuddin of Miabazar highway police said: “A Dhaka-bound truck collided with a Chittagong-bound bus near Miabazar area in Chauddagram upazila around 5am, killing seven people on the spot and injuring 30 others.”

Another woman was killed when two buses collided near Comilla Sadar upazila around 6am.

The injured people were taken to Comilla Medical College Hospital and Chauddagram Health Complex.

Meanwhile, three people were killed and 10 others injured when a bus overturned on Dhaka-Chittagong highway near Koska area in Feni.

The deceased were Shamim Al Mamun , 19, Md Mamun, 17, and Josna Akter, 36.

Jasim Uddin Pathan, in-charge

of Mohipal highway police outpost, said: “The bus overturned as the driver lost his control over the steering wheel around 8am.”

The bodies were sent to Feni Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy while the injured were admitted in the hospital for treatment, he added.

Our correspondent from Chandpur reports that a child was killed and 10 others were critically injured in a road mishap in Chandpur yesterday.

The deceased Nishi, 7, the son of Nasir from Chandpur Sadar upazila, was a student of class two.

Officer-in-Charge of Chandpur model police station Abdul Qaium said a Comilla-bound bus hit a pickup van on Chandpur-Comilla highway in Kumardugi area around 10am. The driver of the pickup van lost his control over the wheel and ran over the pedestrians before falling into a roadside ditch, he added.

Our Natore correspondent reports that four people were killed and three others injured as a truck collided with an auto-rickshaw at Majhgram area near Agran Bazar of Baraigram upazila in Natore.

The deceased were identified as auto-rickshaw driver Lokaman, 40, Shukur Ali, 60, Mamata, 35, Pulok, 30.

Officer-in-Charge of Bonpara highway police Fuwad Ruhani

said, the truck driver managed to flee the scene.

Our Jessore correspondent reportsa that a school teacher was ran over by a bus on Jessore-Benapole highway in Sarsha upazila of Jessore.

The deceased’s name was Niranjan Kumar Adya, 55.

Sources said Niranjan was hit by the pickup van when he was trying to cross the road around 9am in the morning .

Sub-inspector of Navaron highway police said the pickup van was seized, though its driver managed to escape.

In Kurigram three persons were killed and two others injured when a Dhaka bound night coach named Shawn Classic bumped an easy bike near Agomony Bazar under Kurigram Sadar upazila at 9:30pm on Saturday.

The deceased were Mainul Islam, Abdul Haque and Abul Kashem.

Details about them could not be known till filing of this report.

Witnesses said the easy bike driver died on the spot while two others died in Rangpur Medical College Hospital yesterday morning.

Officer-in-Charge of Kurigram Sadar police station Abdul Baten said the bus was seized and Moznu Miah, brother of the deceased driver, filed a case with Sadar police station. l

13 Bangladeshis arrested at Benapole border n Our Correspondent, Jessore Thirteen Bangladeshis including women and children were held from Putkhali frontier at Jessore-Benapole border for trying to enter India illegally.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) held them around 10pm on Saturday.

The arrested are Abdul Khaleque, Dhanaranjan, Komola Begum, Geeta

Sarker, Kashi Das, his mother Monju Rani Das and sister Mala Rani Das, Munni Begum and her son Mahbub Alam, Zillur Rahman, Tumpa, Daisi and her son Papon.

They hailed from different districts across the country.

The arrested were scheduled to be sent to the court at noon yesterday, said Benapole police station Officer-inCharge Apurba Hassan. l

50 injured in Habiganj clash Correspondent, n Our Habiganj At least 50 people were injured in a clash between the supporters of two UP members in Habiganj yesterday.

Md Nazimuddin, OC of Sadar police station said there was an old rivalry between UP member Nurul Haque and Ohab Mian over dominating the area. l

1 held with illegal firearms n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Following a tip-off, a person was apprehended for possession of illegal firearms at Colonelhat area in Chittagong yesterday.

Akbar Shah police station officer in charge (OC) Abdul Mazid of said the apprehended man, Sohag, 22, was carrying a revolver with 3 rounds of ammunition when he was arrested at 12:30pm Sohag has several other cases against him.

An arms case has been lodged with Akbar Shah police station.

The police is investigating to find the source of the firearms recovered. l

5

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Juba League leader held for assault, extortion Expat family living in fear in Natore n Our Correspondent, Natore An expatriate along with his family is living in constant fear after a Juba League leader was arrested over conflict with them at Biprobelghoria village in Natore’s Naldanga upazila.

Jahurul Islam and his family – wife and two daughters – have been keeping themselves indoors for around three weeks.

His daughters Rita Parvin and Suraiya Begun, who study in Class VIII and Class IV respectively, are the worst sufferers as they are falling behind in school.

Victim Jahur held a press conference on Friday, seeking protection for his family from the clutches of Upazila Juba League Joint Secretary Touhidur Rahman Liton and his accomplices.

He said he started erecting a building after recently returning home from Saudi Arabia one and a half months ago. Later Liton and his accomplices came up with a demand for around Tk2 lakh from him.

Liton along with his accomplices suddenly attacked his house on September 22.

Depicting how Liton and his accomplices swooped down on them on that day, Jahurul said he along with his wife Lovely were resting at his three-storey house in the afternoon.

Suddenly, Liton and his accomplices stormed into the house and attacked them. They tied him up on a tree and hit him mercilessly and took him to their den.

They even did not even spare his

wife of their wrath. They beat her and snatched her necklace. Besides this, they robbed the family of Tk1.5 lakh and an iphone. They also stripped the wife naked and took photos of her private parts.

Police rushed to the spot and rescued Jahurul and arrested Liton. They even had to fire two rounds of bullets as his followers tried to snatch him from the police van.

Naldanga police station Officer-inCharge Aslam Uddin said they were trying to arrest the rest of the criminals involved in the attack.

Jahurul’s father Sonaullah Baten has lodged a case against nine persons, including Liton, with police.

After a four-day remand, Liton was sent to jail yesterday. l

AL leader murdered in Shariatpur n Our Correspondent, Shariatpur A local leader of the ruling Awami League was hacked to death allegedly by his rivals in Bilashpur area of Jajira upazila of the district on Saturday.

The victim, Abdur Razzak Madbor, 55, was joint general secretary of Bilashpur Union unit AL. Police said local AL’s two groups, one led by Razzak, had been loggerheads for long over establishing supremacy in the area.

As sequel to the feud, the rivals kidnapped the leader from a Bilashpur bazar around 7:30pm and then they killed him by beating up and hacking.

Later, locals spotted the body under the Akond Kandi bridge in the area around 11:30pm and informed police.

When contacted, Bilashpur UP Chairman Abdul Kuddus Bepari echoed the voice of police. Jajira police station OC Ekram Ali Miah acknowledged the murder, telling they tried best to rescue Razzak after being informed about the abduction.

Shariatpur Assistant Superintendent of Police (Naria circle) Tanvir Haider said they detained a man for his alleged involvement in the killing and a case would be filed in this connection. l

2 killed in Faridpur n Our Correspondent, Faridpur Two people were killed in separate incidents in a village of Faridpur Sadar upazila on Saturday.

The deceased are Nakul Kumar Biswas, 35, of Hatgobindapur village and Md Malek Sheik, 40, of Tambulkhana village.

One incident took place at night when Nakul was asleep in his bedroom. His wife Rita Rani Sarkar was critically injured as she tried to resist the assailants.

Quoting the locals, Kotwali police said Nakul was involved in a land dispute. They believe his opponents had motives because of the dispute to commit the murder.

In another incident, miscreants hacked Md Malek Sheik to death at his home in Tambulkhana village. Police said following previous animosity, the miscreants hacked Malek to death. l

Students of Bhauman Talabaha Model High School in Kaliakoir upazila of Gazipur cross a ramshackle bamboo bridge over the waterlogged schoolyard. The picture was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Waterlogged schoolyard causes students’ sufferings n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Rainy seasons are a bother for the students of Bhauman Talabaha Model High School in Kaliakoir upazila, Gazipur, as the school compound gets waterlogged and forces the students to cross a ramshackle bridge everyday to enter the academic building.

Sources said every year during the rainy season the school compound gets submerged in waist-deep rainwater.

This year, the school remained closed for several days in the beginning of the rainy season.

It was reopened after the locals constructed a makeshift bamboo bridge, which cost Tk20,000, over the playground.

Harez Ali, the school’s headmaster, said it happens every year as the school authorities do not take any steps to prevent it. “It is hampering our academic activities,” he said.

Crossing the rickety bridge, students often drop their belongings in the water or fall in it themselves, said Afsana Akter, a 10th-grader in the school. Another student, Swarna Akter, said the

school compound is beautiful, but it can rarely be utilized properly because of the rainwater.

The students also risk their lives every day as they have to cross unguarded rail tracks to enter the school.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Jasim Ali, head of the school’s management committee, said they had discussed the issue, but no measures had been taken to resolve it.

“We also requested the local administration for a guarded rail crossing beside the school, but they have yet to take any steps in that regard,” he said.

When contacted, Habibur Rahman, Kaliakoir upazila nirbahi officer, said the schoolyard had been repaired once by the district administration, but no one had informed him about the recurring waterlogging. He assured that necessary steps would be taken to solve the problem.

Established in 2003 and nationalised in 2008, the school has become an institution for quality education in the local area. It currently has 481 students. l

Monday, October 13, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Monday, October 13, 2014

7

Ghost shadows: Women and finance Economic freedom is a powerful means of empowering women. While it is not demeaning to receive financial support from family members, women should beon the ‘contributing’ end as well

Our society needs to do more so that our women are spared from a life full of despair

T

n Monica Islam he sun descended in all its glory. My parents and I set out from home and headed towards a popular café in the neighbourhood. Upon reaching, my mother and I proceeded to place our orders.

Despite our repeated attempts at garnering attention – first with the usual “Excuse me” and then with the

‘A man can lead his life without a woman, but a woman needs a man throughout her life’ – a holy chant that a girl in Bangladesh customarily grows up with

harsher knock on the glass slab over the counter – the waiters did not look up from their unsolved crossword puzzles.

As voices of men floated in the air, the waiters looked straight past us at a few male customers and processed

their orders attentively and enthusiastically. Our orders were similarly processed soon after, except this time my father was placing them.

My mother and I gazed with blank expressions. We existed, but we were not recognised by the café waiters as decision-makers.

In another instance, after closing the sale of a bag to me, the cashier returned the change, winking at his colleagues and insinuating victory over the “weaker” sex. As I counted the notes one by one, his eyes suddenly protruded against a pallid face in an unblinking stare.

He had already reached for the cash-drawer by the time I stopped counting because I found that he had handed me less money than the actual amount owed in change.

This is a recurring scenario in many women’s lives – neglected as finance-controllers, faced with attempts of cheating as they handle money, given less than what is their due share of financial property, and not trusted with money.

The origin of this problem can be traced back to the way a child is culturally socialised. “A man can lead his life without a woman, but a woman needs a man throughout her life” – a holy chant that a girl in Bangladesh customarily grows up with.

The reason, you ask? One of the

WIKI COMMONS

SADIA MARIUM RUPA

needs of a woman that a man is entrusted to fulfil is economic support.

This is also a need which forces a woman to remain in an abusive relationship. Young girls are taught to rely first on the father (or the next closest male kin), and then on the husband or son. As a result, children are conditioned to believe that earning and making major purchase decisions are best left to a man.

The problem is further compounded when the men in a family are pushed towards well-paid jobs and academic disciplines involving mathematics, finance, and technology, whereas the women are held back from doing the same: a flicker of ambition in her eyes and she is deemed a threat to family values.

Mainstream films and TV soaps continue to promote this idea. In 2012, I was surprised to learn from one of my lecturers at North South University that he had a female student in class whose family prioritised her brother’s education more. While the female student got an allowance for two courses per semester, her brother received the fees for four or even five courses every semester.

Religion plays a crucial role in the socialisation process. In 2011, the Bangladeshi government approved the National Women Development Policy (NWDP), three years after it was proposed by the caretaker regime.

The policy included provisions for the equal participation of women in employment, wealth, and education.

More specifically, it granted women full control over earnings and inherited property.

This was met with strong protests – once after the proposal in 2008 and again after approval in 2011 – by religious hardliners who misconstrued the policy as one granting equal inheritance rights (in certain Islamic traditions, a woman is entitled to half of her brother’s share even if she is the one who spends on the household), and branded it as an anti-Islamic propaganda. In Hindu traditions, a woman has limited rights to inheritance. In practice, divisions of inheritance are generally administered by male relatives and scholars.

Fast-forward to 2013. A sermon recorded on video and released on Facebook and YouTube caused nationwide outrage in Bangladesh. In the video, a 93-year old preacher alludes to women as a source of temptation like “tamarinds and even worse.”

He casts aspersions on the chastity of women working in the garments industry, a sector that is the backbone of Bangladeshi economy and that employs mostly women. He admonishes parents to avoid educating girls beyond grades 4-5.

Radical clerics who held similar views were largely ignored by the masses, but what makes this man especially dangerous and prominent is his substantial political and social power.

Based in Bangladesh, he is the principal of a Madrasa, the head of Qawmi Madrasa Education Board, the leader of an extremist fringe group that opposes the NWDP and education policy, and an active political campaigner that shows allegiance to the current mainstream opposition party in the country.

In 2012, Women and Child Development Ministry of India proposed a law that would mandate husbands to “pay” a monthly salary to their wives for doing daily household chores. The amount will be tax-exempt and predetermined by the government.

The amount is estimated to be around 10-20% of the man’s monthly salary that is to be deposited in his wife’s bank account. While the policy was lauded – by feminist lawmakers and homemakers alike – for being sensitive to the economic deprivation faced by housewives, I felt a key issue – apart from the social implications of the policy that was trivialising a marital relationship to a kind of employment contract – was still dangling in the air: rights of a woman to her own source of earning and to her control over finance.

If the policy is passed, the woman will still be fully dependent on someone else to bear her expenses. She is not being motivated to be economically self-sufficient and to exercise significant control over her spending and saving decisions.

Women entrepreneurship is not

micro-credit schemes to redress the situation, a more conscious effort at the grassroots level is required.

Weeks before Eid-ul-Fitr last year, I went to a local bank to collect and deposit a stipend I had received.

Stepping into the establishment, I felt I was thrust into a foreign terrain. Like sporadic bursts of blue and green in the arid desert, women – both as employees and as customers – made an insignificant composition of the total population there.

Heads turned and stares lingered as I made myself comfortable on a revolving-chair at the bank premises. In this same bank, the mandatory official forms and other formal communication materials started with “Dear Sir” (without any reference to “Madam”) – a subtle indication of how women have been pushed to the backdrop of the banking scene.

Economic freedom is a powerful means of empowering women. While it is not demeaning to receive financial support from family members (in fact, it is a defining principle of family values in Bangladesh to share resources), women should be on the “contributing” end as well.

Currently earning, I make it a habit to pay the bill fully or at least partially when accompanied by a man at any restaurant or shop. It reflects my willingness and ability to take financial responsibility and to share the burden unfairly imposed solely upon a man.

It reflects that a woman is not just a

The poor, socially marginalised women face the brunt of the deprivation from capital due to assumed lack of credit-worthiness on double counts – first for being poor and then for being women

well-received in Bangladesh. According to the Economic Census (20012003), women own approximately 3% of all enterprises. The businesses are concentrated mainly in traditional sectors, namely agriculture, beauty and fashion, handicrafts, and fast food.

Various research studies in the past five years reveal women’s low access to bank loans and other institutional funds due to, for instance, prolonged loan-processing time. The poor, socially marginalised women face the full brunt due to assumed lack of creditworthiness on double counts – first for being poor and then for being women.

While the government and NGOs are offering special women economic development programmes and

spender of resources taxing a man’s wallet unnecessarily, she can also be a thoughtful partner.

We are now in 2014; contemporary times as people say. The discussion on women’s contribution to the society, including housework that is monetarily unaccounted for is being rekindled, and that is commendable.

However, all stakeholders need to integrate the above findings in all of its research and awareness campaigns.

The government too will find these discoveries useful before it sets out on another policy-making mission this season. l Monica Islam hosts online radio shows at Sylvia Global Media Network, and aims to advance human rights and social justice.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Monday, October 13, 2014

IS suicide bombers kill 28 Kurds in Iraq

Provincial police chief assassinated In the east, a blast killed the chief of n Reuters, Baghdad police of Anbar province, the vast mainSuspected Islamic State bombers assassinated an Iraqi provincial police chief and killed 28 people in an attack on a Kurdish security headquarters yesterday, a second straight day of mass attacks that killed scores.

The two attacks, in the north of the country and the west, showed the jihadist group’s ability to inflict damage on both the forces of the autonomous Kurdish region and the central government, despite US-led air strikes.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a Kurdish security compound in the north, saying it had sent three foreign bombers: a German, a Saudi and a Turk, according to SITE, a group that monitors jihadi announcements.

Hospital sources said Kurdish “Peshmerga” security forces and civilians were among the 28 killed in the attack in Qara Tappa, a mainly Kurdish town in the north of Diyala province, an ethnically and religiously mixed battleground area.

As many as 90 people were wounded in the attack, which hit an administrative compound of Kurds that control the area.

ly Sunni region of the Euphrates valley that has been one of the main battlefields between government forces and Islamic State fighters for months.

The police commander, General Ahmad Sadak al-Dulaimi, was on patrol in an area where government forces have fought against Islamic State near a village 15 km west of the provincial capital Ramadi when a blast hit his convoy.

A security source said the attack was a shock because it took place in an area that had seemed to be under government control.

In a separate incident on Sunday, two bombs at a market in Diyala’s provincial capital Baquba kill at least six civilians and wounded 10, a police source said.

Sunday’s attacks came a day after militants killed at least 45 people in bombings in west Baghdad and its rural outskirts.

The United States and its allies are providing air support to help government forces and Kurds in Iraq fight against Islamic State militants who have controlled sections of Anbar province for most of this year and swept through northern Iraq in June. l

Smoke rises after a strike on the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane by the Kurds, as seen from the Turkish-Syrian border, in the southeastern village of Mursitpinar, Sanliurfa province. Kurds are furious that Turkey has not intervened to defend the mainly Kurdish Syrian border town of of Ain al-Arab from Islamic State (IS) group jihadists AFP

Kobane situation ‘dangerous,’ says US n Agencies

The situation in Kobane in northern Syria remains “dangerous,” says US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Fighting between Islamic State militants and Kurdish defenders continues, with more than 500 people reported dead in a month of conflict.

Hagel said that US-led air strikes had made progress against the militants, but they still occupied areas on the town’s outskirts.

The fight against IS in Syria and Iraq would be a long-term effort, he said.

US aircraft have bombed IS positions as Kurdish fighters cling on to the town’s vital border crossing with Turkey.

Hagel, speaking in Chile, said: “We are doing what we can do through our air strikes to help drive back Isil,” as IS

is also called. “In fact there has been some progress made in that area.”

Need for arms

At least 553 people are said to have died in a month of fighting for Kobane.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based Syrian opposition body which monitors the conflict, counted 298 IS fighters among the total of the dead.

The town’s Kurdish defenders say they are outgunned on the ground.

“The supply of fighters is very good...” Kobane official Idris Nassan told Reuters news agency. “But fighters coming without arms, without weaponry, is not going to make a critical difference.”

Turkey, wary of its recent long conflict with its own large Kurdish pop-

ulation, has ruled out any unilateral ground intervention.

Hagel said that the US had made “considerable progress” in talks with Turkish officials over plans for Turkey to train moderate Syrian rebels and provide them with equipment for their fight against IS militants.

He said US military teams would hold more talks in Turkey in the coming week.

But he declined to comment further, saying he was waiting for Turkey to make its own announcement.

Some 200,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees have crossed the border since the IS advance began nearly a month ago.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued in Iraq, where IS overran large parts of the north during the summer.

Kobane resounded to small-arms

fire and explosions on Saturday following the failure of a pre-dawn IS offensive to take more ground.

According to the Pentagon, US air strikes on IS targets at Kobane since Friday have hit an IS fighting position; damaged a command and control facility; destroyed a staging building; struck two small units of fighters; and destroyed three lorries.

Nassan said the air strikes had helped the Kurdish fighters regain some territory in the south of the city but they were not enough.

“A few days ago, [IS] attacked with a Humvee vehicle, they use mortars, cannons, tanks,” he said. “We don’t need just Kalashnikovs and bullets. We need something effective since they captured many tanks and military vehicles in Iraq.” l

Egypt police in 2 universities to quell protests

n AP, Cairo

Security officials say police backed by armored vehicles have stormed the campuses of at least two prominent Egyptian universities to quell anti-government protests by students.

Sunday’s largest rallies took place at Cairo and the Islamist al-Azhar universities. They were organized by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Student protest spokesman Youssef Salhen said protesters clashed briefly with police outside al-Azhar.

A security official said at least six people were arrested at al-Azhar, where police fired tear gas. He spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.

Authorities have intensified security at universities nationwide to prevent the resurgence of student protests. Last year, at least 16 students were killed.

Morsi’s supporters continue to hold small, scattered protests despite a crackdown after he was ousted in July 2013. l

Student protesters hold a rally at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. Security officials said police backed by armored vehicles have stormed the campuses of at least two prominent Egyptian universities to quell anti-government protests by students. The largest rallies took place at Cairo and the Islamist al-Azhar universities. They were organized by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi AP

US pledges $212m aid for Gaza n Reuters, Cairo US Secretary of State John Kerry called yesterday for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbours could be achieved.

But prospects for a renewed peace process appeared dim as Kerry offered no specifics on how to restart negotiations in his speech to a Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo.

The last round of US-brokered peace talks, presided over by Kerry, foundered in April over Israeli objections to a Palestinian political unity pact including the Islamist Hamas movement and Palestinian opposition to unremitting Israeli settlement expansion.

“Out of this conference must come not just money but a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region,” Kerry told the conference.

“And I promise you the full commitment of president Obama, myself and the United States to try to do that,” he said.

At the conference Kerry also announced an additional $212m in US aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which was badly damaged during a conflict with Israel in July and August in which 2,100 Palestinians died, most of them civilians.

An estimated 18,000 homes and vital infrastructure were destroyed in the seven-week war. The Palestinians have put the full cost of reconstruction at about $4bn over three years.

Germany on Sunday also announced it would contribute 50 million euros ($63m) to reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

“We can’t allow the people in Gaza to sink into despair,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.

The British ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, told Reuters London would provide $32m for reconstruction.

Egypt, the most populous Arab country and which brokered the current ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in August, used the conference to renew its call for a wider Middle East peace deal based on a 2002 Arab initiative, which Israel has rejected.

“We should turn this moment into a real starting point to achieve a peace that secures stability and flourishing and renders the dream of coexistence a reality, and this is the vision of the Arab peace initiative,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in his opening speech.

The last round of USbrokered peace talks, presided over by Kerry, foundered in April over Israeli objections to a Palestinian political unity pact The Arab peace initiative was floated

by Saudi Arabia at an Arab League summit in Beirut in 2002 and offers full recognition of the Jewish state, but only if it gives up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and agrees to a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees.

Also speaking in Cairo, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the 2002 Arab plan could be the framework for a new comprehensive approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Successive Israeli governments have rejected the Arab initiative but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently suggested a greater role for Israel’s Arab neighbours in the pursuit of peace.

Dozens of countries are attending the Cairo meeting. The Palestinian Authority is hoping that moves by a new unity government towards assuming control in Hamas-dominated Gaza could make wealthy donor governments less wary of providing reconstruction funds. l

At least 21 dead in Libya clashes despite Ban peace call

Putin orders troops away from Ukraine border

n AFP, Tripoli

n AP, Moscow

At least 21 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in clashes between rival tribes west of Libya’s capital that coincided with a visit by the UN chief, hospital sources said yesterday.

Witnesses said nationalist militia from the hill town of Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, attacked the neighbouring town of Kekla which supports their Islamist-led Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) rivals.

The clashes on Saturday and Sunday left 21 people dead and more than 60 wounded, officials at a local hospital said, without specifying if they were civilians or fighters.

The latest violence came as UN chief Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to

Tripoli on Saturday and urged warring factions to end the turmoil gripping Libya since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled in a 2011 uprising.

“Let me be clear: if violent confrontations do not cease immediately, if sustainable peace is not restored, prosperity and a better life will be a distant dream,” Ban told rival parliamentarians.

He flew to Tripoli just weeks after the outgoing government admitted from its safe refuge at Tobruk in the east that it had in effect lost control of the capital to armed militias.

Ban urged the formation of a national unity cabinet, stressing the importance of “a strong government able to implement decisions” in the country where militias control swathes of terri-

tory, including the main cities.

“There is no alternative to dialogue,” Ban said.

Parliament, elected in June, is recognised by the international community but contested by Fajr Libya and by Islamists who control much of second city Benghazi.

Fajr Libya, a coalition mostly of militias from third city Misrata, expelled Zintan fighters from the capital in August after several weeks of deadly clashes, with much of the violence focused on the international airport.

After seizing control of Tripoli, Fajr Libya has extended its operations to the west, to the Warshefana region which supports the Zintanis, charging that diehard Kadhafi loyalists are holed up there. l

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered thousands of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border to return to their usual bases, according to his spokesman.

Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlets late Saturday in Sochi that Putin had ordered approximately 17,600 troops to return home from Rostov, a southern region that borders east Ukraine, where pro-Russian insurgents have been battling government troops since April.

The Kremlin has said that troops stationed in Rostov were participating in drills, but Ukraine and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of fueling the insurgency with arms, expertise, and fighters, and have slapped Moscow

with sanctions in response to its moves in the region.

Previous Russian claims of troop withdrawals have been countered by Nato. In March, Russia announced a troop withdrawal of only one battalion — a unit of about 500 — while Nato insisted that tens of thousands remained near the border.

In the spring, the US and Nato said that Russia had deployed about 40,000 troops near the border, though Putin ordered the troops back to their home bases in late May. While the US and Nato did confirm those moves, in August they said Russia was again bolstering its forces in the region and that Russia had allowed troops and vehicles to cross the border to assist the separatists.

The withdrawal may be a sign of

good will ahead of Putin’s trip to Milan on Thursday, where he is set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Union leaders.

As EU and US sanctions against Russia begin to bite and economic growth falters, Moscow may also hope that a troop withdrawal will bolster the chance that Western nations will revoke those measures. Late last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU was still not considering removing the sanctions because of ongoing fighting in east Ukraine.

In Donetsk, the city center was quiet but explosions still rang out in the direction of the airport, where fighting between government troops and pro-Russian forces has waged despite a cease-fire declared Sept 5. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Monday, October 13, 2014

Modi’s bravado ups the ante in India-Pakistan fighting n Reuters, New Delhi/Islamabad To judge from the shrill outrage of India’s TV news channels, the past week’s bloody clashes along the border dividing Kashmir are all Pakistan’s fault: one network has been plugging the Twitter hashtag #PakBorderDare.

However, military officers in both countries and officials in New Delhi say the violence that has killed nearly 20 civilians escalated because of a more assertive Indian posture under the new government of nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The message we have been given from the prime minister’s office is very clear and precise,” said a senior Indian Home Ministry official. “The prime minister’s office has instructed us to ensure that Pakistan suffers deep and heavy losses.”

In his first extensive comments on the violence, Modi told a political rally on Thursday - when 1,000 Indian mortars rained across into Pakistan - that “it is the enemy that is screaming.”

“The enemy has realised that times have changed and their old habits will not be tolerated,” he said.

The exchange of mortar and gunfire across a populated border area of Jammu, in the lowlands of Kashmir, has been India’s most serious brush with Pakistan in a decade.

Almost 20,000 Indian civilians have fled their homes to escape the fighting, taking refuge in schools and relief camps.

The guns fell quiet on Friday, hours before the Nobel committee named an Indian child rights crusader and Pakistan’s teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai as this year’s Peace Prize

India-Pakistan diplomacy: Border barriers broken on Skype n Reuters, Bangalore

An Indian Border Security Force soldier keep watch following cross-border firing between Pakistan and Indian troops at Chachwal, about 60 kms from Jammu AFP winners. But heavy firing resumed on Saturday And continued into the early hours of Sunday.

Modi’s robust approach towards Pakistan, supporters say, is aimed at emphasising India’s superior strength and making Pakistan’s military think twice before firing across the border.

It is a strategy he also used to stand up to India’s larger neighbour, China, during a border standoff between several hundred Indian and Chinese troops on the Tibetan plateau that coincided with President Xi Jinping’s vis-

it to New Delhi last month.

But the new stance risks more violence in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, already one of the world’s most volatile fault lines, and has eroded a border truce that has largely held between India and Pakistan since 2003.

The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between them and claimed in full by both.

Since Modi’s election victory in May, military commanders have been en-

couraged to step up border patrols and retaliate with more force if they come under attack. New Delhi has insisted there can be no talks with Pakistan unless it ends shootings and pushing militants into the Indian side of Kashmir.

“This is what we feared would happen if Modi came to power,” said Ikram Sehgal, a former Pakistani military officer and chairman of one of the country’s largest security companies.

“This could easily escalate into something that won’t be good for Pakistan or India.” l

It’s India-Pakistan diplomacy with a difference: two groups of students, one in Bangalore and one in Islamabad, talking fashion, film and politics over homemade curry and steaks.

By dining together over Skype calls, the students might knock down the cultural and political barriers that divide them. That’s the dream of Eric Maddox, founder of the Virtual Dinner Guest initiative. “It is harder to ignore, vilify or harm those with whom we have broken bread,” said the 36-year-old American, who has spent the last three months in the tech hub of Bangalore.

Maddox came up with the idea of Virtual Dinner Guest during field research in the West Bank as part of his degree in international conflict resolution. Typically, the groups share a 60to 90-minute dinner and ask questions, inspired by newspaper articles selected as source material.

While border tension dominates drawing room conversations, the Indian and Pakistani virtual dinner guests spent more time talking about the movies of Shah Rukh Khan. Then, they hit the streets with a handheld camera to interview residents about a topic of their dining partners’ choice, the results of which were screened at a second dinner. “We went out exploring places, interacting with all sorts of people from our own communities on a level we normally don’t,” said Hina Nadir, an engineering student from Islamabad.

The project is funded by private donations and a grant from Skype. Maddox has connected diverse groups in 16 countries so far, using local volunteers

Hong Kong’s leader warns protesters Cyclone Hudhud blasts India, at least three dead as tent city sprouts up n Reuters, Visakhapatnam

n Reuters, Hong Kong Hong Kong’s embattled leader Leung Chun-ying vowed yesterday to stay in office, warning students demanding his resignation that their pro-democracy movement was out of control.

Leung said the blockade of key parts of the Asian financial hub - now entering its third week - could not continue indefinitely.

Speaking in an interview with the local TVB television station, Leung said his government would continue to try to talk with student leaders but did not rule out the use of “minimum force” to clear the area.

The last few weeks had “proved that a mass movement is something easy to start, but difficult to stop,” he said.

“And no-one can direct the direction and pace of this movement. It is now a movement that has lost control.”

Leung also warned that there was “zero chance” that China’s leaders in Beijing would change an August decision limiting democracy in Hong Kong.

The former British colony was promised that its freedoms would be protected under a “one country/two systems” formula, when Britain handed its old colony back to China 17 years ago.

Beijing has said that only candidates screened by a nomination committee will be able to contest a full city-wide vote to choose the next chief executive in 2017.

The official People’s Daily in Beijing described the so-called Occupy Central

Anti-Occupy Central protesters attend a rally against pro-democracy protesters at a main street in Hong Kong’s Mongkok shopping district REUTERS movement as “unrest” in a front-page editorial published on Saturday - language some analysts said reflected the growing unease among China’s leaders.

Leung’s comments came as the protest center outside government head offices in Admiralty took on the feel of a festival campsite in a canyon of skyscrapers.

“In here, it is like a piece of green land,” said Maggie Cheung, a 27-year-

Multiple attacks kill at least 14 in Afghanistan n AP, Kabul, Afghanistan Suspected Taliban militants led a string of attacks on police and civilians across northern and eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least 14 people, security officials said.

The violence reflects the militants’ persistent campaign against Afghanistan’s Western-backed government, which last month signed separate security agreements with the United States and Nato allowing over 10,000 foreign troops to train and advise Afghan forces after the international combat mission ends at the end of the year.

In Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of the northern Balkh province, two gunmen dressed in police uniforms stormed into the province’s police headquarters and opened fire, killing two officers, said Sher Jan Durani, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. Police intercepted the attackers at a second security gate inside the compound, and

shot them dead, he said. Nine other policemen were wounded during the gun battle.

Separately, Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Monogai district of eastern Kunar province, killing three police officers and wounding three others, an Interior Ministry statement said. Six Taliban militants were killed and six others wounded in the battle.

In the Alishing district of eastern Laghman province, a rocket fired by militants killed three construction company workers, said Sarhadi Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

A car bomber carried out a suicide attack in eastern Wardak province, killing three civilians and three army soldiers in a strike that blew out several vehicles, said Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Six other civilians and two other soldiers were wounded in the attack in Sayed Abad district. l

old kindergarten teacher, who added that she would leave to start work tomorrow.

“People are caring and we are sharing the same goal - we fight for a better future. It is like utopia here.”

Some 200 tents now line Gloucester and Harcourt roads on what had been one of Hong Kong’s busiest thoroughfares leading to the glittering Central financial district. l

No late-night parties for Nobel winner Malala n AP, London The co-author of Malala Yousafzai’s memoir says there were no late-night parties for the teenage Nobel Peace Prize winner after she was honored for her work supporting girls’ rights to education.

Instead, Christina Lamb says, Malala spent the night after she won the prestigious prize nursing a cold and watching Pakistani television with her parents at home in Birmingham in central England.

Lamb said in the Sunday Times that 17-year-old Malala is worried that she will fall behind in her school work and exam preparation because she will have to travel to Norway to collect the prize and deliver a speech.

The co-author says Malala allowed herself one indulgence: She answered her phone “Hello, this is the Nobel laureate” instead of with her normal greeting, before bursting into giggles. l

Cyclone Hudhud blasted India’s eastern seaboard yesterday with gusts of up to 195 kilometres an hour (over 120 mph), uprooting trees, damaging buildings and killing at least three people despite a major evacuation effort.

The port city of Visakhapatnam, home to two million people and a major naval base, was hammered as the cyclone made landfall, unleashing the huge destructive force it had sucked up from the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal.

Upended trees and wreckage were strewn across Visakhapatnam, known to locals as Vizag. Most people heeded warnings to take refuge, but three who ventured out were killed, officials said.

The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, the state that bore the brunt of Hudhud’s onslaught, said the extent of damage would only become known after the storm abates.

“We are unable to ascertain the situation. Seventy percent of communication has totally collapsed ... this is the biggest calamity,” N Chandrababa Naidu told Headlines Today television.

“We are asking people not to come out of their houses,” Naidu said, adding that damage assessment would start on Monday. “We are mobilising men and material immediately.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Naidu and promised “all possible assistance in relief and rescue operations,” his central government said in a statement. The low toll reported so

9

far followed an operation to evacuate more than 150,000 people to minimise the risk to life from Hudhud - similar in size and power to cyclone Phailin that struck the area exactly a year ago.

After a lull as the eye of the storm passed over the city, winds regained massive potency. Forecasters warned Hudhud would blow strongly for several hours more, before wind speeds halve in the evening.

“Reverse windflow will be experienced by the city, which will again have a very great damage potential,” L.S. Rathore, director-general of the state India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters in New Delhi.

The IMD forecast a storm surge of 1-2 metres above high tide that could result in flooding of low-lying coastal areas around Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam.

A Reuters reporter in Vizag said the storm had smashed his hotel’s windows and flooded the ground floor. It was difficult even to open the door of his room, he said, as wind rushing through the corridors drove it shut again.

“I never imagined that a cyclone could be so dangerous and devastating,” said one businessman who was staying in the hotel. “The noise it is making would terrify anyone.”

An operations centre in state capital Hyderabad was inundated with calls from people seeking help, including 350 students stranded in a building with no food or water, said K. Hymavathi, a senior disaster management official. l

to find participants. The ultimate aim, says Maddox, is to create a database of conversations and street interviews that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world for a “natural culture of solidarity.” He is currently filing for non-profit status for the initiative. “It’s a way to get an unfiltered set of perspectives on events or communities that often have all kinds of stigma attached to them, or media-reinforced stereotypes.”

By dining together over Skype calls, the students might knock down the cultural and political barriers that divide them Maddox, born and raised in California, says he is trying to change participants’ relationships with news media from that of passive consumer to “the more active role of producer.”

And conflict resolution isn’t always the focus. Some of his more unlikely dinners have paired Native American activists with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, or a family from Buenos Aires with a group of women’s rights activists in Tunisia. Next stop for Maddox is Cairo, where he will link young Egyptians with a group from the Netherlands. After that, Beirut.

“This is not the kind of thing that I can really retain ownership of for a very long time, once people like the idea,” he said. “The market success for this project will be if it gets ‘stolen’.” l

‘China military training inadequate for winning a war’ n Reuters, Shanghai Weaknesses in China’s military training pose a threat to the country’s ability to fight and win a war, China’s official military newspaper said yesterday.

China’s military authority has sent a document to military units detailing 40 weaknesses in current training methods, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily said in a front-page story.

“These problems reflect shortcomings and weak-points in the makeup of our military fighting force. If they are not promptly dealt with, then they will certainly affect and hinder our army’s ability to go to war,” the paper said, citing the PLA general staff headquarters.

President Xi Jinping has been pushing to strengthen the fighting ability of China’s 2.3 million-strong armed forces, the world’s largest, and stepping up efforts to modernize forces that are projecting power across disputed waters in the East and South China Seas.

The country’s armed forces came under fire earlier this year from serving and retired Chinese officers and state media who questioned whether the force was too corrupt to win a war.

The military newspaper said China needed to find a cure for the “peace disease” affecting its training regime to ensure the armed forces could master the ability to win a real conflict.

Military authorities identified issues for the country’s army, navy and air force, including training standards and styles by commanders and military units. l

Chinese police break up rights lawyers’ meeting n AP, Beijing Chinese police yesterday stormed into a conference room outside Beijing where rights lawyers were meeting to discuss wrongful cases and broke up the gathering, one of the attorneys said, in the latest move by authorities to obstruct their work.

Rights lawyers have grown into a force in China and have earned a reputation for their grittiness in demanding that the letter of the law be strictly followed in the courts, which remain under the tight control of the ruling Communist Party. But they also have seen their names smeared by the party-controlled media, who have said the lawyers are harboring political motivations and are more interested in self-promotion.

Rights lawyer Sui Muqing said about 40 attorneys, relatives of victims of wrongful cases and other citizens were gathering in a hotel to discuss the cases. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Monday, October 13, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

No special privilege for politicians

A

Dhaka court has sent the Awami League MP for Cox’s Bazar, Abdur Rahman Bodi, to jail after rejecting his plea for bail in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission for accumulating wealth beyond his known sources of income.

It is the court’s prerogative to determine applications for bail.

While as a prominent person who voluntarily surrendered himself before the court, the lawmaker may not be a high flight risk, the court was perfectly entitled to take into account the gravity of the charges involved.

The ACC filed cases against Bodi and two other former state ministers in August after discrepancies were found between their parliamentary wealth statements and income tax returns.

Subsequent enquiries into the defendant’s business affairs have raised further pertinent questions, and the ACC is reported to think he has further hidden assets worth more than Tk10 crore.

We support the court’s right to determine its own decision and believe the outcome sets a good example in the public interest.

Corruption is a major blight on our society, that harms the economy and undermines public institutions.

Over the years, there have been many other cases where investigations into allegations of corruption have become stalled or are believed not to have been undertaken, due to political influence.

For anti-corruption laws to be effective, the independence of the ACC and the courts must be paramount and fully protected. The public needs assurance that political connections will not be used to protect people accused of corruption.

The public needs assurance that political connections will not be used to protect people accused of corruption

Rethink BPC oil subsidy

T

he government should reverse the decision made by the Finance Division to sanction a further Tk600cr in fuel oil subsidies to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).

Fuel subsidies are a costly burden on the taxpayer which should be progressively eliminated. This is necessary to stop unnecessary waste and to incentivise investment in cleaner, renewable forms of energy.

It is concerning that the government is proceeding with past policy to keep topping up the stateowned BPC with subsidies simply because funds have been allocated in the FY2014-15 budget.

This is especially so because BPC reportedly failed to explain to the Finance Division how it spent two previous subsidy installments of Tk2,031cr, provided from October 2013 until June this year.

Moreover, the state-owned company also failed to get its accounts audited by September this year, as was agreed with the IMF as one of the conditions for the multilateral funder releasing the 5th tranche of its $140m loan under the Extended Credit Facility.

The BPC chairman has discussed how the new tranche of money will be used and stated that BPC has begun the process of finding an international auditor but this has proved “time consuming.”

This state of affairs does not provide much confidence that monies borrowed for subsidies have been spent in the most efficient manner possible.

It would be far better not to allocate fuel oil subsidy this fiscal year and to allow the price of fuel oil to adjust in line with international market rates. This would both discourage waste and free taxpayer funds to be spent more productively.

Allow the price of fuel oil to adjust in line with international market rates

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

The blouse over sari conundrum

October 4 off one’s body is not a good idea. It’s like being Superman, who wears underwear over his pants.

But Superman can do things that girls cannot.

Girls look pretty smart when they wear traditional dresses, with their saree over the blouse.

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

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Shomik The article is too good.

Mohd Anisul Karim “I want the obscenity present in the minds of obscene men to be made illegal.”

Great rhetoric. So do all the ayatollahs and padres of the world. In fact, I think they’re doing a somewhat better job than you are. goodbro What about India where she now lives? Do they have healthy mindsets? Where new innovations happen to save their girls from being raped?

Faceless Man “ … Those hundreds of naked men and women did not seem obscene to me, instead I felt obscene myself. It had nothing to do with clothes.

Obscenity can emerge from clothes as much as from the lack thereof.

“Personally, I believe no form of attire can be obscene. But the kind of clothes that are designed and imposed on women, burying their liberty and spontaneity in order to remove obscenity, such as the burka and the hijab, I find extremely obscene.”

If those hundreds of naked men and women did not seem obscene to the author, then why would women wearing burka seem to be obscene?

If the mind that thinks wearing short clothes is acquiescence for rape is obscene, then why wouldn’t the mind that thinks wearing burka is a symbol of medieval torture is obscene? Being truly secular is probably the hardest task in the world. The author, again, miserably fails in being that.

NK No, it’s not really a conundrum and showing

Chances of rain on Eid day October 4

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid It would be better to have rain in the evening to wash away the blood and wastage.

Sayeeda Ahmad Sheikh Jinat Mahmid: Or, conveniently, by early afternoon, at the earliest, so that the smell is also gone by the evening and the blood washed away.

NGO officer abducted, released on ransom October 3

Sharif Ahmed Alarming!

Faria Ahmed Zaara I honestly think this issue has less to do with “how many ways can a person style a saree” and more to do with “what is the appropriate way of dressing live on national television,” especially when you’re in a semi-conservative nation where the sari isn’t just another piece of clothing, but something that symbolises our cultural and religious integrity.

In her home or in her personal life, the girl could walk around in whatever for all we care.

Unfortunately, the rules are a tad bit different when she’s on TV and trying to appeal to her audience.

No-one The first part of the article was fine, but not the remainder.

“Only obscene men find obscenity in the bodies of women. Society is riddled with people who invent obscenity in women’s laughter, words, actions and behaviour. These men are undoubtedly obscene.

I want obscenity to be made illegal. I want the obscenity present in the minds of obscene men to be made illegal. I want to rid the country of the ugly conspiracy to stifle the rights and liberty of women.”

The author’s tendency of questioning social norms is appreciated, but the conclusion that she comes up with does not make sense.

No matter how much she tries to say that men should become accustomed to women wearing dresses that provoke them – then again, the term provoke is subjective in nature – a minimum level of decency is expected in practical life for the betterment of both the sexes. There is a difference between idea in theory and idea in real life.

How tolerant are we?

October 4

Zayed Mahmud It appears to me that, even in his writing, the author is trying to impose his own views where he is claiming himself as being democratic.

Therefore, by his rules of democracy, one voice can’t be equal to that of the huge crowds.

Is it so that having rights in a good society presume that one can say anything about any religion (always Islam though) and that will be treated as a person’s freedom to do so??

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

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Storehouse (5) 4 Melody (3) 6 Bellow (4) 8 Sky-coloured (5) 9 Passport endorsement (4) 11 Dutch cheese (4) 12 Slender supports (5) 15 Condition (5) 18 Cereal (4) 20 Flower (4) 21 Indifferent (5) 22 Festivity (4) 23 Newt (3) 24 Hazardous (5)

DOWN 1 Business transactions (5) 2 Showy feather (5) 3 Long lock (5) 4 Dry (4) 5 Quantity of paper (4) 7 Ward off (5) 10 Preservative (4) 13 Thunder god (4) 14 Minister’s residence (5) 15 Not intoxicated (5) 16 Gather for oneself (5) 17 Very hard mineral (5) 18 Quote (4) 19 Fissure (4)

Momoaswan How tolerant are we? Not very.

Kajol pulls out of comeback film

CALVIN AND HOBBES

October 4

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

PEANUTS

sneha221 Yeah, right! Ajay is the producer of the movie and he has refused to pay her anything so she has left the movie. And now Ajay is looking for another actress to replace Kajol! LOL! What a joke! Come on. The whole thing should make sense. Should at least be logical. Ajay the producer and Kajol have remuneration problems. That’s it.

CROSSWORD

No one left to speak for me October 4

Fareed Wakil “The threatening climate for human rights defenders in recent months should be raising alarm bells. Increasing violence is being used by law enforcement agencies, student activists, and members of political parties to deter citizens’ protests; human rights defenders play a vital role in safeguarding democracy, promoting the rule of law and good governance. They alert us, so the public can take necessary action.”

A voice of conscience.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

S

E

R

P

E

N

Op-Ed T

11

Monday, October 13, 2014

I

N

E

D

E

N

Bring sexuality out in the open Hypothetically, if Zubair had not refused the advances of the swimming coach and had reacted favourably, then what would be the reaction of his relatives and friends?

Same-sex relations may not be encouraged, but while we live in a highly changed social setting, it’s time to talk about it openly because otherwise, taking advantage of the self-imposed ignorance, miscommunication, and in certain cases indoctrination, can happen, leading to disastrous consequences.

Since Zubair was a teenager, any talk of a sexual nature with him falls within the category of paedophilia and hence, the foreigner must be deported. Just to go back a few months, there was news of a Bangladeshi filmmaker who had been caught while trying to sell locally made porn involving street children to buyers abroad.

unbending prescriptions which have no link whatsoever with the actual picture.

Even now, our popular culture cannot show a man and a woman enjoying an intimate pre-marital relationship, though a survey of the sale of morning-after pills will give us the true picture. Whether this is right or wrong is relative, because as society moves on with its positives and negatives, trying to forcefully plaster a righteous label will only work to nurture the defects within.

Whether we like it or not, the socalled “rokkhonshil” (conservative) pretense has to be thrown out. While sexual exploitation of young minds needs to be addressed with the required stringency, the shunned topic of sex and its manifestations need to be discussed, not with dogmatism but with practicality.

Like I said earlier, society has never

It’s time to talk about it openly because otherwise, miscommunication, and in certain cases indoctrination, can happen

Talking about sex should not be a taboo

T

n Towheed Feroze he other day, during the Eid holidays, I was talking to a budding filmmaker who was expressing his disgust at the hypocrisy of society, pointing to an incident where a well-known TV channel cut off a part of a submitted tele-film where a girl out on a boat ride with friends, casually asks: “What will happen if one of the girls in the group feels the urge to use the toilet?”

The rationale to cut off that part was that such a line cannot come from the mouth of a female because “society” does not expect women to talk freely on certain issues.

Juxtapose this with the recent death by drowning of a teenage school student called Zubair who, as an array of evidence now suggests, was trying to draw the line between friendship and intimacy with his male swimming instructor.

The swimming coach, an Algerian national, was said to have barraged the young boy with relentless messages that cross over from close comradeship into a relationship format, which borders on paedophilia – unarguably the most egregious of crimes.

Just imagine, when a TV channel decides to omit the mentioning of an every-day ritual, fearing to upset the so-called chaste social template that

Analog policy in a digital age n Khawaza Main Uddin

A

H Mahmud Ali’s deliberations echoed the words used by a foreign minister from the 1950s. The prime minister’s visit has been “fruitful” – this is what we read in old printed matters on the then premier of Pakistan, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy’s visit to the United States. It really was so back then.

Suhrawardy, who dismissed alliances with poorer nations, saying 0+0+0=0, favoured making Pakistan the most allied ally of Washington.

Suhrawardy’s countrymen had little scope to know about up-to-date news of the outcome of any state-level visits abroad. Today’s Bangladeshi foreign minister, however, couldn’t foresee that information travelling from New York to Dhaka within moments, thanks to the internet, the cellphone, and satellite television.

So Ali was trying to glorify Premier Sheikh Hasina’s visit to America – the UN headquarters to be precise – days after his cabinet colleague and a member of the entourage, Abdul Latif Siddique, had already earned public wrath for his controversial remarks. At the JFK airport earlier, Team Hasina, numbering 180, was greeted by angry protesters, all expatriate Bangladeshis.

In Dhaka, newsmen were presented with an “earthshaking” story, carried by the government-run BSS news agency, “Bangladesh's image has been brightened further in the international arena following the successful and fruitful participation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the just-concluded 69th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.”

How does a single visit brighten the national image worldwide, and so easily at that? We’ve witnessed some people losing their sense of proportion while serving a dictatorial regime to survive the competition of appeasement. Only a report without attribu-

tion and objectivity can substantiate Ali’s claim lacking concrete evidence.

Barring rhetoric on the Facebook pages of the ruling party men, we didn’t see any reflections of “brightening image” in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, or Al-Jazeera.

The state-run radio and television, during the Ershad regime, called each and every foreign visit by the military dictator “fruitful.” Many years later, when we were covering a bilateral meeting, one of our humourous colleagues had said, “Now I understand what it (fruitful) means. If the meeting room is full of fruits, it becomes fruitful.”

The foreign minister was all praises about the premier’s UNGA speech, customarily drafted by his ministry.

Hasina spoke of many things – global peace, security, militancy, secularism, and war crimes – but not the state of democracy back home. Anyway, she had at least managed to meet the world leaders when her government’s only target was to attain indirect recognition from them.

Washington, London, and even the UN have yet to change their positions on having reservations about the January 5 elections. But Ali claimed that the UN chief thanked Hasina for restoring a “stable environment” after that manipulated election. Let me contrast Ban Ki-moon’s latest message his ministry had omitted: “Political dialogue is essential for solving differences peacefully and reaching a broad-based agreement on the future of the country.” Why and how is the issue of dialogue relevant to us and our friends if everything is okay?

Our diplomats are so sensitive (or shy) that they refrained from publishing that message, though not such a strongly worded one, in the official supplement on 40 years of Dhaka’s joining the UN. It was “prepared for a book that will be published by the

BIGSTOCK

we are supposed to believe in, how can young people, at the most crucial period of their lives, decide on matters that have always been diligently avoided?

This newspaper has printed some of the details of the messages that were exchanged between the foreign national and the boy, bringing to the open the matter of same-sex relations plus the reprehensible exploitation of young minds.

In this case, the boy was asserting his position on friendship through his online messages while the pressure for something more was being created by the Algerian man. Naturally, Zubair did not share this with his family seriously, dismissing the approaches Bangladeshi Mission to the United Nations,” the Secretary-General’s office informed me. I was also advised to contact the Bangladesh mission for further information but no reply came.

In a 1999 episode of the BBC’s Hardtalk, Tim Sebastian asked a Myanmar ambassador if he was ashamed of representing an undemocratic regime overseas. I understand our foreign office is embarrassed, not at having the disease of democratic deficiency, but at reading the prescription for its remedy. What message did you seek from the UN Secretary-General when you know he might talk about democracy and politics and you don’t have the guts to print it?

Ali, a career diplomat who took charge during the political crisis leading up to (and beyond) the 2014 elections, is bearing the legacy of not giving priority to national interests over the regime’s interests. His predecessor, Dipu Moni, was so focused on increasing the number of her foreign tours that she could not bear the huge burden of Bangladesh’s interests elsewhere.

Otherwise, our performance in areas such as manpower exports, remittance-earning, foreign direct investment into the country, and attracting foreign tourists would have been far better. Relations with America and Europe – the two main export destinations – and the Middle East – the main manpower receiving region – had reportedly soured. The Hasina regime failed to secure reciprocity from India, and prospective investing countries like China and Japan too mostly found a non-serious mood in Dhaka.

The foreign ministry’s website doesn’t define what its economic diplomacy is. Rather, the very introduction of the ministry contains a grammatical error: “The Ministry’s goals is to develop and maintain friendly relations …”

In its official site, Kuala Lumpur states: “Malaysia's foreign policy is basically an extension of Malaysia’s domestic policy.” Our foreign policy, often delinked from our domestic realities and the people’s needs and aspirations, is practically hidden in the pockets of a few leaders. Therefore, quite naturally, that can’t be seen and read online. l Khawaza Main Uddin is Executive Editor at ICE Business Times.

of the man as just a joke.

In fact, several times, his reaction to the foreigner’s blunt approach was lighthearted – an act we now feel was the biggest mistake. Whether the man, who is now in police custody, was responsible for the death or not, once more, we come face-to-face with a situation where rusty notions about adolescent demons clash with an evolved social credo.

The fear to talk openly about same-sex relations stems from deeply entrenched beliefs about what is accepted and what is not, but let’s be frank here – life is not black and white, and existential complications can never be generalised in accordance to one set of inflexible definitions.

D

R

Caution was aired back then that child-porn makers, manipulating our gullibility, may be running a large operation here without having raised any suspicion. With the recent death of a teen and the alleged involvement of a foreigner trying to impose intimacy, that fear comes back.

Now the knee-jerk reaction may be: Deport the Algerian man, be alert of such foreigners trying to get close to young boys, and enforce traditional values.

While as a first step this may be right to many, as an essential second step, parents and guardians must bring up sexuality as a natural topic when children reach puberty.

The discussion needs to be practical, based on the realities of the modern world, and not based on

M

S

been, and never will, conform to any fixed definition – a liberal mindset is the best way to get along with the times. So, let us begin by thinking that transvestites, gays, and lesbians are not outside the society, they are in it. Just handing out some money to Hijras at the traffic intersection does not end our duty.

Keeping them at the fringes is not a full-time solution.

As for popular entertainment which is supposed to be the reflection of the ideology of a certain time, please portray society with its flaws and virtues and not try to show that women do not need to use the toilet or never feel the desire of the flesh. l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

A

Y

S

The truth about Islam n Mohammad N Miraly

T

o anyone who has ever taken an intro course in Islam, Bill Maher sounds like a fanatic who promotes violence in the name of bigotry.

In his now-infamous conversation with actor Ben Affleck, among others, Bill Maher makes the mistake of the uninformed – he confuses religion with culture, and faith with politics.

To argue that it’s “just a fact” that “Islam, at this moment, is the mother lode of bad ideas” is not only simplistic, but also as incendiary as making sweeping statements about any group of people, a fact that would be clearly demonstrated by jeers if he were to replace the word “Islam” with “Jews” or “blacks” or “gays.”

The real mother lode of bad ideas is the geo-political issues transpiring in the Middle East. The problem is that these political and economic issues are presented by the media through the lens of Islam.

But, the Muslim world of today is shaped more by post-colonial economics and petrodollar politics than by Islamic ethics or doctrines.

In a landscape marred by a lack of

money and education, political actors have been able to use the language of religion to stir up violence.

This has more to do with the culture of the region than the religion of Islam.

Case in point is Bill Maher’s incorrect statements about Islamic viewpoints on gender and apostasy.

That he speaks so strongly about something which he knows so little makes him less a sophisticated observer and more a demagogue, whipping people up with polarising rhetoric, like a jihadist preying on the poor and uneducated to further his political agenda.

To say that Islam is a font of illiberalism truly misses the mark.

Because – and here’s where Bill Maher’s lack of knowledge becomes stunningly clear – the Muslim world inspired John Locke’s vision for the liberal society.

For Locke, the 17th century father of liberalism, the Muslim empires were the example for a tolerant and just society, because Christians and Muslims lived side-by-side, while Britain was full of Christian-onChristian crime.

The Muslim societies of history were known by their contemporaries

as places of pluralism, where people of different religions worked together on an relentless quest for knowledge, whatever the source.

Exemplary here is the establishment of the world’s first university in 10th century Cairo, or the way in which the philosophical study and translation of Greek texts in Baghdad laid the foundation for the Renaissance hundreds of years later.

Just as exemplary is the way in which Spain under Muslim rule glittered during Europe’s dark ages.

For centuries, in that “place of three religions and one bedroom,” Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived and worked together to create the most advanced society in Europe.

This is a past that is not too distant to be remembered. The most pernicious problem for us today is that we allow the uninformed to be our opinion-makers. It is our responsibility, in a liberal society, to make a shield from wisdom against bigotry. l Mohammad N Miraly is an educator and film producer. He holds a PhD from McGill University in religion, ethics, and public policy, and is the author of themiralyblog. wordpress.com.

BIGSTOCK

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Monday, October 13, 2014

SAHANA BAJPAIE’S revival with SHIKAWR

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

n Entertainment Desk

HBO, 9:30pm

“Shikawr” is a musical project about a journey back home, about coming back to all that we can’t leave behind but we strangely do, about a city lost and then found again, about faces lost and never found, and things in between.

This project started as a blog of lyrics, few of which became songs, by London-based lyricist-composer Saptarshi Routh. Routh makes his comeback through this album after more than a decade-long hiatus,.

“Shikawr” is also Sahana Bajpaie’s first major contemporary Bengali music album, and also first since 2008. Out of the seven songs, “Bari Kothay,” “Chawl Ekdin,” “Shikawr,” and “Runway” have been sung solo by her. There is also a duet with Samantak Sinha, and the other two songs have been sung by Gorki Mukherjee.

Samantak Sinha has designed the entire soundscape of the album. It has been recorded live with acoustic instruments giving it a distinctive feel.

The album CD has released in India by Cozmik Harmony, while distribution here in Bangladesh has been handled by ME Label.

Bangladeshi listeners can purchase the album online at Shurjorajjo.

The album is also available across a range of digital channels including iTunes, Amazon MP3, Google Play, CD Baby and Spotify. l

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron’s new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Zee Studio, 9:30pm

A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda.

The Manchurian Candidate Zee Studio, 7pm Dhaka Theatre staged ‘Ponchonari Akhyan’ at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Ocotober 11. Written by Harun Rashid, the play has been directed by Shahiduzzaman Selim. Rosy Siddique plays five different roles in the monodrama KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

QUEEN ELIZABETH names ANG E LINA JOLIE honorary dame n Entertainment Desk Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II made Hollywood star Angelina Jolie an honorary dame on Friday for her campaign to end the scourge of sexual violence in war zones.

In a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Jolie was presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.

Jolie, 39, is a special envoy to the UN High Commissioner for

n Enteratinment Desk Bollywood actress Sridevi has sent a legal notice to Ram Gopal Varma objecting to the filmmaker using her name as the title of his upcoming Telugu film “Sridevi.” The film which was initially titled “Saviri” was renamed “Sridevi” after producer Neelima Tirumalsetty objected to the film’s title claiming that she had already registered it.

Sridevi filed a cease and desist notice prohibiting the filmmaker from using her name as the title of his next film. It is learnt that Sridevi even demanded that the filmmaker issue an unconditional apology for using her name without her consent and demanded to respond to the notice.

Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor spoke to Ram Gopal Varma before going legal, but Ram Gopal Varma tried very little to solve the serious matter.

Ram Gopal Varma took to his blog earlier on June 5, 2010: “I don’t go to Boney’s house these days because I can’t bear to see Sridevi in a realistic house, in a realistic atmosphere and with realistic people around... For me, she is like a highly precious diamond, which should be seen, only in beautiful settings or in exotic locations and only in the surroundings of cinematic brilliance... Sridevi is the most beautiful, most sexiest woman God ever created and I think he creates such exquisite pieces of art like her only once in a million years... I thank god for creating Sridevi and I thank Louis Lumiere for creating the movie camera to capture her beauty forever.”

The movie posters of Ram Gopal Varma’s “Sridevi” is about a teenage boy who lusts an elderly woman, shown through the boy looking curiously at the private parts of the lady. l

Refugees, and she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

“It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict,” Jolie said in June during the London opening of the biggest summit of its kind aimed at ending sexual violence in conflict. “There’s nothing inevitable about it. It is a weapon of war aimed at civilians.

It has nothing to do with sex, everything to do with power.” l

SRIDEVI sends legal notice to Ram Gopal Varma

With training, little dragons can do big things “How to train your Dragon II” is set in pre-medieval Scandinavia, where doll-faced characters with extraordinarily thin lips talk with Irish accents and fly dragonback over magnificent landscapes – all in glorious 3D. The notorious Drago Bludvist threatens the peace of Berk Island with the aid of a secret weapon that can make dragons of all kind smooch his ugly-derriere. All he, the bad guy, wants is just ... everything!

Here comes the dragon trainer. Hiccup Horrendous, with be-positive in his blood returns with Toothless, his dragon sidekick, to save everyone – yet again. This time around there are quite a few surprises.

When Bludvist the dragon-hater terrorizes their kingdom due to friend-of-enemy-is-enemy policy, Hiccup chooses diplomacy over war. And fails. “A man who kills without reason cannot be reasoned with” is Stoik’s motto for his son. The bad guy then pulls out a weapon of mass destruction that proves to be an impossible match for their army of dragons. Can tiny apps join forces and overthrow an entire operating system?

“Dragon II” is a meaningful story told with strong characters sketched on fantastic landscapes, however, inadequate exposition on the villain makes him a caricature.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, who runs DreamWorks Animation, took a risk with this anti-war movie. Gladly, it paid off. But we also hope that he will go a little bit further with his risk-taking – the kind of risks that Lasseter takes with Pixar and Miyazaki takes with Studio Ghibli. Till then his products will remain third best.

Many people are offended by the term “cartoon,” it is beneath them – “It’s animation!” As if watching an “animation” has an added social currency, as if the chicks dig it. I was watching this movie with such an elitist and his mother called – “Mom I am watching a cartoon!” – came the confession in due time.

“Dragon 2” is a pretty good cartoon (say sorry), so go ahead and rent that chair for two hours and stare at that wall. A movie like this should only be watched in 3D and with the entire family. l

In the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.

Cake Boss TLC, 7:30pm

Buddy Valastro is one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the United States.

Bollywood actress Malaika Arora Khan, who covers the October 2014 issue of Maxim India looking—as the magazine calls her—’better than ever.’ Malaika has been busy promoting a range of projects including her upcoming film ‘Happy New Year’ as well as brand endorsements and the reality TV show ‘India’s Got Talent,’ in which she is a judge. Meanwhile the gorgeous 40 year old actress is even going to do an item number in ‘Dolly Ki Doli,’ from husband Arbaaz’s home production

Did you know?

The Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane has become the top goal-scorer (21) in EURO qualifying after his hat-trick against Gibralter on Saturday

Sport

Monday, October 13, 2014

14 History-makers

Poland down Germany

14 France beat

sorry Portugal in friendly

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Federer beats

Simon to win Shanghai Masters

Tigers begin camp for Zim series n Mazhar Uddin Ahead of the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe later this month, the Bangladesh cricket team began their preparation camp at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday with former vice captain Mahmudullah expressing his confidence that the national side will be able to end a disappointing year on a high note.

Earlier on Saturday the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had announced a 32man preliminary squad and all the members of the squad joined the training camp after the Eid vacation, including the newly-wedded Mushfiqur Rahim.

On the opening day of the camp, the national cricketers spent their time playing football and working out in the gym.

Following an abject year so far for Bangladesh, the forthcoming Zimbabwe series is likely to be the last international assignment for the Tigers before the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. And all-rounder Mahmudullah is confident that they would be able to claim both the Test and ODI series.

“We are going through a very rough time in the last few months and I have never faced such a time in my whole cricket career. But I am hopeful of fin-

ishing this year on a high. Our main focus now is the Zimbabwe series and we are hoping to win both formats of the game,” said Mahmudullah.

Mahmudullah also added that the much talked about split captaincy decision for Tests and ODIs was actually encouraged by the cricketers as it will start taking effect from the Zimbabwe series.

Zimbabwe will arrive this Friday for three Tests and five ODIs. Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Richard Halsall has signed a new contract with the BCB as the permanent fielding coach of the Tigers. Halsall was previously in charge of the post temporarily during the Tigers’ recent tour of the West Indies. However, the Zimbabwean has now signed a permanent contract after his previous deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board expired this month.

BCB media committee chairman Jalal Younus informed that they have completed the formalities of the contract through email and the paper work will be done soon. “We have made the contract with him (Halsall) as the fielding coach. However, the paper work will be done very soon,” said Jalal.

Before joining the Tigers, Halsall performed his duties as an assistant coach with the English national side for four years. l

(L-R) Bangladesh cricketers Tamim Iqbal, Marshal Ayub, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Elias Sunny and Al Amin Hossain share a light moment on the opening day of their national camp at Mirpur yesterday MUMIT M

Atletico de Kolkata win as glitzy ISL kicks off Manjeet wants to assist n Raihan Mahmood Proclaimed as the change-maker of Indian football, the Indian Super League kicked off amidst plenty of glitz and glamour with the inaugural game ending in a 3-0 victory for hosts Atletico de Kolkata against Mumbai City FC at Salt Lake Stadium yesterday.

Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra led the charge as the anchor of the inaugural ceremony and introduced the mascots and marquee players on the pitch.

“Football can conquer the world!

Lets football,” said Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal. Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation said, “We will take this game to every nook and corner of this country.”

Chairperson of IMG-Reliance and founding chairperson of Football Sports Development Nita Ambani formally declared the tournament open.

Priyanka mesmerised the crowd with her various styles of dancing and went on to perform a song from “Gunday”. Salim-Suleiman Merchant then enthralled the crowd with some of his popular tunes. The popular Bollywood

star then introduced Sourav Ganguly and Luis Garcia (for Atletico de Kolkata), Parineeti Chopra and Alessandro del Piero (for Delhi Dynamos), John Abraham and Ricki Herbert (for North-

Founding chairperson of Indian Super League (ISL) Nita Ambani speaks alongside actress Priyanka Chopra (L), footballer David James (2R) and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar during the inauguration programme of ISL in Kolkata yesterday INTERNET

Indira Road clinch T20 title n Minhaz Uddin Khan Riding on the back of opener Rubel Alom’s whirlwind fifty, Indira Road emerged as the champions of the First Division Twenty20 tournament after defeating Rapid Foundation by 19 runs in the final at Mirpur yesterday.

Asked to bat first, Rubel bludgeoned his way to 53 off just 19 deliveries as Indira Road posted 131/7 in their allotted 20 overs. By the time Rubel was dismissed, Indira Road had already got off to a blazing start registering 69 runs inside just the fifth over.

Rubel smashed three boundaries and as many as half a dozen sixes. Sazzad-ulHaq played the supporting hand scoring

East United FC), Dattaraj Salgaocar and Robert Pires (for FC Goa), Abhishek Bachchan and Elano Blumer (for Chennaiyin FC), Hrithik Roshan and David Trezeguet (for FC Pune City), Ranbir

32 runs from 42 balls. The highlight of Indira Road’s innings was the five sixes conceded by Rapid Foundation bowler Rezwanul Islam Ridu in the third over.

Nirjan Badra and Abu Bakker Siddiq bagged two scalps each for Rapid Foundation.

In reply, Rapid Foundation lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually finished on 112/9 in 20 overs, falling short by 19 runs. Prosanto Das Bijoy was the highest scorer for the losing side with 28 off 20 balls.

Sazzad, Salauddin Sakil and Mehedi Mohin made sure Rapid Foundation were never in the chase as each of them took two wickets. Rubel was adjudged man-of-the-match. l

The jubilant Indira Road players celebrate after winning the First Division Twenty20 tournament at Mirpur yesterday MUMIT M

ICC denies making error n Minhaz Uddin Khan

The International Cricket Council (ICC) through a press release yesterday rejected claims in the media that the report on the bowling action of Bangladesh off-spinner Sohag Gazi contained an image of another Bangladesh player.

In the press release the ICC said the report of Gazi’s bowling action, which was sent to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) earlier this week, only comprises of photographs of Gazi.

A section of the media earlier reported that the observatory report on Gazi’s bowling action sent by the ICC included a photograph depicting another Bangladesh cricketer Mahmudullah’s bowling action.

The BCB officials had told the media that the inclusion of Mahmudullah’s photo was an “error” on the ICC’s part and that they were satisfied with the rest of the report.

According to media reports, BCB cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan had confirmed of the ICC mistake.

BCB insiders, however, had said the mistake does not in any way disprove the verdict on Gazi’s bowling action.

However, they were surprised and expressed their disappointment over the “glaring error”. l

Kapoor and Fredrik Ljungberg (for Mumbai City FC) and finally Sachin Tendulkar and David James (for Kerala Blasters). Sachin’s name was resonated across the big bowl as the 70,000 strong holiday crowd gave the retired legend a standing ovation.

Menwhile, the Kolkata football fans went back home with the same jovial mood that they had developed while entering the stadium. Ethiopian forward Fikru Lemessa scored the opening goal of the tournament after being put through on goal by former Spain international Garcia. Taking advantage of a gap between the two centrebacks, Fikru chipped the ball coolly over the onrushing Subrata Paul, the Mumbai goalkeeper.

It was double delight for the Kolkata fans in the 69th minute when Real Madrid youth product Borja Fernandez scored a stunner to double the home side’s lead. Taking control of a poorly cleared ball by the Mumbai defence, Borja unleashed a curver which dipped into the net beating Subrata in the air.

In the final minute of the three-minute stoppage time, Arnal Libert made it 3-0 for Atletico de Kolkata off a neat cross from Fikru. l

Gazi’s rectifying process n Bipin Dani, Mumbai Bangladesh’s 23-year old right arm off-spinner Sohag Gazi’s suspect bowling action may be studied by Indian coach Manjeet Singh. Manjeet is one of the coaches responsible for rectifying Abdur Razzak’s action when it was also reported by match officials in 2008 after a home series against New Zealand.

“I am keen to meet Gazi and also study his video footage before he is sent again for laboratory testing,” Manjeet said over telephone from Punjab.

“I will be in Bangladesh on October 27th for a week with my academy team and will meet the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) officials. Nazmul Abedin, the BCB’s game development manager is my friend and I will request him to make Gazi’s video available,” he added.

According to Manjeet, who has coached Indian spinners like Harbhajan Singh and Venugopal Rao in the past, doosra is a sort of chucking.

“Young bowlers have stopped mastering the art of spinning and are adopting

shortcuts to make gains,” he said.

“Abdur Razzak was already an established player but got caught since Bangladesh cricket is more based on limited-overs rather than longer version.

Not many longer version tournaments are played in Bangladesh like India where the Ranji Trophy is the base for developing batting and bowling skills.”

Manjeet has been the coach of Ranji Trophy side Punjab for six years and has also trained the region’s Under-22 and U-19 sides. He is running a cricket academy in Chandigarh. He also worked as a consultant for Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Pratisthan in two phases (2002-2005) and (2008-2011).

Manjeet believes bowlers with suspect actions should be tested during matches rather than being sent to laboratories. “The player becomes nervous when he is sent for testing. He also becomes over-cautious. This can be avoided if, with the same camera, their bowling action is scrutinised on the field itself in matches without being told to him,” he concluded. l

U-16 women booters vow to put up a fight n Shishir Hoque The Bangladesh Under-16 women’s football team vowed to give their best and put up a positive display in the forthcoming AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 Qualifiers scheduled to kick off this Wednesday at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The Bangladesh U-16 women’s football squad has been trimmed down to 23 members from the initial 42 following the conclusion of the 50-day long camp and head coach Golam Rabbani Choton believes his charges are prepared to fight it out against the opposition. “We trained twice a day at the BFF artificial turf and grafted hard during the training camp running 50 days. We also played a few practice matches against Narayanganj and the national team and it has boosted our confidence,” Choton told the media at the BFF House yesterday.

The U-16 women’s team played a total of six practice matches - two against Narayanganj and four against the national side. The youngsters defeated Narayanganj 2-0 and 5-0 besides winning and losing twice each against the national team.

“We had the tendency of losing the game even before taking the pitch but this time we will not give an inch to our opponents and fight till the end.

Bangladesh Under-16 women’s football captain Monika Chakma (R) speaks in a presser at the BFF House yesterday COURTESY Hopefully we will beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and after that we will give our 100 percent in order to go to the second round as the second team of the group,” said Choton.

Captain Monika Chakma was also adamant about doing well.

The sponsors of the event were also introduced by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) during the press conference yesterday. KFC and Amber Group are the sponsors while Channel 9 is the media partner who will telecast all the games live. KFC’s area manager Charles Mithun, sales and marketing

director of Amber Group Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman and Channel 9’s head of programme Tanvir Khan were present on the occasion.

BFF general secretary Abu Naeem Shohag and women’s wing deputy chairman Mahfuza Akter Kiron were also present and revealed the details of the event. Among Tk16.5m that will be required to host the event, AFC will provide Tk6m.

Bangladesh will begin their campaign against Jordan this Wednesday before facing the UAE, India and Iran on October 17, 19 and 23 respectively. l

14

Sport

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Monday, October 13, 2014

History-makers Poland down Germany n AFP, Paris It may have taken 19 attempts over 71 years but on Saturday Poland finally made history with a stunning first ever defeat of world champions Germany in a Euro 2016 qualifier in Warsaw.

Goals from Arkadiusz Milik and substitute Sebastian Mila earned the Poles a shock 2-0 victory and surprise ownership of the Group D summit.

The Republic of Ireland are flying high in second in Group D on the strength of a 7-0 drubbing of Gibraltar,

RESULTS Ireland

7-0

Gibraltar

Keane 6, 14, 18-P, McClean 46, 53, J Perez 52-og, Hoolahan 56

Scotland

1-0

Georgia

2-0

Germany

Khubutia 28-og

Poland Milik 51, Mila 88

Romania

1-1

Rusescu 45

Finland

1-1

Hurme 55

N Ireland

Hungary Dzsudzsak 82

Greece Karelis 24

2-0

Faroe Islands

McAuley 6, K Lafferty 21

Armenia

1-1

Arzumanyan 73

Albania Lenjani 38

Serbia Z Tosic 90

1-1

Denmark Vibe 81

with LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane firing them into a three-goal lead inside the first 20 minutes in Dublin.

Scotland are placed third ahead of the Germans on goal difference after what manager Gordon Strachan rated their best performance under his watch, a 1-0 win over Georgia at Ibrox.

In other results, Northern Ireland saw off the Faroe Islands 2-0 in Belfast to go top of Group F, Greece and Denmark were held to 1-1 draws

by Finland and Albania respectively, and Serbia needed a last minute goal to salvage a point in a 1-1 stalemate in Armenia.But it was Germany’s shock defeat that stole the headlines.

Ajax striker Milik gave the hosts the lead on 51 minutes, with Mila netting a late second to inflict Germany’s first defeat in a qualifier for seven years.

And Piszczek cautioned: “It means a lot for the country, but we need to stay focused and concentrate on our next game on Tuesday.”

Earlier, minnows Gibraltar were undone by Keane’s quick-fire hat-trick, a double from James McClean, an own goal from keeper Jordan Perez with the drubbing completed by Wes Hoolahan.

Keane has now scored 21 goals in European qualifiers which moves him one ahead of former Turkey striker Hakan Sukur. The Republic’s manager Martin O’In Glasgow, Scotland, who had shown plenty of promise in their their opening loss to the Germans, secured their first Euro 2016 qualifying win courtesy of a deflected Shaun Maloney strike in the 28th minute.l

Poland forward Arkadiusz Milik (R) celebrates after scoring as Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer reacts during their Euro 2016 group D qualifying match at the National stadium in Warsaw on Saturday REUTERS

Italy’s new strike duo need to deliver against Malta England’s Wilshere reveals n Reuters, Paris Italy’s new strike pairing of Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza hardly shined against Azerbaijan on Friday but are likely to be given another chance to establish themselves in Monday’s Euro 2016 Group H qualifier in Malta.

With Mario Balotelli still settling in at his new club Liverpool and Giuseppe Rossi once again plagued by injury, Conte handed his unlikely front duo a start in the 2-1 win in Palermo.

While neither found the target, both showed glimpses of why Conte had shown faith in them.

Immobile’s strength and movement created space for his team mates, despite opposition who were content to defend in numbers and the former To-

rino forward looks confident and determined following his close-season move to Germany’s Borussia Dortmund.

Zaza, who plays for Serie A minnows Sassuolo, has the skill-set to deliver moments of unexpected brilliance and he went close to a memorable goal with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

But the shaven-headed forward missed a clear chance from close range and both he and Immobile lacked decisiveness in the penalty area.

“It is not important that we didn’t score because we play to help the team win games,” said Immobile, who accepted however that “we had chances to kill the game before their equaliser”.

It was left to defender Giorgio Chiellini to score the Azzurri’s goals, either side of an own goal from the Italy centre back, and Conte was quick to point out that while his team had done well to secure the three points, their finish-

France midfielder Paul Pogba (2nd L) celebrates with team mates after scoring against Portugal during their friendly match at the Stade de France on Saturday REUTERS

Alonso, Pirlo inspiration

the coach, who took over from Cesare Prandelli after Italy’s first-round exit at the World Cup. It would be no surprise though if the pair start again on Monday although

the former Juventus coach does have a couple of interesting options.

Sebastian Giovinco brought Italy’s attack to life after coming on as a second-half substitute and hitting the bar as well as providing the cross for Chiellini’s winning header. But the Juventus forward was quick to praise the contribution of Immobile and Zaza in tiring out the Azerbaijan defence.

Netherlands goalkeeper Tim Krul and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum have withdrawn from the Euro 2016 qualifier in Iceland on Monday after picking up injuries during training, Dutch media reported on Sunday.

Krul, who is the back-up goalkeeper in the Dutch squad, hurt his elbow on Saturday and has been replaced for the trip to Reykjavik by Feyenoord’s Kenneth Vermeer.

Wijnaldum, who has hurt his knee, is not being replaced.l

Unhappy Jelavic quits Croatia n Reuters, Zagreb

Real face Mexican or Asian opponents in Club WC

Croatia striker Nikica Jelavic has quit the national team because he was unhappy with being an unused substitute in Friday’s 1-0 win in Bulgaria in a Euro 2016 qualifier, coach Niko Kovac said.

“I am sorry things panned out like this and I am really surprised by Jelavic’s course of action, but I accept his decision,” Kovac told the Croatian Football Association’s official website.

“I wish to thank him for everything he has done for the national team and I can only wish him the best of luck in life and in the rest of his club career.”

The 29-year old striker scored six goals in 36 appearances for Croatia having played second fiddle to Mario Mandzukic throughout his international career. l

n Reuters

ing was wayward.

“I couldn’t really ask for more from the lads, apart from the lack of sharpness in finishing in front of goal,” said

FIXTURES Kazakhstan Iceland Latvia Andorra Bosnia Wales Croatia Malta Norway

v v v v v v v v v

Czech Republic Netherlands Turkey Israel Belgium Cyprus Azerbaijan Italy Bulgaria

European champions Real Madrid will face Mexican side Cruz Azul or the yet to be determined club champions of Asia in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after the draw for the annual showpiece in host nation Morocco on Saturday.

The Spanish side are three-time winners of the tournament in its former guise as the Intercontinental Cup and will be favourites going into this year’s event that will be held in north Africa from Dec. 10 to 20.

Their opponents in the semi-finals could yet be one of three clubs, with Cruz Azul having already booked a quarter-final place against Western Sydney

n Reuters, London England midfielder Jack Wilshere has been watching clips of Xabi Alonso and Andrea Pirlo as he bids to fill the holding midfield void created by the international retirement of Steven Gerrard.

The hugely talented but often maligned Wilshere has played in a number of midfield roles for club and country but has yet to make any one position his own.

However, the retirement of Gerrard has left a void at the base of England’s midfield, a position Wilshere may be well-equipped to fill.

For much of his career Gerrard operated in an advanced position but in his twilight years was moved to the holding position at the base of a midfield diamond, first by Liverpool manager

Wanderers from Australia or Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, who must still contest the final of the Asian Champions League with the second leg on Nov. 1.

In the other half of the draw South American champions San Lorenzo of Argentina could face one of four sides.

Moroccan league winners Moghreb Tétouan have been entered to represent the host nation, but must first overcome the challenge of Oceania champions Auckland City in a playoff that will open the tournament on Dec. 10.

That will determine the quarter-final opponents for the winners of the African Champions League, with the final between ES Setif of Algeria and AS Vita Club from DR Congo. l

Brendan Rodgers and then England boss Roy Hodgson.

Wilshere, a self-proclaimed student of the game has been studying the much-celebrated pair of Alonso and Pirlo, two of the best exponents of the role.

“I have been watching Xabi Alonso on video in the past couple of weeks,” Wilshere told British reporters. “He had a record number of passes in one game, nearly 200 in one match, which is ridiculous.

“Watching players like him and Andrea Pirlo, you learn how clever they are, how intelligent they are on the ball.

“I get the clips through on my iPad. The analyst guys here send them to me and they highlight some of his key points, his key strengths. That’s part and parcel of learning.” l

CLUB WC DRAW

Playoff round: Dec. 10 - Moghreb Tétouan (Morocco) v Auckland City (New Zealand) Quarter-finals: Dec. 13 - African champions v Moghreb Tétouan/Auckland City Dec. 13 - Cruz Azul (Mexico) v Asia champions Semi-finals: Dec 16 - Real Madrid (Spain) v Cruz Azul/ Asian champions Dec 17 - San Lorenzo (Argentina) v Moghreb Tétouan/Auckland City/African champions Africa will be represented by ES Setif (Algeria) or AS Vita Club (DR Congo) and Asia by Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia) or Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

France beat sorry Portugal Star men Messi, Ronaldo in friendly shadows n AFP, Paris Karim Benzema scored an early goal and set up Paul Pogba’s winner as France beat Portugal 2-1 in an international friendly at the Stade de France on Saturday.

The Real Madrid striker outshone his clubmate Cristiano Ronaldo as France ripped into Portugal from the off, taking the lead after three minutes.

Under intense early pressure Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio could only parry Bacary Sagna’s shot, leaving Benzema to twist and convert unmarked on the six yard line.

Benzema then generously set up rising French star Pogba, the swashbuckling Juventus midfielder, to fire home a precise side-footed effort from just inside the box on 69 minutes after great work from Patrice Evra.

“We won with style and were really strong from the start. It was a great team performance,” Benzema said after the game.

It took Ronaldo until late in the first half to flicker into life. He looked to have the France back line beaten in the 51st minute but Steve Mandanda’s outstretched fingers stopped a deft header from finding the bottom corner of the net.

“That did me good to stop Ronaldo’s header, I’ll remember that,” Mandanda said after the game.

Ronaldo then claimed handball as his 75th minute snap-shot hit Raphael Varane’s arm, but the referee rightly judged the arm to be held to the defender’s body. The 2013 Ballon D’Or winner was then substituted and had an ice-pack put on his knee.

Seconds later Portugal were back in with a chance at 2-1 when Pogba clipped Joao Mario in the box. Ricardo Quaresma duly converted from the spot, sending his penalty down the middle as Mandanda dived right.

France have already qualified for Euro 2016 as hosts, but play against all the teams in Group I in friendlies as preparation. l

n AFP, Paris Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo spent a rare Saturday in the shadows as Argentina and Portugal slipped to defeats in friendly internationals staged more than 8,000km apart.

Messi missed a first-half penalty as Brazil beat Argentina 2-0 in a fiercely contested “Superclasico” in front of 50,000 fans in the Chinese capital.

Seven hours later, Ronaldo’s Portugal lost 2-1 to France in Paris.

At Beijing’s Olympic Stadium, journeyman Diego Tardelli was the unlikely hero with his first two goals for Brazil.

Atletico Mineiro striker Tardelli, 29, put Brazil ahead on 28 minutes, before Messi curled his soft penalty attempt close to goalkeeper Jefferson just before half-time.

Tardelli was on target again in the second half as Brazil restored pride after the World Cup, when the hosts were hammered in the semis while Argentina reached the final.

“Brazil are the best team in the world with a great tradition,” beamed coach Dunga, who is rebuilding following the 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany.

“We have no big players, we are now acting as one team. The whole team is evolving, including me.”

Barcelona icon Messi has now missed two successive penalties - two

weeks after he also miscued one for his club against Levante.

“We always try to win but today we couldn’t. It was a match defined by our two mistakes,” said Messi.

“The error for the first goal and the penalty were crucial. If I had converted, it could have changed the game.”

At the Stade de France in Paris, Karim Benzema scored an early goal and set up Paul Pogba’s winner as France beat Portugal.

Ronaldo, the 2013 Ballon D’Or winner, was later substituted and had an ice-pack put on his knee.

Seconds later Portugal were back in with a chance at 2-1 when Pogba clipped Joao Mario in the box.

Ricardo Quaresma duly converted from the spot, sending his penalty down the middle as Mandanda dived right.

France coach Didier Deschamps praised Benzema who had been overshadowed by the Ronaldo hype in the build-up to the game. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Monday, October 13, 2014

Bryans achieve another record with Masters slam

QUICK BYTES

I turned down PSG twice, says Mourinho Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admitted Sunday to twice turning down becoming coach of Paris Saint-Germain.

“I knew PSG’s project before it was initiated,” Mourinho said in an interview with TF1’s Telefoot programme. “Because I think I can say it, I was the first option to go with Leonardo.” According to the Portuguese coach, PSG twice offered him the manager’s job in the French capital, the first before the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in winter 2011, and then a second time when Ancelotti left to replace Mourinho himself at Real Madrid in summer 2013. “I gave it a lot of thought, but I had Madrid the first time and a return to Chelsea the second time around,” Mourinho said. “I’m in a club where I want to be, but a day will come when Mr. Abramovich will say ‘Jose, it’s over’,” he added when asked if there might be a chance of him joining PSG in the future. “To be a champion with PSG is not a something of another world. “To be a champion with England is fantastic for everybody because it’s very tough.

–AFP

n Reuters, Shanghai

Chinese teen Li Haotong wins Nanshan Nineteen-year-old Li Haotong on Sunday became the youngest winner of an Asia-Pacific OneAsia tournament, taking the Nanshan China Masters by shooting a final round one-under-par 70. “I think I am too young to win a Masters event,” Li joked. He finished the tournament at nine under, taking home $180,000 of the $1 million purse. Winds gusting up to 40 miles (64 kilometres) per hour added to the challenge on the final day. “I could not stand sometimes when I was putting as the wind was so strong. I never played in wind like this,” Li said. Australian Lee Jun Seok shot a 69 at the par-71 Nanshan International Golf Club to take second place while Todd Baek of Korea posted a 74 for third.

–AFP

Japan’s Tomita to be suspended for camera theft

Disgraced Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita will be banned from competing for around 18 months over his theft of a camera during the Asian Games, the nation’s swimming authority said Wednesday. The Japan Swimming Federation said in a statement, dated Tuesday, that its committees were recommending the governing body’s board suspend Tomita until March 2016. “An extraordinary board session will be convened on (October) 30th to discuss the proposal,” which would likely be adopted, a federation spokesman told AFP. Japan expelled Tomita from the Asian Games and promised strict punishment after he admitted stealing the $7,600 camera, belonging to a journalist for a South Korean news agency. Tomita, aged 25, was detained after police studied images from closed circuit TV cameras at the pool in Incheon.

–AFP

Wawrinka qualifies for World Tour Finals Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka has qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals according to organisers Barclays. It means the 29-year-old will join the already-qualified trio of world number one Novak Djokovic, French Open champion Rafael Nadal and newly crowned Shanghai Masters winner Roger Federer in the London event next month. Wawrinka qualified despite an early exit at the hands of Frenchman and beaten finalist Gilles Simon in Shanghai earlier this week.

It is the second time the Swiss has reached the season-ending finale. “It was my dream and goal to qualify again this year after the great experience in 2013,” he said. “The atmosphere in London is one of a kind and it means a lot to me to be there together with the very best players of the world.”

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 1:55 PM Sultan of Johor Cup Great Britain v India 3:55 PM Australia v Pakistan 5:55 PM Malaysia v New Zealand

Star Sports 2 7:20 PM Hero India Super League North East United FC v Kerala Blasters

Sony Six 09:50 PM Uefa Euro 2016 qualifiers Kazakhstan v Czech Republic

Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with his trophy after defeating France’s Gilles Simon in the men’s singles final at the Shanghai Masters in Shanghai yesterday

Federer downs injured Simon to win Shanghai Masters n Reuters, Shanghai Roger Federer claimed one of the few titles to have previously eluded him after he overcame a sluggish start to beat injured Frenchman Gilles Simon in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.

The Swiss 17-times grand slam singles champion triumphed 7-6 (6) 7-6 (2) to register his 23rd Masters Series title and first in China, where strong winds saw the roof on the Stadium Court closed for the hard court final.

The 33-year-old let off a huge roar and threw both fists into the air after a battling Simon could only net a return to hand the Swiss a fourth title of the year and 81st of an unparalleled career.

It had all begun so well for the unseeded Frenchman, who broke a sloppy, error strewn Federer in the opening game and comfortably held firm until he felt the pressure of serving for the set at 5-4 and began to creak.

With his first serve and accurate groundstrokes deserting him, Federer had two break points but wasted the first with an alarmingly high 14th unforced error only for Simon to hand him the game on the next point after netting a backhand.

A wobbling Simon fought off two set points on his next service game after finding his range with his first serve again to force a tiebreak with a booming ace as he refused to buckle in search

of his first Masters Series title.

The world number 29 then had a set point of his own in the tiebreak but Federer came up with an unreturnable first serve to snuff out the danger before producing a near-perfect backhand winner down the line to take the breaker 8-6.

Simon, who had knocked out Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka and sixth seed Tomas Berdych en route to the final, took a medical time out for treatment on a suspected groin problem at the end of the set and looked uncomfortable upon his return.

However, the Frenchman fought on admirably, digging himself out of some early holes to hold his six service games before threatening an unlikely

AFP

break in the 11th game of the set.

Having struggled to make an impact on the Federer serve throughout the set he fashioned two set points out of nowhere, only to waste both with groundstroke errors as Federer held on.

The Swiss then stepped it up in the breaker, firing some big serves and stunning winners to fashion four championship points with Simon folding on the first.

Federer, who will move above Rafa Nadal into second spot in the world rankings when they are updated on Monday, has now won seven of the nine different Masters Series events with only the clay court Monte Carlo and Rome tournaments eluding him. l

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan added another accolade to their lengthy resume after taking the Shanghai Masters men’s doubles title on Sunday to become the first pair to win all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.

The 35-year-old siblings defeated French Open champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2 7-6(3) on the Chinese hard court to take an unprecedented 101st career title in their 152nd final.

The Masters 1000 events are the top ranking tournaments on the ATP Tour outside of the grand slams with the Bryans now boasting 31 of them after multiple wins in Indian Wells, Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo, Miami, Toronto, Madrid and Cincinnati.

They also won the now defunct Hamburg Masters in 2007.

Sunday’s victory was their fifth Masters 1000 title of the season, a joint personal best, after they secured the year-end doubles number one ranking earlier this week for the 10th time.

“This week was full of them for us.

To come and get in the title match, have a shot at winning the tournament that’s eluded us, complete the Golden Masters, is amazing.

“It was really the last thing left for us to do. We can definitely shut it down today and be happy guys.”

The duo have also won 16 grand slam titles together, a record for a pair, and in 2012 became only the second team to complete a golden slam after they won the London Olympics doubles title. l

Stosur downs Diyas to take another Osaka title n Reuters, Tokyo Australia’s Samantha Stosur continued her love affair with the Osaka hardcourts by claiming a third Japan Open title after edging Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in Sunday’s final.

The top seed prevailed 7-6(7) 6-3 over her 20-year-old opponent, who was competing in her first WTA final.

The 2011 U.S. Open winner was broken in the first game of the match as Diyas confidently held on for a 5-3 advantage before losing serve for the first time as she tried to close the set out.

Diyas recovered in the tiebreak and held two set points but could not convert as the 30-year-old Stosur fought back to take it. Stosur then scored an early break at the start of the second set and claimed another to seal her sixth career title and first of the season. l

India level series after Marquez retains MotoGP title West Indies implosion n AFP, Motegi

n Cricinfo

BRIEF SCORE

Chasing 264, West Indies were coasting.

Dwayne Smith had gone past his highest ODI score, and his second-wicket partnership with Kieron Pollard was assuming threatening proportions.

With nine wickets in hand, a long list of batsmen waiting in the dressing room, and 128 required at exactly a run a ball, this was West Indies’ match to lose.

They went and lost it.

It started with the wicket of Pollard, who chased a wide ball and dragged Amit Mishra onto his stumps. From that point, West Indies imploded. On a two-paced Feroz Shah Kotla pitch,

India 263 for 7 (Kohli 62, Raina 62, Dhoni 51*, Taylor 3-54) West Indies 215 (Smith 97, Pollard 40, Shami 4-36, Jadeja 3-44) India won by 48 runs and level series 1-1 India’s bowlers put the brakes on the scoring, and panic took hold of the batsmen.

West Indies lost their last nine wickets for 79 runs, and their last eight for 45. l

Spanish sensation Marc Marquez retained his MotoGP championship by finishing runner-up behind countryman Jorge Lorenzo at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

“Two years in MotoGP, two titles.

It’s incredible,” the 21-year-old Honda rider told reporters. “I couldn’t have imagined it. Maybe to people it looked easy because I am always smiling and always happy, but also I feel pressure.”

Marquez, who last year became MotoGP’s youngest world champion, celebrated in flamboyant fashion, accepting a ceremonial sword from a samurai warrior and a golden helmet from a kimono-clad beauty emblazoned with his number 93 and “world champion”,

which he wore on his lap of honour.

Lorenzo won at Motegi on his Yamaha as he did last year, finishing in 42 minutes 21.259 seconds to back up his victory at Aragon two weeks ago, with Marquez behind him and Valentino Rossi third for Yamaha.

Marquez’s second place gave him an unassailable gap of 82 points from Rossi and Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa with three races remaining this season.

“I had the chance to keep the party open for the championship for another week,” said seven-times premier class champion Rossi, who had fought tooth and nail to prevent Marquez passing him nine laps from the end at Motegi’s Twin Ring circuit.

“I tried the maximum. Unfortunately it was not enough.”l

In-form Hamilton wins in Russia, Mercedes take teams’ crown

‘Pietersen book tarnishes England era’

n AFP, Sochi

n Reuters, London

Lewis Hamilton reeled off his fourth consecutive victory to extend his lead in the Formula One drivers’ title race and secure Mercedes’ maiden triumph in the constructors’ championship on Sunday when he won the inaugural Russian Grand Prix in emphatic fashion.

The 29-year-old Briton, starting from his 38th pole position, cruised to the 31st success of his career to draw level with fellow-Englishman Nigel Mansell in the record books, finishing the race 13.657 seconds ahead of Mercedes team-mate and nearest rival German Nico Rosberg. Hamilton’s win lifted him 17 points clear of Rosberg.

Hamilton now has 291 points to Rosberg’s 274 with three races remaining.

Just a week after Jules Bianchi’s life-threatening accident in the stormhit Japanese Grand Prix, where the French driver suffered severe head injuries, the race was preceded by tributes to support his fight for life in hospital in Yokkaichi.

Hamilton’s win was his ninth this year and the result delivered Mercedes’ ninth one-two of the season as they ended Red Bull’s four-year dominance of the teams’ crown. They will now aim to beat McLaren’s record of 10 wins set in 1988.

Finn Valtteri Bottas finished third for Williams ahead of Briton Jenson Button and his McLaren team-mate, Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen, with two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Spain finishing sixth for Ferrari after an inspired, but troubled, drive. l

England captain Alastair Cook is “hurt” by accusations made in Kevin Pietersen’s controversial autobiography, believing they have “tarnished” the team’s highly successful period under former captain Andrew Strauss.

Speaking for the first time since the release of Pietersen’s book ‘KP’, Cook refuted the sacked batsman’s allegations of a bullying culture in the England dressing room and said the furore caused has damaged the sport.

“I think it’s been a really sad week for cricket. We have to draw a line under it at some stage and this is a good time,” Cook told the BBC on Saturday.

“International cricket is a tough place and, as a team, you’re striving for

excellence at all times.

“Certainly at some stages those frustrations boiled over more than they should have done, but that was only people who were desperate to succeed and wanting to know the other 10 blokes around them were committed 100 percent to it also.

“I am very proud of the era I have played in. To win three Ashes, to become the best side in the world, to play with some great players. I really only have fond memories of that,” Cook explained.

“I am incredibly proud to have contributed in that period. To play under Andrew Strauss, to have played under Andy Flower as coach, I have only got respect for these guys. I do believe that era has been tarnished, and I am sad about that.”l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BARDHAMAN BLAST

‘Terrorists were making IEDs’ n Our Correspondent, Kolkata Indian National Investigation Agency has unveiled that terrorists at Bardhaman were not only making grenades, but also sophisticated time-controlled and remote-controlled IEDs (improvised explosive device) at their Khagragarh hideout.

It was also learnt that the explosion on October 2 took place after a trigger wire of a time bomb was accidentally clipped by the bomb makers.

The information was unveiled after investigators grilled Abdul Hakim, who was arrested on Tuesday regarding the blast.

Apart from time bombs, the militants were also conducting a research on making remote-controlled IEDs. Hakim also told investigators that Shakil Ahmed and Sovon Mondol, the two people who died in the blast, tried hard to defuse the bomb after the trigger wire activated the device.

The blast ripped off a portion of the room’s door and the splinters injured Hakim, who was in the next room.

Hakim is now receiving treatment at Kolkata’s PG Hospital.

Meanwhile, Indian CID officers have said the prime accused in the Bardhaman blast, Sk Kausar, may have escaped to Bangladesh via Hakimpur bordering Nadia and North 24-Parganas, Times of India reported yesterday.

The report also said investigators were now trying to reconstruct his 100km escape route that he used to sneak into Bangladesh.

According to CID, Kauser left the spot immediately after the blast but did not leave the place till the next day.

They also had reasons to believe that the terrorist stayed in a lodge at Bhatar, just 23 kilometres from Burdwan town.

Dhaka closely monitoring ISIL development n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Monday, October 13, 2014

LOCKED IN GRIDLOCK

Drivers of long-haul vehicles park their buses haphazardly to collect passengers in Shimrail of Narayanganj blocking the movement of other modes of transports yesterday

n Reuters

Indian firing across a disputed border with Pakistan has killed 12 civilians and injured 52 in Pakistan so far this month, according to a Sunday press release from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry.

Sartaj Aziz, the adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, said officials from the UNMOGIP, a UN observation team, were going to the disputed border to observe the ceasefire violations.

He also appealed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday for

assistance in solving the long-running dispute with India over the status of Kashmir, according to the press release.

Since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, the two nuclear rivals have fought three wars, two over Kashmir.

Pakistan revived its demand for Kashmiris to be allowed to hold a plebiscite to decide the region’s future, as called for by a UN resolution adopted in 1948. India has long opposed a plebiscite.

“For decades, Pakistan has been reminding the United Nations and the

international community to fulfill that promise, in the interest of durable peace and security in the region,” Aziz said in his letter to Ban Ki-moon.

Former president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf had said in 2003 that he was prepared to set aside that demand in an effort to reach a settlement over Kashmir.

The disputed border running through Kashmir is heavily militarised on both sides. India frequently accuses Pakistan of backing militants who slip across the border and mount attacks in India.

Vultures on the verge of extinction n Abu Bakar Siddique

A cattle drug that has played a deadly role in critically endangering the wild vulture population remains on the market four years after its production was banned by the government.

A study conducted by the forestry department and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found diclofenac, a painkiller administered to cattle, available in 24% of 200 pharmacies sampled.

Diclofenac sold under the FNF and Chemist brands were the most widely available forms of the prohibited drug, according to the study.

Ketoprofen, a substitute for diclofenac which is also lethal for vultures, was found in 40% of the sampled drug stores.

Experts, including leading vulture specialist Professor Monirul H Khan, suggest that ketoprofen also be banned.

He suggests the use of meloxicam as a substitute painkiller even though it is costlier.

The IUCN says the vulture population in the Indian sub-continent has plummeted from 40 million birds to a current population estimated to be below 10,000 representing a 99.9% drop in just 20 years.

Bangladesh has fewer than 500 vultures. Of the three indigenous species of the vulture, the country has already lost 2 species – the Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and the Red-headed vulture (Sarcogypscalvus).

The White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) locally known as ‘Bangla Shokun’ can still be found here but is listed by the IUCN as a critically endan-

RAJIB DHAR

Pakistan: 12 killed in border clashes with India

Vultures critically endangered: Banned veterinary drug diclofenac is a major culprit SOURCE: FOREST DEPARTMENT & IUCN

How it works Diclofenac is given to cattle

Vultures ingest diclofenac from cattle carcass ass

Points i to ponder • A 30 ml vial of diclofenac is enough to kill around 500 vultures • 99.9% decrease in Indian subcontinent vulture population in just 20 years • In Bangladesh the total vulture population is below 500 • Of 3 indigenous species of vulture, the country has already lost 2 gered species.

The main reason for the catastrophic decline of the vulture population is the use of diclofenac and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as painkillers to treat livestock across Asia.

In October 2010, the government banned the production of diclofenac for cattle because it causes kidney damage in vultures.

A single contaminated carcass can cause the death of a whole flock of vultures. Scientists estimate that a 30 millilitre vial of diclofenac is enough to kill 500 vultures.

The effects of diclofenac on vultures are renal failure, drooping posture and loss of flight because vultures do not

Vultures suffer: renal failure, loss of flight and ultimately death.

Vultures lack the enzyme in their body to break ddown diclofenac

Ecologists advocated the use of meloxicam as a substitute for diclofenac

VETERINARY DRUGS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

S HER T O

12%

have the enzyme needed to metabolise the drug.

The IUCN says its survey was carried out in more than 200 local drug stores in greater Sylhet, greater Mymensingh and greater Khulna.

Twenty-five different veterinary painkillers made by 18 different companies were found on sale in the course of the study.

Producers of the drug included 13 Bangladeshi companies, 3 Indian and two Korean manufacturers.

The survey team found the banned drug in Trishal (Mymensingh), Taraganj (Rangpur) and Syedpur (Nilphamary), Modhupur (Tangail), Khulna Sadar (Khulna), Navaron (Jessore), Sharsha

40%

24% M

KE T FEN RO OP

The Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the evolving situation in Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is creating anarchy.

“Terrorism and extreme violence are sensitive issues for Bangladesh and we are closely monitoring the activities of the ISIL,” said a Foreign Ministry official.

The ministry discussed the issue in details in a meeting held yesterday, which was attended by senior officials.

Another ministry official said a stance on the issue was yet to be taken, adding: “We will take a stance after analysing all the aspects as the situation is changing very fast in the Middle East.”

He said Bangladesh supports territorial integrity and stability of both Syria and Iraq.

“Bangladesh will engage in the issue if any resolution is adopted at the United Nations. Without UN backing and endorsement, we will not support any action,” he added.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam on September 25 attended a high-level UN Security Council summit chaired by US President Barack Obama. A resolution was adopted against foreign fighters and their financing at the conference.

A Foreign Ministry official said the UNSC resolution was binding for all the member countries and Bangladesh would do whatever necessary to implement it. l

He decamped after getting to know about the blast from Amina Bibi, now in custody, over the phone.

The investigating officers, after speaking to the locals, confirmed that he left his motorcycle at Khetia village, some 10 kilometres from Bardhaman.

“We have come to know that he took one person and rode off, but the locals failed to identify them as they were wearing helmets.

“At this stage, we cannot say with certainty whether the man who was riding with Kausar came back to the village or left for somewhere else,” a CID officer told the TOI. The officers said from Khetia, Kausar travelled another 13 kilometres to reach Bhatar and stayed there in a lodge for the night.

The investigators have zeroed in on one hotelier from whom they came to know that Kausar stayed in a lodge for the night but they are not sure how he travelled from Khetia to Bhatar.

The next morning — October 3 — he took the Bardhaman-Katwa road that touches NH34 and reached Krishnagar.

“His mode of escape shows he is seasoned. He did not leave on the same day but wanted to observe the development.

Secondly, he could have taken a shorter route via Dhatrigram from where Krishnagar is just 34 kilometres. Instead, he took a detour to reach Krishnagar via Bhatar.” an investigating officer said.

“Kausar took the safest route to cross the border through Hakimpur, which is another 47 kilometres from Krishnagar.”

However, the CID officers are not sure about the exact day he crossed the border.

But, they believe that he had at least five facilitators who arranged the logistics for a safe transit. l

Back Page

DICLOFENAC

16

24%

E LO

XIC A M

(Jessore) and Benapole (Jessore).

The highest number of diclofenac sellers were found in Jessore.

Vultures play an important ecological role not only as scavengers but also as natural cleaners. They minimize outbreaks of diseases like anthrax and rabies.

The Bangladesh National Vulture Recovery Committee headed by an additional secretary of the Environment and Forest Ministry recently decided to demarcate greater Sylhet and Khulna as Vulture Safe Zones.

The total area of the Vulture Safe Zones in greater Sylhet and Khulna will be 19,663 and 27,717 square kilometres respectively. l

Since the beginning of October, Pakistan and India have been firing mortars and machine-guns across the border, leading to the highest death toll in a decade among civilians on both sides.

It is unclear what started the intense firing, although officers who have served on the disputed Line of Control say small incidents can rapidly escalate as each side responds with ever-increasing force.

India controls more than half of the disputed Himalayan region, and Pakistan controls around a third, while China holds 10% of the territory. l

Musa Ibrahim interested in politics n Mushfique Wadud Musa Ibrahim, the first Bangladeshi to conquer Mount Everest, expressed interest in joining politics at a discussion event in Sadullahpur Press Club in Gaibandha, on Saturday evening.

However, he did not mention which party he wanted to join.

Speaking at the event, Musa said Bangladesh is doing well in improving sanitation, healthcare, agriculture, child mortality reduction, and so on compared to many neighbouring countries.

He said that he would join constructive politics in the future to continue the development of this country.

The discussion, which followed a reception in Musa’s honour at the Noldanga Shahid Minar premises in Sadullahpur in Gaibandha, was also attended by the local Awami League and Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal leaders.

However, when contacted, Musa admitted to saying he wanted to join politics, but claimed he was not serious about it.

“I was not serious when I said that.

It was just table talk,” he said.

He added that he would consider joining politics in 10 to 20 years, not immediately.

But when asked whether he would join any existing political party or form a new one, he did not answer.

Musa became a celebrity overnight after conquering Mount Everest in 2010. Recently, there have been controversies as to whether he was the first Bangladeshi to do so. l

Second Texas Ebola case deals blow to global battle against the outbreak n AFP

A Texas health care worker who treated an Ebola victim has tested positive for the deadly tropical fever, dealing a blow to the worldwide battle to stem the outbreak.

More than 4,000 people have died of Ebola in seven countries since the start of the year, according to the World Health Organisation, and the epidemic appears to be outpacing efforts to fight it.

If preliminary test results are confirmed, the Texas patient would be the second person diagnosed with the illness and apparently the first to con-

tract it on US soil, a day after US airports began screening travellers from epidemic-hit west Africa.

“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we have been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”

The health care worker from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas reported a low-grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing, Texas health services said in a

statement early Sunday. They did not further identify the worker nor detail how exposure to the virus occurred.

The hospital had treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died on Wednesday. Duncan was believed to have been infected with Ebola before he left Liberia and boarded a plane to visit family in Texas.

The latest Texas case underlines United Nations fears and growing concerns in the United States about Ebola, for which there is no vaccine or widely available treatment.

“The virus is far ahead of us and every day the situation gets worse,” the

head of the United Nations’ emergency Ebola mission, Anthony Banbury, told UN leaders after a tour of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the nations worst affected by the worst-ever outbreak of the disease.

Passengers from the three countries arriving at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York will have their temperatures taken and be screened for signs of illness and answer questions about possible exposure, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Four other major US airports are to start similar checks next week.

Nurse’s condition improves

In Spain, attention remained focused on 44-year-old Teresa Romero, the Madrid nurse who became the first person to get infected with the haemorrhagic fever outside of Africa.

Her condition had “improved in the night. She is conscious and talks from time to time when she is in a good mood,” a hospital source told AFP. Romero’s brother also confirmed that his sister was improving.

Teresa Romero is thought to have contracted the disease in late September in a Madrid hospital while caring for a Spanish missionary infected with

Ebola in Africa who later died.

‘Not all Africa’

The WHO reported 4,033 people have died from Ebola as of October 8 out of a total of 8,399 registered cases in seven countries. The sharp rise in deaths came as the UN said aid pledges to fight the epidemic have fallen well short of the $1bn needed. IMF chief Christine Lagarde pleaded on Saturday for the world to remember that not all of Africa had been hit with Ebola.

“We should be very careful not to terrify the planet in respect of the whole of Africa.” l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 China’s central bank

sees ‘very low’ risk of hard landing

B4 IMF-World Bank: Build infrastructure to fight malaise

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Four private banks violate bank board rules Family groups not only dominating the bank boards but also posing risk to banking sector n Jebun Nesa Alo The four private banks’ authorities have long been violating the bank company act, putting their family members on the board of directors.

According to the bank company act, 2013, one year after the amended law came into effect in July 2013, the banks’ board cannot comprise more than two members of a single family.

The time line, however, expired on July 22, but the four banks still continue their dominion over the board of directors with their family members at the helm.

The banks include National Bank, Premier Bank, The City Bank and First Security Islami Bank.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday sent letters to those banks’ authorities, asking them to comply with the bank company act within the seven working days.

“We have instructed the four banks to comply with the act,” said Saiful Islam, deputy general manager, Banking Regulation and Policy Department under the central bank.

Of the four, National Bank board of directors was dominated by Sikder family while Premier Bank by Iqbal family, First Security by S Alam family and the City Bank by Deen Mohammad family members.

Earlier, the central bank alerted the four banks several times for compliance with the act, but to no avail, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

He said the family groups of four banks’ authorities not only dominated the respective bank boards but also posing risk to banking sector by owing huge loans, violating rules.

The financial health of National bank has already deteriorated in the wake of alleged irregularities committed by Sikder Group.

SME fair begins November 12 n Tribune Report A two-day Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) financing fair will be kicked off in the capital on November 12 with an aim at ensuring easy accesses to credit for the entrepreneurs.

Both the SME Foundation and Bangladesh Bank (BB) will jointly organise the fair titled “SME Financing Fair” at the Hotel Sonargaon.

Besides, names of the winners for SME Banking Award-2014 will also be announced at the inaugural session of the fair, according to a statement issued by the SME Foundation yesterday.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to inaugurate the fair in presence of BB Governor Atiur Rahman. Banks and non-banking financial institutions  B3 COLUMN 5

National Bank Managing Director Shafiqur Rahman has recently resigned over the pressure of Sikder family, taking blame that he helped the central bank find out irregularities gripping the bank.

Bangladesh Bank in its recent investigation detected huge irregularities in loan disbursement of First Security Islami Bank.

The scams took place allegedly with the support of the bank’s board members. The central bank has also set time for the bank to recover the loans, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

According to the bank company act, 2013, one year after the amended law came into effect in July 2013, the banks’ board cannot comprise more than two members of a single family S Alam Group not only dominated its own bank but also banking sector, the official said, adding that the group holds a loan of above Tk7,000 crore to around 16 banks.

Maximum loans were taken, exceeding the single borrower exposure limit.

As a result the group is considered risky as a borrower in the banking sector. The central bank, however, asked several banks including four state-owned banks to bring down the loan, held by the S Alam group, within the limit to curb the risk for banking sector. l

Investors crowd at a broker house in the capital yesterday as the stock market opened after a nine-day break

RAJIB DHAR

CSE introduces two new stock indices n Tribune Report Chittagong Stock Exchange Limited (CSE) yesterday launched two new indices – CSE Shariah Index (CSI) and CSE-50 benchmark index (CSE-50) with base point of 1,000 each.

The indices could be followed by the investors to track the performance of the market and Shariah compliant securities respectively that form part of all listed companies on the CSE other than mutual funds and corporate bonds, CSE said in a statement.

The CSI includes 63 Shariah compliant stocks from 17 broad sectors. The stock exchange authorities reviewed past performance of the all CSE listed stocks to prepare the index. The index will also be updated every six months after reviewing the performance of existing scrips.

Unlike shariah-based DSES of Dhaka Stock Exchange, the CSI will have access for all. Investors, individuals or institutions require paying fees to know the companies under the DSES index that had been launched on January 20.

CSI comprises of Shariah compliant stocks, representing 48.6% of the total market capitalisation and around 41.35% of float-adjusted market capitalisation of the CSE listed companies.

It will be used by the investors who want to track performance of shariah compliant securities that forms part of all listed companies on CSE. Globally, product on shariah indices are available and increasing interest is seen in investing in such products by investors.

Top 50 of the companies listed with CSE have been selected for the CSE 50 index on the basis of their market cap-

ital, liquidity position and financial viability. Initially, the 50 companies include 13 broad sectors of the economy.

The CSE will review the performance of the companies every six months to keep the index updated.

The CSE 50 will be ideally used for portfolio benchmarking, launching Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Index Funds tracking Bangladesh market, issuances of index-linked products such as Structured Products (SP), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) and development of derivatives.

All common shares listed on the CSE are eligible for inclusion in the CSE 50 index. Corporate bonds, mutual funds and securities which are classified under ‘Z’ category are not eligible for the index.

Companies that have traded more than 75% of trading days during last

six-month period or from date of listing (whichever is latest) are only selected. The remaining companies are then ranked by traded values and bottom 10% companies are not considered.

Prior to January 2012, total market capitalisation is considered instead of float-adjusted market capitalisation. The CSE 50 is computed using a float-adjusted, market capitalisation weighted methodology, wherein the level of the index reflects the total market value of all the stocks in the index relative to a particular base period.

India Index Services and Products Limited, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India, designed and developed the CSE-50 when another Indian company, Taqwa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions, developed the CSI. l

BD to update EU Sustainability Compact BTRC refunds Tk300cr n against 3G performance bank guaranttee Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh will place its scorecard before the European Commission on the development of readymade garment sector that it achieved during the last one year.

Bangladesh formed partnership with the EC, US and the International Labour Organistaion to improve labour rights and factory safety in the country after the collapse of Rana Plaza April last year.

Bangladesh will update the progress so far made in RMG sector at the review meeting to be held at Brussels on October 20, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will lead the delegation comprising of Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, Labour Secretary Mikail Shi-

par, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam and a labour leader. The team will leave Dhaka on October 17.

“We will attend the meeting to hold out the progress made over the last one year to ensure workers’ rights and safety for the RMG workers and to make the sector sustainable,” Shipar said.

Bangladesh has fulfilled all the EU conditions except appointment of 200 inspectors and formulating rules of Labour Act 2013, said Shipar.

Appointment of the inspectors is likely to be completed by October 20 as all necessary steps have already been taken while making rules on labor act is also under progress, he added.

After the deadliest incident of Rana Plaza building collapse, the European Union Sustainability Compact was taken in July last year with an aim at

improving labour rights, working conditions and factory safety in RMG industry in Bangladesh.

Labour rights, health and safety at work, responsible business conduct, labour laws, export process zones, appointment of labour inspectors, better work programme, structural integrity of building and occupation safety will be discussed in the review meeting.

In the compact, all parties agreed to a number of time-bound actions, including reforming the Bangladesh Labour Law, improving building and fire safety by June 2014 and recruiting 200 additional inspectors by the end of 2013.

The government amended labour act, launched publicly accessible data base of RMG workers, appointed 88 inspectors through the Public Service Commission (PSC) and completed most of the factory inspection. l

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The telecom regulator recently released Tk300 crore performance bank guaranty for fulfilling the third generation network rollout obligation for four private mobile phone operators that took licences in September last year.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) released Tk150 crore of market leader operator Grameenphone as it covered all 64 districts within only six months after having the licence. BTRC only released Tk50 crore PBG for Robi, Airtel and Banglalink as they have only ful-

filled the obligation of first phase.

According to the 3G guidelines, in their first phase, the operators are obligated to deploy network to seven divisional headquarters within nine months from the licence issue date.

In second phase, the operators are obligated to cover 30% districts headquarters by 18 months, and in third phase they have to cover all 64 districts by 36 months, and PBG release depends on fulfilling the rollout obligation.

All these four operators were awarded 3G licences on September 2013 and nine months after BTRC formed a com  B3 COLUMN 6

NBR hopes 14 lakh TIN holders to file returns n Tribune Report National Board of Revenue (NBR) is expecting that a total of 14 lakh taxpayers, who are registered with Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN), will file their returns this year before the expiry of the extended deadline on November 2.

NBR Chairman Ghulam Hussain yesterday expressed the hope while unveiling the “Tax Guide 2014-15” published by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at NBR headquarters in the capital.

Last year, around 9.5 lakh taxpayers filed their tax returns

out of a total around 17 lakh TIN holders.

The DCCI publishes the tax guide every year after the national budget to create awareness among the taxpayers.

Among others, DCCI Ppresident Mohammad Shahjahan Khan, its directors and top NBR officials attended the programme.

“The deadline set for tax return submission on November 2 won’t be extended further. If the taxpayers face any problem, they can get supports from the respective tax offices within the stipulated time frame,” said the NBR chairman.

He expected the tax guide

would help in enhancing tax-related knowledge among people and also facilitate the taxpayers in filing the income tax returns as it is a critical process.

The Tax Guide 2014-15 covers up-to-date information on income tax, customs duty, supplementary duty and value added tax (VAT) to help the business entrepreneurs, banks, non-banking financial institutions, insurance companies and other corporate business houses to understand the taxation system of the country.

Along with the core issues, the tax guide also covers different schedules, statutory regulatory orders and other orders. l

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman M Khairul Hossain formally receives the certificate of the Commission’s becoming ‘A’ category regulator at a function in Rio De Jeniro recently. International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) upgraded the BSEC’s status on December 22 last year

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSE GAINER

Stocks off to cheerful start after Eid holidays

DSE key features October 12, 2014

Traded Issues

306

n Tribune Report

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

244

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

59

most posting a rise of over 5% and 1.8% respectively.

Power sector made decent gains of 1.2% and pharmaceuticals closed almost 1% higher. Profit taking took place on food and allied and telecommunications sectors.

Turnover at DSE stood at Tk920 crore, falling 2.3% over previous session’s value.

IDLC Investments said strong interest in capital market fueled in accelerating the bull-run further.

“Investors were highly active during the session. Notably, the participation was highly concentrated in fuel and power, bank and textile, making up more than 46% of total trade.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said DSE settled in the green, racking up sixth week of gains following a buoyant closing before Eid vacation.

It said market continued to beat its record single day return with 96 points gain – the highest ever gain in this year.

Mostly financial stocks led the day at new pick point, where banking stocks gave 5.2% return and NBFI moved up by 1.8%.

NBFIs are capitalising on their declining costs of funds and improved economic conditions. Between July last year and the same month this year, the average cost of funds for NBFIs dropped nearly 13%, Bangladesh Bank data shows.

Summit Power topped the liquidity chart accumulating a total turnover of Tk34 crore. l

Stock market began the first day of trading yesterday after nine-day Eid and weekend holidays with buoyant sentiment, keeping the gaining streak for the fourth straight session.

The market opened the session on a positive note and remained upbeat for the entire session, witnessing heavy buy pressure in the last hour of trade.

Strong interest in capital market fueled in accelerating the bull-run further The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, moved up further at a new high over 5,300 points.

It gained more than 96 points or almost 2% and stood at 5,334.

The other two indices - DSES and DS30 – trailed along with the broader index, going up by 1.3% and 0.3% respectively.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, rose 313 points to 9,995.

The stock market closed on October 3 for five-day Eid-ul-Azha and four-day weekend holidays.

Among the large cap sectors, banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) appreciated the

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

Eastern Housing -A Safko Spinning-A Brac B.C. Bond-A ACI Formulations-A Popular Life Insu. -A Meghna Life Ins. -A Envoy Textiles Ltd-N Agni Systems -A SAIF Powertec-N Ratanpur Steel -N

-4.77 -4.29 -4.13 -3.80 -3.71 -3.59 -3.57 -3.56 -3.41 -3.37

CSE LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

Rahima Food -Z Padma Islami Life*-N Ambee Pharma -A Sandhani Life -A Bangas -A ACI Formulations-A Eastern Housing -A National Life I -A Rangpur Foundry -A MJL BD Ltd.-A

-7.64 -7.63 -5.84 -5.46 -4.75 -4.44 -4.27 -3.92 -3.68 -3.23

5334.03742

(+) 1.84%

1998.69785

(+) 0.28%

16440.4048

(+) 1.95%

13336.6038

(+) 1.37%

9995.3183

(+) 2.19%

Average (% Change) -4.42 -4.25 -4.13 -3.49 -1.09 -0.53 -1.83 -2.00 2.15 -0.33 Average (% Change) -7.55 -5.83 -6.10 -2.07 -3.54 -4.09 -3.83 -3.92 -3.68 -4.84

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 53.86 27.24 1021.00 146.18 203.75 111.96 60.06 32.83 60.72 75.07

ClosingAvg. 50.80 43.93 240.20 67.32 365.39 145.46 53.99 245.00 102.10 144.36

Closing 53.90 26.80 1021.00 144.40 205.00 110.20 59.50 32.50 59.40 74.60

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 1509.85 727.44 288.84 715.83 286.18 1759.34 0.72 965.34 956.47 33.63 154.59 65.43 118.69 269.46 80.48 201.61 334.66 339.11 144.87 200.54 0.48

DHIGH 54.50 28.20 1021.00 153.90 218.00 116.50 62.00 34.20 63.50 78.50

DHIGH

50.80 43.60 240.20 67.50 360.60 144.30 53.80 245.00 102.10 143.80

50.80 44.20 240.20 70.00 376.00 149.00 54.50 245.00 102.10 148.00

9,153.56 274,200,607

Number of Contract

174,786

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,796.96 33.90

32.70

CSE key features October 12, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

619.84

Turnover (Volume)

21,664,502

Number of Contract

23,148

Traded Issues

235

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

187

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

45

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,696.78

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.69

Turnover in Million

DLOW 49.00 26.80 1021.00 144.00 199.10 108.00 55.60 31.00 59.00 74.00

50.80 43.00 240.20 65.10 360.00 144.00 53.80 245.00 102.10 143.00

Latest EPS

34.777 5.668 0.005 35.106 14.670 18.242 42.225 25.457 53.032 78.193

Turnover in Million

DLOW

% change 16.49 7.95 3.16 7.82 3.13 19.22 0.01 10.55 10.45 1.69 0.71 1.30 2.94 0.88 2.20 3.66 3.70 1.58 2.19 0.01

Million Taka 104.32 37.94 15.67 47.11 13.60 89.04 97.25 47.32 10.47 13.72 6.66 16.08 27.79 13.50 8.36 15.53 20.90 27.74 25.44 0.00

CSE

% change 16.34 5.94 2.45 7.38 2.13 13.95 0.00 15.23 7.41 1.64 2.15 1.04 2.52 4.35 2.12 1.31 2.43 3.27 4.35 3.98 0.00

2.93 1.06 0.00 3.36 17.00 6.45 2.04 1.27 1.63 3.03

Latest EPS

0.051 0.351 0.012 0.088 1.535 3.127 0.907 0.037 0.051 15.715

Million Taka 1614.17 765.38 304.51 762.94 299.79 1848.39 0.72 1062.58 1003.80 44.10 168.31 72.09 134.77 297.25 93.98 209.96 350.19 360.01 172.61 225.97 0.48

AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Trust Bank-A Agrani Insurance -A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Khulna Power-A G Next Fashions-A Takaful Islami Insu-A Standard Bank -A Mercantile Insur -A IFIL Islamic M.F.1-A

Closing (% Change) 10.00 9.87 9.71 9.68 9.65 9.64 9.63 9.49 9.36 9.26

CSE GAINER

-1.01 1.10 3.18 2.12 3.35 3.36 2.93 12.46 3.20 5.04

Latest PE 18.4 25.7 43.5 12.0 17.4 29.4 25.9 37.3 24.8

Company Dhaka Bank -A Khulna Power-A Islami Ins.BD-A Janata Insur -A Islamic Finance-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A G Next Fashions-A Standard Bank -A Prime Insur -A LR Global BD MF1-A

10.00 9.89 9.87 9.73 9.68 9.68 9.58 9.56 9.45 9.43

Average (% Change) 9.93 9.32 12.31 8.00 9.68 10.29 8.47 9.32 9.39 8.68

ClosingAvg.

Closing

5.49 16.53 22.11 27.09 58.79 17.90 32.57 14.77 21.94 5.86

ClosingAvg.

5.50 16.70 22.60 27.20 59.10 18.20 33.00 15.00 22.20 5.90

Closing

21.58 58.44 25.45 19.97 20.06 27.00 17.92 14.66 22.02 5.76

22.00 58.90 25.60 20.30 20.40 27.20 18.30 14.90 22.00 5.80

DHIGH 5.50 16.70 22.60 27.20 59.20 18.20 33.10 15.00 22.30 5.90

DHIGH 22.00 58.90 25.60 20.30 20.40 27.20 18.30 14.90 22.10 5.80

DLOW 5.20 13.70 19.50 26.00 50.00 15.10 29.00 13.00 20.30 5.50

DLOW 19.90 50.00 25.00 19.20 19.40 25.50 16.90 13.80 21.40 5.50

Turnover in Million 4.736 17.837 3.737 150.794 224.694 159.232 24.868 55.615 14.878 2.609

Turnover in Million 0.693 3.483 0.102 0.046 2.638 16.728 25.515 4.318 0.099 0.219

Latest EPS -0.56 1.82 1.98 4.34 6.42 2.06 1.50 2.26 2.00 1.07

Latest EPS 1.76 6.42 1.70 1.00 1.50 4.34 2.06 2.26 1.28 0.64

Latest PE -ve 9.1 11.2 6.2 9.2 8.7 21.7 6.5 11.0 5.5

Latest PE 12.3 9.1 15.0 20.0 13.4 6.2 8.7 6.5 17.2 9.0

News, analysis and recent disclosers From TradeServers: SQURPHARMA: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on March 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders' BO Account on October 01, 2014.

POPULARLIF: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on October 16, 2014 at 4:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

PROVATIINS: Emerging Credit Rating Limited (ECRL) has assigned the rating of the Company as "A+" in the long term and "ECRL-2" in the short term along with a stable outlook to the Company based on the analysis of Company data for four financial years (FY 2010-2013).

ILFSL: Emerging Credit Rating Limited (ECRL) has assigned the rating of the Company as "A-" in the long term and "ECRL-3" in the short term along with a Developing outlook to the Company based on audited financial statements up to December 31, 2013, unaudited financial statements of the first half of 2014 and other available quantitative and qualitative information up to date of rating.

ABBANK: The Company has informed that Bangladesh Bank has accorded its approval to AB Bank Limited's taking over of a further 10% shares in "Cashlink Bangladesh Limited", thereby rising its shareholding in the Company to 100%. Cashlink Bangladesh Limited (CBL) was formed as a Company to carry on the business of providing integrated electronic financial payment and transaction processing solutions in Bangladesh including co-ordination and deployments of independent branded automated teller machines (ATM) and electronic fund transfer through point of sales and to provide pre-paid card, debit card and credit card processing services. CBL also would facilitate e-commerce facility to its Member Banks.

IPO Subscription: Hamid Fabrics Limited subscription date 28 September to 02 October 2014, NRB upto 11 October 2014. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 100. National Feed Mill Limited subscription date 26 -30 October 2014, NRB upto 08 November 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.

Right Share: MIDASFIN: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 03.08.2014.

ICB: Subscription period for rights issue

will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014. BIFC: subscription period for rights issue of the Company will be from 09.11.2014 to 30.11.2014. Record Date for entitlement of rights share: 19.10.2014.

Dividend/AGM APOLOISPAT: 15% stock, Date of AGM: 21.12.2014, Record Date: 21.10.2014.

QSMDRYCELL: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 27.11.2014, Record Date: 20.10.2014.

PENINSULA: 10% cash, AGM: 13.11.2014, Record Date: 15.10.2014.

FAREASTLIF: 40% cash, AGM: 03.11.2014, Record date: 16.10.2014.

UNITEDAIR: 10% stock, Record date: 20.10.2014.

EHL: 15% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 30.10.2014, Record Date: 02.10.2014.

BANGAS: 50% stock, AGM: 21.10.2014, Record date: 30.09.2014.

BDBUILDING: 5% cash & 20% stock, AGM: 23.10.2014, Record date: 30.09.2014.

MATINSPINN: 25% cash, AGM: 30.10.2014, Record date: 02.10.2014.

CENTRALPHL: 5% cash and 15% stock, AGM & EGM: 23.10.2014, Record date for AGM & EGM: 29.09.2014.

DBH: 25% cash, AGM: 25.11.2014, Record date: 25.09.2014.

-ve 39.9 75.5 31.8 109.1 43.3 18.4 19.7 31.9 28.6

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

Total

Closing (% Change)

Average (% Change) 8.07 9.47 9.73 11.48 10.22 8.22 9.33 9.16 10.09 7.92

Latest PE

DSE settled in the green, racking up sixth week of gains following a buoyant closing before Eid vacation

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Monday, October 13, 2014

% change 16.48 7.82 3.11 7.79 3.06 18.88 0.01 10.85 10.25 0.45 1.72 0.74 1.38 3.04 0.96 2.14 3.58 3.68 1.76 2.31 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Summit Power -A Titas Gas TDCLA Grameenphone-A Square Pharma -A Delta Life Insu. -A Khulna Power-A MJL BD Ltd.-A City Bank - A National Bank - A People`s Leasing-A

Jamuna Oil -A G Next Fashions-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Beximco Pharma -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company National Bank - A G Next Fashions-A Summit Power -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Delta SpinnersA The Peninsula CTG.-N Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A MJL BD Ltd.-A RAK Ceramics-A Grameenphone-A

Square Pharma -A LafargeS Cement-Z Delta Life Insu. -A People`s Leasing-A BSRM Steels-A

VolumeShares 7,579,941 3,328,132 738,274 952,826 1,187,472 3,821,793 1,491,267 8,786,906 14,992,633 6,175,463

Value in Million 339.85 308.61 281.10 251.78 247.32 224.69 215.14 204.23 194.56 170.67

% of TotalTurnover 3.71 3.37 3.07 2.75 2.70 2.45 2.35 2.23 2.13 1.86

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

643,870 8,896,019 3,357,587 5,565,500 2,027,579

1,997,324 1,423,933 523,154 478,498 973,400 531,400 619,500 108,856 223,758 38,200

51,724 96,000 60,508 380,976 89,100

163.83 159.23 153.36 150.79 141.73

25.87 25.52 23.61 21.87 18.42 16.99 16.73 15.71 15.12 14.50

13.66 13.25 12.53 10.46 10.31

1.79 1.74 1.68 1.65 1.55

4.19 4.13 3.82 3.54 2.98 2.75 2.71 2.54 2.45 2.35

2.21 2.15 2.03 1.69 1.67

ClosingP 45.00 92.80 380.00 264.80 206.60 59.10 143.60 23.70 13.30 27.30

253.20 18.20 45.80 27.20 70.70

ClosingP

13.40 18.30 45.20 45.90 19.40 32.30 27.20 143.80 68.30 379.20

264.60 137.60 207.20 27.20 115.20

Change % 6.64 -0.11 -0.05 0.04 2.02 9.65 -3.30 8.22 1.53 -3.19

-1.59 9.64 1.33 9.68 2.02

Change %

2.29 9.58 6.60 1.10 8.99 4.53 9.68 -3.23 4.92 -0.32

0.46 -1.85 2.32 -3.20 -0.17

ClosingY 42.20 92.90 380.20 264.70 202.50 53.90 148.50 21.90 13.10 28.20

257.30 16.60 45.20 24.80 69.30

ClosingY

13.10 16.70 42.40 45.40 17.80 30.90 24.80 148.60 65.10 380.40

263.40 140.20 202.50 28.10 115.40

DHIGH

DLOW

46.40 94.80 386.00 272.00 215.00 59.20 150.00 23.90 14.00 29.10

39.00 83.70 370.00 241.60 185.00 50.00 133.80 20.00 11.80 26.00

262.00 18.20 46.40 27.20 71.40

235.00 15.10 40.70 26.00 64.00

DHIGH

DLOW

13.50 18.30 46.10 46.40 19.50 32.40 27.20 148.00 69.80 383.50

267.90 139.00 210.00 28.90 118.70

12.40 16.90 41.00 41.90 18.00 31.00 25.50 143.00 64.20 378.60

262.30 137.00 202.10 26.90 114.00

AvgPrice 44.84 92.73 380.75 264.25 208.28 58.79 144.27 23.24 12.98 27.64

254.44 17.90 45.67 27.09 69.90

AvgPrice

12.95 17.92 45.14 45.70 18.92 31.97 27.00 144.36 67.58 379.66

264.07 138.04 207.00 27.45 115.71

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Monday, October 13, 2014

Experts: Ultrafast Internet opens up new possibilities n AFP, Washington Superfast Internet connections are likely open up new kinds of communication such as “telepresence” and improve services such as remote health care, a survey of experts showed Thursday.

The ultrafast connections, expected to be widely deployed in the coming years, can open up a range of possibilities by delivering “immersive” experiences and virtual reality, according to the experts polled by the Pew Research Center and Elon University.

“People’s basic interactions and their ability to ‘be together’ and collaborate will change in the age of vivid telepresence - enabling people to instantly ‘meet face-to-face’ in cyberspace with no travel necessary,” the report said.

Additionally, the report said that “augmented reality will extend people’s sense and understanding of their real-life surroundings and virtual reality will make some spaces, such as gaming worlds and other simulated environments, even more compelling places to hang out.”

The report is not based on a random poll, but instead an opt-in survey of people deemed experts or affiliated with certain organizations, taken between November 2013 and January 2014.

Pew invited more than 12,000 experts and others who follow technology trends to share their opinions on the likely future of the Internet and 2,551 responded to at least one of the questions.

The report focused on possibilities of “gigabit connectivity” or speeds of 1,000 megabits per second - around 50 to 100 times faster than the average fixed high-speed connection.

As some systems with these speeds

are being deployed by Google and others, a number of Internet users have been questioning how useful these connections will be, the report noted.

The experts said they believe a “killer app” is likely to emerge, but it is not yet clear what that will be.

“As gigabit bandwidth becomes widespread later this decade, applications will emerge which exploit the combination of big data, GPS location, weather, personal-health monitoring devices, industrial production, and much more,” said William Schrader, co-founder of PSINet Inc. “Gigabit bandwidth is one of the few real ‘build it and they will come’ moments for new killer apps. The fact that no one had imagined the other killer apps prior to seeing them grow rapidly implies that no one can imagine these new ones - including me.”

David Weinberger, a researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said that with these connections, “There will be full, always-on, 360-degree environmental awareness, a semantic overlay on the real world, and full-presence massive open online courses. Plus Skype won’t break up nearly as much.”

Marti Hearst, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, said the new connections means people will “play sports and music virtually, distributed, across the globe” and that some can have “virtual Thanksgiving dinner with the other side of the family.”

Higher speeds will also lead to “higher adoption of telesurgery and remote medical support” and more sensor data from medical devices being collected and stored, according to Jason Hong of Carnegie Mellon University, who predicted “far better telepresence, in terms of video quality, audio quality (and) robotic control.” l

A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, in central Beijing

China’s central bank sees ‘very low’ risk of hard landing n Reuters, Washington The chance of a hard landing for China’s economy is very small in spite of worries about the country’s real-estate sector, the chief economist of the People’s Bank of China said on Saturday.

Ma Jun told a panel on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank fall meetings in Washington that the property sector, which accounts for 20% of total investment in China, was the main downside risk to the Chinese economy.

However, he said the sector was not the only driver of growth.

“I think the chance of a hard landing is very low,” Ma said.

“Although we worry about some downside risk like the real-estate slowing down and so on, there are also growth engines, including the service sector in general, the Internet in par-

ticular ... and healthcare is rising very rapidly.”

Ma said the slowdown in real estate was putting downward pressure on the economy and some further decel-

'A decline in property prices was not seen as a problem because prices previously had been too high and market forces should be allowed to prevail' eration in the sector was possible given weak public sales.

He said leveraging in the real-estate sector, in state-owned enterprises and in local government financing vehicles

was too high and had been rising in the past few years. This was a key reason for the government’s policy of avoiding “excessive stimulus” to the economy.

“At the macro level, I think we need to avoid excessive stimulus, which could increase leveraging significantly in the longer term, even though GDP growth is slowing a bit,” he said.

During a visit to Germany on Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was confident his country’s economy would continue to grow at a “mediumto-high tempo”, forecasting growth of about 7.5% this year.

A Reuters poll of 20 economists on Friday, however, showed China’s economy likely grew at its weakest pace in more than five years in the third quarter as the property downturn weighed on demand.

According to the poll, the economy

FAO: World food prices fall, Ebola hits farmers G20 optimistic on global n AFP, Paris Bumper harvests and big stockpiles of food are helping to drive world food prices down to the lowest levels for about 15 years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported on Thursday.

The commodities showing the biggest price falls were sugar and dairy produce, followed by cereal and oil prices.

World food prices fell for the sixth month running in September, marking “the longest period of continuous decline” since the late 1990’s, the FAO said releasing its monthly food price index.

The price of meat had firmed but could be stabilising, it said.

“World wheat production in 2014 is forecast to reach a new record,” the FAO said. Although the production of rice

could fall slightly this year, stockpiles were “huge” and were enough to cover one third of expected consumption in 2015 and 2016. But the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa was a “hot spot” of concern since is was disrupting markets and farming activities “affecting food security and large numbers of people”, the FAO said in another quarterly report on crop prospects and the food situation. l

Bangladesh tea prices down on poor grade n Reuters Tea prices in Bangladesh edged lower at the weekly auction on October 1, due to larger supplies of inferior quality, although robust demand for quality leaf capped the fall.

Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of Tk184.74 ($2.39) per kg at the auction, lower than the Tk185.99 at the previous sale, said an official at

National Brokers Ltd. Nearly 2.45 million kg was offered at the auction centre in Chittagong, with 18.9% going unsold. The last time, about 2.6 million kg was offered, of which a fifth went unsold.

Buyers showed little interest in buying poor quality tea and that pulled down overall prices, the official said.

Strong demand from local buyers for quality tea limited the fall, he added.

REUTERS

The next auction is to be held tomorrow, after a week’s gap due to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Tea production in Bangladesh rose 1.6% in 2013 to a record 63.5 million kg due to favourable weather, but was still short of the domestic consumption of about 65 million kg.

The country has moved from being a net exporter of tea to a net importer due to rising consumption. l

economy n AFP, Washington

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 economic powers said Friday they remained confident about the global economy, despite renewed weakness in areas like the eurozone.

Meeting in Washington, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors reiterated their commitment to undertake reforms that will boost the global economy by $2 trillion more over the next five years than otherwise expected.

Despite the malaise that has many worried that the eurozone will sink back into recession, the G20 said they still expect to achieve that goal, after talks on the side of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings.

“We have spoken a lot about economic challenges. While some key economies are recovering, others face renewed weakness,” said Australian

Treasurer Joe Hockey, whose country holds the G20 presidency.

“But we have emerged with optimism. We are determined to achieve outcomes that will strengthen the recovery,” Hockey said.

Besides reforms, the G20 has backed a new Global Infrastructure Initiative, aimed at supporting infrastructure development around the world as a way to boost economies and create jobs.

Hockey said developing and emerging economies need some $8 trillion in infrastructure development over the next 10 years.

He said the G20 was confident Europe could rebound, but only if the troubled countries of the eurozone implement needed reforms.

“There’s a recognition that Europe can get better, but it does need to make the decision to carry out these structural reforms,” he said. l

may have expanded 7.3% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the weakest reading since the first quarter of 2009, when growth hit 6.6%.

China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said on Friday that China was watching its property market closely but saw no need for any big stimulus for the sector or the rest of the economy, Zhu said a decline in property prices was not seen as a problem because prices previously had been too high and market forces should be allowed to prevail.

Late last month, China cut mortgage rates and down payment levels for some home buyers for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, after home prices fell for a fourth consecutive month in August and new construction activity continued to slump. l

BTRC refunds Tk300cr against 3G performance bank guaranttee  B1 COLUMN 6

mittee and depending on that committee’s report the telecom watchdog released Grameenphone’s all PBG (Tk150 crore) and rest of the operators got only one third of their PBG’s.

According to the committee report Robi and Banglalink rolled-out their 3G network seven divisional headquarters and others 16 districts.

Banglalink in the meantime claimed that it covered all 64 districts and as such sent a letter to the BTRC, sources informed.

Airtel covered seven divisional headquarters and other 13 districts, BTRC report also reads.

A senior official of BTRC said if Robi, Airtel and Banglalink can meet the timeframe, the commission will also release their PBG and would not forfeit their amount. l

SME fair begins Nov 12  B1 COLUMN 1

will showcase their SME financing projects and credit distribution procedures, and entrepreneurs, who received SME credit, will display their products.

During the fair, discussion meetings and seminars will also be held. Banks and NBFIs have been asked to submit

AKM Saifuddin Ahamed, deputy-managing director of Jamuna Bank Limited has recently received on behalf of the bank an award given by ICICI Bank Limited for being the best 'Supporting Bank'

Bank Asia has recently opened its agent-banking booth at Sholla Bazar of Nababgonj Upazila in Dhaka. The bank’s chairperson, A Rouf Chowdhury inaugurated the booth

Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited has recently relocated its Gulshan Branch to new premises, Land View Commercial Center, 28 Gulshan North C/A, Circle-2, Gulshan in Dhaka.

The bank’s chairperson Md Yousuf Ali Howlader inaugurated the new premises as chief guest

United Commercial Bank Limited has recently opened a compact ATM booth at Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Centre in Agrabad. Chairperson of the bank’s executive committee, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury Ronny inaugurated the booth

their applications for seeking awards. BB will announce the criteria for winning SME banking award for this year today.

SME banking award was launched last year to recognise banks and financial institutions’ outstanding contribution to the country’s small and medium enterprises. l

Pizza Hut and KFC, the two restaurant chains from the house of Transcom Foods Limited has recently opened up its outlet in Sylhet. The city mayor, Ariful Haque Chowdhury in the presence of Akku Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of Transcom Foods Ltd, inaugurated the outlet

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, October 13, 2014

IMF-World Bank: Build infrastructure to fight malaise n AFP, Washington The terms are hardly riveting: “new mediocre,” “secular stagnation,” “structural reform”, “lowflation.”

But underpinning the economic geek-speak at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings were deep worries that the global economy is slipping backward.

The meetings this week were fraught with concerns that the world still has not achieved escape velocity from the economic crisis, and for people around the world that means, in real language, flat incomes and few new jobs.

The IMF has repeatedly cut its growth forecasts since the beginning of the year, now putting 2014 expansion at a tepid 3.3%, hopefully rising to 3.8% next year.

The optimism has slowly been eroded by, firstly, the eurozone’s backsliding toward a possible new recession, but also by Japan’s still-unrewarded stimulus efforts, China’s slowdown and the inability of the United States, the bright light among advanced countries, to accelerate into a higher gear of growth.

Slow demand from advanced economies has taken a toll on small developing countries that had been doing well, as prices for commodities from ore to oil to grains sink.

And while the IMF stressed that the challenges and their solutions are often country-specific, it said together they all face “the very real risk of a prolonged period of sub-par growth.”

Especially for the eurozone, economists speak of secular stagnation, where demand is not growing enough to meet capacity and new investment stalls, businesses seeing little potential for their market to grow.

IMF Managing Director Christine

three percent during the week, led by Europe.

Infrastructure as remedy

Finance ministers and central bank governors pose for a family photo of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) ahead of the group's gathering at the annual IMF/ World Bank meetings in Washington on October 11 AFP Lagarde labeled it “the new mediocre,” but spelled out what it means - “paltry job creation” for the 200 million unemployed around the world.

“It is taking a very long time for the global economy to climb out of the hole dug by the Great Recession,” she said.

The World Bank and IMF took pains to emphasize that a number of coun-

tries, like much of Asia, were doing well.

But they couched that with fresh warnings about new financial risks from “shadow banks” and excess cheap cash washing around in overinflated asset markets.

And they warned of the spillover from the Iraq-Syria and Ukraine conflicts, and the newest danger, the dead-

ly Ebola outbreak.

The IMF warned that the disease, which has killed more than 4,000, could wreck the economies of West Africa if not soon controlled.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim summoned a top-level meeting, including UN chief Ban Ki-moon, to highlight to drive home the message of the need

for more and faster aid to contain it.

“We must do all we can to stop Ebola, and we must act now because delay exponentially raises the human and economic cost of stopping the epidemic,” he said.

Financial markets took the cut growth forecasts and risk warnings to heart. Global markets fell close to

Why brands fail n Tousif Jamal Humans are programmed to purchase and experience brands, not products. When a shopper walks down a long lane of Home and Personal care products in a superstore near you, she is making a critical decision on what is best for her and her family.

Here is where a marketer may influence the behavior of the shopper (and that is perhaps why the job of a marketer is so exciting). So what does the marketer need to get right, in order to ensure that the shopper chooses his brand over the next in the category shelf.

Even before getting into details, ask yourself. Which phone do you use and why do you use it? Why do you prefer Nandos over KFC (if you do so that is)? What do you love about Nike?

Product Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk (left) unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California

REUTERS

Tesla unveils all-wheel drive Model S, ‘autopilot’ features n Reuters, Hawthorne Tesla Motors Inc on Thursday took its first step toward automated driving, unveiling features that will allow its electric sedan to park itself and sense dangerous situations.

The company also said it will roll out an all-wheel drive option of the Model S sedan that can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds yet doesn’t compromise the vehicle’s efficiency.

The car is like having a “personal roller coaster,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk joked after making the announcement at the packed event in Hawthorne, California.

Tesla’s announcement had been eagerly anticipated since Musk last week tweeted that it was “about time to unveil the D and something else.”

Onstage on Thursday, Musk said

“D” stands for “dual motor,” meaning Tesla’s all-wheel drive vehicle will have a motor at either end of the chassis to increase control.

In addition, Musk said that the Model S cars that are rolling off the line today already have the hardware for what he called “autopilot.” The features include a long-range radar, image recognition so the vehicle can “see” things like stop signs and pedestrians, and a 360-degree ultrasonic sonar.

The car can park itself in a garage, turn on the air conditioning in advance of a trip and recognize obstacles on the road. He cautioned, however, that “autopilot” was not fully autonomous driving and would not allow a driver to fall asleep at the wheel.

The new features will give Tesla momentum while consumers wait for the launch of its third vehicle, the cross-

over SUV Model X, next year, said one industry analyst.

“Until the Model X arrives, a vehicle that will substantially amplify Tesla’s appeal and volume potential, these upgrades should keep the Model S at the forefront of advanced personal transportation,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Automakers are racing to develop such features as cars that apply brakes automatically when they sense an impending collision or slow down because a vehicle ahead on the highway has warned that traffic has stopped.

However, the automakers say the transition will be evolutionary, with such features added slowly over many years as new models are rolled out. Meanwhile, Internet search company Google Inc is developing the technology for a completely driverless car. l

eMarketer: Mobile wallet adoption years away n AFP, San Francisco Industry tracker eMarketer on Thursday said that use of smartphones as wallets will jump in the US next year, but shoppers won’t be quick to abandon cash or credit cards.

“The more things change in the US mobile payments space, the more they seem to stay the same - at least in the short term,” eMarketer analyst Bryan Yeager said in a release.

“Despite a wider range of available technology and adoption from more

merchants, consumers remain tepid about paying for goods and services with their phone at the point of sale.”

The amount of money spent using smartphone wallets will climb in coming years, though, especially as consumers begin using them for big ticket buys, according to eMarketer.

A report authored by Yeager forecast that US consumers this year will consummate $3.5bn worth purchases using smartphones, and that the amount would jump 150% in 2015.

A mainstream shift to mobile wal-

lets in the US is still years away, climbing to $27.47bn in the year 2016 and then quadrupling the following year to $118.01bn, according to eMarketer.

Apple adding Apple Pay mobile wallet to its newest iPhone models and eBay splitting off its PayPal online financial services division have captured attention in recent weeks, but the overall market remains fragmented, the report indicated.

“Apple Pay will do a lot to bring consumer awareness to mobile payments, but it still has to work,” Yeager said. l

Humans experience brands, not products.

True. But the core benefits of the brand must be superior to competition. The product must deliver. And most importantly, the product must cater to a need of the consumer. Ever wonder why we don’t see an Aston Martin on the busy roads of Dhaka?

Promotion The number 360 is used so often by business professionals that it is becoming a redundant number. First, you do not need a 360 campaign for your brand. You do not need to touch your consumer at all her touchpoints. She does not want to be touched everywhere, and so often. But you do need to ensure the right promotional mix.

What is the maximum return on investment on your marketing mix? One brand that stands out when it comes to promo-

tion is Apple. And it’s all thanks to a Human Brand we know as Steve Jobs, who could make you believe that you need a gadget you never needed!

Price Get the price right. If you are charging that extra, make yourself convinced first whether you as a consumer would pay that extra for your brand. If you are a premium brand, ask yourself first, what is so premium about you? Consumers and shoppers in every corner of the world are willing to spend more for more benefits.

Just give them a reason to believe you.

Place Do you have the right channel strategy for your brand? Is your brand available and visible in the outlet where your target consumer is most likely to search for it?

Distribution is not only about increasing the number of outlet penetration for your brand, it is also about designing the best channel strategy for your brand. Because if it is not available, it will not sell.

Proposition Your brand will occupy an area in the limited mind space of your consumer.

What does your brand stand for? What does it shout out? Why will the shopper choose your brand over ten others in the category? Get the proposition right, the rest will follow.

The success of a brand depends on the amalgamation of these 5Ps. A slight mistake in any of these will result in the failure of a brand. Think of the brands you see in Bangladesh. Which brands do you feel have successfully mastered these 5Ps? l Tousif Jamal is a marketer, edublogger and an aspiring film director.

The strong message to all governments was to make their own specific efforts to fuel economic growth.

One antidote pressed during the week was more reform, especially in countries mired in fiscal difficulties, to allow markets to work better and businesses to create jobs more easily.

That continues to be the message for the eurozone, insisted upon by core economic power Germany, even as it itself faces slowing consumption and production.

The new mantra was job-generating investment in infrastructure, where the need was put at more than $1tn a year around the world.

“In order to fight poverty, you need to build infrastructure,” said the World Bank’s Kim. “Infrastructure and investment in infrastructure can be a good way to support growth in the short term, by putting people to work, by launching major construction efforts,” Lagarde said.

The World Bank launched a new Global Infrastructure Facility aimed at bringing public and private money together to support projects in low- and middle-income countries.

But the remedies all had their doubters. Some said the focus on structural reforms was not enough to pull the eurozone out of its malaise, and that governments should be able to spend more freely.

On the other hand, Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble argued that infrastructure spending is no panacea, and that it would be “foolish” to put at risk the gains made in stabilizing public finances. l

Fed’s Tarullo: Global downside risks are policy factor n Reuters, Washington Downside risks to the global economy are a factor the Federal Reserve will have to consider even as the US economy recovers from the 2007-2009 financial crisis, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said on Saturday.

Tarullo, a voting member of the Fed’s policymaking committee, also said the US economy is facing deep problems from decaying infrastructure to a polarized income distribution that could weaken demand in the future.

“I am worried about growth around the world, there are more downside risks than upside risks,” Tarullo said at a conference of the Institute of International Finance in Washington.

“Other major economies are tilting or at least showing risks that are a little bit more to the downside than to the upside and this is obviously something we have to think about in our own policies,” he said.

The Fed is expected to begin raising interest rates sometime next year.

Many Fed officials have indicated they do not want to begin raising rates until it is clear the U.S. recovery is sustainable and can withstand a policy tightening.

That has become less certain in recent weeks as concern has mounted over Europe’s potential to slip back into recession, and recognition that investment, household spending and other elements of aggregate demand globally have lagged. l

‘Euro zone core must focus on investment’ n Reuters, Washington Germany, France and Italy must focus on public investment to boost economic growth, the European Union’s incoming top official responsible for growth and jobs said on Thursday.

Jyrki Katainen, who will take over as the European Commission’s vice president for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness on Nov 1, told Reuters many countries have cut investment too much as part of efforts to consolidate budgets “Countries like Germany, running current account surpluses, can afford to invest more, not only because it would stimulate the economy of the European Union, but because they need to take care of their future economic growth,” Katainen said in an interview on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank fall meetings in Washington.

German investment has been fall-

ing steadily over the past two decades, from around 21% of its GDP in the late 1990s to just above 17% now, according to the Center for European Reform think thank.

Yet Berlin, pursuing a goal of a balanced budget, is reluctant to increase public investment.

“A country that is strong at the moment does not necessarily have to be strong in the future, so you need to take care of the growth, strengthen the

DILBERT

industrial base,” Katainen said.

“Our message is that the surplus countries should invest in their future,” he said, pointing to research and development, and infrastructure as the main areas for investment.

Katainen said France and Italy also needed to spend more on public investment, but, unlike Germany, could not simply increase borrowing for that purpose because their deficits and debts already were too high. l