03 Dec, 2014

Agrahayan 19, 1421 Safar 9, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 239

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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TREEHOUSE

7 | LONG FORM

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

FIVE ANCIENT CITIES THAT ARE STILL ALIVE TODAY

UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY

WHAT YOUNG BANGLADESH WANTS

SHEIKH JAMAL CLINCH KING’S CUP

Malaysia’s Proton eyes car plant in Bangladesh n Tribune Report Malaysian automobile company Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd, widely known as Proton, hopes to open a production plant in Bangladesh soon, creating employment opportunities for Bangladeshis.

Former Malaysian prime minister and newly-appointed Chairman of Proton Mahathir Mohamad disclosed the information at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Mahathir was making a courtesy call on Hasina during her three-day official visit. The meeting was held at Hasina’s suite at the Hotel Grand Hyatt.

Press Secretary to the Prime Minister AKM Shameem Chowdhuri said Mahathir had highly praised Bangladesh’s progress in all sectors.

Hasina invited Mahathir to visit Bangladesh.

Proton has been eyeing Bangladesh as a manufacturing base for some time.

A meeting in September between a two-member delegation from the car company and top officials of the Commerce Ministry including senior commerce secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon was held to discuss the matter.

Proton Senior Executive Norman Be Karidi and Executive Fatin Otsman visited Dhaka in September to discuss the car company’s future plans in Bangladesh.

Managing Director of PHP automobile industry Mohamamd Akter Parvez Chowdhury and an advisory engineer, Mohamamd Ali Chowdhury, represented the company’s local partners in Bangladesh.

Local business conglomerate PHP Group will be the local partner of the joint venture of the automobile plant in Bangladesh, said a source in the Commerce Ministry.

At the meeting in September, the

N’GANJ SEVEN MURDERS

RAB sends three of its men to police for interrogation n Ashif Islam Shaon Three more RAB members, shown arrested on Monday night in the Narayanganj seven murders cases, were placed on seven days’ remand yesterday morning, a day after a local court ordered investigators to speed things up.

Police did not say where these three had been arrested at. However, yesterday afternoon, a RAB release said they had sent the three to Narayanganj police on Monday morning on the basis of a request.

The release referred to a letter sent

by Narayanganj police on October 19 requesting to have three RAB men in custody for interrogation, but police said they wanted more.

When contacted last night, Narayanganj police chief (SP) Khandker Mahid Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune: “Go and ask RAB whether we wanted only these three or did we want more,” Mahid said.

When told that the RAB release said they had sent the three people police had wanted, the SP said: “Many people may say many things. Many may even try to misguide you [journalists]. There are some people who want to slow down the investigation.”  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Malaysian team recalled that the economy of two Asian countries, Bangladesh and Indonesia, were not affected by the global economic recession that lasted from 2007 to 2009.

The Malaysian team was interested in assessing the strategic advantages of exporting cars from Bangladesh, Shawkat Ali Waresi, an additional secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune during the meetings in September.

“As Bangladeshi export items go to EuropeanUnion countries under the least developed country category, potential car exporters will get the same export facilities,” he said.

Local demand for the car is bright, delegates said, since the annual income for a big portion of the population is now around US$20,000.

Malaysia also confirmed its interest in other large projects in Bangladesh.

It expressed an interest in developing a large low-cost high-rise housing project. There are initial plans to build 43 blocks for the housing project.

The expression of interest in the Kamrangirchar housing project on the outskirts of Dhaka city came in response to a request by the prime minister to Dato’ Seri Samy Vellu, special envoy of the Malaysian prime minister on South-East Asian affairs.

Hasina made the request for Malaysian co-operation on the project yesterday during a courtesy call paid by Samy on the prime minister at her hotel.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told reporters that Samy said the Malaysian side would send a technical report to the prime minister and that the Malaysian government would finance the project.

The Malaysian envoy further showed interest in the implementation of a crude oil handling project at Single Point Mooring in Chittagong and in selling 400 railway coaches to Bangladesh. l

Government has no data on the disabled

n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

At a human chain formed in front of the National Press Club yesterday, a group of physically challenged people demand a holistic system for their smooth movement on the roads SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Julfikar Ali Manik

Following an unprecedented order of the International Crimes Tribunal 2, Dhaka-based foreign journalist David Bergman was imprisoned in the courtroom until its rising yesterday as the three-member tribunal found him guilty of contempt of court.

British citizen Bergman had to serve a part of punishment for around 10 minutes as the court raised shortly after pronouncing its order.

He has been writing for the past years in his personal blog and some Bangladeshi and foreign media mainly about the ongoing trial of people responsible for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War. Apart from the imprisonment in line with the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, the tribunal also fined Bergman Tk5,000 as part of the punishment.

The contemnor shall deposit the fine through an invoice within seven working days from yesterday; in default, he shall be liable to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of seven days, Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of the tribunal, said in the order.

Bergman was convicted in the contempt case originated from an application of a lawyer filed in February this

year alleging that he had circulated “derogatory criticisms and remarks about the tribunal” through his three articles – one published in 2011 while the two others in January last year in his personal blog.

The tribunal found Bergman guilty of contempt of court for making derogatory remarks in two of the three articles. In the other article, the tribunal

5 | News

6 | Nation

Bangladesh-based British journalist David Bergman talks to journalists after the judgement

did not convict him but condemned and warned for his writing where he had criticised the death figure in 1971.

The tribunal, also comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Shahinur Islam as its members, in the unanimous order said: “...in the name of exercising right to freedom of expression, he [Bergman] has crossed the limits of his professional ethics.”

The contemnor “has rather acted as a mere ‘mouthpiece’ of the quarters engaged in the act of organised undesirable campaign, by circulating unfair, unreasonable and scandalising ‘criticism’.”

The tribunal said: “We are surprised indeed how and on what basis David Bergman, the contemnor, who is a foreign national, has been working in Bangladesh carrying such perverse mind set towards our ‘war of liberation’ and the trial process being held in the tribunals.

“It is not yet clear to us. However, we are not concerned with this matter.

Let the government authorities concerned scan the matter lawfully.”

During the pronouncement of the order, the tribunal chairman asked Bergman to stand up in the court room where he was sitting beside his Bangladeshi wife barrister Sara Hossain, a prominent human rights campaigner  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique Lack of political will, necessary changes in the administrative system and process, and violence among other issues, hindered the proper implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord 17 years into its signing, speakers at a policy dialogue said yesterday.

They also noted that despite maximum willingness of the government, which was the signatory party of the Accord with Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), the implementation could not be translated through administrative process. They emphasised on continuous dialogue and enhanced coordination in this regard.

The daylong dialogue was held at the capital’s Cirdap auditorium.

Senior Awami League leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury as the chief guest, in the first session of the dialogue, said her party was politically committed to implement the Accord, and that they were determined to prove this willingness through their efforts.

The implementation process was disrupted as the parties against the Accord had been in power from 2001 to 2008, Sajeda, also chairman of the CHT

B1 | Business

Brent crude oil steadied below $73 a barrel yesterday, holding onto a rally from five-year lows after oil producers failed to curb production despite a supply glut.

The BNP has announced its programmes to mark the Victory Day in December, the month when the country achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

War crimes tribunal punishes David CHT PEACE ACCORD Sloth in required reforms Bergman for contempt of court hinders execution n

INSIDE

4 | News

Although Bangladesh signed the UN convention on the rights of disabled people, the government still does not have credible statistics on the number or state of such people.

Different agencies – government, non-government and international – cite different numbers ranging from supposedly 2%, according to the Social Welfare Ministry, to 15.7% according to the World Bank and World Health Organisation.

On the eve of the International Day of People with Disability, experts say these agencies have different criteria for “disability” hence the discrepancy in statistics.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics puts the proportion of disabled people at almost a 10th of the population, which is 9.7%.

Khondokar Jahurul Alam, the executive director of Centre for Services and Information on Disability, said it is impossible for NGOs to make a solid estimate in this regard. “However, we think it would be around 8-10% of the population.”

Jahurul, also a former president of Asia Pacific Disability Forum, said the Social Welfare Ministry has a wing to deal the issue of disability census, “which is absurd.”

Abeda Afsari, assistant secretary of the disability wing, said the census was underway. “So far we have trained 1,031 people to conduct the census, and it was carried out under a project.”

Asked about the number of disabled people in Bangladesh, Director of the project Nasreen Ara Surat Amin said the number of disabled people identified so far stands around 1.7 million.

“We will come up with the details of the census only after its completion.”

Asked about the difference of data of the ministry with that of other sources, she said: “We will explain this after we formally disclose our finding.”

Jahurul Alam, who has been working with the issue for almost four decades,

Dhaka city dwellers continue to face confusion and inconvenience with the exact addresses of many roads and establishments across the capital.

Two ferries assigned for Kalna ghat on the Madhumati river here have been running amid risk of submerging for long as lower parts of those are experiencing many holes.

8 | World

The Lebanese army detained a wife and daughter of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as they crossed from Syria nine days ago, security officials said yesterday.

15 | Entertainment

At the final session of the Bengal Classical Music Festival, legendary sarod player, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, mesmerised audiences yesterday in the pre-dawn hours.

Peace Accord Implementation Committee said.

The first session was also addressed

by Social Welfare Minister Promod Mankin and CHT Affairs Ministry Secretary Nababikram Kishore Tripura while Dhaka University teacher Prof Mesbah Kamal presented the keynote

‘The Accord doesn’t elaborate on natural resources, identity of hill people and their constitutional rights’ paper. Lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha conducted the session while Ubaidul Muktadir Chowdhury MP presided over the session.

Ain O Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal said despite the government’s maximum willingness, the “main hindrance in implementing the Accord lies in the fact that enough change has not been done in the institutions of the hill tracts.”

Addressing the second session as the chief guest, she alleged that the Accord  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Road maintenance law in limbo n Shohel Mamun The Road Maintenance Fund Board Law 2013 is now in limbo as the government after its passage in parliament on July 14 last year has virtually done nothing for its implementation.

The government in a gazette on November 20 declared that the law would come into effect from December 1. It says the fund will be collected from tolls of roads and bridges, fees of transports registration and licenses and foreign donations.

To this end, the toll policy 2014 was supposed to be implemented in a bid to channeling more fund to road repairs.

The policy was also supposed to raise the toll to over Tk500 crore from that of existing Tk350-360 crore and

also bring discipline in collecting toll.

The toll collected from roads and bridges has so far gone to the Finance Ministry fund and road maintenance has never got any preferential treatment.

The law was passed to avoid delay in releasing fund to repairs to roads damaged frequently across the country.

As per the law, the fund collected from tolls of roads and bridges was to go to a separate bank account paving the way for quick release of fund.

Before its implementation there has to be a governing body to manage and maintain the fund to run its administration, the gazette says. But the body is yet to be formed.

Secretary MAN Siddique said: “We have published the gazette notification to bring the law into action.

“We demanded that the Finance Ministry open a separate bank account.

Accordingly, we will then send directives to the BRTA and the Roads and Highways Department to deposit the money in the separate account.

“At the same time the board will be formed and guidelines be put forward.”

As the law prescribes, the road maintenance fund managing committee will be headed by the secretary of Road Transport and Highways Department.

The other members will include Bridges Division secretary, joint secretary of Finance Division, joint secretary of Road Transport Division, infrastructure chief of Planning Commission, chairman of BRTA, executive director of DTCA, chief Engineer of Department of Roads and Highways and experts of Buet. l

Sayedee now complains of waist, knee pains n Tribune Report Convicted for crimes against humanity, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee was again taken to BSMMU for medical check-ups yesterday as he complained of waist and knee pains to Dhaka Central Jail authorities.

Prison guards took him to

Bergman, his wife too question order n Tribune Report After a war crimes tribunal found British citizen and Dhaka-based journalist David Bergman guilty of contempt of court yesterday, the contemnor and his wife expressed disappointment over the order and raised some questions.

Bergman’s lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan told reporters: “The court’s observation about his [Bergman’s] citizenship is very harsh. With due respect, I disagree with this opinion of the court.

“The order was given according to section 11 of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. There is no scope to file an appeal against the order. We will decide on further move after getting copy of the verdict.”

Bergman’s wife barrister Sara Hossain, also the executive director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, said the verdict was a massive hit on the spirit of Liberation War – the culture of freedom of wisdom and tolerance towards different opinions.

“If there is an opposite opinion, there prevails the right to talk against it which is approved by the constitution. “But it is a matter of great regret that this verdict does not preserve the right to freedom of speech, rather has created a bar.”

She thinks journalists should raise questions about what can be said and what cannot. She claimed that the court raised question about Bergman’s citizenship “beyond its jurisdiction.”

“It seems that there are two kinds of citizens in this country – some who marry foreigners but have strong protection and patronisers..they can do anything...there is no problem. The other citizens are those who raise any question about any work of the government...it can be he [Bergman], it can be me or it can be anyone else...”

Sara said: “The [tribunal] prosecution did not file any petition. The court delivered the order on the basis of a third-party petition.” She asked the reporters to investigate who they were.

In response to another query on distorting the historical facts, Sara said: “It is not a matter about distortion. There are lot of academics around the world who raised questions about the three million martyrs. File cases against them and bring them to court.”

She said even though contempt cases were filed against the Human Rights Watch and the Economist, “no punishment was given to them. Is it because they are out of reach and that [Bergman] is within reach?”

Bergman then said: “Proceedings in the case is unprecedented. There has never been a contempt case taken against an article published one or two years back.

My wife and my lawyer have already said I have my professional career supportive the need to hold to account those who committed crimes in 1971 [Liberation] war. I clearly indicated it in the award winning film [War Crimes File] that I made. It was shown in Bangladesh many many times...in BTV and other TV stations.

“It shown by the right things I have done in the years preceding the trial.

All that I have done is right, in intelligent and fruitful way about the trial, in order to ensure the proceedings are fair which is what the tribunal themselves sought to make the trials.

“Obviously I am disappointed by the judgement today [yesterday]. We will look to see whether or not there is any way in which we can seek remedy against it.” l

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University around 10:30am and back to jail around 1:30pm after a health check at the orthopaedic department, Farman Ali, a senior jail superintendent, said.

Doctors conducted some examinations and gave him medicine.

The 74-year-old Jamaat leader was shifted to Dhaka from Kashimpur High

Security Jail in Gazipur early Monday after he complained of chest pain.

Doctors at BSMMU treated him and confirmed to jail authorities that Sayedee’s condition was not serious.

They prescribed some medicines and advised him to take rest.

The prison authorities are expected to send him to Kashimpur Jail soon. l

Sloth in required reforms  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

could not be executed also because of the obstructions created by influential people and organisations in the hill tracts.

“The government has to identify the hindrances for the sake of proper implementation of the Accord,” said Sultana Kamal, also a former adviser to a caretaker government.

Former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Shakhawat Hossain pointed out that land disputes in the region needed to be settled properly, which “requires political will.”

He said the issues of natural resources, identification of the hill people and their constitutional rights were supposed to be mentioned elaborately in the Accord.

Professor Dr Shah Alam, a member of the Law Commission, said if properly implemented, the Accord would be a landmark in the history of the country.

Ushaton Talukder MP blamed the

slow administrative process for the delay in execution of the Accord.

PCJSS Chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma alleged that many counter-insurgency legacies and institutions were in force in the CHT area violating the provisions of the Accord.

He demanded that development in the hill districts be done according to the expectation and will of the indigenous people. “The Accord was signed with a good intent but the failure to implement it properly is a disgrace for any democratic system,” he said.

Firoja Begum Chino MP said that violence centring the implementation of the Accord must be avoided.

“It requires cooperation of all the stakeholders.”

The last session of the dialogue was addressed by Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Dhirendra Nath Shambhu MP, Mrinal Kanti Das MP and Sanjeeb Drong. l

Former Malaysia president Mahathir Mohamad meets with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday during her three-day visit to Malaysia FOCUS BANGLA

Government has no data on the disabled  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

said there needed to be greater coordination with government agencies and departments. “The 1,200 committees at district and sub-district levels have yet to be formed.”

The Social Welfare Ministry ran a census despite its inadequate resources and expertise as there was a legal requirement.

Jahurul said the ministry hamstrung by its lack of resources arrived at the rather low figure of 2% disability. “They could not come out with it naturally and we only came to know about it unofficially.”

The census is a crucial first step for securing an identity card as a disabled person. But with the designated ministry’s failure, it all hangs in the balance.

Jahurul also said international agencies such as the World Bank or the World Health Organisation counted the elderly, beyond a certain age, as disabled. “That is another reason why their figures turn out to be so high.”

He regretted the repealing of certain sections of the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013.

While this law was based on the spirit

RAB sends three of its men to police  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

One of the three shown arrested yesterday was Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Bajlur Rahman who works for RAB 11 stationed in the port city. He was also stationed there when the murders took place.

The other two – Habilder Nasiruddin from and ASI Abdul Kalam Azad from two other units of the force – were also stationed in RAB 11 in Narayanganj at the time of the murders but were later transferred to their current workplaces.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Maj Rummon Mahmud, deputy director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, admitted that police had actually wanted to have more people in their custody.

Asked why they had sent only three, he said: “It is a continuous process.

Police regularly send such requests.”

He however could not confirm exactly how many people police had wanted.

SP Mahid said the names of these three and many other RAB members have come up in confessions given by different people after the murders.

“The pace has been slow. We are calling up people after a lot of scrutiny so that no innocent people are harassed,” Mahid said.

He also another dismissed RAB personnel, arrested in Magura, was currently on the way to Narayanganj. But he did not disclose the identity of the former RAB man.

On Monday, a Narayanganj court ordered police to speed up things and submit charge sheet in the sensational

War tribunal punishes David Bergman for contempt  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

and daughter of noted lawyer and politician Dr Kamal Hossain.

Just after the pronouncement of the order around noon, Bergman sat on the bench again and spent about 10 minutes, until rising of the court, talking with his wife.

Supreme Court lawyer Abul Kalam Azad filed an application and brought the matter to the notice of the tribunal with a prayer of initiating contempt proceeding against Bergman.

The tile of the first article published in November 2011 was “Sayedee indictment: 1971 deaths,” which questioned the death figure during the nine-monthlong Liberation War. The title of the second and third articles posted in his blog in January last year – for which Bergman has been punished – were “Azad Judgment Analysis 1: In absentia trials and defence inadequacy” and “Azad Judgment Analysis 2: Tribunal assumptions.”

Following the application, the tribunal in February directed Bergman to explain his position on the criticisms he had made. In the written explanation, Bergman tried to justify his conduct and accuracy of his comments.

“No remorse even to minimum extent he has shown in his explanation. Plainly it is to say, David Bergman intended to contest the matter,” the order said. Hearing both the parties, the tribunal initiated contempt proceedings against him in April. After hearing of the case, the order came yesterday.

Officials of the US and the Netherlands embassies and the British High Commission in Dhaka came to observe the deliberation of the order in the contempt of court case against Bergman.

The tribunal in its order said: “We are of unanimous view that the contemnor is found guilty and responsible for making the offending scandalous comments using derogatory and unfair ‘words’ and ‘phrases’ in second and third article that tended to attack and lowering the authority and majesty of the Tribunal for which the contemnor deserves punishment.”

Bergman, his wife and lawyer naturally expressed disappointment over the order. On the other hand, some persecution lawyers dealing with the war crimes cases said the judges had taken lenient view awarding punishment to Bergman and gave him symbolic imprisonment even though the law gave them the authority

for awarding tougher punishment.

According to the provisions of the ICT Act, Bergman cannot appeal against the order of the tribunal.

In the order, the judges said earlier the tribunal 1 had issued serious caution to Bergman despite expressing regret as it was considered “regret” not in clear terms.

“But in the proceeding before us [tribunal 2], the contemnor simply casually and mechanically regretted the subsequently deleted scurrilous ‘words’ and ‘phrases’ he admittedly used in his criticisms that tended to scandalise the judicial process and authority of the tribunal,” said the order.

“He also begged ‘excuse’ for the scandalous comment made on observation of the tribunal on ‘death figure in 1971’ issue in the third article. But the contemnor has made it in most egotistical manner taking which into consideration we are not prompted to extend any degree of leniency.”

The judges said: “We, therefore, cannot take a compassionate or indulgent view of the matter, merely treating the criticism by the contemnor to have been made in exercise of right to freedom of expression.”

Bergman’s “deliberate attempt to scandalise the court” tended not only to “shake the confidence of the public and the nation as well in the system but also tended to cause detriments too to the objective of the Act of 1973 and the trial process,” the court said.

It observed that this “ill and malicious attempt” tended to “obstruct the administration of justice.”

The tribunal explained about refraining from giving any punishment to Bergman for his article questioning the death figure in 1971.

“Mere criticism made on the issue of ‘death figure in 1971’ though does not constitute any contempt, it was in no way in the ‘public [interest] and the attempt on part of the contemnor was not in ‘good faith’.”

Regarding the article titled “Sayedee indictment: 1971 deaths,” the tribunal said: “We have condemned such malicious and prejudicial act and have warned the contemnor not to repeat such criticism on historically settled issue in future.”

Bergman “made this issue controversial when all the cases were pending before the tribunals.”

The tribunal added: “It is true that

and content of the UN Convention, the two sections that have been repealed guaranteed identity cards and certain rights as disabled. “We were happy to get a law after much struggle but it was heartbreaking to see two vital sections repealed. It was very frustrating for the community,” he said.

Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman said he hoped that the repeals would be withdrawn.

He said the government was sensitive about disability. “I believe that eventually this will be lifted.” l

David Bergman did not opt to make any opinion of his own on this issue in his article. He, as it appears, attempted to portray various conflicting information, citing sources, in respect of ‘death figure in 1971’ that creates a grave confusion on a subjudice issue.

“Despite all the differing information, it is now settled to the nation that three million people laid their lives for the cause of our independence.”

The tribunal said: “It is well settled that a person is not debarred in initiating a discussion on a matter which may fairly be regarded as one of ‘public interest,’ by reason merely of the fact that the matter in question becomes the subject of litigation.”

But in Bergman’s case, the tribunal said: “The criticism made on ‘death figure in 1971’ does not seem to have been made as one of ‘public interest.’ Rather it has shaken and demeaned the emotion of the nation.”

The judges said: “We appreciate his efforts [working on the war crimes]. But why did he not prefer to initiate any research of his own on this issue earlier by citing the said sources? Why did he not mention the issue in the documentary he contributed to get it prepared?” the tribunal questioned. “Why he decide to raise this sensitive issue, particularly when all the cases remained pending before the tribunals?”

The order said: “The issue of ‘death figure in 1971’ involves highest sacrosanct emotion of the nation. What was his intention in opening the door of criticism on such a perceptive issue? And what he intend to let the tribunals learn from his criticism?”

Citing the perspective of the trial initiated after four decades, the court mentioned that since the inception of the tribunal, all quarters have been observing, with anguish, the initiation of an “unholy organised domestic and international attempt” to question the judicial process of the tribunal, a court of law of an independent country, terming the “Statute of 1973 flawed.”

The tribunal observed that the criticisms “simply endorsed such ‘organised’ ill and futile endeavour and not in the ‘interest of the public’...Such malicious attempt has not made any debarring situation for the nation to remain distanced from their urge of seeking justice, true.”

It said: “But it, however, might have intended to create mystification and

extreme derogatory impression in the mind of public and the relief seekers.

Thus, the contemnor’s conduct does not go with the ‘public good’. We consider it an extraordinary situation which warrants intervention from the court of law, the tribunal.”

The order said Bergman’s comments did not appear to have been done “reasonably” and in “good faith” and for any genuine purpose in the “public interest.”

It said: “Rather it suffers from lack of fair intention and public interest.” The criticisms “should not be guarded by the right to freedom of speech as it relates to a sensitive issue.”

Observation on his tendency

Apart from the three articles, the tribunal in its order mentioned about another article of Bergman published in a foreign magazine in 2012 to assess the purpose of the British journalist’s attitude towards Bangladesh’s Liberation War. The article titled “ICT: can one-sided trials be fair?” was published in International Justice Tribune, an independent fortnightly magazine on international criminal justice, on February 29, 2012.

“The tribunal in Dhaka deals with events from March to December 1971, when the Pakistan military used force to try to prevent the Awami League, whose supporters were Bangalees living in East Pakistan [today’s Bangladesh], from coming to power after winning the 1970 elections. The war between the Pakistan Army and the Awami League supporters and others ended when the Indian Army intervened on behalf of the Bangalee freedom fighters,” the tribunal quoted from the article.

It said: “With the ‘title’ of the article, David Bergman intended to term the ‘trial processes’ of the tribunals ‘one-sided trials.’

“The article...visibly reflects his tendency that imbued him continuing in making disparaging criticism on tribunal and its judicial process.”

Distorting settled history, by providing a “perverse view lends assurance as to his mindset which is compatible to the ‘malicious intent’ he has shown even in making the alleged criticism in the three articles,” the tribunal observed adding that such view had “demeaned” the nation’s pride.

“David Bergman has shown patent disrespect to our proclamation of independence by uttering that ‘the Pakistan

murder cases by January 22.

On April 27, seven people, including Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, were abducted from Fatullah of Narayanganj city. Three days later, six of their bodies were recovered from the Shitalakkhya River. Another body was recovered the next day.

Detectives have so far arrested a total of 27 people in connection with the killings.

Three former RAB 11 officials – Lt Col Tareque, Major Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MM Rana – confessed their involvement in the murders.

Prime accused Nur Hossain, who had been on the run since the murders, was arrested in India on June 14 on charges of trespassing. l

military used force to try to prevent the Awami League from coming to power.’”

The tribunal said during the war, the entire population of Bangladesh was the sufferers and three million of civilian population killed. “This settled history once again has been acknowledged by the Apex Court.

“But David Bergman has indeed gone too far by spreading his unfounded, distorted view that is slanderous to the glorious history of our Liberation War. Is he ignorant of the history of our independence? Or does he deliberately intend to taint our pride we achieved through the bloody war of liberation?”

The tribunal termed Bergman’s view “inevitably proves his unholy and purposeful tendency and mindset to demean and malign” not only the trial process in the tribunal but also the “magnificent” Liberation War. “It was the Bengali nation who fought for their independence and self determination. Nobody living in the land of our motherland Bangladesh should have license to disrespect the sacrifice the nation paid in achieving independent Bangladesh, by expressing such unfounded, purposeful and prejudicial view,” the three-member tribunal said in its unanimous order.

“His criticism as a whole cannot be termed free from ‘partisan spirit or tactics’ and it does never go with the ‘national interest’ and nation’s aspiration. We do not consider the intention of circulating the writing in his blog a ‘fair’ one.”

The tribunal mentioned that Bergman’s counsel Mustafizur Rahman Khan had expressed regret for causing hurt to the emotion of the nation by making such criticism. “But it is sorry to note that the contemnor has not preferred to express any extent of remorse and repentance, for this criticism touching the emotion of the nation.

“Rather, he remained silent in his written reply. We condemn his lewdness.

Judiciary of Bangladesh is not only to uphold its dignity and rule of law. It feels an obligation to value the nation’s emotion and sentiment too which are mingled with our hard earned independence.”

The tribunal also noted that the “contemnor is not found, in any of his articles, proactive in focusing the incidents of crimes being tried by the tribunal under the Act of 1973 and the rights of the victims who have been carrying untold trauma since more than last four decades.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Government lied over CHT Accord execution, alleges Santu Larma Out of the accord’s 78 sections, only 25 have been fully implemented and 13 partially, the CHT leader claims

n Tazlina Zamila Khan The government is not cordial, rather it possesses extreme nationalism regarding the implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma, the chairman of a faction of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, has claimed.

At a discussion yesterday, he also alleged that the government had been spreading wrong information about its execution process by claiming that 48 sections in the Accord, out of total 78, were implemented. “But actually only 25 sections have been implemented fully while 13 partially.”

Santu made the observations while addressing a discussion at a city hotel to mark the 17th anniversary of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord signed between the then Awami League government and the PCJSS, previously known as Shanti Bahini, to end a decade-long armed struggle in the hill region.

On Saturday, he warned the government of waging non-cooperation movement from May 1 if the Accord was not executed by that time.

“This government is not democratic, it does not keep promises. It has proved that it does not implement its policies. The government is reluctant to take any effective step to implement the Accord,” Santu said yesterday.

“No election was held to the CHT Regional Council and the three hill district councils even though 17 years have past since the signing of the Ac-

Santu Larma, the leader of the PCJSS, addresses a discussion organised on the 17th anniversary of signing of the CHT peace accord, at a hotel in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU cord. The regional council is now name only; it is unable to implement anything despite having responsibilities to do so.”

He mentioned that at least 16 indigenous women had faced physical harassment and abduction in September and November. Moreover, he criticised the army for setting up tourism centres and the BGB for establishing camps in the region by evicting indigenous people.

Barrister Sara Hossain, executive director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, at the event said: “This is the month of victory. But it is a shame that we cannot talk about the victory of the hill tracts people. How can a government deny the rights of at least 13 races?”

She also criticised the government for not upholding secular practices. “It

is said that people from the Bangalee race are top class citizens while the rest are second or third class citizens.

“We faced many attacks while trying to intervene. From settlers to law enforcers, all of them are grabbing land of the hill people.”

Other speakers talked against the government plan to establish a science and technology university as well as a medical college in Rangamati, terming the move “a technique to establish more Bangalees to the hill region” alleging that only the Bangalee people would get jobs there.

Sanjeeb Drong, secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, said: “The government has been applying different tricks for not implementing the Accord.” He hoped that the government would be

Marking the month of victory, Bangladesh Military Museum arranged an exhibition with pictures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 1971 Liberation War on its premises in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Sagar-Runi murder suspect gets bail from High Court n Tribune Report The High Court yesterday granted bail for an accused in connection with the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.

The bench of Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice S H Md Nurul Huda Jaigirdar passed the order in response to a bail petition filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the case.

The court however did not cite any bail period for accused Tanvir Rahman, who was arrested on October 1, 2012, during the pronouncement of the order.

Tanvir’s lawyer Fouzia Karim Feroz told the Dhaka Tribune: “Tanvir’s name did not come up in the first information report of the case. Besides, there is no specific charge against him until now in the case. Accordingly, it is illegal to keep him behind bars in the case.”

When she was asked for how many days his client had been granted bail, she said “The court did not cite it and so we cannot confirm it unless we get the full copy of the order.’

Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder, who moved for the state side, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We will appeal against the order in the Appellate Division after receiving the order copy.”

Tanvir, a friend of the slain journalist couple, is now in the Kashimpur high security prison. l

Tk1,500 job puts an end to Runa’s life n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong After suffering for four days, a teenage domestic help succumbed to self-inflicted burn injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) yesterday.

Runa Akhter Parvin, 14, set herself on fire after failing to convince her mother that her master Amin Ahmed Rokon, a businessman based in Chittagong, had tortured and raped her.

Six months back, Runa’s mother Rokeya brought her to Rokon’s apartment situated in the Ice Factory Road of the city to work as a domestic help.

Runa was employed at a monthly salary of Tk1,500.

Assuming that Rokon was a decent person, she left her daughter there and visited her at the end of every month, said Rokeya who lives with her husband Abdul Mannan in Chittagong’s Karnaphuli area.

“On Saturday, when I visited Runa at Rokon’s residence, she complained that Rokon had sexually assaulted her several times. She wanted to quit the job. But I thought she was lying and I slapped her,” said a wailing Rokeya at the Burn Unit of CMCH after her daughter passed away yesterday.

“I told her to stay there for a few more months but she kept complaining. At one point of hearing her ac-

cusations, Rokon started beating her indiscriminately. He kicked her in the abdomen,” she continued.

Runa rushed to the kitchen, locked the door and set herself on fire, said Rokeya, crying hysterically.

After breaking down the door, Rokeya and Rokon brought Runa to the CMCH’s Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit in critical condition.

‘Runa complained that Rokon had sexually assaulted her several times. She wanted to quit the job’ Seeking proper justice for Runa, her mother said: “I was wrong, I sent my daughter to that job because of our poverty.”

Under section 10 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, Rokeya lodged a case against Rokon on November 29 with Sadarghat police station detailing the accusations of torture Runa had made.

Sadarghat police station Inspector Sadip Kumar Das said Rokon has been on the run since the incident.

A section on suicide would be included in the case as per the law, he said. l

honest from now on in executing the Accord.

Columnist Syed Abul Moksud claimed that the government was not implementing the Accord “responsibly” since there is no financial benefits.

“The government gets money by signing agreements with the international donors. But it is not happening here. So, the Accord exists only on papers.”

He demanded that all parliament members hold a special discussion in the CHT to decide about the issue before March 26 – the Independence Day. Pankaj Bhattacharya, president of NAP; Ushaton Talukder, parliament member and vice-president of PCJSS; and Nilufar Banu, human rights activist, were also present among others. l

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Chief justice warns of stern action against corrupt judges n Tribune Report Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain yesterday warned the lower court judges and court officials of stern actions if they were found involved in corruption.

He also order the lower court judges to take up fresh and effective scheme to prevent corruption and also to refer any corruption allegation of any court official to the higher authorities.

The chief justice in a written statement told the judges in an annual meeting at the Supreme Court auditorium.

About 325 district judges, chief judicial magistrates and chief metropolitan magistrates attended the meeting.

The chief justice said: “I sincerely accept any information on corruption against any court official because there is no place for corruption in judiciary.

Corruption makes injustice and injustice in a place is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“I will not accept any false allegation against any judge but I will accept every logical allegation of corruption and a competent judge will investigate it.”

Muzammel Hossain said: “case backlog and lengthy judiciary process have become the biggest obstacles to

justice. At present a staggering 2.7 million cases are pending with various courts across the country.”

He asked the judges not to adjourn hearing unnecessarily or grant time petitions filed by the respective lawyers to clear the backlog and also asked them to spend their entire time on judiciary proceedings.

“I heard many judges do not sit at the court after the afternoon break. It is not at all accepted.

“I have also heard the judges whose families live in Dhaka leave their workplaces early on Thursday afternoon and return late on Sunday morning.”

This is also not accepted. “You have to go to the court on time and have to spend the time on trial proceedings and also have to influence other judges to do it,” he went on.

After the opening session the door of the meeting was closed for media.

The chief justice had one and a half our closed-door meeting with the judges.

Acting registrar of the Supreme Court SM Kuddus Zaman moderated the session.

Sources in the meeting said one judge from each division spoke at the meeting. They presented their problems and also shared new thinking to smoothen the judciary system. l

Daud Ibrahim’s sidekick Rauf rearrested in Kashimpur n Tribune Report Detectives picked up Abdur Rauf Daud Merchant, an alleged aide of Dubaibased Indian mafia Daud Ibrahim, as soon as he was released on bail from the Kashimpur in Gazipur near Dhaka on Monday.

Rauf was convicted by an Indian court for killing music icon Gulshan Kumar, following which he had fled to Bangladesh, said several high officials of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) yesterday while confirming the news a day after the arrest.

Jahangir Alam, senior jail super of Kashimpur, said Rauf secured bail in a case on November 19 and the order

reached their hands 10 days later. He was released around 6pm on Monday.

An official from the Gazipur office of DMP’s Detective Branch (DB) said they were not informed about his release and none of their men were present at the jail gate when detectives based in Dhaka had picked him up.

Rauf, 45, started serving life sentence in 2002 in India. However, in April 2009, when he was released on parole to see his family, he fled.

DMP detectives arrested Rauf on the night of May 28, 2009 in Bramhanbaria along with one of his cohorts.

Soon, he was sued for trespassing and holding a fake Bangladeshi passport. That case is now under trial. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

BNP announces Victory day programmes n Mohammad Al- Masum Molla The BNP has announced its programme to mark December, the month when the country achieved independence from Pakistan as well as losing its intellectuals at the hands of Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators in 1971.

The party’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement at a press conference after holding a joint meeting with the party’s front and associate bodies at its head office at Nayapaltan in the capital yesterday.

The party’s spokesperson asked party leaders and activists to forget their divisions, get united and work together BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will place floral wreaths at Mirpur’s Martyred Intellectuals’ Memorial on December 14 and at Savar’s National Memorial on December 16, he said.

December 14 is observed to commemorate the intellectuals who were killed during the Liberation War and December 16 to commemorate the victory over the Pakistani occupation forces.

Fakhrul said the party would hold a discussion in the afternoon of the Martyred Intellectuals’ Day. Besides, the party flag along with the national flag would be hoisted at half-mast at all of the party’s offices across the country.

Another discussion would be held

on Victory Day, when the national and party flags would also be hoisted atop all the party offices in the morning, he said.

As well as placing flowers at the National Memorial, Khaleda along with her party leaders would also place wreaths at the grave of party founder Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on the same day, the BNP spokesman said.

On December 13, the BNP-led 20-party alliance will hold a public rally in Narayanganj. They will organise a rally of freedom fighters at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital on December 21.

The Dhaka city unit BNP will also bring out a procession on Victory Day. The party will hold a discussion at the National Press Club on December 5 to mark Democracy Day. On December 18, former Dhaka University Central Student Union leaders will hold a rally in the capital.

New committee of Muktijoddha Dal

The BNP also announced the new committee of Muktijoddha Dal yesterday.

Fakhrul approved the 191-member new committee of its freedom fighters’ wing, Muktijoddha Dal, headed by Ishtiaq Aziz Ulfat and SM Shafiuzzaman Khokon as president and general secretary.

Abdul Hossain, Sadek Ahmed Khan and AKM Nurul Amin were made senior vice president, senior joint secretary general and organising secretary of the committee, respectively.

The party’s spokesperson asked party leaders and activists to forget their divisions, get united and work together. l

Zia was a spy of Pakistan, claims Hasan Mahmud n Tribune Report

A man is trying to get on a bus through its window in the capital’s Farmgate area yesterday. The picture is a portrayal of the utter failure of the ongoing drives by the traffic unit of DMP to make city dwellers abide by the traffic rules MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

CHT peace pact anniversary observed in Khagrachhari n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari The 17th anniversary of the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace agreement was observed in the district yesterday amid various types of programmes.

A colourful rally inaugurated by local lawmaker Kujendra Lal Tripura was brought out in the morning from the DC office premises and paraded throughout the streets before ending at the Town hall.

Senior public officials and local ruling party leaders along with the locals joined the rally, after which many cultural programmes were staged.

Marking the occasion, the Bangladesh Army hosted a friendly

Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday demanding safe roads and punishment to the driver of the bus that hit Journalist Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury to death in the Karwan Bazar area of the capital on Saturday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Private university student killed in road accident in capital n Tribune Report A driver, distracted by a conversation with a female passenger, killed a private university student in the Merul Badda area of Dhaka yesterday.

The victim Sadi Morshed, 22, was a BBA second year student of Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), and son of Jatiya Party (Kazi Jafar) Presidium Member SM Alam.

Badda Police Station Sub-Inspector Abdul Karim said the accident took place as a bus of Falgun Paribahan plying on Uttara-Azimpur route hit Sadi’s motorcycle in front Asian Hospital around 5:00pm.

The victim was going to his home at 42, North Kamalapur from the university in the Basundhara residential area, he said.

The bus passengers and locals rushed the victim to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared him dead around 6:00pm.

The driver managed to flee the spot after the incident. Police, however, seized the bus.

Enamul Haque, one of the passengers to rush the victim to DMCH, told journalists that the driver was talking to a female passenger siting beside him, while driving the bus.

“We don’t know whether the passenger was his relative or known to him. We, however, repeatedly asked the driver to concentrate on driving.

But he ignored us,” he said.

“In a short span of time, we heard a sound. We got off the bus as the driver stopped soon after the sound, and we found a pool of blood on the road,” he added. l

DU Pro-VC: Journalists should be responsible in reporting rape n DU Correspondent Dhaka University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Shaheed Akhtar Hosssain has said media must show more responsibility in publishing reports on rape.

“Sometimes news reports on rape incidents are presented in such a way that may attract the readers towards the crime. Media personnel should think about their social responsibility while working,” he said. The DU pro-VC was speaking at a programme titled “We demand violence and harassment free campus for women” at the RC Majumdar Auditorium at the Arts Building.

Bangladesh Mohila Parishad and the DU Women and Gender Studies department jointly organised the discussion yesterday. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune later, Prof Shaheed said: “Rape is a heinous crime and must be covered in the media. But, print media journalists should avoid unwanted descriptions of

a rape while reporting.”

He also said: “Electronic media journalists, especially those from television, often show graphic footage of dead bodies or bloody crime scenes. It must also be avoided because it can have negative impact on the psyche of the viewers.”

Aslamul Husna, a fourth-year student of Islamic history, shared her bitter experience at the programme.

“An outsider teased me on the campus this morning. Such incidents are frequently occurring on the campus, but the authorities have failed to tackle them,” she blurted out.

Ayesha Khanom, president of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad, said: “If the teaser is properly punished in line with the existing laws, the rate of such crimes would come down significantly.”

Professor Dr Aktaruzzaman, dean of the Arts Faculty, emphasised on creating awareness about harassment of women to curb the trend. l

AIUB VC attends UNESCO-IIEP workshop n Tribune Report American International University, Bangladesh (AIUB) Vice Chancellor Dr Carmen Z Lamagna and its senior assistant Prof Farheen Hassan have recently participated a workshop organised by the UNESCO on International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris, says a media release.

Eight universities from Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Germany, Kenya and South Africa have been selected for the programme out of 50 applicants while the AIUB is one of them.

The event was aimed to to hold discussions with the case study authors on the

major research concerns and objective with a view to developing a common understanding of the study and methodology to carry out the studies and the calendar of operations while the UNESCO-IIEP will publish a book on the different case studies by 2016. l

football match among local teams in the afternoon and a laser show in the evening.

On the contrary, activists of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS-NN Larma faction) brought out a protest procession from Chengi Square area of the district town demanding quick implementation of the long-pending pact. It, however, was later forced to change destination in the face of police action.

Later they held a discussion on Surjosikka Club grounds in Mohajanpara area, where the leaders of the organisation blamed the government for deceiving the indigenous people by the treaty and

demanded a full-fledged autonomous facility for these people.

Terming the agreement a black pact, activists of Parbattya Bangali Chhatra Parishd led by its local President Shahajol Islam Sajol brought out demonstration and police obstruction forced it to end in the Mohajanpara area.

The anniversary was also observed in the other eight upazilas of the district with different programmes.

On the second December of 1997, the then Awami League government and the PCJSS signed the treaty to ensure recognition of the rights of the ethnic communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts –Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Rangamati. l

BNP founder Ziaur Rahman had acted as a spy for Pakistan during Bangladesh’s War of Independence, said Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary Hasan Mahmud yesterday.

“We have the document that he was a Pakistani spy,” he said, showing a letter to the audience while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital.

The former minister added that this letter had been written to Ziaur Rahman by then Brigadier General Aslam Beg of the Pakistan Army during the Liberation War. “We are happy with your activities; don’t be worried about your wife and children,” he read out the letter.

Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak made a similar claim at a press conference in Dhanmandi on Monday. He also showed a letter at the time, which Beg had written to Zia, according to him.

Former state minister Quamrul Islam, who is now the country’s food minister, made a similar claim in 2010.

The BNP had labelled his claim as baseless and challenged him to prove it.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Advisor on ICT Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, better known as Joy, last month termed Zia a Pakistani agent in disguise during the country’s Liberation War. Joy had also labelled the BNP as a party of collaborators, saying “the party collaborates with Jamaat-e-Islami and opposes the trial of the war criminals.”

The BNP has a long-standing alliance with the Jamaat, of which top leaders are already convicted or now put on trial for their crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation. Even the BNP has a few leaders convicted for the same crimes. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Dhaka dwellers harassed by new name-old name conflict Authorities fail to implement new names and numbers of avenues, roads, streets in capital n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhaka city dwellers continue to face confusion and inconvenience with the exact addresses of many roads and establishments across the capital as authorities concerned have failed to implement their decision properly to rename and renumber a number of streets and buildings.

The undivided Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) took the initiative to change the names of 85 roads and 12 establishments to name them after the country’s esteemed personalities as a tribute in 2004. A decade later, most of these new names and numbers are still unknown to people due to negligence and lack of monitoring by both the Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations.

There is also the practice of using both the old and new names and numbers in most of the renamed streets and buildings, making it difficult for people to figure out the correct address of any street or establishment.

Visiting the streets in the capital, this correspondent found that most roads, streets and establishments had yet to use their newly assigned names and numbers. The situation is especially worse in the Dhanmondi area.

In Dhanmondi, all the streets have new names and numbers. But many Dhanmondi dwellers complained to the Dhaka Tribune that they did not know the new names.

“I have heard that the street names and numbers have changed in Dhanmondi. But I do not know them, so I cannot figure out the exact addresses based on the new system,” said Sadia Iqbal, a Kalabagan resident.

Ijaj Ahmed, a shop owner at Road 16 in Dhanmondi (old number 27), told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have to use both the new and old numbers in our address because most people know our shop only by the old number.”

Six held with 1,150 yaba tablets

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:11PM SUN RISES 6:27AM 28 28 27 28 28 28 28 28

19 19 14 16 14 16 16 18

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

29.7ºC Cox's Bazar

13.0ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

Dhanmondi Road 32 is now Road 11 under the new system, but people still address it by Road 32. Road 16 (old 27) has been named Shahid Sheikh Kamal Sharani, which is also barely known by people.

Officials at both city corporations

told the Dhaka Tribune that during the renaming process, both residential and commercial establishments were instructed to use the new names and numbers of their buildings and the streets in their addresses, but they did not follow the instructions properly.

However, owners of many other establishments did follow the instruction, and added the old address too, but it only created more confusion for people.

According to an official of the Dhaka North City Corporation, the new name of the road from Mohakhali via

Dissatisfaction over investigation process mounts

Detective Branch members of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police in separate drives yesterday arrested six people and recovered a total of 1,150 pieces of yaba tablets from their possession.

Md Kutub Uddin, 35, Shah Alam, 40, Osman Gani, 35, and Bashir Ahmed, 50, were held along with 950 pieces of yaba tablets from the Devpahar area under the Chawakbazar police station in the port city.

In another drive, a police team held a couple – Delwar Hossain, 28, and his wife Rasheda Beghum, 22 – from the Kolpolok residential area under the Bakalia police station and found 200 yaba pills from their possession in the morning.

Three cases were launched against the six with the respective police stations. l

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

RAJIB DHAR

KILLING OF RU TEACHER

n Tribune Report

FORECAST FOR TODAY

The practice of using both ‘new’ and ‘old’ numbers of the roads and streets confuses city dwellers largely. The photo was taken from the Dhanmanodi area of the capital yesterday

5:06am 6:25am 11:48am 3:35pm 5:11pm 6:31 pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

n RU Correspondent Teachers and students of Rajshahi University (RU) forming a human chain expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation process of the killing of professor AKM Shafiul Islam.

They said police failed to arrest the mastermind of the killing Anwar Hossain Uzzal, convener of Juba Dal Rajshahi district unit, whose name was revealed by other arrestees at a press conference in the capital on November 22. They also demanded exemplary punishment to the real killers of Shafiul Islam.

They said till yesterday evening, a total of about 17 suspects were held by law enforcers in connection with the case, but two members of Ansar-al-Islam Bangladesh Shariful Islam and Raihanul Islam who took the responsibilities of the murder in their facebook page ‘Ansar al Islam Bangladesh-2’ were not made accused in the murder case. It was mysterious, they claimed.

However, teachers of the university said the masterminds behind the murder were yet to be identified and efforts of the police to bring the real culprits to the book was not satisfactory.

They also vowed tougher move-

ments if the culprits were not brought to book quickly.

Over 350 teachers and students under the banner of Sociology Department formed the human chain presided over by Sociology department’s Prof Md Sirajul Islam.

Prof Shafiul Islam was hacked to death by some miscreants on November 15 “We are still in the dark about the overall progress of the investigation,” said Prof Islam said.

He also hoped that the real culprits would be brought to the book as soon as possible.

Later, they brought out a procession on the campus that paraded across different points of the campus.

They said it was high time to punish the murderers. If the real killers are not punished on time this type of incidents will occur again in future, the speakers added.

RU Teachers Association (RUTA)

President Kamrul Hasan Majumder, Chairman of Sociology and Anthropology Department Prof Wardatul Akmam and Prof Faizar Rahman, among others, also joined the protest programme.

However, Iftekhayer Alam, assistant commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had been working seriously over the murder case.

Prof Shafiul Islam was hacked to death by some miscreants near his house in Chouddapai area, adjacent to the campus, on November 15.

Five accused placed on remand again

A Rajshahi court yesterday placed five accused on a two-day remand in connection with the murder.

Metropolitan Magistrate Court 3 Judge Sharmin Akhter passed the order after police produced them before the court seeking a 10-day remand for each of them for further investigation.

The accused are: Ariful Islam Manik, Abdus Salam Pintu, Sabuj Sheikh, Sirajul Islam Kalu and Mamun.

On November 23, RAB members arrested six people, including the five, in connection with the killing. They were later sent to jail on November 25. l

Gulshan 1 intersection upto Badda is AK Khandker Avenue, and the new name of Gulshan Avenue is Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Ali Avenue. Yet most organisations in Gulshan still use the old names. Residents too are unaware of the new names.

Mortuza Ratul, a resident of Badda, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have never heard of the new names of Gulshan 1 and 2. Most of the shops and other holdings just use the name Gulshan Avenue.”

To name a few, Elephant Road has been renamed as Dr Kudrat-e Khuda Road, Green Road is officially Shahid Munir Chowdhury Road, Purana Paltan is Comrade Moni Singh Road, and Dainik Bangla Road is Bir Uttam Ashfakus Samad Road.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune about this problem, locals of different areas in Dhaka blamed the lack of monitoring by the city corporations, as well as their failure to make the changes public knowledge.

Ijaj, the shop owner at Dhanmondi Road 16, said the city corporations should take steps to advertise the new names and numbers, otherwise the confusion would persist.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted Mohammad Sirajul Islam, chief urban planner at Dhaka South City Corporation, who was also in charge of urban planning at Dhaka North City Corporation when the city corporation was divided, who said his department was not responsible for the renaming project and advised this correspondent to contact the Revenue Department of both the city corporations.

This correspondent then contacted Md Mostafa Kamal, chief revenue officer at Dhaka South City Corporation, who said: “We have directed the establishments to use the new names and numbers, but they have yet to do it.”

This correspondent also contacted BM Enamul Haque, chief executive officer at Dhaka North City Corporation, who reiterated Mostafa’s statement and added that they would take strict measures to ensure the use of only the new names and numbers. However, employment of any such measures is yet to be seen. l

Sadhna Ausadhalaya fined n Our Correspondent, Chittagong A mobile court of the Chittagong district administration yesterday fined three medicine shops, including two outlets of the renowned Sadhana Ausadhalya, a total of Tk25,000 and jailed three hawkers for selling substandard ayurvedic medicines in the port city.

The court led by Executive Magistrate Md Rakib Hasan conducted the drive along the Shahid Minar Road, and in the Laldighi and Anderkilla areas from around 11am to 2:30pm.

The court fined two outlets of the Sadhana Ausadhalya located in

Laldighi and Anderkilla areas Tk10,000 each for storing date-expired medicines and also for not preserving medicines properly, the magistrate said.

Besides, the court also fined an outlet of Modern Herbal Limited located in Laldighi area with Tk5,000 for keeping medicines in qan unhygienic environment. The mobile court also jailed three hawkers for selling adulterated medicines.

Superintendent of Drug Administration KM Muhsinin Mahbub and Assistant Commissioner of Chittagong (Kotwali circle) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf were present during the drive. l

One held with gold in Ctg n Our Correspondent, Chittagong Customs officials at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong detained a man with 14 gold bars and 77 gold chains yesterday.

The detainee is Mohammad Rashid, 38, of the Rangunia upazila in Chittagong, said customs officials.

The gold items weighed about two kilogrammes and worth about Tk80 lakh, they said.

Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Assistant Commissioner Sushanta Paul told the Dhaka Tribune that the detainee was carry-

ing the gold bars in a box of spectacles [eyeglasses].

Earlier, Rashid reached the airport from Dubai by Bangladesh Biman flight (BG-048) around 6:30am.

The existing law allows a person to carry a maximum of 200 grammes of gold from abroad after paying the appropriate duty fees at the airport.

According to a recent circular issued by Bangladesh Bank, a passenger is allowed to carry two kilogrammes of gold from abroad. But they have to inform the authorities concerned and pay necessary duty fees to bring in that amount of gold. l

BCL urged to practice fair and constructive politics n BAU Correspondent Speakers at a programme urged activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League (AL), to practice fair and constructive politics for the sake of country’s well-being.

The BCL has a glorious history in bringing independence to the country. But at present, the organisation is frequently involved in some controversial activities which brings shame to their party, speakers observed at the inauguration ceremony of ‘Clean Campus, Save Campus,’ drive on the Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU) campus yesterday.

Following the direction of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the BCL is conducting cleanliness drives at different educational institutions across the country.

Vice-Chancellor of BAU Prof Md Rafiqul Haque was also present at the

event. He said: “You [BCL men] should not forget your glorious past; work for the welfare of the people of the country as you did earlier.

“You have to remain conscious about intrusion of outsiders into the BCL as conspirators are still active to tarnish image of the organisation,” the BAU VC said.

He also suggested that BCL activists get involved in more constructive work rather being news headlines for wrong doings.

With BAU unit BCL President Md Mursheduzzaman Khan Babu in the chair, the programme was addressed among others by BAU Students’ Affairs Advisor Prof ZH Khandoker, BAU Registrar Md Abdul Khaleque, Proctor Prof Md Harun-ur Rashid and BCL BAU unit General Secretary Saiful Islam and Vice-President Bijoy Barman.

Later, BCL activists along with guests cleaned several points of the campus and placed plastic trash boxes for use. l

Bangladesh Railway authorities demolish structures built illegally along the railway tracks from the capital’s Jurain to Doyaganj area yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Porous ferries pose high risk at Gopalganj

Nasim: Natore Sadar Hospital to be upgraded to a 250-bed hospital soon n Our Correspondent, Natore

The ferries are kept operational by pumping out water n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj Two ferries assigned for Kalna ghat on the Madhumati river here have been running amid risk of submerging for long as lower parts of those are experiencing many holes.

It was learnt that those were kept on operational by repeatedly pumping out the water enters through the holes.

Sources said there are two ferries at the ghat to carry vehicles to western side Lohagara of Narail district from Kashiani of Gopalganj. The route is very important for south-western districts of the country while it saves a remarkable hours to maintain communication with the capital from those places.

The ghat’s lessee Manjurul Islam said the ferries have been carrying the vehicles amid a great risk as there are many holes in the lower part of them.

“Besides, the condition of the engines is not good and that is why they consume excess diesel,” he added.

When asked, Gopalganj Roads and Highways Department Executive Engineer Somiran Rai acknowledged the sorry state of the ferries, telling that new big ferries are needed urgently to ensure smooth passage of the busy route. l

Brahmanbaria police accused of extortion n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

A sub-inspector and a constable of Akhaura police station in Brahmanbaria have been accused of extorting Tk17,500 from two locals through intimidation and physical assault.

Following a case filed by advocate Rashed Miya against Sub-Inspector (SI) Delwar Hossain and Constable Nazmul yesterday, Akhaura Senior Judicial Magistrate court has directed the Brahmanbaria ASP circle to submit a probe report.

Around three unidentified constables have also been alleged.

According to the case statement, on November 25 around 7:30pm, while returning to Akhaura College area on two motorcycles, Rashed Miya and Dulal Miya, two locals, along with four more people, were obstructed by a group of police officials.

Seizing their motorcycles, police demanded Tk90,000 and threatened of filing a case for taking drugs if they did not meet the demand.

On the spot, the plaintiffs gave Tk28,500 and agreed to give the rest later. Police also seized three mobile phone sets worth Tk17,500 from them.

When the matter was informed to Akhaura police station Officer-inCharge Hammad Hossain, Constable Nazmul sought apology and returned Tk1,000 through bKash which had got in his share, said the case statement.

Denying the allegations, SI Delwar Hossain said Rashed Miya was drunk and engaged in a heated argument with the constable. He said he went there and resolved the issue.

OC Hammad said he had heard about the case, however, no one yet came up with a complaint to him. l

5 killed in accident n Tribune Desk Five people were killed and 19 others injured in road accidents in Madaripur, Sylhet , Chittagong and Noakhali yesterday.

Two motor bikers were killed in an accident on Rajoir-Gopalganj highway in Fultala area in Madaripur.

The deceased are Mizanur Rahman, and Shamim Ahamed. Both them were residents of Kotalipara of Gopalganj.

The accident took place when a bus hit the motorcycle of victims, killing them on the spot. In another incident, an army official was killed and seven others, including three army men, were injured in an accident on Sylhet-Tamabil highway in Talerpara area of Sylhet yesterday, reports our Sylhet correspondent.

The deceased is Mizanur Raham.

However, the identities of other victims could not be known immediately.

Police said the accident took place when a truck hit a CNG-run auto-rickshaw carrying the army officials in the area. The army men were traveling to Jalalabad Cantonment from Sylhet Railway Station.

In Chittagong a man was killed and 12 others were injured in a head-on collision between two buses in Motha Chora area under Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong. The deceased is Babla, 48.

In Noakhali, a nine-year old girl was killed in Majdee Bazar area. l

A man pumps out water from a ferry at Kalna ghat in Gopalganj. The river water regularly enters the ferry through the many holes existing in the hull

Good yield makes BRRI-62 popular n Our Correspondent, Naogaon The good yield and nutritious value of short duration variety BRRI-62 has made it popular in Naogaon.

Two hundred and fifty farmers cultivated this variety in the district this season. A farmer got 50-55 maunds of rice per acre of land.

Many more farmers would cultivate this variety from next year on, said agriculture officials, since they saw its good yield for themselves.

The newly invented rice variety also contains zinc, a micro nutrient that helps children’s natural growth and disease prevention.

In cooperation with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute

(BRRI), the Agriculture Extension Department already began inspiring farmers to cultivate this paddy on large scale considering its good yield nd nutritious value.

Farmer Khokon Ali from Sadar upazila’s Abadpur village said he made quite good profits by cultivating BRRI-62 this year because its yield and price were also satisfactory.

This rice was good for human health, he said, adding that he might bring more land under its cultivation next year.

Raninagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Palashchandra Sarker said this rice variety could be harvested within 100 days of its plantation

and it contains 19-20% zinc while an ordinary rice variety has only 8-12 percent zinc.

Naogaon Agriculture Extension Department’s Deputy Director Satyabrata Saha said that after harvesting BRRI-62, farmers could cultivate various Rabi crops like tomato, brinjal, mustard and vegetables for additional income before going to Boro’ farming.

And so this short duration variety was getting popular with the farmers in the district, he said.

Rajshahi Regional Agriculture Extension Department’s Additional Director SM Nuruzzaman Mandal urged every farmer to cultivate this short duration variety. l

Prior to the triennial council of Rajshahi city unit of Awami League to be held on December 6, arches, festoons and banners are set up on the street in front of the PN Girls’ High School situated at the heart of the city AZAHAR UDDIN

NEWS IN BRIEF Abducted school boy rescued, two held in Sunamganj The police have rescued a school boy from Bausi village under Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj yesterday, two days after his abduction. Police also arrested two persons for their alleged involvement with the kidnap. The arrestees are rickshaw puller Lilu Mia, 20, Abid Ullah,26. Officer-in-Charge of Jagannathpur police station Asaduzzaman Khan said: “The duo abducted the class-three student Mahi, 8, son of Afiz Uddin, of Meerpur village under Jagannathpur upazila on November 30 while he was returning from his school.”

“Tipped off, we arrested Lilu andAbid from Bausi village and rescued Mahi.” A case has been filed in this connection, the official said.

– Our Correspondent, Sunamganj

One held with yaba tablets Rapid Action Battalion arrested a man with 200 yaba tablets in the district yesterday. The arrested was identified as Afzal Hossain,23, son of Imran Ali in the town. RAB-5 Commander Major Kamruzzaman Pavel said on a tip-off, a team of law enforcers conducted a drive in the house of Afzal arrested him with the contraband. He had been running business in the area for long time, he said. A case was filed.

– Our Correspondent, Chapainawbganj

116 arrested in Lakshmipur A total of 116 persons were arrested at different places in the district yesterday. Police said the arrested included accused of different cases and warranted accused. Besides, there were accuses in connection with different drug and explosive cases. Of the arrested ,eight were arrested from Sadar police station, six from Raipur police station, 10 from Ramganj police station, eight from Ramgoti police station,

eight from Komolnagar police station and five from Chandraganj police station. When contacted, assistant police commissioner Md Nasim Mia said a total of 116 people were arrested during the last 48 hours. Several light guns, eight rounds of bullet and drugs were seized during the drives.

Later, they were sent to jail custody showing arrested.

– Our Correspondent, Laksmipur

Studio owner rapes schoolgirl; 3 arrested in Munshiganj A schoolgirl was raped on Monday at Srinagar in Munshiganj by a studio owner after she went to his shop for laminating a certificate. Srinagar police station Officer-in-Charge Mujibur Rahman said the girl in Class IX at Kazi Fazlul Huq High School went for laminating her Class V certificate to Raju Studio at Amin Bazar around 9am. At that time, the studio owner Raju Matbar raped the girl with the help of his two employees. Later, Ayub Ali, grandfather of the girl filed a case against Raju and his two employees Imran and Shahabuddin with Srinagar police station. Senior Judicial Magistrate Nargis Islam recorded the statement of the girl at her room. Police arrested the trio and sent to jail through the court.

– Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

30 hurt in clash in Brahmanbaria At least 30 people were injured in a clash between two rival groups in the district yesterday. Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kashba police station said there had been a longstanding enmity between the people of two families named Boro Bari and Purba Para over establishing supremacy in the area. On the day, they got locked in a clash, leaving 30 injured. The injured were sent to Sadar Hospital.

– Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Health and Family Planning Affairs Minister Md Nasim said Natore 50-bed Sadar Hospital would be upgraded to a 250-bed hospital soon.

The minister also declared that the government would provide Tk50 lakh for the betterment of the hospital.

The government has a plan to set up a trauma centre at Banpara under Baraigram upazila of the district, the minister said adding that he would set up Nasim Institute in Natore soon.

The minister made the pledges while addressing Awami League distrcit council’s first meeting held at Kanaikhali field yesterday afternoon.

The minister also said there was no possibility to hold the national election even one day back of the election commission’s scheduled time 2019.

AL central committee’s Joint Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak, International Affairs Secretary Faruk Khan, Organising Secretary Abu Sayid AL Mahmud Swapan, Executive Member Khairuzzaman Liton, State Minister for Information and Communication Affairs Junaid Ahmed Palak, Abdul Quddus MP and Abul Kalam MP, among others, addressed the event. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

7

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

BIGSTOCK

Understanding disability

M

n Julian Francis

y elder brother, James, who was born in 1943 with a genetic chromosomal abnormality, Down’s Syndrome, and who had a severe learning disability, died in 1999 in the UK as a result of negligence. He died of bronchial pneumonia because doctors who were treating him did not take the time and trouble to find out exactly what was wrong with him.

He had been suffering with diarrhoea and they treated him for that without properly examining him at the residential care home in which he lived. He died because he was unable to communicate with the doctors and carers supposedly trained to look after people with such difficulties.

His birthday, which he always celebrated with a lot of fun and laughter among friends, even going to

It is only right to ask ourselves if we ever take time to understand the problems, the challenges, the feelings, and the aspirations of those people who live among us; who, as a result of a disability or disabilities, find their lives more difficult to handle than most of us

a local pub for a drink, was December 3. This date, therefore, has special significance for me, because in most countries of the world, December 3 is observed as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

It is only right to ask ourselves if we ever take time to understand the problems, the challenges, the feelings, and the aspirations of those people who live among us; who, as a result of a disability or disabilities, find their lives more difficult to handle than most of us. When we meet people with disabilities, due to our lack of knowledge, we often feel awkward and embarrassed as we do not know how to react, what to do, or what to say.

I am writing down some practical advice which may help in the understanding of how people with disabilities feel. I draw on my own personal experience of growing up with a brother with a severe learning disability, and later in life having a son with a similar disability. This experience, and knowing many other people with disabilities who have become close friends, has enriched my life and my work.

Having been responsible, with the help of others, in 1990/91, for putting together the first preliminary draft of Bangladesh’s National Disability Policy, and having seen how slowly it made progress, I am well aware of how officialdom looks at the problems of the disabled. The rights of the disabled are always at the bottom of most governments’ budget plans, and so, I can only stress that much more work has to be done.

Having said that, I am very pleased to see that the Government of Bangladesh is taking a closer interest in the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities, and that the Disability Welfare Act 2001 has now been amended and strengthened in Parliament through the Disability Rights and Protection Act, 2013. I have worked with many friends in Bangladesh, and elsewhere, who have disabilities, and all the time I try to focus on the person and not on the disability, and hopefully what I write below will help government ministers and government officials better understand what they have to do and how to relate to persons with disabilities.

The best advice, however, is that if you do not know how to handle your relationship with a person with a disability, ask him or her for advice. I hope these Do’s and Don’ts will enrich the lives of those who read them and some of the millions of people with disabilities in Bangladesh. l Julian Francis received the “Friends of Liberation War Honour” from the Government of Bangladesh in March, 2012.

He has worked in many poverty alleviation projects in Bangladesh where he continues to live and work as an independent consultant.

How to understand and respect people with disabilities – DOs and DON’Ts DOs and DON’Ts

DON’T treat a person with one disability as if she/he is disabled in other ways.

People tend to talk in simple single syllable words to people who use wheelchairs, they shout at the deaf, and often address a blind person through someone else.

DON’T focus on a person’s disability, focus on the person.

DO ask if you can help – and how to help – if it looks as if help might be needed.

You may be shy about offering help. The disabled person may also be shy about asking for it. And don’t be offended if your help is not needed – persons with disabilities usually like to be as independent as possible. And don’t be put off from offering your help at another time.

DON’T say “I wouldn’t try that if I were you” – a disabled person is likely to be the best judge of what she/he can or cannot do.

DON’T show pity and say, “I don’t know how you manage; I’d die if I couldn’t walk.” It is often hurtful and, under the guise of praise, reinforces the sense of being different.

DO treat children with disabilities as normally as possible – including not allowing them to misbehave. Disabled children need to learn the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in their own society, just as other children do.

DO identify yourself straightaway. A blind person can’t always place you by a “hello.” It’s hard for her/him to reply warmly with “hello” if she/he doesn’t know who you are. So, give a name and context: “Hello, it’s Tasneem. We met last week at Shahana’s house.”

DO make a special effort to remember the name of a person who is blind.

Beginning with her/his name is the only way of letting her/him know that you are talking to her/him.

DON’T feel shy about saying things like “nice to see you” to a blind person. She/ he may even say it back. It’s impossible to avoid words connected with seeing – blind people aren’t self-conscious about it and needn’t be.

DON’T grab a blind person’s arm unexpectedly. You’ll startle her/him. In fact, don’t hold a blind person’s arm at all! Allow her/him to hold yours. She/ he is then safely half-a-step behind you, and so is forewarned of what your

next move will be by the change in your position.

DON’T say “here’s a step” – say, “step up” or “step down.” It’s dangerous as well as embarrassing to be waving your foot in mid-air when the step actually leads down. Also, if the step is exceptionally deep or shallow, do mention it.

DON’T leave doors half-open. Shut them all the way or open them flat against the wall.

DO be honest and keep promises.

Don’t assume that a person with a learning disability doesn’t understand or remember what you’ve said. As an example, our son Neil, now nearly 40 years old, who has a severe learning disability, has a very good memory and an amazing sense of direction.

DO take time to listen to someone who is mentally ill, and don’t assume that she/he has no knowledge or opinions of value.

DON’T express pity for parents of “retarded” children – their child is just as

Don’t chase a child away from a person with a learning disability (often, wrongly, referred to as “mentally retarded”) who might approach her/ him. It only perpetuates the feeling that there is something to be afraid and ashamed of if she/he reaches out to touch a child

DON’T exclude a blind person from television. It gives her/him access to a world familiar to her/his sighted friends.

DON’T exclude a blind friend from outdoor activities. Ask if she/he would like to shop with you instead of your doing it for her/him.

DON’T chase a child away from a person with a learning disability (often, wrongly, referred to as “mentally retarded”) who might approach her/ him. It only perpetuates the feeling that there is something to be afraid and ashamed of if she/he reaches out to touch a child, take her/his hand and turn it into a friendly handshake – deflecting the attention away from the child and on to yourself.

DON’T be afraid of a person with a learning disability. Very few are violent – and if they are among people, you can assume that they are not violent.

Avoidance and rejection are among the most commonly upsetting things to people with learning disabilities.

precious to them as any child is to any parent.

DON’T give advice, except to point someone in the direction of professional help, if none is being given and some help seems necessary.

DO remember that any practical help you offer may need to be given for a long period.

DON’T tell a person who is mentally ill to “pull themselves together.” If they could, they would.

DON’T grab hold of a wheelchair without being asked. The occupant can easily be thrown out by an inexpert enthusiast. Remember to warn her/him if you are going to turn the chair round quickly. In fact, it’s thoughtful to tell her/ him whatever your next move is going to be.

DO check with the person in the wheelchair if the speed you are pushing her/him at is comfortable. Too fast-it’s

unsettling. Too slow – it’s plain boring.

DON’T lift the chair by the armrests, they’ll probably come out in your hands. Do remember that the person may find it hard to hear what you are merrily chattering about, and since your voice, coming from behind, may not compete well with traffic noise.

Also, from her/his vantage point, she/ he may not be able to see what you are pointing at.

DO chat to a person in a stationary wheelchair with your head on the same level. It’s embarrassing always literally to be “looked down upon” and uncomfortable always to be looking up.

DO ask her/him how to get a wheelchair up or down a flight of stairs – there are often simple mechanisms or techniques which the disabled person will know.

DO keep your face clearly visible when talking to a deaf person. Face the light.

If you stand with your back to the light or window then you may be silhouetted, wiping out the details needed for lip reading. Don’t move around – your deaf friend will miss words each time you turn your face.

DO not distort your face exaggeratedly to “help” a lip-reader. The subtle signs she/he watches out for will be swamped by such contortions. And don’t shout – it doesn’t help and can distort hearing aids.

DO bear in mind that someone who is deaf may be nervous about going out in the dark. Already denied one sense, she/he may be uneasy about being deprived of another. Indoors, make sure she/he has easy access to a safe light.

And don’t forget to take a torch if you go out at night with someone who is deaf – shine it on your face when you speak.

DON’T remain silent if you can’t make out what a deaf person is trying to say, or if her/his hearing aid is making a whistling noise. Be frank. How else is she/he expected to know?

DON’T condescend. A deaf person’s voice may sound strange. But there’s no need to behave as if she/he has a learning disability as well.

DO play music. People who are deaf can “hear” the beat through the vibrations.

Deaf teenagers love records and dancing at discos – the louder the music the better.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS BITES Al-Shabaab militants kill 36 Christian quarry workers in Kenya Militants from the Somalia-based alShabaab terror group have killed 36 mainly Christian quarry workers, intensifying security fears in much of Kenya’s north.

Witnesses said the attackers surrounded the camp in a remote district near the Somali border shortly after midnight yesterday, roused the sleeping workers and ordered those who could not prove they were Muslims to lie on the ground before spraying them with bullets.

It was the second such massacre in recent weeks. On November 22, alShabaab militants stopped passengers on a Nairobi-bound bus and killed the 28 Kenyans who could not recite the Muslim statement of faith known as the Shahada.

US man fined in Saddam Hussein family gun plot A man who pleaded guilty to trying to sell firearms believed to have been owned

by Saddam Hussein’s family was fined $5,000 by a federal judge Monday.

Howard Blumenthal, 76, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, had faced up to five years in prison. Seven guns with an estimated value of $250,000 to $350,000 were seized in December 2012. Among the firearms were a .357 semi-automatic pistol featuring a gold medallion “QS.” That’s presumed to indicate the late Iraqi president’s son, Qusay.

Congressional staff resigns after fallout about first family comments Elizabeth Lauten, the communications director for Rep Stephen Fincher, last week criticised the girls’ demeanor during the annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony, writing on Facebook: “Dear Sasha and Malia, I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of the First Family, try showing a little class.

“At least respect the part you play.

Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.

Nevertheless, stretch yourself. Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.

And certainly don’t make faces during televised public events.”

Lauten was widely criticised across social media for her comments. She then deleted her original post and wrote an apology on Facebook that she sent to ABC News.

“After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents, and re-reading my words online I can see more clearly just how hurtful my words were,” she said. l Source: Agencies

World

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Lebanon detains family of IS leader n Reuters The Lebanese army detained a wife and daughter of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as they crossed from Syria nine days ago, security officials said yesterday, in a setback to the group as it comes under increased military pressure.

The woman was identified as Saja al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi, by a Lebanese security official and a senior political source.

The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported she had been detained in coordination with “foreign intelligence.”

The arrest is a blow to Baghdadi and could be used as a bargaining chip against his group, which has captured many foreign, Iraqi and Syrian prisoners and declared a caliphate in territory it has seized in Syria and Iraq.

A senior Lebanese security official said Baghdadi’s wife had been traveling with one of their daughters, contradicting earlier reports that it was his son. DNA tests were conducted to verify it was Baghdadi’s child, the official said.

They were detained in northern Lebanon. Investigators were question-

ing her at the Lebanese defense ministry. There was no immediate reaction from Islamic State websites.

Dulaimi was one of 150 women released from a Syrian government jail in March as part of a prisoner swap that led to the release of 13 nuns taken captive by al Qaeda-linked militants in Syria, according to media reports at the time.

A source with contacts with Iraqi intelligence said the captured woman was an Iraqi wife of Baghdadi’s, but could not confirm the name. There was cooperation between Iraqi and Lebanese authorities leading up to her capture, the source said.

Baghdadi has three wives, two Iraqis and one Syrian, according to tribal sources in Iraq.

Islamic State has seized wide areas of Iraq and Syria, Lebanon’s neighbor to the east.

The Lebanese security forces have cracked down on the group’s sympathisers and the intelligence services have been extra vigilant on the borders with Syria.

They have arrested over the past few months dozens of Islamic militants suspected of staging attacks to expand

French parliament to call for recognition of Palestine n Reuters, Paris French lawmakers are set to vote on Tuesday to call on the government to recognise Palestine, a symbolic move that will not immediately affect France’s diplomatic stance but demonstrates growing European impatience with a stalled peace process.

While most developing countries recognise Palestine as a state, most Western European countries do not, supporting

the Israeli and US position that an independent Palestinian state should emerge from negotiations with Israel.

European countries have grown frustrated with Israel, which since the collapse of the latest US-sponsored talks in April has pressed on with building settlements in territory the Palestinians want for their state.

Palestinians say negotiations have failed and they have no choice but to pursue independence unilaterally. l

Ukraine government, rebels agree on new cease-fire n AP Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in the Luhansk region have agreed on a new cease-fire, international monitors said.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that under the agreement, hostilities are to cease Friday along the line of contact between the warring sides.

It was agreed at negotiations that took place Saturday that heavy weapons will start being withdrawn from the front at the weekend, the OSCE said in its daily update report Monday evening.

Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the rebel movement in Luhansk, confirmed the

cease-fire deal in remarks to Russia’s Interfax news agency, but said no definitive agreement had been reached on the breadth of the demilitarised zone.

He told Interfax the distance could range between 15 and 20 kilometers (10 and 13 miles).

Cease-fire deals have been reached before in eastern Ukraine, only to be swiftly violated. A broad truce was agreed upon in early September after all-party talks in Belarus, but hundreds have been killed since then amid daily violations.

On Monday, a deal was reached to end fighting over the airport in the capital of the Donetsk region, but rocket barrages continued for hours in that area all the same. l

File photo captured from video showing IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi making his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre Mosul in July 2014 REUTERS Islamic State influence in Lebanon.

A US-led alliance is seeking to roll back Islamic State’s territorial gains in Iraq and Syria. US President Barack Obama has vowed to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Baghdadi’s group, which is seeking to reshape the Middle East according to its radical vision of Islam.

Spillover from the Syrian conflict has repeatedly jolted neighboring Leb-

anon. Militants affiliated to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Islamic State are demanding the release of Islamists held by the Lebanese authorities in exchange for 27 members of the Lebanese security forces taken captive in August.

Islamic State, which US-led forces are bombing in Iraq and Syria, includes thousands of foreign fighters and its leadership draws from militants with combat experience in Iraq. l

Israel appears headed toward early elections n AP Israel appeared headed toward early elections after a highly anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a key coalition partner failed to iron out their differences.

Two members of the centrist Yesh Atid party – currently a member of Netanyahu’s coalition – warned the vote would come at a particularly difficult time. Israeli media said the most likely date for any early election would be sometime in March.

The late Monday meeting between Netanyahu and Yesh Atid’s leader Yair Lapid followed weeks of sparring between the sides over budget provisions, including an increase for the Ministry of Defense, and Yesh Atid’s opposition to the current version of a contentious bill that would enshrine Israel’s status as a Jewish state.

Netanyahu has “decided to take Israel to unnecessary elections last night,” Lapid told an economic conference on Tuesday, adding that despite Israel’s 50-day war with Hamas militants over the summer, its problems with a highly militarised Gaza Strip still remain.

Lapid has also said he believes that Netanyahu has veered too far to the right by pushing Jewish settlement in

east Jerusalem and the West Bank, and failing to advance the peace process with the Palestinians.

“Netanyahu has chosen to go to elections when the situation is particularly difficult,” said Yesh Atid’s Yaacov Peri, the science minister. “There is a crisis with the United States and the condition of the middle class is deteriorating.”

However, Netanyahu can still fill out the remainder of his two-year term even without the support of Yesh Atid, by bringing ultra-orthodox parties into his government.

But those parties have so far shown no willingness to join him, apparently preferring the alternative of an early poll.

Chairman Danny Danon of Netanyahu’s Likud party blamed “the amateurish antics of Yair Lapid” for “dragging Israel to an unnecessary, and expensive, early election.”

“After the Likud is victorious at the ballot box, we must be sure not to repeat mistakes of the past and form the next coalition government with loyal and like-minded parties that are interested in serving as true partners in leading our great country,” he said.

That suggests a far-right coalition, with a major emphasis on Jewish settlement and Jewish-oriented legislation. l

Egypt’s public prosecutor appeals Mubarak verdict n Reuters Egypt’s public prosecutor said on Tuesday he had appealed against a court decision to drop charges against former president Hosni Mubarak, his interior minister and six aides over the killing of protesters in a 2011 uprising.

Mubarak, now 86, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during an 18day revolt that ended his 30-year rule, but an appeals court ordered a retrial.

Last Saturday, the court dropped its case against Mubarak, igniting angry protests in Cairo in which two people were killed. The judge in the case said criminal charges should never have been brought against the former ruler.

“A study of the reasons for the ruling (issued on Saturday) revealed legal flaws that tinged the judgment,” public prosecutor Hesham Barakat said in a statement.

Such an appeal is an integral part of the legal process in Egypt and had been expected.

The appeals court must now decide whether to accept the appeal and order a retrial or to reject it, thereby upholding the decision to drop the criminal charges against Mubarak.

If Mubarak is retried in the case, it would be for the third and final time under Egyptian law.

Many Egyptians who lived through Mubarak’s rule view it as a period of autocracy and crony capitalism. His overthrow led to Egypt’s first free election. But the winner, Mohamed Mursi, was ousted last year by then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following protests against his rule.

Sisi, who went on to win a presidential election in May, launched a crackdown on Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Authorities have jailed thousands of Brotherhood supporters and sentenced hundreds to death in mass trials that drew international criticism. l

Colombian general captured by rebels resigns n AP An army general whose surprise capture by leftist rebels nearly derailed two years of peace talks has resigned after coming under pressure for venturing into guerrilla territory dressed as a civilian and without bodyguards.

Gen. Ruben Alzate, in his first remarks since being freed Sunday by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, said he regretted that his decision not to follow military protocol had tarnished the institution he’s served proudly for more than 33 years. l

Peru: Illegal gold mining’s wasteland

In this Nov. 11, 2014 photo, policemen stand guard on the perimeter of a crater created by gold mining activities in La Pampa, in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. Peru sent a battalion of police into its southeastern jungles to dismantle illegal gold-mining camps, just weeks before the global climate talks that the country is hosting. Even before the officers began blasting away at miners’ makeshift shelters, the Amazon rainforest nearby looked like a war-scape, pocked with craters and littered with the trunks of amputated trees AP

n AP A decade of illegal gold mining has transformed large areas of virgin Peruvian rainforest into pocked, denuded, mercury-poisoned wastelands.

Excavations to separate gold flecks from tons of earth have left holes big enough to swallow a half-dozen buses. Mercury, a neurotoxin used to bind the gold, pervades the local food chain, reaching humans through

the fish they eat. The ruined lands scar the southeastern region of Madre de Dios, a mecca of biodiversity whose natural marvels lure eco-tourists and where several tribes live in voluntary isolation.

Thousands of people have left the region in recent months as the government has cracked down on illegal mining, dynamiting mining machinery, dismantling brothels and cutting off gasoline supplies.

Illegal mining is the No 2 cause of deforesta-

tion in Peru, after clear-cutting for agriculture, Environmental Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said on the eve of the December 1-12 UN climate conference that his nation is hosting.

“It is terrible for the nearly irremediable wounds it causes to the forest,” he said.

Peru is more than 60% rainforest and only Brazil has a larger share of the Amazon jungle, whose preservation is vital to mitigating global damage from climate change.

Deforestation and land conversion ac-

count for about 40% of Peru’s greenhouse gas emissions. The country has vowed to halt deforestation by 2021, and Norway in September pledged $300m toward that goal.

Yet Peru’s stewardship of its rainforest has been questioned by environmentalists, and deforestation appears to be on the rise.

University of Maryland scientist Matthew Hansen, who tracks deforestation globally, said preliminary data indicates Peru lost an

average of 770 square miles (1,995 square kilometers) of forest annually over the past two years, up from 490 square miles (1,270 square kilometers) a year during the previous decade.

As part of the agreement with Norway on halting deforestation, Peru said it would grant native communities ownership of a total of 19,300 square miles (5 million hectares). Environmentalists argue that native communities are better stewards of

the world’s forests than governments or private interests but say successive Peruvian government have been stingy for the past two decades in granting titles.

Granting that much land to the more than 600 native communities that seek titles will not be easy. Regional governments, many of which have turned a blind eye to deforestation-related corruption and illegal logging, were given jurisdiction over land titling in 2008. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS BITES North Korea accuses US of spreading Ebola and choosing Africa as a bioweapon testing ground North Korea is accusing the US of spreading the Ebola virus, claiming it has been “bent on the development of bio-weapons” in order to achieve world supremacy.

The secretive state reacted strongly to the Ebola outbreak by closing its border to tourists and quarantining anyone who does enter. Now, a report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is claiming an aide to ex-President Reagan informed them the US had invented a progenitor of Ebola virus “for the purpose of launching a biological warfare.”

The aide was named as Roberts, who The Washington Post said could be a reference to Paul Craig Roberts, an econmoist.

Facebook hires IIT graduate fo Tk 1 crore 88 lac A spectacular initial burst – at least 1520% more jobs, 10-20% higher average salaries and 30% increase in global offers – set the pace for this year’s placement season at Indian Institutes of Technology which kicked off on Monday. Sources from eight campuses that ET spoke to said hiring and salaries will shoot up this year, after a relatively slow 3-4 years.

In the first twenty hours, online social networking giant Facebook ruled the roost with a Tk1.88 crore ($250,000) salary offer including bonus and Esops for a US posting. This is the probably the highest ever offer across IITs in recent years.

Facebook made the offer for software engineer profiles based out of California to three students at IIT Kharagpur and to an unknown number at IIT Bombay, sources at the two institutes revealed.

Iran says documents on alleged atom bomb research are full of mistakes Iran said it has provided evidence to the United Nations atomic agency showing that documents on suspected nuclear bomb research by the country were forged and riddled with errors.

In a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency, it dismissed accusations that it is stonewalling an IAEA investigation into what the UN watchdog calls the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran has offered detailed explanations to the IAEA and there has never been “any authenticated documents for PMD claims,” said the Iranian note posted on the agency’s website.

World

Hong Kong protest BJP targetting TMC as it is playing leaders to surrender main opposition role: Mamata n AP Three of the founders of Hong Kong’s protest movement called yesterday for an end to street demonstrations to prevent further violence and to take the campaign for democratic reforms to a new stage.

It wasn’t clear whether student protesters, who make up the bulk of the activists, would heed the call.

Professors Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chan Kin-man and Pastor Chu Yiuming said they plan to surrender to police on Wednesday to take responsibility for protests that have shut down parts of the Asian financial center for more than two months.

Instead of street protests, the three hope to continue the campaign through networking among civic groups, community organising and education in democracy and human rights.

The three are founders of the Occupy Central movement to force China’s central government to scrap its requirement that candidates for the

semiautonomous region’s chief executive be approved by a panel chosen by Beijing. However, they represent only one faction of demonstrators, most of whom are students. Joshua Wong, a prominent student leader, said Monday he and two other members of his group would go on an indefinite hunger strike to press their demands.

“We admit that it’s difficult in the future to have an escalated action, so besides suffering from batons and tear gas, we would like to use our bodies to direct public attention to the issue,” he said Tuesday. “We are not sure if the hunger strike can put pressure on the government, but we hope that when the public realises the student hunger strike, they will ask themselves what they can do next.”

In the early, dark hours of Monday, police armed with pepper spray, batons and riot shields clashed with activists carrying umbrellas as authorities moved to clear them out an area in front of the government complex where activist had been camped out. l

S Korean ship sinks in Bering Sea n AP South Korean officials yesterday expressed fear of a huge death toll after rescuers failed to find any of the more than 50 fishermen who went missing when their ship sank amid high waves in the freezing waters of the western Bering Sea. Authorities rescued seven crew members and recovered one body, but weather and water conditions complicated the search for the others, an official from the South Korean fisheries and oceans ministry said on condition of anonymity because of office rules.

Rescue workers found an empty lifeboat Tuesday near the site of the accident that might have belonged to the sunken Oryong 501, said Kim Kang-ho, an official with Sajo Industries, the canned tuna company that owns the ship.

The crew included 35 Indonesians,

13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector, the fisheries and oceans ministry official said. Russian authorities said there were 62 people aboard the ship, which sank in the western part of the Bering Sea, near Russia.

The ministry official said it’s believed that the ship, which was catching pollock, began to list after stormy weather caused seawater to flood its storage areas. Kim said the 2,000-ton vessel was 36 years old. The seven people who were rescued had symptoms of hypothermia and couldn’t talk in length about what exactly happened, he said.

An official from South Korea’s foreign ministry, who refused to be named, citing office rules, said Tuesday morning that the death toll was expected to rise because rescuers failed to find any of the missing passengers. Four fishing ships that were operating nearby were continuing to search for survivors. l

(Right) TMC activists carry banners during a protest rally in Kolkata on November 24. (Left) Mamata Banerjee addresses a rally of party activists in Siliguri yesterday AFP

n Tribune desk Two days after BJP national president Amit Shah launched a vicious attack against the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit back, saying the saffron party was targeting her party because it was playing the role of main Opposition in Delhi, reports the Indian Express.

“Today Trinamool Congress is playing the role of main opposition in Delhi.

That is why they are targeting us. Those in power in Delhi know Trinamool is their main opponent. But they cannot sweep us away with brooms,” She told a party workers’ meeting Siliguri.

The West Bengal chief minister called upon opposition parties to forge unity against the Narendra Modi government which, she alleged, “was trying to sell out the country.”

“They only make grand speeches.

There is a limit to fooling people. The Centre is cheating people. They are diluting the 100 day’s rural guarantee scheme,” Banerjee said.

“Soon after coming to power the BJP hiked FDI in Railways, Defence. The reduction of prices of fuel in India is not at par with the reduction of prices worldwide. They are out to sell out the country,” she said adding, “I heard that the Centre has hiked the excise duty on

n Tribune Desk Indian Minister of state for food processing industries Niranjan Jyoti tendered an apology in the Indian parliament yesterday for using abusive language at an election campaign in Delhi but failed to douse the opposition fire even as the Bharatiya Janata Party said yesterday the issue should not be stretched.

On Monday, Jyoti had said people of Delhi must decide if they wanted a government of Ramzaadon (followers of Ram) or a government of those who are illegitimate.

India Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Rajya Sabha the government did not support Jyoti’s remark, but he also asked the Opposition to “maintain decorum.”

Naqvi said those in the government

Kiyoto Tsuji, right, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate for a Tokyo district, bows to voters on a street as the campaigning for the lower house election officially begin yesterday. Hundreds of candidates fanned out across Japan on Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the LDP seeks public mandate for four more years. Abe dissolved the lower house of parliament on November 20, forcing a snap poll on December 14 AP

Genetic testing company 23andMe is launching its personal genome service in the UK after it was banned in the US. The service allows people to send their saliva in a testing kit to have their DNA screened for genes associated with certain inherited conditions, such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anaemia, and other genetic markers relating to parts of their lives and ancestry.

“We can take complicated genetic information and distill it in language that people can actually understand,” the 23andMe chief executive Anne Wojcicki said.

“The genome is fascinating, and it’s the most exciting scientific revolution

of our lifetime. The goal is to keep people engaged with their own genome, so that they know what it means for them and then keep them abreast of the scientific discoveries as they unfold.”

The spit kits cost around Tk 15,000 and are sent to a lab in Netherlands for testing. The results, which take approximately six to eight weeks, allow users to both browse the raw code of their genome and use tools to investigate their genetic makeup.

‘DNA isn’t something scary or all about disease’

The data is used to generate reports explaining common genes and genetic differences, such as how people metabolise caffeine to why some respond bet-

and the opposition should use dignified language and in the past UPA ministers too had crossed the line many times.

As Rajya Sabha session was adjourned for a third time, finance minister Arun Jaitley said Jyoti’s comments were “improper and unacceptable.”

He said since the minister had apologised and withdrawn her statement, “what happens outside isn’t within domain of this House.”

India nears deal for French fighter jets n AP

VOTE FOR ME, PLEASE

DNA-screening test 23andMe launches in UK after US ban n Guardian

petrol and diesel again. They deregulated prices of fuel.” “I urge the opposition parties to unite against this government in Parliament. We will remain behind them. Let the government be strong and the Opposition be strong”, she said.

Banerjee ridiculed Shah’s challenge to uproot the TMC regime, saying a “party which cannot manage Delhi is trying to capture Bengal”.

“Who are they to tell us to go to Bangladesh? What do they know about the history and heritage of Bengal? You manage Delhi first. You eat Delhi’s laddoo first. One who eats Delhi’s ladoo repents and one who does not eat Delhi ladoo repents, she said. l

Indian Opposition demands Minister’s ouster

India Christians protest as fire destroys church Hundreds of Christians protested outside police headquarters in India’s capital on Tuesday, suspecting foul play after a fire destroyed a church.

While the cause of Monday’s blaze at the St. Sebastian’s Church in a northeast suburb of New Delhi was not known, the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said that “mischief” was suspected.

“The entire interior, including the Altar, the Holy Bible and Cross were reduced to ashes,” a statement from the archdiocese said, adding that forensic samples retrieved from the church, which was built in 2001, smelled of fuel.

There was no immediate comment from police, and several phone calls to officials went unanswered.

Delhi’s Archbishop Anil Couto asked India’s government to order an investigation into the cause of the fire.

While India is overwhelmingly Hindu, officially it is a secular nation. Christians account for about 2.5% of the populace and coexist peacefully with Hindus.

However, the issue of conversions by Christian missionaries has sporadically provoked violence by Hindus. l Source: Agencies

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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

ter to exercise. It also produces ancestry reports and further information as new research is published but does not advise on health matters. People could take the data to a doctor, however.

The data is stored encrypted and separated from identifying details on 23andMe’s servers, accessible only to the subject. People can share their anonymised genetic data with researchers as part of a 600,000-strong genetic database, with their doctor or family, or remove it from the servers entirely.

Genetic data is made available via a genome browser interface on the 23andMe website for the curious to poke through their results. Photograph: 23andMe l

India is close to an agreement to buy Rafale fighter planes from France, an Indian defense spokesman said Tuesday. The 12 billion euros ($15 billion) deal for 126 of the jets would be France’s first foreign sale of the combat-tested planes.

France and French manufacturer Dassault Aviation have been trying for years to sell the jets abroad without success. The Rafale has been in service for the French Air Force since 2006.

Defense spokesman Sitanshu Kar said Tuesday that Indian defense minister Manohar Parrikar met his french counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday as part of an official visit to India.

“All issues related to defense were discussed including the Rafale,” Kar said. “Both sides decided to adopt a fast track approach wherever there are differences.”

A French defense official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, also said that the two defense ministers agreed to accelerate negotiations.

India has become the world’s biggest arms importer as an economic boom has allowed it to modernise its military. Major arms manufacturers are wooing the country as it replaces its obsolete Soviet-era weapons and buys new equipment. India already has a fleet of the older Mirage jets. l

China sends artists to the countryside in Mao-style cultural campaign n AFP Ruling Communist party to make film and TV staff work in villages and rural communities to form “correct view of art.”

China will send artists, film-makers, and TV personnel to live among the masses in rural areas in order to “form a correct view of art,” state media have said.

The move is the latest by the ruling Communist party to echo the Mao Zedong era, during which intellectuals and others were “sent down” to labour among peasants in the countryside.

It comes weeks after the president, Xi Jinping, told a group of artists not to chase popularity with “vulgar” works but promote socialism instead, with

state media comparing his remarks to a speech by Mao. China’s media watchdog “will organise film and TV series production staff on a quarterly basis to go to grassroots communities, villages and mining sites to do field study and experience life,” the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Scriptwriters, directors, broadcasters and anchors will also be sent to work and live for at least 30 days “in ethnic minority and border areas, and areas that made major contributions to the country’s victory in the revolutionary war,” Xinhua added.

The move “will be a boost in helping artists form a correct view of art and

create more “masterpieces,” Xinhua said, citing the media administration.

Beijing imposes tight controls over art and culture, and ideological restrictions have tightened under Xi, with authorities censoring Ai Weiwei and other artists it perceives as challenging its right to rule.

Joseph Cheng, professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong, described the move as a Maostyle “rectification campaign” aimed at silencing potential critics as Xi leads a far-reaching anti-graft sweep.

“Xi Jinping is under considerable pressure, because his anti-corruption campaign certainly has hurt a lot of vested interests,” Cheng said. “This is again a time of pressure tactics on the intelligentsia and on the critics.” l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

We need a better Saarc

S

aarc’s rule for not engaging in any discussion on “contentious bilateral issues” has held back the association for regional cooperation from achieving major, positive advancements in South Asia.

It is largely for this reason that, almost 30 years after its inception, Saarc seems too burdened by its own rules to achieve anything worthwhile. Its agenda has constantly been overshadowed by bilateral tensions between regional behemoths India and Pakistan.

Because of Saarc’s requirement for proceeding multilaterally every time, any single nation reluctant to move ahead with a deal can end the hopes of all other member countries.

Such limitations affect other multilateral forums like the G20 and UN, but enmity between India and Pakistan in particular is in danger of rendering Saarc almost a lost cause.

This year, the association failed to push through three proposed agreements primarily because of Pakistan’s unwillingness to be on board.

The eventual signing of an accord for energy co-operation last week gives some hope that the association can still go forward and that Bangladesh can still benefit from pursuing important bilateral and cross-border negotiations.

However, Saarc still needs major reform and a new vision. Its basic architecture needs to be changed if it is to move forward as a regional entity that matters at all when it comes to tangible results.

South Asia is one of the most densely-populated regions in the world. It is imperative that we find a better way to work together.

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

It’s not a race!

November 26

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Reform limitations and develop vision to deliver tangible results

Asif Khan What happened? Was there a shooting here?

Syed Sudip Ahmed Yes, good job DMP.

Azizul Hakim Akäsh Where did this happen?

Abdullah M. Rafi Sometimes, they deserve a little more respect from us. Thank you, Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Rehan Atiq Azizul Hakim Akäsh: At Farmgate.

Ekram Amin Asif Khan: There was a grease spill on the road.

M Naim Mostafiz Antu Salute to the DMP for keeping us safe.

Disability rights help everyone

T

oday marks the International Day of People with Disability.

Despite admirable work by campaigners and health professionals who have helped improve legal recognition for the rights of disabled people, a change in mindset is still needed to ensure the government and employers do more to include disabled people.

By overlooking the challenges faced by disabled people in education and healthcare, society squanders the potential of millions of individuals.

Everyone can benefit if we do more to help people with disabilities in Bangladesh empower themselves through education and employment.

A lot more can and should be done to ensure an inclusive environment for disabled citizens.

Improving access to education and healthcare is especially vital to ensure disabled people achieve their potential in life.

Educational institutions should take a lead in improving counseling, healthcare, and vocational training for disabled students. This will both directly aid more individuals who are less able and will do much to improve attitudes in society in general.

This is key to bringing about the practical improvements which employers and providers of public services, such as transport operators, need to undertake to improve the accessibility and ease with which disabled people can go about their daily lives.

Respecting the rights of disabled people and working towards equal opportunity is important to ensure everyone in Bangladesh can meet their potential free from discrimination and neglect.

Ensure everyone in Bangladesh can meet their potential

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 11 represents T so fill T every time the figure 15 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them 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.

Sourov Hosain Thanks indeed. I would venture to say that this is the first time DMP has done really well in carrying out their duties.

Md Mazharul Islam “Five motorcycle riders narrowly escape a possible crash in the capital’s Farmgate area as they slipped and fell in the middle of the road. Later it was found that some liquid substance made the road slippery.

Traffic sergeants stopped vehicles coming from the other direction as soon as the incident occurred.”

Good job Bangladesh Police.

Veena Malik gets 26 years in jail November 26

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.

Jennifer D’Peris This is the very place where all the accidents happen. I have been watching such incidents from my childhood. Broken pieces of glass from buses and other vehicles are the most common thing on this road. Isn’t that fishy?

Edward F Gomes We people always say terrible things about our police. But how many of us do our own duties as fellow citizens? You can’t even imagine what the face of your city will be like without the police, even for just an hour.

This photo was taken in the Farmgate area. You can see our traffic sergeants stopping and warning vehicles coming from the other direction as soon as those bikes slipped on the road.

Let us, too, learn to do our own duties as proud Bangladeshi citizens. This country and this city are ours as it is to every law enforcement officer. Ride safe, stay safe. Salute Bangladesh Police!

With great power …

November 19 Momoaswan Well said.

Zeeshan Hasan Excellent article! I’m glad someone has responded to the climate scepticism mentioned in the previous op-ed.

‘Separation is worse than death’

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Male deer (4) 5 Consumer (4) 10 Absent (4) 11 Land measure (3) 12 Sovereign (5) 13 Sharp blow (3) 14 Shield of Zeus (5) 16 Pattern (6) 18 Slip by (6) 21 Corkwood (5) 23 Pouch (biol) (3) 24 Added clause (5) 26 Tree (3) 27 Site of Taj Mahal (4) 28 So be it! (4) 29 Slippery catches (4)

DOWN 2 Stories (5) 3 Respectful fear (3) 4 Buildings for vehicles (7) 6 Hindu garment (4) 7 Effaces (6) 8 Corded fabric (3) 9 Dry (4) 15 Make bigger (7) 17 Preserve a body (6) 19 Foot lever (5) 20 Irish republic (4) 22 Highest point (4) 23 Briny (3) 25 Anger (3)

November 19 Rose Mehran H Chowdhury “The court sentenced both Malik and Bashir along with TV host Shaista Wahidi for 26 years each.”

We aren’t far behind. Sent a man to jail because he hurt our feelings. No point calling the kettle black when we are the pot.

Waliul Haque Khondker Disgusting! :(

CALVIN AND HOBBES

“Hrithik usually tries to keep things to himself; the actor has hardly ever spoken of how difficult it was for him to deal with the tough situation back at home.” I hope this actor has indeed come out of his pain, and stays alright.

Bangladesh among countries worst affected by terrorism November 19

PEANUTS

Alo In a democracy, the government may be changed before or after the constitutional duration applicable for an elected government is over.

It is now a general view of the masses in Bangladesh that, due to the circumstances of confrontational politics that prevail in the country and of the sentiments among some religious groups, the country may be moving forward to commit terrorism at an intolerable level or degree, if the present government is unable to continue to be in power through a proper parliamentary election, as they have been maintaining zero tolerance about terrorism.

If this is the case, the country may face the consequences of Pakistan, as it is obvious that pro-Pakistani and anti-Indian sentiments are strong enough, compared to secularism.

Also, it seems that religious fundamentalism is mounting among some groups in this country, as a result of the patronisation of terrorist activities by some quarters.

Therefore, the Global Terrorism Index 2013 of possible terrorism in this nation needs to be kept under consideration.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

On becoming ‘whole’ in life n Snigdha Ali

“W

Time to create an even playing field

BIGSTOCK

What young Bangladesh wants

T

n Mohd Fahad Ifaz he likes of Mark Zuckerberg as global business icons have penetrated and made a name in the consciousness of many youngsters, including those in Bangladesh. Mark started Facebook from his college dorm in 2004. When the company went public in 2012, its IPO was valued at billions.

A naive person like myself might think that probably only in the US can a young boy from nowhere, a college dropout, create a company worth billions in eight years, and have the country celebrate him as a national icon, make a movie about him, and so on. Ironically, Mark never cared about making money when he started Facebook (at least that’s what he says, and let’s assume it’s true). His main motivation was to do something innovative, entrepreneurial, and most importantly, cool.

Now compare this with Bangladesh’s most celebrated businessmen.

The corporate tycoons we celebrate, of course with some exceptions, are second or third generation tycoons who run huge empires comprising of dozens of unrelated businesses.

Whether it is obtaining permission to set up a power plant, or obtaining licenses to open a bank or TV channel, our top business leaders can get all this done, something ordinary Bangladeshis would never be able to do. This is why they are able to make billions, and

we load them with awards, rank them on lists, and treat them as role models.

In reality, they are hardly role models or icons. They have milked an unfair system for their personal or business gains, taking benefits that would have belonged to the young on a level playing field. Bangladeshi companies make money from rent-seeking behaviour, creating artificial red tape, and thus depriving our startups, SMEs, and talented individuals of wealth-generating opportunities.

fleece customers. Yet, they have never thought of creating a cartel to take a stand against corruption or more simple things such as the government’s policy on online and international payment systems.

International investors, donors, and other stakeholders already know this, and while they see the country’s potential, they also understand that the corporate-political nexus is actually keeping the country poor, not making it rich.

As naive as I or the rest of the young

You know whats cooler than a few hundred thousand rich Bangladeshis? Millions of rich Bangladeshis

None of the recent technologies that have changed the world has come out of Bangladesh. Yet, our business leaders have figured out a way to get a share of the pie. In reality, they are far away from being heroes. And despite their billions, they are the opposite of “cool.”

Otherwise, why haven’t they raised their powerful voices against corruption, red tape, and unfair government policies? Our business leaders don’t think twice before creating a cartel to

generation may be, I know this can be fixed. This has to be fixed.

First, the few corporations who care have to form an alliance against corruption and nepotism. They should compete on innovation, not the ability to bribe.

Second, our governments have to understand the meaning of protecting the Bangladeshi industries. The idea isn’t to protect the established fat cats who, frankly speaking, could do

with a dose of healthy competition.

Protecting local industries means evolving policies that help new Bangladeshi companies thrive, an environment where startups are glorified and inherited princes (or princesses) are not put on a glorified platform. Innovation, not inheritance, should be the new “cool,” and something to flaunt.

Third, as individuals, we have to stop admiring and glorifying the parasitic billionaires of the country. They may not be doing anything illegal technically, but there definitely is nothing great about using connections and inherited influence to get something you couldn’t have had if there was fair competition.

Yes, these businessmen employ some of us, and we have seen increased affluence amongst some of our fellows – think of the 4.5 million garment workers. Maybe we have a few hundred thousand rich Bangladeshis now. But it is not enough.

With the right business environment, Bangladesh can dramatically become a different place, offering better lives to not just a few but to all of us. After all, to modify a dialogue from the film The Social Network: You know whats cooler than a few hundred thousand rich Bangladeshis? Millions of rich Bangladeshis. l Mohd Fahad Ifaz is a private sector development consultant.

Their way is the highway n Mohammad Ali Sattar

M

y son, a ninth grader, told me that things were not right in Bangladesh. He simply stared at me, asking: “What’s wrong with us, papa?” I had no answer to offer.

What he had asked me wasn’t without essence, however. He had reasons to be upset, to be concerned about his future in this country.

Within just a few days, we have had sad news of horrific road accidents pouring in from all directions. We are perpetually coiled in fear of learning about someone’s tragic demise in the most inhumane and miserable manner possible.

Dhaka is now a death zone, where monsters roam around, waiting to crush us under their wheels.

We’ve learned with utter shock of the painful death of Zaglul bhai while he was getting off a bus – it wasn’t a fault that he chose to travel via bus.

The next morning, a university student was crushed between two buses – it wasn’t a fault that he had set-off for his workplace.

All the way in Kushtia, yet another student, Titu, was crushed under the wheels of a speeding bus inside the Islamic University campus. The anger and frustration of Titu’s fellow students were something to behold, with 35 buses being destroyed and the university being closed sine die.

These are only a few of the incidents which were reported. During

this time, many other such tragedies must have occurred across the country which remain unreported – killings, suicides, deaths by starvation, torture, violence, and what have you. While in the calm atmosphere of a celebration of classical music, we witnessed the flight of our national pride, Qayyum Chowdhury, to the hereafter. At least he died standing.

How do we define the deaths caused by reckless drivers? Who is responsible? Don’t we all stand accused? Such reckless driving, and the complicity of the BRTA staff in abundantly supplying fake licenses, has been in practice for decades.

Despite numerous reports pertaining to serious allegations against the officials and staff of the BRTA, and the near regular loss of life on the highways and within the towns, nothing is being done to rein in on the criminal practices by the BRTA and its stooges.

The business sector (especially the transport sector) has established that “all’s fair in the transport business” as a fact. The progenitors of the reckless world of transport workers are the transport owners – creating a flawed system of specific departments and broken traffic management.

Our transport businesses are run in a peculiar fashion and on a unique model. The owners rent out vehicles to a party at a fixed amount to be deposited at the end of the day. That amount is reportedly always on the high end.

The party hiring the vehicle from the owner(s) has bags of complaints against the owners when they come to know about the undue fares from hapless commuters.

Every private vehicle for public service (buses, trucks, human-haulers, auto three-wheelers, rickshaws, etc) is hired from its owner, so the operating party has to hurry things up to meet the owner’s demands and top it off with a handsome profit for themselves.

The most damning part is the way they flout the rules of the road, disregarding the safety of commuters

The fares they tend to charge are always high, and the conductors and drivers give you a million reasons for the unfair sums they charge. Operators of the CNG-run three wheelers will charge anything that comes to their minds. Take it or leave it. It’s the same case for tempos. They try to make as many trips as possible throughout the day to meet the rent being charged by

the owner and also pocket a profit for themselves.

More trips means more money – for this reason they take on each other on the streets, driving like mad men, risking the lives of commuters and pedestrians, and all this right under the noses of the traffic police. Apart from the fares, the uncivilised way in which transport workers treat their passengers is indescribable.

The most damning part is the way they flout the rules of the road, disregarding the safety of commuters and pedestrians. We have seen passengers being thrown off running buses or being beaten up by rogue transport monsters for reasons which go beyond one’s comprehension.

Recklessness is not only present in their driving, it is within every transport worker and their mentors.

We are practically at the mercy of these heinous monsters, left to watch how we all fall one by one. Our conscience remains unmoved.

It’s time our “Rip Van Winkle law enforcers” woke up and witnessed the state of affairs. It’s also time that the administration, civil bodies, trade union leaders, students, and people from all walks of life “get reckless” themselves in stopping this killer fraternity known as transport workers.

A national movement for safety on the roads is the need of the hour. l Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and a DT columnist.

hat’s the point, Apa? He is not a whole person, and he isn’t going anywhere in life. Why bother sending him to school?” More than shocking, this statement sounded outright unacceptable to me at first.

Being a mother myself, I had difficulty acknowledging the fact that any mother could have such an “allpractical, divorced-from-emotions” outlook – be it for a healthy child, or a differently-abled one. But then I understood.

According to WHO and the World Bank, about 15% of the world population is differently-abled, and 90% of them live in developing countries.

Just in Bangladesh, around 3.4 million children and 10.2 million adults are differently-abled, or as colloquially termed – with disability. Disability can be of various types, ranging from mild to medium to severe to profound, affecting neurodevelopment (autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and Down syndrome), physical development, speech or visual development, and so on.

Needless to say, whatever is the level of one’s disability, they face tenacious stigma and social exclusion in addition to their persistent physical or mental challenges. If life is hard for differently-abled adults, we can only imagine what it could be like for children. Their parents become tired, frustrated, and hopeless. Most of them lack financial and other resources to cope with the situation. It is almost inconceivable how burdened and helpless they feel, and therefore resort to a resigned acceptance of fate.

While the scenario cannot be changed overnight, some strapping initiatives have been taken to improve the lives of those with impairment.

Brac’s disability-inclusive development approach is one of them.

We already have a legal framework within which the rights of differentlyabled people are supposed to be ensured and protected. Bangladesh has laws that clearly state their entitlements, and lay out a number of affirmative actions intended to ensure those. In a similar but more applied course of action, a few NGOs approach this issue with need-based interventions.

Brac attempts to integrate differently-abled people through a number of ways. To reach out and assist people with disability, specific operations have been designed and carefully coordinated that target a varied range from children to adults, so that no particular stratum is left out.

The Children with Special Needs (CSN) component under Brac’s Education Program was established in 2003.

The objective is to provide a chance of having a better life to children with disability, and realise their potential otherwise constrained by physical or mental impairment. Brac has ensured education for 178,921 differently-abled children so far. Each Brac school takes at least one differently-abled child every year.

Amongst the current 40,000 differently-abled children that are studying in Brac schools, 8,266 are visually impaired (mild and medium), 18,102 are with speech impairment, 3,665 are with hearing impairment, and 3,437 are differently-impaired children. 18 profound visuallychallenged or blind students are receiving education in Braille methods in 16 Brac schools.

The CSN unit first identifies children with special needs, who get priority admission to Brac pre-primary and primary schools. Once admitted, they then get special attention in the classroom. They are usually placed in the front, and each is paired with

another student who could help them learn with comfort and speed. Brac also provides corrective surgeries, along with devices like wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids, and glasses. To make the classrooms easily accessible to children with disabilities, Brac has changed the infrastructure accordingly, such as ramps with railing, boards with coloured borders, etc.

For kids with neurodevelopment challenges, the health and education programs of Brac have jointly opened two Neurodevelopmental Disability (NDD) Centres in urban slums of Dhaka and Pabna with 41 students. Not only for education, but for a holistic development of body and mind, CSN unit of Brac makes sure that the children of the centres participate in sports and cultural activities. As a result, they have successfully appeared on cultural events aired in prominent channels like BTV and ATN.

A concerted effort is needed to bring social justice to this physically challenged and socially excluded group

In a developing country like ours, inclusion in mainstream education maybe a necessity, but not really a sufficient condition towards a better life. The Skills Training for Advancing Resources (STAR) initiative of Brac focuses on adolescents and tries to enhance their livelihood skills through need-based, demand-driven trainings.

10% of the STAR participants are differently-abled who receive materials and training to become as self-dependent as possible, and lead less challenging lives as adults.

The youth are our future, but what about the present differently-abled adults? One of Brac’s largest operations is its Microfinance program. Through an informal study, the program found out that about 3,000 of its clients are with disability of some kind or the other. To cater to their needs in a more structured and effective way, Brac Microfinance joined hands with the Centre for Rehabilitation for the Paralysed (CRP) in 2011.

CRP screens out those who come for rehabilitation and identifies if obtaining a loan would pave their path to a sustainable, income-generating situation, and then connects them to Brac’s Microfinance program.

The program provides a customised set of services or loans, and also facilitates their access to Brac’s other services. For the last three years, the average savings account balance has been $125 for each client, none of whom has defaulted any loan. The majority of the clients have become entrepreneurs – owning and operating grocery stores, tea stalls, and small vending businesses.

It is without any doubt a difficult task. A concerted effort is needed to bring social justice to this physically challenged and socially excluded group. While aiding them with skills and resources, we need to work on our perception too. We need to see them as contributing members of our society. Parents, family members, service providers, and such others should realise their potential and be hopeful.

Only then, a mother will have the confidence to call her child a “whole” person. l Snigdha Ali is working at Brac as the Program Head for Communications and Advocacy for Social Change.

BIGSTOCK

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, December 3, 2014

13 Vettel lives

childhood dream at Ferrari

14 Zapata on target

to secure 10-man Napoli late point

14 Henry’s Arsenal

return a certainty, says Wenger

Sport

Did you know?

Messi has created 136 chances during 2014 (all comps), at least 21 more than any other La Liga player (Koke, 115)

Sheikh Jamal clinch King’s Cup Jamal beat FC Pune to become the first Bangladeshi club to lift the trophy in Bhutan

n Shishir Hoque Yeasin Khan’s solitary goal enabled Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club to maintain their overseas performance as the Bangladesh Premier League champions edged past Pune FC 1-0 to win the final of the King’s Cup at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan yesterday.

Defender Yeasin headed the all important goal in the 25th minute to give the 10-man Dhanmondi outfits their second title in the international arena after their triumph in the Safal Pokhara Cup in Nepal three years ago.

Sheikh Jamal also healed their wounds of missing out on the IFA Shield earlier this year where they were beaten by Kolkata Mohammedan in the controversial final. They defeated all two representative clubs from Indian League – Mohun Bagan in the group stages and Pune yesterday – to take the cup home.

The Dhanmondi based giants are also the first Bangladeshi club to lift the King’s Cup and the fact that Sheikh Jamal remained unbeaten throughout despite missing the service of their key player and club captain Mamunul Islam, who is currently in India to play ISL, makes the result more pleasant.

First choice midfielder Sohel Rana also missed the game due to suspension as Monaem Khan Raju replaced him in the heart of the midfield while Wedson Anselme also returned to starting XI after serving one-game suspension.

Pune pushed Sheikh Jamal from the beginning but couldn’t resist the Bangladeshi side from taking the lead as Haitian forward Wedson’s corner met Yeasin whose header rolled over the goal line after a blocked by Amrinder.

Pune was close to equalising in the 37th minute when Arata fed Prakash with a chip inside the box as the latter showed great skill and technique to release a left-footer only to find Yeasin in the way.

Wedson exhibited his lovely skill minutes before the breather as he skipped past five players before Luciano finally blocked him from further damage.

Jamal coach Maruful Haque strengthened his defence by replacing Raju with Kasto Kumar as Pune nearly scored from a fabulous by-cycle kick attempt from Luciano before the Brazilian saw his 35-yard strike tipped over

by Hemel.

Though Jamal Bhuiyan received a red in the 91st minute of the final, his side had no trouble coping with the decision. l

Sheikh Jamal players and officials celebrate their King’s Cup glory at Thimpu, Bhutan yesterday

High-flying Bangladesh crush Thailand n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh’s prowess was too much to handle for Thailand as the hosts registered their second win in the Men’s Junior AHF Cup with a facile 10-0 victory over Thailand at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

The home side youngsters, who thrashed Chinese Taipei 7-0 in the opening game, took just three minutes to resume their scoring spree as the hapless Thai team seemed to have no clue of their opponent. The Thai team

were found trying to defend their fort form the relentless onslaughts and brilliant saves from their goalkeeper Suriphong saved them from further blushes.

Prior the tournament coach Mamunur Rashid expressed his desire to see his charges put more effort in converting the penalty corners and the urge was clearly evident in the team work the home side exhibited. Penalty corner specialist Khorshedur Rahman mopped up three goals as Bangladesh netted six from the corners, while the

forwards also looked to link up well ahead of their crucial tie against Oman, who beat Thailand 7-0, tomorrow.

Skipper Sarwar Hossain opened the scoring in the third minute with a fierce hit from the inside edge of the arc before Khorshedur made it three-nil scoring in the 6th and 10th minute while his other goal came in the 23rd minute.

Forwards Milon Hossain (20th, 41st, 47th minute), Moinul Islam Koushik (38th,48th minute) and Roman Sarker (43rd minute) were the other goal scorers for Bangladesh. l

Bangladesh players celebrate their 10-0 win against Thailand at the Hockey Stadium yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BFF defers Fed Cup to Jan 2015 n Shishir Hoque

The idol makes it special for the children

The schedule of the football season that kicks-off with the Federation Cup has been deferred for more than a month following the request of the premier league clubs and the new date is set for January 25, 2015.

The Federation Cup which was earlier scheduled to kick off on December 19 will now begin 37 days later after the Bangabandhu Gold Cup ends. The season-opening tournament will feature 12 clubs – 11 from the top flight and one invitee. The transfer window for registering foreign players has also been widened to Jan30.

“The clubs requested BFF to defer the date as they need two or three weeks for the preparation before the season kicks off. As we have the Bangabandhu Gold Cup on the card next month so the Federation Cup will get underway just after that,” said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag yesterday. l

n Reazur Rahman Rohan Bangladesh cricket icon Shakib al Hasan gave plenty of reasons to cheer for the hundreds of children present at the BCB Academy ground to mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) through a friendly cricket match yesterday.

Unicef Bangladesh with the support from the Bangladesh Cricket Board organised a friendly cricket match titled ‘Children Fix Adults’ which was participated by former national cricketers, politicians, journalists and most importantly the under privileged children.

The 10-over cricket match saw the former captains Akram Khan, Naimur Rahman Durjoy, Habibul Bashar, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Faruque Ahmed team up against a spirited CRC children side led by none other than their idol and Unicef

brand ambassador Shakib who staged his heroics to the kids with an unbeaten 101 to seal a last-ball victory chasing 139.

Another former Bangladesh captain Roqibul Hasan took up the job at the commentary box alongside female cricketer Jessica Jessy and did a splendid job to keep the crowd at their feet.

CRC seeks new ways of solving problems to help overcome barriers that still prevent millions of children from realizing their right to survive, thrive and make the most of their potential through ‘innovation’ and Sakib echoed the sentiment and said, “This kind of events should take place often. Unicef did what they should be doing, and as a citizen it is my responsibility to raise the awareness.”

Later, deputy minister for youth and sports Arif Khan Joy graced the occasion by distributing prizes among the participants. l

Hockey quartet not ‘up to mark’ yet n Raihan Mahmood Russell Mahmud Jimmy and the three other recalled national hockey players went through their fitness test conducted by coach Mamunur Rashid at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey stadium yesterday.

The four players – Jimmy, Quamruzzaman Rana, Imran Hossian Pintu and Zahid Hossain – who were recalled by the federation after the withdrawal of their year long ban, went through the Cooper Test, the 50meter sprint, agility test and push and sit ups. However, the year long gap from the regular hockey activities saw the players a little behind the required yardstick.

Coach Mamunur said the quartet have to work more on their fitness.

“They did not fare well in the Cooper Test, the requirement in 3300 meters, and only Pintu ran near 2900 meters.

Their speed is quite okay, but in the strength test only Jimmy matched the required level of 60 push ups. We have given them 10 days more to appear for the second test,” said Mamunur.

Mamunur added the players are very experienced and skillful, but they have to attain the fitness before their inclusion in the national fold. He also said currently the competition in the national team is quite high as there are players of same quality in every sections. l

GOALNEPAL.COM

Shakib to be made available for Big Bash: Nazmul n Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan in likely to be available for his second season in the Australian Big Bash League as Bangladesh cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan said the ban on his NOC (No Objection Certificate) from playing the overseas leagues will be lifted by today.

“The decision is not yet taken but I think we will get that by tomorrow (today). Our board meeting will take place after few more days and I have talked with Shakib today (yesterday), the Big Bash league will be starting within two or three days and if he is not available by this time then it will be tough for him to find a team. Whatever the decision is, it will be signed by tomorrow (today) as I will be going abroad today (yesterday) and return day after tomorrow. As we are not taking the decision on a board meeting and when I return to Bangladesh I will announce that on airport,” said Nazmul at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday before adding that he wants to reveal the decision in presence of all the board members as they were a part while taking the decision to ban earlier.

Shakib’s six-month ban, starting from July 7, from playing any form of cricket was earlier reduced to three months. However, since his return

Shakib proved his ability on the field, becoming the man of the series in the Test series againt Zimbabwe, while his behaviour, a reason behind his ban, also seemed appropriate.

Nazmul also added that the board tried to make the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) fruitful and was successful in convincing the clubs to continue the league without the participation of the national cricketers.

The BCB president said the national team should be given the top most preference and the blooming cricketers like Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Jubair Ahmed are also doing well which made the clubs more interested in getting their service.

Meanwhile, it was learnt former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is likely to join the Bangladesh team as their batting consultant during the upcoming World Cup, though Nazmul confirmed there is no chance for the Indian legend to join the team at the moment.l

Bangladesh cricket icon Shakib al Hasan (2L) poses for a group photograph with the under privileged adolescent cricketers and an adult cricket team comprising of politicians, journalists and former national cricket players at BCB Academy ground yesterday COURTESY

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

No pressure on Australia players for Adelaide Test

QUICK BYTES

Don’t ban bouncers, says India’s Sehwag Banning bouncers following the death of Australia’s Phillip Hughes would be unfair on bowlers because batsmen always have the option of ducking under short-pitched deliveries, former India opener Virender Sehwag said on Tuesday. Restricting Sehwag in full flow has been a very difficult task for bowlers over the years but the 36-year-old, who has scored two triple centuries in tests, feels there should be no clampdown on bouncers. “It was very sad that Hughes died in such a way. But it’s part of cricket and injuries are part of any sport,” Sehwag told reporters at a promotional event organised by MoneyGram to mark next year’s 50-over World Cup. “You have an option to duck bouncers as a batsman. If you cut out the bouncers, then there is no fun left in the game and it’s already a batsman’s game. “I have been hit on the helmet by quite a few bouncers. But it’s a weapon for the bowlers so they should not be robbed off it.”

–Reuters

n Reuters, Sydney

Tiger makes return at World Challenge Tiger Woods returns to competition after a four-month injury layoff this week at Isleworth, the same gated community where his historic golf career began to unravel five years ago. Woods, who has played only seven events in 2014 due to a nagging back injury, will make his comeback starting Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-player invitational event that benefits his charity foundation. Seven of the world’s 11 top players will compete, including eighthranked Australian Jason Day in his return from a back injury and 11th-rated Jordan Spieth, coming off a victory in last week’s Australian Open, but not world number one Rory McIlroy. “We’re thrilled about the depth and talent of our field,” Woods said. Woods, ranked 24th, moved the event this year from California to the same neighborhood where he drove into a fire hydrant in late November of 2009. That began a series of revelations unveiling a sex scandal that led to Woods’ divorce from wife Elin in 2010 and damaged his once-perfect image with major sponsors.

–AFP

Balotelli sorry as FA probe ‘racist’ post Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli apologised on Tuesday for posting a message on Instagram that appeared to contain racist and anti-Semitic references and which has sparked a Football Association investigation. The Italy international reposted an image of the Nintendo video game character ‘Super Mario’ on the photo-sharing website that contained the phrase “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew”.

The post was titled “Don’t be a racist” and continued: “Be like Mario. He’s an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican.” The offending phrase followed. Balotelli deleted the post following criticism from other social media users, but after the FA confirmed it was looking into the matter, he wrote on Twitter: “I apologize if I’ve offended anyone. “The post was meant to be anti-racist with humour.

I now understand that out of context may have the opposite effect. Not all Mexicans have moustache, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish people love money. “I used a cartoon done by someone else because it has Super Mario and I thought it was funny and not offensive. Again, I’m sorry.”

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 2:00PM Int’l Premier Tennis League 1:35 AM English Premier League Sunderland v Man City

Star Sports 2 7:30PM

Team Micromax Indian Aces’ Gael Monfils of France celebrates with teammate Sania Mirza of India after his men’s singles match against UAE Royals’ Malek Jaziri of Tunisia at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in Singapore yesterday REUTERS

Cricketers and officials from around Australia began converging on the small town of Macksville, New South Wales for the funeral of Phillip Hughes as the impact of his untimely death on the international game unfolded on Tuesday.

Hughes, who would have been 26 at the weekend, died last Thursday from a catastrophic injury caused by a ball striking him in the back of the head during a domestic match, triggering a huge outpouring of grief in Australia and around the world.

Some 5,000 people are expected for the funeral at 2pm local time (0300 GMT) on Wednesday in the small coastal town halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, where Hughes grew up on a farm producing bananas and beef.

Among them will be his team mates from the Australia squad, whose grief at his death caused the postponement of the first test of a fourmatch series against India which was scheduled to start in Brisbane on Thursday.

Cricket Australia have re-jigged the schedule with the series now getting underway in Adelaide next Tuesday but are aware that even that might still be too soon for some players.

Chief executive James Sutherland

said CA would be understanding of players who still feel uncomfortable about playing next week.

“There’s a funeral tomorrow, let’s just understand that’s going to be difficult enough as it is,” he told reporters at Sydney Airport on his way to Macksville.

“I’d encourage everyone to give players their space and let them in their own way work through that.

“It’s absolutely up to the individual (whether they play), and any player that is not comfortable or doesn’t feel right, or there is medical advice that it is not quite right, we will obviously understand that.”

Pace bowler Ryan Harris later said he was not sure he would be emotionally ready to bowl in Adelaide.

“Tomorrow is the day we are thinking about. In the back of our mind is Tuesday and we have got to do what we can to try to prepare for that,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“I’m still thinking about it and I’m not sure, see how we go tomorrow, I guess. But this is tough for some boys and it is going to be tough for me. I will have to work it out when I get to Adelaide and see how we all feel.

“The boys who were there who witnessed what happened I can’t speak for them because I can’t imagine what they are going through.” l

ICC announces umpires Clarke to bear Hughes’ coffin at funeral and officials for WC 2015 n AFP, Sydney

n

AFP, Dubai

The International Cricket Council Tuesday named four World Cup winners in a 25-member match officials’ team for next year’s World Cup, setting the ball rolling with 73 days to go for the mega event.

Australia and New Zealand co-host the event from February 14 which ends with the final in Melbourne on March 29.

A total of 49 matches will be played across 14 venues, seven in New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington) and seven in Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney).

The five match referees -- David Boon (Australia), Chris Broad (England), Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Ranjan Madugalle and Roshan Mahanama (both from Sri Lanka) -- are from the elite panel.

The elite panel umpires are: Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Billy Bowden (New Zealand), Bruce Oxenford (Australia), Ian Gould (England), Kumar Dharmasena

Bangladesh pitted alongside Sevilla in Mokh Cup n Shishir Hoque Bangladesh Under-12 team were pitted alongsinde Spanish La Liga club Sevilla FC’s age-group sqaud in the Under-12 Super Mokh Cup that will kick off on December 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Bangladesh were placed in Group D alongside Thailand’s Chonburi FC, Malaysia Cougars and Sevilla FC. The official draw of the tournament took place yesterday. A total of 16 teams – four from Malaysia, three from Thailand, two from South Korea, one team from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and Uzbekistan – including Spanish club Sevilla FC and Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb will take part in the tournament that will see the teams play across four groups.l

(Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Nigel Llong (England), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Rod Tucker and Steve Davis (both Australia).

Eight umpires from the international panel will also officiate matches -- Johan Cloete (South Africa), Simon Fry (Australia), Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand), Michael Gough (England), Ranmore Martinesz, Ruchira Palliyaguru (both Sri Lanka), Ravi Sundaram (India) and Joel Wilson (West Indies).

The World Cup winners in the lineup are Boon (1987), Dharmasena, Mahanama (1996) and Reiffel (1999).

The umpires were chosen by the selection panel of Geoff Allardice (ICC General Manager – Cricket), Ranjan Madugalle (ICC Chief Match Referee), David Lloyd (former player, coach, umpire and now television commentator) and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (former elite panel umpire).

The specific match appointments will be announced in February after the warm-up matches, the ICC said.l

Australia skipper Michael Clarke will be one of the pallbearers and will lead tributes at the funeral of his close friend Phillip Hughes on Wednesday, Cricket Australia announced.

As the funeral details were revealed Tuesday, chief executive James Sutherland said it was too early to say which players would be mentally ready to face the hastily rescheduled Tests

against India.

The opening clash between the teams was due to start on Thursday at the Gabba in Brisbane but was put off following Hughes death last week, with many fellow players left emotionally shattered.

The funeral in Hughes’ hometown of Macksville on Wednesday will be attended by the Australian Test squad as well as past and present luminaries of the game including

Mark Taylor, Sir Richard Hadlee, Brian Lara, Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is also due to attend the service at which Clarke, who was by Hughes’ bedside as he lay stricken in a Sydney hospital, will speak in tribute and join family members and fellow Australia batsman Aaron Finch as a pallbearers.l

A combination photo shows cricket bats placed by residents of Macksville, the hometown of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, in front of their letterboxes and shop fronts yesterday, on the eve of Hughes’ funeral REUTERS

Vettel lives childhood dream at Ferrari n Reuters Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel says he is living a boyhood dream after completing his first weekend at Maranello as a Ferrari driver.

The German, who left Red Bull at the end of the season after losing his title to Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton, spent three days at the Italian team’s factory meeting key people and driving a 2012 car.

The Ferrari website said the 27-yearold met chairman Sergio Marchionne and new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene on Monday after talks with engineers and time in the simulator over the weekend.

On Saturday, he completed nearly 100 laps of the Fiorano test circuit -- a place he visited many years ago as a fan

hoping to get a glimpse of his hero Michael Schumacher at work.

“Looking back to the years when I was 11 or 12, trying to look over the fence and trying to see a glimpse of Michael running on the track, well today I was the one running,” said Vettel.

“There are a lot of fairytales about Ferrari and how it feels to drive a red car and in the end I can only confirm these fairytales,” he added.

“It’s not just a story, it’s a true legend that exists and it feels really, really special to become part of that and to be inside the car, to see the people coming, running to the track and trying to climb the walls to see the car.”

Vettel, who has agreed a three-year contract, replaces Spaniard Fernando Alonso at Ferrari after the double champion made it clear he wanted to leave. l

Gayle out of West Indies tour of South Africa n Reuters, Miami Opening batsman Chris Gayle is out of this month’s West Indies tour of South Africa because of injury, with Devon Smith called up to replace him.

Gayle has not featured on the international stage since September and has struggled with a back injury although he recently played in South Africa’s ‘Ram Slam T20’ tournament.

West Indies said in a statement that he had “been replaced due to injury” without offering any further details.

Winward Islands opener Smith has been in excellent form in regional competition with two half-centuries and a ton in his last three games but he has not played a test for West Indies since 2011.l

Walton Victory Day bodybuilding starts today

Indian Super League Pune v Mumbai 1:35 AM English Premier League Arsenal v Southampton

Star Sports 4

n Raihan Mahmood

1:45AM English Premier League Chelsea v Tottenham

Ten Action 03:00 AM Copa del Rey Huesca v Barcelona

Ten Cricket 2:45 PM England Tour of Sri Lanka 3rd ODI

13

F.M. Iqbal Bin Anwar speaks at the press conference of Walton Victory Day Bodybuilding at the BNS yesterday

COURTESY

The Walton Smartphone Victory Day Open Bodybuilding, comprising 200 bodybuilders from across the country, starts at the National Sports Council gymnasium today.

The two-day event will see the bodybuilders compete in five weight categories – 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75 kilograms.

The winners will receive cash awards of Taka four, three and two thousand respectively while the fourth and fifth

placed bodybuilders will be awarded Tk1000 each.

The details of the event were revealed in a press conference by the additional director of Walton, FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn, who is also the vice president of the bodybuilding federation.

Nazrul Islam, the general secretary of the federation, first senior assistant director of Walton Smartphone Asifur Rahman Asif, federation vice-president Shahabuddin were present among others during the occasion. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Zapata on target to secure 10-man Napoli late point n AFP, Rome A goal by Colombian striker Duvan Zapata in time added on rescued a 1-1 draw for 10-man Napoli against Sampdoria on Monday and was enough to see them return to third in Serie A. Zapata’s goal - after Eder had given the hosts the lead in the 57th minute extended his side’s unbeaten run to 10 games in the league.

However, while they moved above Sampdoria’s city rivals Genoa, on goal difference, they are nine points adrift of leaders Juventus and six off second-placed AS Roma.

SERIE A

Sampdoria

1-1

Eder 57

Napoli Zapata 90+2

Rafael Benitez’s side looked to have lost all hope of getting something from the match when French defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 85th minute.

However, Zapata thought otherwise and he escaped the attention of Djamel Mesbah in the second minute of time added on to score with a diving header.

Benitez, who guided Napoli to the Italian Cup trophy last season, took comfort from the resilience his players had shown.

“We continued to attack despite being down to 10 men against 11 and we succeeded in equalising,” said the 54-year-old Spaniard.

Despite the late goal Sampdoria, coached by Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic who played for them for four years in the 1990’s, have still lost just once this season, through a last minute penalty against Inter Milan.l

Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain fights for the ball with Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero during their Italian Serie A match at the Luigi-Ferraris stadium in Genoa on Monday

Chelsea brace for Spurs test n AFP, London Chelsea’s unexpected misstep at Sunderland has given their rivals fresh hope that the Premier League leaders might not be quite as infallible as their early-season dominance has suggested.

Jose Mourinho’s team remain unbeaten, but his big guns misfired in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Sunderland, allowing defending champions Manchester City to trim their lead to six points with a 3-0 success at Southampton.

Mourinho named an unchanged XI for the trip to the Stadium of Light, but although they failed to break down Gus Poyet’s hard-working Sunderland, centre-back Gary Cahill felt they had earned a valuable point.

“I think we are a different side to last year -- not just personnel, but mentally I think we are different,” he told Chelsea TV.

“They made it a scrap, but we matched that and managed to play our football as well. When teams sit back and get back in that shape, it’s very tough. We saw that last year and this was no different.

PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal Chelsea Everton Sunderland

v v v v

Southampton Tottenham Hull City Manchester City

“But in these sorts of games, if you don’t get the breakthrough, it’s important we don’t lose the game, and it’s a point away from home.”

Chelsea will be without top scorer Diego Costa due to suspension on Wednesday when they host Tottenham Hotspur, who impressed on Sunday by coming from behind to win 2-1 at home

to Everton.

City’s recent wobble appears to be behind them after they survived the dismissal of Eliaquim Mangala to see off Southampton at St Mary’s.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side will hope to further erode Chelsea’s lead when they head to Sunderland on Wednesday, but Black Cats centre-back Wes Brown has warned that, like Chelsea, the champions face a battle.

Remarkably, City have lost 1-0 on their last four visits to Wearside and when asked if that sequence was likely to continue, Brown said: “After this result (against Chelsea), there’s always a possibility.

“Every game, we go into the game looking to win it and if we show the same commitment again, I’m sure we’ll have chances.”

Southampton will look to re-assert their top-four credentials when they

visit Arsenal, who ended a two-game losing run by winning 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck hopes to maintain the momentum generated by his match-winning header at West Bromwich Albion when Southampton visit the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Welbeck’s header at The Hawthorns was his first goal in seven games for Arsenal and secured a priceless victory for the Gunners as they attempt to force their way back into the Champions League spots.

Successive league defeats had seen the north London club drop away from the leading group, but after following up the Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund with victory at West Brom, Arsene Wenger’s side moved up to sixth, two points behind Manchester United in fourth. l

Henry’s Arsenal return a certainty, says Wenger n AFP, London Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday that former great Thierry Henry will “certainly” return to the club in some capacity in the future.

Henry, Arsenal’s record goal-scorer, announced on Monday that he will leave Major League Soccer outfit the New York Red Bulls after a four-and-ahalf-year spell in the United States.

The 37-year-old recently told French sports newspaper L’Equipe that he wants to “help” Arsenal win the Champions League and Wenger believes it is only a matter of time before he returns to the Emirates Stadium.

“He is an Arsenal man. The best moment certainly of his life and of his career has been experienced here,” Wenger told a press conference ahead of his side’s Premier League home game

‘I live on Messi street, near crossing with Mascherano’

Financial Fair Play is a contradiction: Mourinho

n Reuters, Buenos Aires

n Reuters, London

You will find Lionel Messi street at an intersection with Javier Mascherano if you visit the town of El Chanar in the north-western Argentine province of Tucuman.

The town has renamed a number of its streets in homage to players in the Argentina team that reached this year’s World Cup final against Germany in Brazil, the Argentine FA said on its website (www.afa.org.ar).

“My sister lives on Di Maria (street) and believes that’s a good omen because her son plays in the same position as that player,” it quoted resident Nancy Quiroga as telling the local Gaceta de Tucuman newspaper referring to Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria. l

UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are “a contradiction” and only serve to protect big clubs with a long history of success, according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho’s club spent heavily in the close season to sign Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa but, after losing a number of players, had a substantially smaller net spend than rivals such as Manchester United and Barcelona. The regulations were designed to limit reckless spending and make clubs operate within their means but the Portuguese said the rules have failed in their primary objective to create equal conditions for all.

“I think Financial Fair Play is a contradiction because when football decided to go for Financial Fair Play it was

Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo (C), James Rodriguez (R) and Fabio Coentrao laugh during a promotional event in Madrid on Monday REUTERS

Barca not lucky to snatch win: Enrique n AFP, Madrid Barcelona boss Luis Enrique rejected suggestions his side had been fortunate to come away with all three points from Valencia after Sergio Busquets volleyed home the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time.

The Spanish international pounced after Diego Alves had made a great save from Neymar’s header to ensure Barca close to within two points of leaders Real Madrid.

“I don’t feel like lady luck fell on our side because we scored a good goal and created it from a set-piece. It wasn’t

luck, we had to dominate them and control their transitions, so I am very thankful to the players,” said Enrique.

“We had faith until the end at a very difficult place to come to and where no one had won before today.

“It’s true the goal came from a corner, but we had three efforts on goal

KING’S CUP Deportivo L’Hospitalet(III) Sevilla Granada CF SD Huesca(III)

v v v v v

Malaga Atletico Madrid CE Sabadell(II) Cordoba Barcelona

in the same move to be able to win the game.

“The result will boost the team. Of course I am happy, but even more than the three points I am happy with how we played against a difficult opponent that pressurises you like very few others.”

The action on the field in La Liga was overshadowed on Sunday by the death of a Deportivo la Coruna fan who was pulled from a freezing river following violent clashes between rival supporters.

Barca and Atletico play their first legs at third-tier Huesca and Hospitalet respectively on Wednesday.l

Algeria’s Brahimi voted BBC African player of the year n AFP, London Porto’s Algerian winger Yacine Brahimi was voted the BBC’s 2014 African Footballer of the Year on Monday.

After a record number of votes were submitted from fans in 207 countries, Paris-born Brahimi won the coveted award ahead of Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ivory Coast duo Gervinho and Yaya Toure, the Manchester City midfielder who took the prize in 2013.l

AFP

exactly to put teams in equal conditions to compete,” Mourinho said.

“But what happened really with Financial Fair Play is a big protection to the historical, old, big clubs which have a financial structure, a commercial structure, everything in place based on historical success for years and years and years.”

Mourinho, however, said the regulations were subduing clubs with new investment to help maintain what he perceives is the hierarchy of Europe’s biggest teams.

“The ‘new’ clubs, I call them ‘new’ clubs, those with new investment, they cannot put themselves quickly at the same level,” he explained.

Manchester City and Paris St Germain, clubs with recent investment, were hit in May with heavy fines for failing to comply with the regulations.l

with Southampton on Wednesday.

“Certainly one day he will come back here. In what role, I don’t know.

That is what he has to think about: what direction he wants to give to his next life.”

Wenger added that Henry possessed the necessary attributes to succeed as a coach, saying: “Thierry has all the qualities because he is intelligent, committed, he loves the game.l

Swansea would only sell Bony for ‘astronomical fee’ n Reuters, London It would take an “astronomical fee” for Swansea City to part with in-form Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony, manager Gary Monk said on Monday.

The 25-year-old has scored 18 Premier League goals in 2014, two more than his nearest rival Aguero, and has helped the Welsh team climb to eighth in the table with six goals in his last 7 appearances.

According to media reports, Bony was a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham during the close-season but he remained at the Liberty Stadium and last month signed a one-year contract extension that ties him to the club until 2018.

“We are not a selling club, we don’t need to sell. We are very much committed with our players and they are committed to us.l An official mascot for the AFC Asian Cup Australia “Nutmeg” plays with children during the Fox Sports Asian Cup football coverage launch at Bondi Beach in Sydney yesterday.

Nutmeg, an iconic Australian wombat was unveiled before the start of the AFC Asian Cup finals which open on January 9, 2015 AFP

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

15

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA: I play and I pray

KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

B E N G A L C L A S S I C A L M U S I C F E S T I VA L 2 0 1 4

n Farhana Urmee

Clockwise from top left: Flutist M Moniruzzaman plays raga Bageshri, Ashwini Bhide Deshpande performs raga jog and raga paraj and Pandit Uday Bhawalkar performs dhrupad on the concluding night of the Bengal Classical Music Festival 2014 KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

AMJAD ALI KHAN: Freedom lies in the seven notes of the sargam Master sarodiya Amjad Ali Khan discusses his music and philosophy of life that means one who finds good asn Gopa Biswas Caesar pects in every kind of music.

KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

At the final session of the Bengal Classical Music Festival, legendary sarod player, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, mesmerised audiences yesterday in the pre-dawn hours.

It was his first year performing at the annual event, and during this interview taken on Monday evening, he expressed disappointment at having been left out of the two prior festivals.

But on stage, he played with joy and an understanding of his audience, inserting instrumental renditions of beloved Tagore tunes into the ragas.

Classical Indian music is typically thought to cater to a “tasteful” listener. What do you think about that?

I personally feel my music must reach everyone. And it should appeal to anybody and everybody irrespective of their “taste.”

What is your impression of the Bengal Music Festival?

What the Bengal Foundation is doing is good to create awareness.

But allotting only an hour to each musician is not enough. They should allocate one evening or at least three hours to each artist. If what were to happen, me and my sons Amaan and Ayaan would love to attend with bliss.

On the other hand, I understand that their target is to provide glimpses of the masters to the audience.

Any comment on the institute that Bengal Foundation plans to establish?

Music is not a product and it cannot be promoted like Coca-Cola or toothpaste. Previously, individuals – ustads and pandits – were the institutes, and disciples learnt no less. Before institutionalisation, they need to secure work opportu-

nities for the students as well.

But planning an institute is a very good attempt, a service to music and to the people who love music.

At the Tagore Festival earlier this year, you said in an interview that you have discovered almost 40 ragas. Any personal favourites?

The Subhalakhsmi raga. I composed it as gift for my wife Subhalakshmi on her birthday. She bestowed many things on me and gave me my sons. So this was a token of love and respect for her, which was later compiled in the Guldasta-e-Raga.

The musical tradition we have is basically oral in nature. Even you started as a vocal artist.

There is a slight difference between convention and tradition.

In convention, you follow existing norms blindly, while tradition brings in innovation.

My father Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan asked me to be traditional, not conventional. He advised me to

pick what felt right to me. There is a slight difference between playing the instrument, singing with the instrument and singing through the instrument.

I sing through my instrument, and happily my tradition has allowed me to bring this innovation in.

Is it true the sarod was invented by one of your ancestors?

Yes, it is. My forefathers came from Afghanistan with an instrument called the rubab, which is made entirely of wood. It evolved into the sarod with a skin belly, metal touch-board and “piano” strings in the hands of Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash. He was a court musician in Madhya Pradesh.

But every instrument has its own destiny. I want someday for my ancestral invention to become as popular as the guitar or violin.

How do you feel about fusion with western music?

My father used to say that I had to become a complete musician, and

I truly feel that the time has come for collaboration.

I was always fond of the orchestra. The way a hundred or more people collectively produce music is almost an impossible thing in the subcontinent, as our tradition strongly upholds the notions of individuality and live improvisation.

Still, I tried to tie the two different cultures, European and Indian, in a programme called Samagam at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

But it is really far more challenging for the next generation to carry the tradition and to preserve the purity of classical music.

Do you consider popular culture as a threat to the purity of classical music?

I am not worried about music, sarod or the future of classical music.

But I am worried about the great failure of education at present, and the lack of peace in the world. With due respect to education, it is continually failing to create compassion and kindness.

When I see educated people behaving like ferocious animals, despising each other, I feel worried.

With all of our successes, why are we are still so primitive in nurturing evil instincts?

We differentiate each other in the name of different religions, but fail to remember that none of the holy scriptures accommodate hatred and violence. It seems different people have put up different shops to sell different ideologies… but all they offer is confusion.

You have a very unique philosophy of life. How would you define it?

I believe in one God and consider music a way of life. To me freedom lies in the seven notes of the sargam. To me, classical music is a dark tunnel. You enter into it to meet the sunlight someday. l

For his interview on Monday, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, clad in a simple white panjabi, entered the room a bit drowsily.

And no wonder – he had been performing until 5:30am the night before to an audience of more than 55,000 enraptured souls on the fourth day of the Bengal Classical Music Festival at Dhaka’s Army Stadium.

But he kept his good humour, giving thoughtful answers to each question.

How do you feel about the Bengal Music Festival?

I have been performing on stage for 60 years but have not experienced such a grand arrangement before. I wonder how everything can be managed when such a huge crowd attends a show.

Even more interesting is the enthusiasm of the audience here. They spend the whole evening and stay up all night to listen to music. I played until 5:30 in the morning and people were alertly listening to me.

It is really inspiring to see the appreciation of music here in Bangladesh. I have not seen such music lovers in the whole world.

Last year I saw a big crowd, but this year it was even bigger. Maybe in the coming years the programme will flourish even more.

Indeed, the day you play breaks the record for festival attendance each year. Why do you think that is?

The people of this land have a special connection with the flute and its sound. It is very much a Bangladeshi instrument.

The flute from western countries is different from ours, made of metal and having keys. In this land it is very simple, made of dried bamboo, which can be found left and right in Bangladesh. The flute has a religious value too, as Lord Krishna was the creator of the flute.

What are you trying to express when you play? Joy, pain or something else?

I do not have something in mind. I just close my eyes and play.

I feel like I am praying. I am playing to Him, who I assume to be seated between me and the audience. If I find He is happy, I feel happy. That impulse makes me play, thus the people who are listening to me enjoy it also. One will find love, dedication and devotion in prayer.

What changes have you seen over the course of your career in the subcontinent’s music scene?

Things change, that is natural. Things have changed a lot since we were young. What is happening in music is good. It is like the cycle of a day: After light one has to see darkness, and after darkness comes the light.

The younger generation may have different tastes in music. There is nothing wrong with that. They have to choose among the options they are given. What I appreciate is that they still love music.

How do you feel about fusion?

Yes, it is a current trend. Fusion has its utility too. We have learned the chord system and harmony from the new generation’s

music. People abroad really like the pattern of music from this land.

They come and learn from here too, and later introduce what they have learned into their own styles of music.

Corporate sponsors also appreciate such collaborations, which gives them the opportunity to organise more and more shows. But there is no certainty about the longevity of this particular trend, and nothing can be said about its future.

Why don’t you do music for films anymore?

When I worked for films, the teams working on films were really impressive. Now the story, song concepts, background, artists and even the mood of the music is all different. When I left the film industry it was out of necessity, to concentrate more on classical music.

DID YOU KNOW Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia was the composer of several soundtrack scores for Bollywood films including Chandni, Silsila and Darr l

He plays the flute with his left hand, although he is right-handed l

In childhood he once stole another boy’s flute l

He was a wrestler in early life l

He spent three years lobbying Annapurna Devi, daughter of Ustad Allauddin Khan, to become her disciple l

He was a full-time musician for All India Radio

What is lacking in the classical music field?

A person who wants to be a musician has to be dedicated, not merely commercially-minded.

The guru – shishya [teacher – disciple] method historically significant in this land should be upheld and continued. A music guru does not only teach music by the hour. It is a lifetime education.

Do you have plans to expand your Gurukul to Bangladesh?

I too have the desire to teach music here.

If anyone establishes a Gurukul [a school where pupils live near the teacher and learn] for me, I can come to Bangladesh.

The Bengal Foundation has started their project to teach classical music. If time and scope allow me to come and contribute, I will certainly come. I am interested to sit with everybody, even those who cannot play the flute. In my show at the festival, I asked the audience to all bring flutes next time they come. I wish to play with all of them together.

What do you love most about Bangladesh?

What Bangladeshi people have is a love for music. It is really worthy of appreciation.

The food in Bangladesh is also something I love, especially hilsha from the Padma River. l

BANDFEST 2014 enthrals band music buffs

MADONNA’s new song leaks

n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment desk

With a vibrant and monumental celebration, the Cocacola-Channel i Bandfest 2014 was held on the premises of Channel i office in the capital’s Tejgaon area on Monday.

Twenty bands, old and new, performed at the event, including Uchcharon, Different Touch, Obscure, Prometheus, Ark, Bay of Bengal, Teerondaz, Chirkutt, Dolchut, Black, Artcell, LRB, Shunno, Radio Active, Parthibo and Joler Gaan.

Before the day-long concert commenced, a one-minute silence was observed in memory of recently passed artist Qayyum Chowdhury. The late band musicians of the country were commemorated as well. The show started with a new song on Azam Khan, written and performed by Aiyub Bachchu.

A snippet of a new Madonna song, rumoured to be titled “Rebel Heart,” leaked to the Internet on Thursday.

Madonna’s publicist had no comment about the leak, but the diva’s manager, Guy Oseary, tweeted, “I would be grateful to any Madonna fans that can assist us in finding those responsible for the leak. We appreciate your help.”

About 40 seconds of the dance-meets-acoustic track materialised with Madonna singing, “I’ve spent some time as a narcissist, hearing the others say ‘look at you, look at you.’ Trying to be so provocative, I said, ‘Oh yeah, that was me. All the things I did just to be seen.’”

It’s assumed the song is titled “Rebel Heart,” as Madonna is heard singing the phrase at one point in the snippet, and because she used the #RebelHeart hashtag on her Instagram for months. The song might be a co-production with Avicii, as Madonna used the #RebelHeart hashtag in a photo of her with him and his team nine months ago.

It’s unknown if the song clip is from a demo version of the song or a recording of a finished track as the audio quality of the snippet is questionable — it sounds like it was recorded through speakers. l

LRB perform in the concert Speaking during the inauguration, Faridur Reza Sagar, managing director of Channel i, said: “This event will continue its journey every year on December1 at the same venue.”

However, Following his perfor-

KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

mance, Aiyub Bachchu addressed the organisers and said: “The Cocacola-Channel i Bandfest should be bigger next year, and held in a bigger venue, so that more people can join the celebration.” l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Bonnie Cappuccino – mother of war babies 80-year-old Canadian and her husband have taken care of 19 war babies, including one from Bangladesh were brought from another home run n Arif Ahmed by the government.

Only two of Canadian Bonnie Cappuccino’s 21 children are her biological offspring. The remaining 19 have all been adopted by her from six different countries.

Married to Fred Cappuccino in Canada for 49 years, one of Bonnie’s 19 adopted children is a war baby from Bangladesh whose biological mother was raped during the 1971 Liberation War. But the 80-year-old woman strongly reacted yesterday when someone referred to them as adopted. Yesterday, she attended as an invited guest at a programme of the Liberation War Museum in the capital’s Shegun Bagicha.

The extraordinary couple first learned about the war in Bangladesh in 1971. In June next year, they applied to the government of independent Bangladesh offering to facilitate the adoption of war babies.

The couple who represent a philanthropic organisation named “Families for Children” themselves adopted a baby girl named Shikha who was only four-months old at that time.

“She [Shikha] is now living happily with her husband and two daughters in Canada,” the mother said.

The government approved the adoption of 15 war babies. On July 20, 1972, the babies were sent to Canada.

Of them, 12 were born at Mother Teresa’s home in Dhaka and the other three

That was the first time Air India carried so many little passengers on a single flight without parents. The airlines company made special arrangements for taking care of the kids on the aircraft.

Asked how those 15 war babies are right now, she said: “They all are now living happily with their families and kids. I know that much...I do not have close connections with them now. We did not want to interfere with their lives.

“The situation was very miserable at that time. Many women and war babies had lived unfed and without medical care.”

Asked if she saw any difference after 42 years, she said: “The socio-economic condition of Bangladesh has gone through drastic changes. Bangladesh is heading towards a developed future.”

Despite frail health, the Canadian couple has been unrelenting in their mission to take care of poor children in four countries – India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Tibet.

The pair, who founded the Child Haven International in Toronto, Canada in 1985, has established nine homes – six in India and one in each of the other three countries – and one training centre for women in Ghaziabad near New Delhi. The one in Bangladesh is in Chittagong.

They are currently taking care of around 1,300 children and 300 women,

Canadian Bonnie Cappuccino, who had adopted a war baby of the 1971 Liberation War, hands over a memoir to trustees, Ziauddin Tariq Ali (left) and Mofidul Haque (middle), at a session arranged at the Liberation War Museum in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR for whom they provide care and vocational training. Children in their homes are educated up to the 1oth grade. If anyone of them are interested in pur-

suing college or university education, the Cappuccinos find them sponsors.

Mofidul Haque, trustee of the museum, yesterday handed over the adop-

Gupta-era gold coins deciphered

n Reuters

legends. All the coins date back to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. A number of these coins were discovered in West Bengal. Only a few Gupta coins were discovered in Bangladesh. Among them, two were found at Mohammadpur in Magura district in 1853, and the other two were found at Mainamati in Comilla district in 1957.

Inscription on one of the coins indicates that the entire Vanga Kingdom – or Greater Bengal – was most likely a part of the Gupta Empire during the reign of Chandragupta I, considered to be the founder of the Gupta Dynasty, or

Australian met office: El Nino expected by February, next year n Reuters, Sydney Climate models suggest El Nino weather conditions will occur over the next three months, although related weather patterns are already being witnessed, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said yesterday.

Climate indicators are close to El Nino thresholds, the BOM said, with models indicating a 70 per cent chance of an event arriving by February.

El Nino is a warming of Pacific sea-surface temperatures that occurs every four to 12 years. It can trigger drought in some parts of the world while causing flooding in others.

The BOM said temperatures in the Pacific have already exceeded the El Nino threshold but the Southern Oscillation Index has yet to breach that level.

The Southern Oscillation Index is a measure of Pacific air pressure fluctuations.

“Some El Nino-like impacts have already been seen this spring in Australia and several regions around the globe, including Asia, South America and southern Africa,” the BOM said. “The Bureau’s December–February Climate Outlook shows a drier and warmer summer is likely for many parts of Australia.”

The dry weather is impacting Australia’s agricultural production, with output in key commodities such as wheat set to fall as dry weather curbs yields.

Nearly all of the Australian east coast and South Australia received less than half the average amounts of rainfall over the last three months, denying crops much needed moisture. l

his son and successor Samudragupta.

The coin also indicates that Samudragupta advanced further during his reign and conquered the whole of Vanga, up to Dhaka.

The discovery of a Gupta coin at Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj clearly indicates the rise of Varakamandala as a political and trade centre during the Gupta period, Dr Sharif said, adding that the discovery of Gupta coins at Mohammadpur in Magura further indicates that it was quite close to Kotalipara.

The impact of the Gupta rule in Ben-

A 20-year-old woman was raped by an assistant marriage registrar when collecting her marriage certificate from the registry office in the capital’s Moghbazar area yesterday.

Police arrested the accused rapist, Nurul Huda, 55.

The victim yesterday went to pick up her marriage certificate at the Moghbazar square registry office. Nurul took her to another branch of the registry office located near the Wireless Rail Gate of Moghbazar, telling her that her certificate was to be found there.

At the Wireless Rail Gate registry office, Nurul raped her.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Said of Ramna police station told the Dhaka Tribune: “We arrested Nurul Huda around 1pm.

In primary interrogation, he confessed to raping the woman.”

“I mistakenly raped the girl,” Nurul replied when asked why he had raped the victim, SI Said told the Dhaka Tribune.

Nurul has worked at the marriage registry office for many years, the SI said.

The victim was admitted to the OneStop Crisis Centre (OCC) of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

OCC Coordinator Dr Bilkis Begum told the Dhaka Tribune: “The woman was admitted to the OCC. After conducting tests, it will be determined if she was raped.”

The victim filed a case against Nurul Huda with the Ramna police station yesterday, the SI confirmed. l

UN calls fossil fuels 'high risk' investment

n Tribune Report An expert from the Bangladesh National Museum has deciphered the inscriptions on 17 coins dated back to the times of the Gupta dynasty, in the hope of unearthing more information about the era as well as ancient Bengal.

The discovery was disclosed at a seminar arranged at the auditorium of the museum yesterday, where the expert, Dr Shariful Islam, presented a paper on his new findings.

These coins have been collected at different times since the museum was founded in 1913. They are a part of the museum’s collection of around 5,000 ancient coins. These are all kept in its reserve collection and have not been on display for public, Dr Islam said during his presentation.

Speakers at the seminar said that this discovery opens a new window for researchers and historians to know more about the Gupta Dynasty.

Sharif is an assistant keeper at the museum and the only expert there who can read the ancient Brahmi script, the writing system used during the Gupta period. The coins could not be deciphered before as there were no specialists.

Speaking at the seminar, Faizul Latif Chowdhury, director general of the museum, said there were ancient coins with inscriptions in other ancient languages, but lack of specialists in this area hindered the deciphering of such coins.

The coins in question bear images of the monarchs who issued these coins, their favourite deities, epithets that may have significant value for said monarchs, and versified Sanskrit

tion papers of the war babies to Bonnie.

He also urged the government to allot land for Bonnie’s children’s home in Chittagong. l

Woman raped when collecting marriage certificate n Tribune Report

gal was very profound and far-reaching. In the subsequent periods, the administration of Bengal was developed following the local administration and land system established by the Guptas.

Dr Sharif said the new discovery might reconstruct the ancient history of Bengal.

However, Abdul Momin Chowdhury, history professor at Dhaka University who was also present at the seminar, said it would not be prudent to take decisions about the past based on the deciphered information obtained from a few gold coins. l

Falling oil prices show the "high risk" of fossil fuel investments compared with renewable energies, the UN's climate chief said on Monday at the start of 190-nation talks on a deal to slow global warming.

The December 1-12 meeting in Lima opened with hopes that a UN deal to slow climate change is in reach for 2015, helped by goals set by China, the United States and the European Union to cut greenhouse emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels.

Christiana Figueres, head of the UN’s Climate Change Secretariat, dismissed suggestions that a tumble in the price of oil to a five-year low on Monday could brake hopes for a shift to renewable energies as a cornerstone of the climate deal.

Oil price volatility "is exactly one of the main reasons why we must move to renewable energy which has a completely predictable cost of zero for fuel" once wind turbines or solar panels were built, she told a news conference.

"We are seeing more and more the realisation that investment in fossil fuel is actually a high risk, is getting more and more risky," she said, welcoming a decision by Germany's top utility E.ON to spin off power plants to focus on renewable energy and power grids.

Still, other experts said the oil price fall could slow some investments in renewables and may make fossil fuel exporters such as Russia and Saudi Arabia

reluctant to make concessions at the climate talks, fearing they could undermine their earnings.

"It's hard to tell what the total net impact will be here," Alden Meyer, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said after Brent crude fell as low as $67.53 a barrel, its lowest level since October 2009, before rebounding to settle at $72.54.

Delegates in Lima are due to work out elements of a deal due to be agreed at a UN summit in Paris next year.

Coral reefs

Temperatures have already risen by about 0.9 C and a UN panel of climate scientists says there are risks of irreversible impacts, ranging from damage to coral reefs to a meltdown of Greenland's ice that would raise sea levels.

"The window for action is rapidly closing," Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told delegates, warning of worsening disruptions to food and water supplies.

His panel says it is 95 percent probable that man-made emissions are the main cause of warming. And 2014 may eclipse 2010 as the warmest year on record.

The talks have been boosted after the United States last month agreed to cut emissions by 26% – 28% below 2005 levels and China agreed to set a cap on its soaring emissions by around 2030.

The European Union also aims to cut emissions by 40% below 1990 levels. l

The man who defied darkness n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

Few inspire us like those who refuse to quit whatever the odds, like the man who lost his eyesight in childhood but went on to become an internationally recognised advocate for the disabled.

Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, who managed to educate himself by overcoming darkness and barriers, now inspires and encourages others with his light. His involvement with various organisations reveals his extremely active life, his papers presented at many national and international meetings show his immense intellectual contribution particularly in the disability sector.

At the age of seven, a ball hit his left eye when he was a student of Banglabazar Kindergarten. His father, who was the magistrate in Dhaka, immediately took him to the doctor. Monsur, not blaming the doctors, said: “At least one eye could be saved. But as one eye was completely damaged in the accident, the other one was subsequently affected due to sympathetic opthalmia.”

Monsur continued his education us-

ing Braille textbooks as the first blind student of the former Rotary School for the Blind in Dhaka in 1957. He passed his SSC exams from Rajshahi Board with first division in 1966 and HSC from Dhaka College with first division in 1968.

Monsur was admitted to Dhaka University in 1968 as a resident of Salimullah Muslim Hall and obtained a BA degree with honours in Political Science and an MA degree in Public Administration in 1972 and 1974, respectively.

He received higher training from the universities of Oslo, Little Rock and Sussex. By profession, he is a development practitioner and has held several key positions including managing director, Jatiya Pratibandhi Unnayan Foundation, founder director, Impact Foundation Bangladesh, technical adviser, Helen Keller International Bangladesh and has served as a short-term consultant with the World Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Monsur is the third son of his late parents, Moziruddin Chowdhury and Asia Khatun Chowdhury, of Vaddeshwar, Sylhet. He was born on November 15, 1949 in Habiganj where his father worked for the government.

As a government delegate, he attended the final negotiations (the 8th session of the Ad Hoc Committee of the UNCRPD) of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held at the United Nations headquarters in New York in 2006.

Monsur was nominated by the government of Bangladesh and subse-

quently elected a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for a term of four years at the first conference of States Parties at the UN in New York in 2008.

Currently he is engaged as a member of the executive board, Disability Council International, founder trustee, Impact Foundation Bangladesh, secretary of the board of trustees, Sir John Wilson School, executive board member, ActionAid International Bangladesh and trustee, Bishwa Shahityo Kendra.

Monsur was named a Senior Ashoka Fellow in 2005 and was a Lifetime Achievement Award winner at the Singer – Channel i Legendary Bravery Awards, 2011.

Monsur, by means of his merit and determination has struggled throughout his life to stand on his own feet with dignity and equality.

Having achieved this in full measure, he has spent his life working at the national and international level for the promotion of opportunities, services and the protection of human rights of people with disabilities. l

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B3 Euro zone prices fall at sharpest rate in a year

B4 Islamic banks grow but may miss out on global footprint

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

FIU to monitor bank accounts of influential persons n Asif Showkat Kallol A government committee has decided to incorporate a new provision into its proposed amendment to the Anti-Monetary Laundering law that Bangladesh Bank will monitor financial transactions of influential persons, official sources said.

The decision was made at a meeting on National Coordination Committee of anti-money laundering activities at the finance ministry auditorium yesterday, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman M Badiuzzman, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman, Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam, Banking Division Secretary M Aslam Alam and National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Ghulam Hussain attended the meeting.

Sources said according to the proposed provision all scheduled banks will regularly inform the financial intelligence unit (FIU) of Bangladesh Bank about bank account information of influential persons in the country under the Financial Action Task Force recommendations on Anti-Money Laundering Law 2012.

The task force is the United Nation’s anti-money laundering wing that was formed to prevent money laundering activities across the globe.

Earlier, as per the task force recommendations, the provision included politically influential persons, but later the finance division dropped the word “politically.”

Over the last one year, the Home Ministry, specially police department, and Anti-Corruption Commission are at loggerheads over police involvement with the investigation and trial of anti-money laundering cases.

A source in the meeting quoted the finance minister as saying: “I have tak-

en the matter in my own hand and I will talk to law minister in this regard.”

In his opinion, Muhith said all money-laundering cases should be filed with ACC. He added that both police and ACC could carry out investigation into the anti-money laundering cases.

Members on the meeting also suggested police carry out the investigation as per the directives of ACC, according to the source.

ACC Chairman M Badiuzzman said the meeting took no final decision, but the commission has strongly opposed the move to hand over to police the responsibility of investigation into anti-money laundering cases.

The anti-graft watchdog has direct responsibility to investigate anti-money laundering cases, he added.

“The government will take decision after discussing the matter with stakeholders.”

Earlier, Banking Division took steps to make changes to at least four clauses of the Anti-Money Laundering Law despite opposition from the ACC. Currently, the anti-graft body has the sole authority to conduct investigation and trial of an offence under the anti-money laundering law.

In support of the proposed changes, the logic was that the ACC lacked skilled manpower in dealing with the cases.

But the ACC officials ruled out such “lack of manpower” and said the body’s performance in dealing with cases was satisfactory.

Since 2009, the anti-graft body inquired 285 cases on money laundering. Of them, 254 cases were filed and charge sheets were given in 112 cases.

The court settled three cases and the ACC won in all of them. The ACC confiscated 1,011 bank accounts found linked with money laundering while the frozen accounts had around Tk289 crore. l

Rice export to Sri Lanka soon n Tribune report

EU to set up business council to boost trade with Bangladesh

BTRC to audit Airtel’s takeover price

The government will export only 25,000 tonnes of coarse rice to Sri Lanka instead of 50,000 tonnes decided earlier due to fall in rice demand in the country, official sources said.

Food Minister Md Qamrul Islam yesterday confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune. He said a contract will be signed today at the Food Ministry in this regard.

Food Ministry sources said Directorate General of Food Department Md Sarwar Khan and Chairman of Lanka Sathosha Limited Nalin Farnando will sign the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

On November 5, the government amended the existing policy of coarse rice export to Sri Lanka, incorporating a provision of government-to-government contract.

The country will export first-ever coarse rice of 25,000 tonnes to Sri Lanka at a rate of $450 per tonne. l

n Tribune Report

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

European Union will form a business council to boost trade and commerce between its member countries and Bangladesh through research and removing barriers, said newly appointed EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon.

“No stone will remain unturned to explore business in Bangladesh and an all-out cooperation for joint venture investment and research will be ensured,” he said.

The ambassador said this after a meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday at the secretariat.

The European Union Business Council (EUBC) aims to remove business difficulties, expand EU business with Bangladesh, discuss cost-cutting issues, research business diversification and its potentials and promote trade and commerce.

An aerial view shows artificial islands on Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian sea

REUTERS

Oil steadies below $73 after hitting five-year lows IMF: Lower oil prices positive for global economy

n Reuters Brent crude oil steadied below $73 a barrel yesterday, holding onto a rally from five-year lows after oil producers failed to curb production despite a supply glut.

“The market is trying to find some equilibrium,” said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.

“There was a sharp drop last week and a rebound on Monday. Brent is trying to find out if it is going to be trading at the $60 to $70 range or $70 to $80.”

The EUBC will be comprised of ambassadors of EU member countries, their chambers of commerce and business leaders. There is no limit to exploring business partnership and expansion of economic cooperation with Bangladesh, said Pierre Mayaudon.

He observed that Bangladesh’s trade volume with the EU countries increased dramatically mostly in RMG sector.

“We would like to do more business in Pharmaceuticals, IT and Ship building sectors as they sound very promising.”

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh’s export to EU markets rose to $16 billion in the last fiscal year, which was more than half the total export of over $30 billion.

The EU will assist Bangladesh with business diversification to increase the trade volume, he added.

Commenting on the safety standard of Bangladesh’s RMG sector, the minister said all RMG factories will be com-

Both Brent and US crude touched five-year lows on Monday, with Brent dipping to $67.53 a barrel and WTI touching $63.72, before recovering to settle up on the day.

IMF welcomes lower oil prices

Falling oil prices are positive for the global economy as a whole, though they may hurt individual commodity exporters, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

“Assuming we have a 30% decline (in oil prices), it’s likely to be an additional 0.8% (in economic growth)

pliant with safety issues by 2018.

The inspection by the retailers’ platform, Accord and Alliance, is a certification, which is good for the sector, added Tofail.

In reply to a query, the EU ambassador said implementation of “Sustainability Compact” is a common goal of International Labour Organisation, EU and Bangladesh. Much has been done, he said, adding that more is still required to do.

Pierre observed that the government is in a hurry to meet the compact conditions through implementation of the treaty and expected Bangladesh will be able to modify its image in EU. Tofail Ahmed alleged when Bangladesh is gaining appraisal from international community, a research organisation is showing negative research findings to tarnish the country’s image.

“All economic indicators of Bangladesh are positive and we are heading towards a middle-income country by 2021.” l

Remittance rises 10% in November n Tribune Report Remittance inflow into the country rose by 10% in November compared to the same month last year, thanks to the appreciation of dollars against local currency Taka.

The country received US$1.16bn in the last month compared to little over $1bn in the same period of the last year, according to the central bank data released yesterday.

The remittance increased by 14.7% over October’s inflow of $1.01bn. The US dollar is slowly getting stronger against the local currency due to the increasing trend in import, which has been witnessing an upward trend for the last few months.

The exchange rate of dollar started to fluctuate at the beginning of the last month after re-

taining a stable condition in the previous three months.

The remittance inflow has been slower for a period of a year due to sluggish investment climate and appreciation of local currency against dollars, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

As the import expenditures rose in recent months due to the price falling of the commodities including oil in the global market, dollar is now getting stronger, he added.

Central bank expects that the remittance inflow will be increased further in the coming months amid an atmosphere congenial for investment and also increasing import growth.

The exchange rate of dollar rose to an average of Tk77.72 against the green back as of yesterday from Tk77.40 in the beginning of last month. The rate,

however, remained stable at Tk77.40 a dollar during the last three months period due to the sluggish import growth.

The country received remittance of $384m through the state-owned commercial banks while $15m through specialized banks, $754.63m through private commercial banks and $15.51m through foreign banks, according to the central bank data.

The total remittance of 11 months in the current year stood at $13.6bn, which was 8% higher than $12.6bn in the same period of the last year.

Manpower export from Bangladesh has significantly been declined, as no new job market was created overseas in more than a year. Moreover, many of the major recipient countries continued restricting recruitment from Bangladesh. l

for most advanced economies, because all of them are importers of oil,” Lagarde said, mentioning the United States, Europe, Japan and China in particular.

World oil prices are down 40% since June, largely on abundant supply.

OPEC also declined last week to cut production to bolster prices, sending Brent crude prices to a five-year low this week.

But Lagarde warned falling crude prices were hitting some oil exporters particularly hard, especially Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Nigeria, leaving

The country’s telecom regulator has stepped to make an audit of share transactions between mobile phone operator Airtel and Warid Telecom back in 2010 as the CAG office suspects that there was a huge price manipulation.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) office recently said the government has lost an amount of Tk129.99 crore in revenue due to the manipulation.

In 2010 Bharti Airtel bought 70% shares of Warid Telecom at a total price of $100,000 and paid 5.5% of the amount to the government as revenue under a rule now invalid. Warid sold the remaining 30% stake to Airtel in 2013 for a total amount of $85m when the rule was no longer effective.

While making audits of 17 government organisations including the telecom regulator BTRC recently, CAG office said the shares price in the 2010 transaction was shown incredibly low and the regulator, therefore, should take an audit initiative to find the fact.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already sent a letter to the government seeking approval for an audit as the regulator will need to hire a private audit firm. The cost to hire an audit firm is estimated at Tk25 lakh.

Besides, CAG made special audits of BTRC for the period between FY2001-02 and FY2009-10, which found the government had lost a total of Tk2,628 crore in revenue because of financial anomalies.

The audit reports will be placed in parliament soon.

BTRC, however, didn’t agree with the amount, saying the figure could not be that much, but subscribed to the CAG’s objection about Airtel’s shares price.

“If a private firm makes audit again, we should welcome that to resolve the issue,” said a BTRC official.

Official sources said although the face value of Warid shares during the 2010 takeover was Tk100 each, the price was shown Tk0.06. Warid transferred over 114m shares to Airtel at Tk68.68 lakh without permission from

their economies vulnerable.

“All countries that will be affected significantly by the decline in the oil price, which are producers of oil, I think should be under watch,” Lagarde said at a Wall Street Journal conference. “Venezuela is clearly one ... where it could be difficult.”

The South American member of OPEC derives 96% of its export revenues from oil, so the drop in prices has hit exacerbated a national economic decline, a foreign currency shortage and a scarcity of basic goods. l

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission.

On 25 February 2010, Warid, however, increased the shares from 200m to 470m, and transferred an additional over 259m shares to Airtel at a rate of Tk79.82.

“In a month’s gap, the share price rose to Tk79.82 from Tk0.06, which makes it clear that the devaluation of share price had been intended to evade government tax,” the CAG audit report said.

On January 4, 2010, the BTRC had permitted Warid to sell 70% of its stakes for only $100,000 (around Tk70 lakh).

It withdrew the 5.5% revenue-sharing decision on February 8 that year.

CAG special audits found the government had lost a total of Tk2,628 crore in revenue because of financial anomalies But after three years Warid transferred the remaining 30% shares for $85m, which is more than 2,000 times higher than the previous transfer value, according to the document available with the Dhaka Tribune.

Sunil Kanti Bose said, “The CAG office asked us several times to make an audit (of Warid-Airtel share transfer) by a third firm. As there was no official order, we had taken any step.”

He also said: “There is no way you can say the share transfer was illegal.

According to documents, everything was okay and the then BTRC made decisions based on those papers.”

A BTRC source said the telecom regulator will go to audit the mobile phone operator’s shares takeover next year.

He said seven international firms have already submitted proposals to conduct the audit in association with local audit companies. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Heavyweights dominate as index recovery continues

DSE key features December 2, 2014

n Tribune Report

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,635.06

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.94

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSER Company Northern Jute -Z Kohinoor Chem -A ICB AMCL IslamicMF-A BD. Thai Alum -B B I F C -A WesternMarine -N MBL 1st M. F.-A Fu-wang Ceramic-A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A R. N. Spinning-Z

Closing (% Change) -8.49 -6.06 -4.00 -2.54 -2.53 -2.29 -2.27 -2.11 -2.04 -2.03

CSE LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

LR Global BD MF1-A Apex Footwear-A Fu-wang Ceramic-A ICB AMCL IslamicMF-A Eastern Bank - A BD. Thai Alum -B WesternMarine -N Jamuna Bank -A DBH 1st MF-A Rupali InsurA

-6.12 -5.86 -2.80 -2.76 -2.55 -2.54 -2.45 -2.38 -2.13 -2.12

4932.89333

(+) 1.32%

1837.44020

(+) 2.12%

15168.93830

(+) 1.22%

12412.96960

(+) 0.87%

9249.27190

(+) 0.98%

Average (% Change) -8.49 -6.00 -3.27 -1.52 -1.07 -2.22 -1.82 -3.05 -1.02 2.84 Average (% Change) -6.12 -5.86 -2.98 -2.76 -2.55 -1.42 -2.13 -0.16 -2.34 -2.12

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 242.50 355.33 14.50 46.59 15.68 60.28 4.32 13.99 4.85 30.04

ClosingAvg. 4.60 450.00 13.99 14.10 26.80 46.66 60.24 12.43 4.59 23.10

Closing

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 424.53 211.44 37.85 462.27 136.49 601.44 5.13 258.66 597.28 22.40 177.82 47.00 29.13 133.27 50.23 28.70 92.74 224.00 42.44 150.52 2.31

DHIGH 243.00 355.30 14.90 48.20 16.20 61.60 4.50 14.20 5.00 30.80

DHIGH

4.60 450.00 13.90 14.10 26.80 46.10 59.60 12.30 4.60 23.10

3,735.67 85,315,064

4.60 450.00 14.30 14.10 26.80 48.00 61.40 12.60 4.70 23.10

83,435

Traded Issues

302

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

230

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

64

CSE key features December 2, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

275.15

Turnover (Volume)

7,190,265

Number of Contract

10,464

Traded Issues

220

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

148

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

65

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,532.76

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.70

Turnover in Million

DLOW 242.00 355.10 14.00 44.00 14.80 59.20 4.30 13.40 4.80 28.40

0.097 0.533 1.465 38.875 3.084 111.703 1.630 5.277 1.134 32.853

Turnover in Million

DLOW 4.60 450.00 13.80 14.10 26.80 45.90 59.40 11.40 4.50 23.10

0.014 0.090 0.459 0.007 0.006 1.857 14.230 0.170 0.092 0.002

% change 11.36 5.66 1.01 12.37 3.65 16.10 0.14 6.92 15.99 4.76 1.26 0.78 3.57 1.34 0.77 2.48 6.00 1.14 4.03 0.06

Million Taka 23.34 8.89 2.34 37.37 6.79 30.90 39.35 47.67 4.31 14.04 1.92 3.82 8.06 3.08 0.67 2.45 15.96 6.05 22.74 0.00

CSE

% change 8.34 3.18 0.84 13.36 2.43 11.04 0.00 14.07 17.04 1.54 5.02 0.69 1.36 2.88 1.10 0.24 0.87 5.71 2.16 8.13 0.00

Million Taka 447.86 220.33 40.19 499.65 143.28 632.34 5.13 298.01 644.94 26.71 191.86 48.93 32.95 141.33 53.32 29.38 95.19 239.96 48.49 173.26 2.32

Aziz PipesZ Sonali Ansh -A Alltex Industries -Z Standard Ceramic -A Hakkani P& Paper -B Reliance Insur -A Pragati Gen. I -A Stylecraft -A Sonargaon Tex -Z CVO PetroChem RL-A

Closing (% Change) 9.52 9.28 8.72 8.71 8.07 7.43 6.73 6.34 6.32 5.94

CSE GAINER

Latest EPS 1.00 10.40 2.76 1.09 1.41 1.80 0.18 0.40 0.48 2.19

Latest EPS 0.69 20.48 0.40 2.76 2.80 1.09 1.80 0.84 0.56 2.52

Latest PE 242.5 34.2 5.3 42.7 11.1 33.5 24.0 35.0 10.1 13.7

Total

Company Anwar Galvanizing-B Kay & Que (BD) -Z Aziz PipesZ Hakkani P& Paper -B Alltex Industries -Z Apex SpinningA Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z Apex Foods -A

Closing (% Change) 9.70 9.60 8.60 8.57 8.26 7.57 5.69 5.62 5.30 4.53

Average (% Change) 8.11 8.42 8.68 8.71 4.75 7.30 6.16 6.34 5.53 4.82 Average (% Change) 9.63 9.60 8.82 7.79 7.54 5.52 6.50 6.05 4.04 4.50

ClosingAvg. 20.27 145.69 23.29 43.70 30.19 65.10 42.60 830.00 10.11 595.81

ClosingAvg. 36.21 13.70 20.24 30.18 23.26 71.08 351.65 115.66 15.70 103.90

Closing 20.70 148.40 23.70 43.70 30.80 65.10 42.80 830.00 10.10 605.00

Closing 36.20 13.70 20.20 30.40 23.60 72.50 354.60 116.60 15.90 103.90

DHIGH 20.70 149.30 23.90 43.70 31.20 65.10 43.90 830.00 10.30 607.00

DHIGH 36.30 13.70 20.40 30.50 23.80 73.00 360.00 117.80 16.20 103.90

DLOW 19.20 138.00 22.00 43.70 29.00 65.10 39.60 830.00 9.80 569.00

DLOW 36.00 13.70 18.50 28.80 22.00 70.60 339.00 110.30 15.00 103.90

Turnover in Million 1.736 4.997 25.630 0.022 1.615 0.033 0.032 0.083 0.440 52.300

Turnover in Million 0.145 0.014 0.199 0.181 2.512 0.114 13.152 6.709 2.882 0.005

Latest EPS -0.37 0.76 3.28 0.60 0.64 3.79 2.47 44.98 -0.84 5.24

Latest EPS 0.84 -1.41 -0.37 0.64 3.28 0.86 15.72 2.43 0.08 3.64

Latest PE -ve 191.7 7.1 72.8 47.2 17.2 17.2 18.5 -ve 113.7

Latest PE 43.1 -ve -ve 47.2 7.1 82.7 22.4 47.6 196.3 28.5

News, analysis and recent disclosers LANKABAFIN: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved purchase of land (subject to approval of the regulatory authorities, where applicable), located at 23-24 Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka measuring more or less 1.0175 bighas at a total consideration of Tk. 58.00 crore without registration cost to set up future Corporate Office of the Company.

FAREASTLIF: The company has informed that, the shareholders who could not receive dividend for the year 2013 through BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network) system due to their problems of Bank Account, printed Dividend warrant is ready for delivery and concerned shareholders can collect it physically or by authorized person from share department of the company from 01 December, 2014 to 04 December, 2014.

KEYACOSMET: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on December 02, 2014 at 5:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

IPO Subscription: C & A Textiles Limited subscription date 09 to 13 November 2014, NRB upto 22 November 2014. @

taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. IFAD Autos Limited subscription date 23 to 27 November 2014, NRB upto 06 December 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Right Share: 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. FIRSTSBANK Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 28.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 20.11.2014.

Dividend/AGM

BATASHOE: 175% interim cash dividend, Record Date for entitlement of interim dividend: 04.12.2014.

ICB: 45% cash, AGM: 20.12.2014, Record Date: 03.12.2014.

BATBC: 100% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 03.12.2014.

BENGALWTL: 23% cash, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 02.12.2014.

MPETROLEUM: 95% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.01.2015, Record date: 04.12.2014.

ENVOYTEX: 12% cash and 3% stock

dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 02.12.2014.

AFTABAUTO: 17% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 30.11.2014.

JAMUNAOIL: 90% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 07.02.2015, Record date: 11.12.2014.

GEMINISEA: 7.50% cash, AGM: 22.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014.

KBPPWBIL: 10% stock, AGM: 29.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014.

RAHIMAFOOD: No dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 04.12.2014.

DACCADYE: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 12.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.

ORIONINFU: 15% cash dividend, AGM: 18.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.

KOHINOOR: 25% stock dividend, AGM: 18.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.

LRGLOBMF1: 5% cash dividend, Record date: 25.11.2014. Earnings per unit of Tk. 0.69.

PHARMAID: 25% cash, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 02.12.2014.

TALLUSPIN: No dividend, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record Date: 01.12.2014.

MITHUNKNIT: 20% stock, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record date: 20.11.2014.

WMSHIPYARD: 5% cash dividend to the general shareholders only, and 10% stock dividend to all the shareholders, AGM: 21.12.2014, Record date: 20.11.2014.

Latest PE 6.7 22.0 35.0 5.1 9.6 42.8 33.5 14.8 8.2 9.2

The Shariah index DSES gained 22 points or 2% to 1,154. The comprising blue chips DS30 ended at 1,837, rising 38 points or 2%

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

242.50 355.10 14.40 46.10 15.40 59.70 4.30 13.90 4.80 29.00

Company

Number of Contract

Cement sector came second with a rally of over 4% largely owing to the steep price appreciation of heavyweight Lafarge Surma Cement that was up 5.6%.

The other major sectors like pharmaceuticals, power and banks posted moderate gains while food and allied edged higher after marginal drop in the previous session.

Value of more than 70% shares closed higher as out of 302 issues traded, 220 advanced, 51 lost and 31 remained unchanged.

Lanka Bangla Securities said after a consolidation phase, market gained some positive ambiance backing on large cap stocks. Almost all the major sectors closed green, with relatively small cap stocks gaining the most, it said.

IDLC Investments said stimulated with the consistent buying pressure in large caps, particularly GP, Lafarge and Square Pharmaceuticals, the market moved ahead further.

It said volatility was prevalent while investors continued searching for lucrative spreads. “Some fresh fund injection was observed, putting further improvement in turnover.”

After GP, other top turnover leaders include AB Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals, Keya Cosmetics, Summit Alliance Port Limited and Jamuna Oil. l

Heavyweight stocks continued to dominate trades yesterday, with recoveries in the large cap stocks, including Grameenphone (GP) pushing indexes up.

The benchmark DSEX surged 64 points or 1.4% to close at 4,932, hitting two-week high and extending its gaining streak for the second consecutive session.

The Shariah index DSES gained 22 points or 2% to 1,154. The comprising blue chips DS30 ended at 1,837, rising 38 points or 2%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 9,249 with a rally of over 89 points.

Investors put fresh fund, pushing the DSE turnover up by more than 9% to Tk373 crore. Power, pharmaceuticals and banks registered the highest investor participation accounted for over 40% of the total market turnover respectively.

Telecommunications sector continued to shine as it added 4.62% to the previous session’s gain of 6%, thanks to persistent domination of heavyweight GP that soared 4.8%.

The country’s telecom giant also witnessed largest volume of trade, making it turnover leader with shares worth more than Tk21 crore changing hands.

DSE GAINER

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

% change 11.15 5.49 1.00 12.44 3.57 15.75 0.13 7.42 16.06 0.67 4.78 1.22 0.82 3.52 1.33 0.73 2.37 5.98 1.21 4.31 0.06

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

Grameenphone-A AB Bank - A Square Pharma -A Keya Cosmetics -A SummitAlliancePort.-A Jamuna Oil -A WesternMarine -N Beximco Pharma -A LafargeS Cement-Z MJL BD Ltd.-A

Ratanpur Steel -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Titas Gas TDCLA Khan Brothers-N Delta Life Insu. -A Meghna Petroleum -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company R. N. Spinning-Z WesternMarine -N Grameenphone-A Keya Cosmetics -A Khan Brothers-N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Square Pharma -A SummitAlliancePort.-A Jamuna Oil -A LafargeS Cement-Z

AB Bank - A Beximco Pharma -A SAIF Powertec-N Mozaffar H.Spinning-A UCBL - A

VolumeShares 609,800 4,729,984 530,478 4,673,727 1,669,551 449,633 1,853,200 1,628,775 822,500 670,994

Value in Million 213.39 148.11 137.75 131.58 122.16 114.55 111.70 102.29 95.75 84.68

% of TotalTurnover 5.71 3.96 3.69 3.52 3.27 3.07 2.99 2.74 2.56 2.27

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

1,123,000 1,734,984 777,192 1,303,500 369,624 211,200

645,500 236,200 37,400 395,800 226,500 248,743 37,312 101,627 26,600 58,000

198,546 97,631 80,600 241,625 188,458

78.08 69.00 62.82 59.76 58.28 54.73

19.66 14.23 13.15 11.15 10.36 9.91 9.70 7.43 6.75 6.71

6.21 6.15 6.01 5.64 5.54

2.09 1.85 1.68 1.60 1.56 1.47

7.16 5.19 4.79 4.06 3.78 3.61 3.53 2.71 2.46 2.45

2.27 2.24 2.19 2.06 2.02

ClosingP 354.60 31.50 261.00 27.60 73.60 254.70 59.70 62.80 117.00 126.20

68.90 39.50 80.30 45.00 159.30 260.80 ClosingP

29.80 59.60 354.60 27.60 45.10 39.70 260.10 73.70 253.80 116.60

31.50 62.70 74.80 23.80 29.70

Change % 4.76 -0.32 2.76 -0.72 3.23 0.16 -2.29 1.45 5.60 0.24

1.32 0.51 0.88 -1.75 4.19 0.62

Change %

-0.33 -2.45 5.69 -0.72 -1.31 0.51 2.36 2.65 -0.24 5.62

-0.32 0.97 2.19 2.15 0.68

ClosingY 338.50 31.60 254.00 27.80 71.30 254.30 61.10 61.90 110.80 125.90

68.00 39.30 79.60 45.80 152.90 259.20 ClosingY

29.90 61.10 335.50 27.80 45.70 39.50 254.10 71.80 254.40 110.40

31.60 62.10 73.20 23.30 29.50

DHIGH 358.60 32.10 261.40 29.40 74.30 256.90 61.60 63.60 118.00 128.30

70.90 40.20 82.90 47.30 162.00 262.00

DLOW 338.40 28.50 232.00 25.10 70.00 233.00 59.20 56.00 113.00 113.50

67.50 35.50 73.00 44.60 138.00 237.00

DHIGH

DLOW

31.40 61.40 360.00 29.20 47.30 40.10 261.00 74.00 256.00 117.80

28.00 59.40 339.00 27.40 44.80 35.60 256.00 71.00 253.00 110.30

31.90 63.80 76.00 24.10 30.00

28.50 61.60 73.10 23.00 29.00

AvgPrice 349.93 31.31 259.67 28.15 73.17 254.77 60.28 62.80 116.41 126.20

69.53 39.77 80.83 45.85 157.68 259.14

AvgPrice

30.45 60.24 351.65 28.17 45.74 39.83 259.84 73.07 253.73 115.66

31.30 63.01 74.58 23.35 29.38

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Euro zone prices fall at sharpest rate in a year n Reuters, Brussels Euro zone factory prices fell at their sharpest monthly rate in a year in October as the cost of energy and nondurable goods such as food dropped sharply, putting pressure on the European Central Bank to do more to lift the bloc’s depressed economy.

Prices at factory gates in the 18 countries sharing the single currency declined by 0.4 cent from September, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3% drop.

The figure was pulled down most by a 0.9% drop in energy costs and by a 0.6 percent decline of non-durable goods prices, depressed by the slide in oil and commodity prices.

October’s fall in producer prices feeds into of the euro zone’s wider problem with deflationary pressures.

Factory prices have only risen in June and September this year.

On an annual basis, prices fell 1.3% in October, in line with market expectations and a slightly lower pace than the 1.4% slide seen in both August and September. Only prices of capital and durable consumer goods rose.

The steepest annual declines were seen in Slovakia, Estonia and the Neth-

Microsoft buys email mobile app Accompli n AFP, Washington Microsoft said Monday it was buying the mobile email management application Accompli, in a deal reported to be worth more than $200m.

The deal gives Microsoft a startup helping people more easily manage their mail on handsets using Google Android or Apple iOS operating systems.

“In a world where more than half of email messages are first read on a mobile device, it’s essential to give people fantastic email experiences wherever they go,” said Microsoft vice president Rajesh Jha in a blog post.

“The Accompli team is passionate about this quest. Their app provides innovative ways to focus on what’s important in your inbox, to schedule meetings, and work with attachments and files.” The price was not disclosed by Microsoft, but reported by the news website Re/code.

Accompli’s Javier Soltero said on his blog that the app “will become part of Microsoft’s ambitious effort to reimagine productivity for the mobile era.” l

erlands.

The global financial crisis and the ensuing euro zone crisis have badly hurt banks’ willingness to lend, damaged business confidence and left the region fighting record unemployment, which has sapped consumers ability to spend.

Now the near 10tn euro ($12.4tn) euro zone economy is facing the threat of deflation, which would make it even more difficult for the indebted bloc to pay off its debt.

Euro zone consumer inflation cooled to a five-year low in November, suggesting deflation remains a real threat for the ECB. Nevertheless the ECB is not expected to announce more stimulus measures at this Thursday’s monetary policy meeting, with more of a waitand-see stance, according to euro money market traders polled by Reuters.

To bring inflation back to about 2%, ECB chief Mario Draghi wants to restore the ECB’s balance sheet to its March 2012 level of around 3tn euros, compared with 2tn euros now, which should increase demand by flooding markets with cash and support lending to smaller firms that are the backbone of the economy.

Eleven of 15 traders said the ECB would be able to meet the 3tn-euro goal over the next 12 to 18 months. l

An illuminated euro sign is seen in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the late evening in Frankfurt

Dollar holds up, ruble rebounds n AFP, Tokyo

The dollar held steady in Asia yesterday after sliding on a rebound in oil prices, while the Russian ruble bounced back after its biggest one-day fall in 16 years.

In Tokyo, the greenback fetched 118.44 yen, against 118.40 yen in New York.

The euro eased to $1.2464 from $1.2469, while it was flat at 147.64 yen.

The dollar has climbed since Thursday, when the OPEC oil cartel ignored calls to cut production in the face of a supply glut sending crude prices plunging to five-year lows. The greenback benefits from lower prices as they are considered a plus for the US economy.

However, analysts expect the dollar to resume its uptrend, saying the lift in oil prices may just be a technical correction.

The ruble rose after sinking almost nine percent to 53.9 against the greenback Monday, its worst one-day drop since Russia’s debt meltdown in 1998.

On Tuesday, it was at 51.2 to the dollar.

The Russian unit has lost 60% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year, pummelled by tumbling oil prices and Western sanctions over

Ziska Pharmaceuticals Ltd has recently signed an agreement with an advertising agency, Priyanti for its emergency contraceptive pill. The managing director of Ziska, Aminul Islam Khan and Monowar Pathan, CEO of Priyanti have signed the agreement

John T Smith Comp TI, chairman of International Events of The Textile Institute, UK, and Dr Mustafizur Rahman, head of department of Textile Technology of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, present a crest to Md Zahidullah, general manager of DBL Group

Moscow’s support for Ukrainian separatists.

On Monday, the dollar briefly soared to a fresh seven-year high of 119.15 yen after Moody’s cut its credit rating for Japan, putting it below China and South Korea and on par with Israel and the Czech Republic.

The dollar also fell to 32.80 Thai baht from 32.89 baht, to Sg$1.3051 from Sg$1.3083 and to 44.75 Philippine pesos from 44.95 pesos Moody’s cited “rising uncertainty” over the country’s debt situation after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put off a planned sales tax hike that was aimed at curbing the country’s massive public debt.

“It seems Moody’s impact (on the currency market) was only limited,”

Shusuke Yamada, chief FX strategist at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

“The underlying trend of the yen’s weakness (against the dollar) remains strong over the mid-term.”

Investors are keeping tabs on a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the week to see if it unveils any fresh easing measures to fight off deflation, while a closely watched US jobs report will come out on Friday.

The dollar weakened against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

The Australian dollar rose to 85.04 US cents from 84.45 cents the previous day after the country’s central bank held interest rates at a record low of 2.5%.

The dollar also fell to 32.80 Thai baht from 32.89 baht, to Sg$1.3051 from Sg$1.3083 and to 44.75 Philippine pesos from 44.95 pesos.

The greenback slipped to Tw$31.03 from Tw$31.05, to 1,105.30 South Korean won from 1,114.13 won, and to 61.97 Indian rupees from 62.14 rupees, while it was unchanged at 12,273.80 Indonesian rupiah.

The Chinese yuan weakened to 19.26 yen from 19.34 yen. l

REUTERS

Standard Chartered may appoint new banking advisers n Reuters, London Standard Chartered said it is considering replacing its banking advisers, UBS and JPMorgan, and has invited rival investment banks to pitch for the potentially lucrative business.

The Asia-focused bank, which is battling to turn around its business after a trio of profit warnings and a slump in its share price this year, has engaged UBS and JPMorgan as its corporate brokers for several years.

“We can confirm we’re conducting a review of our corporate broking relationships. The review will include our current brokers, and we will make an announcement in due course,” said a spokesman for Standard Chartered.

UBS and JPMorgan declined to comment. Sources at other banks said other firms had pitched for the business.

Standard Chartered is heading for a second successive fall in annual prof-

its this year, halting a decade of record earnings. Its shares are down 31% this year, raising the heat on Chief Executive Peter Sands.

Corporate brokers act as a link between a listed company and its investors. Chiefly a British business relationship, it can be a way into more lucrative advisory business, such as fundraising and mergers and acquisitions.

Bankers say several factors can prompt a company to review long-established relationships, including disappointment with advice or changes in personnel at the top of the listed company or within broking teams.

Companies sometimes periodically review their brokers and do not change them.

One of UBS’s most senior bankers, Tim Waddell, left the bank to join Bank of America Merrill Lynch in September, and had worked closely with Standard Chartered. l

Mujibul for improving workers-owners relationship in RMG sector

Sylhet trade fair opens today n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

n Tribune Report

Sylhet International Trade Fair (SITF) is all set to begin today at Shahi Eidgah Maidan in the city.

Finance Minister AMA Muhit is expected to formally inaugurate the fair as chief guest at 4.30pm.

Former president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) AK Azad and chairman of Indo-Bangla Chamber of

State Minister for Ministry of Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque has urged the RMG factory owners to improve the relationship between workers and owners for ensuring a congenial working environment in the country’s apparel industry.

Addressing a workshop on ‘Changing Gender Norms of Garment Employees (ChaNGE), held at BGMEA in the capital Mujibul Haque yesterday said: “All the factory owners should visit their own factories frequently to help improve the existing workers-owners relationship.”

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in association with Labour and Employment Ministry and UNFPA arranged the orientation workshop to aware both the workers and the management to reduce workplace-related gender based violence and to improve workers’ knowledge.

Bangladesh still ranks 129, out of 169 countries, in gender inequity index and the women labour force participation rate is among the lowest in the world, said Julia Ahmed, a freelance consultant while presenting a keynote paper.

She also noted that 84.7% of female garment workers and 100% of day labourers faced harassment in their workplaces. The findings were taken from a base line survey conducted by ILO in 2011.

However, Mujibul rejected the ILO survey report terming it weird and baseless.

Traders from Turkey, Thailand, Iran, China, Korea, Pakistan and the USA are participating in the fair

Workers of Common Thread continues demonstration for second day yesterday for their dues in front of National Press Club SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN The state minister explained that there was no scope to harass 84.7% female workers in the RMG sector, as 85%workers were female while only 15% are male in this sector.

Commenting on the trade union, the minister said: “To the best of my knowledge, there are trade union in only 6.9% factories even in the USA. But they are pressing us for more trade unions.

A violence and harassment free workplace can enhance productivity of the workers, said Argentina Matavel Piccin, representative of the UNFPA. Urging the sector people to work

together for the betterment of female worker, Piccin said: “It is important to do the right thing at the right time.”

BGMEA launched a pilot project with 40 RMG units located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayangonj and Chittagong to ensure gender friendly and non-discriminatory workplace.

Addressing the programme BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said: “BGMEA is committed to making the RMG sector a full-fledged compliant one by ensuring workers’ welfare, dignity and safety.”

He also urged stakeholders to work together to move ahead for reaching US$50bn export landmark by 2021. l

Commerce and Industry Abdul Matlub Ahmed will be present as special guests at the inaugural function.

Sylhet Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) has organised the month-long trade fair.

Hasin Ahmed, first vice president of SMCCI, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have completed all necessary preparations to inagurate the fair. Some 160 stalls are being set up to display both local and foreign products at the fair.”

Traders from Turkey, Thailand, Iran, China, Korea, Pakistan and the USA are participating in the fair.

Hasin Ahmed said there would be three separate zones for foreign businessmen. The entrance fee is Tk10 each for visitors.

At the end of the fair, a raffle draw will be held and the first prize is a Tata Nano car. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Islamic banks grow but may miss out on global footprint n Reuters Islamic banking is growing faster than its conventional counterpart but is focused in a few core markets and risks missing an opportunity to build a global footprint, the EY consultancy said in a report yesterday.

Islamic banks across six core markets of Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey held $625bn at the end of 2013 or 80% of the global Islamic finance market, the report said. The figure was 95% when Bahrain, Pakistan and Kuwait are included. Estimates exclude Iran which has a distinct model for Islamic finance, which follows religious guidelines such as a ban on interest and on pure monetary speculation.

The report estimated the combined Islamic banking assets in the six core markets will reach $1.8tn by 2019, buoyed by growth which has been 1.9 times faster than that of conventional banks over the 2009-2013 period.

The six core markets now comprise 82% of the global industry, and this could rise even further, said Ashar Nazim, a partner at EY’s global Islamic banking center.

“As the populous centers of Turkey and Malaysia gain momentum and Saudi banks continue their transformation to sharia compliance, we expect the

India keeps interest rates on hold n AFP, Bombay India’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged yesterday despite growing calls to ease monetary policy, saying a reduction would be “premature”.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate - the level at which it lends to commercial banks - would remain at a steep 8%, in line with analysts’ expectations.

But it indicated that it could cut rates early next year if inflation continued to slide.

The RBI has been under pressure from government and business leaders to reduce rates, particularly after figures released last month showed economic growth had slowed in the second quarter.

“A change in the monetary policy stance at the current juncture is premature,” the bank said in a statement after its regular monetary policy review.

“However, if the current inflation momentum and changes in inflationary expectations continue, and fiscal developments are encouraging, a change in the monetary policy stance is likely early next year.”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has indicated he would favour a cut in borrowing costs, held at 8% since last January, to boost investment and consumer spending.

But RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said he wanted first to be sure that “the process of disinflation is for real”.

“We do not intend to flip flop on (our) interest rate stance,” he said.

India’s central bank has said it wants to “break the back of inflation”, which the country has battled for many years, before it moves to lower steep interest rates seen as keeping economic growth in low gear.

Rises in prices of food especially have caused huge hardship for India’s 1.2 billion population, of which nearly a quarter live in severe poverty, according to the World Bank.

Consumer inflation eased to 5.52% in October, while wholesale inflation hit a five-year low of 1.77% as fuel and food prices fell, firing hopes the bank could finally start cutting rates to spur stumbling economic growth.

India said Friday the economy grew 5.3% in July-September year-on-year, significantly slower than the previous three months, adding to the pressure on the RBI. The central bank has forecast growth of 5.5% this year, slightly below the government’s target of 5.8%.

Economists say India needs to grow by at least 8-9% to create jobs for a ballooning youth population.

The latest news pushed yields on the government’s 10-year benchmark bonds down by nearly 8 basis points to below 8% on market expectations of a rate cut early next year.

India’s rupee strengthened slightly against the US dollar to 61.92 from 61.97 before the announcement.

The failure to cut rates, however, pushed the stock market down 0.46% to 28,427.39. l

market share to account for between 80% to 90% of the global market.”

Beyond these markets, the industry is expected to make some gains in Egypt, Pakistan and North African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, Nazim added.

“However, in the absence of regulatory reforms and strong sovereign support, the pace of growth is likely to be moderate.”

Islamic bank revenues are also underweight on trade finance and lending to medium-sized businesses, two core areas in fast-growing emerging markets. According to EY, 10 of the 25 high-value emerging markets are core Islamic finance markets.

“This is a once-in-15-year-opportunity to capture the share of this evolving trade market for younger Islamic banks,” Nazim said.

Entry into such markets would allow Islamic banks to build much-needed scale, but many lack the expertise and risk appetite to venture abroad, which has in turn affected profitability.

Average return on equity for a sample of the top 20 Islamic banks was 11.9% over a five year period, compared to 14.5% for a sample of 20 conventional banks, the report said.

The top 20 Islamic banks were roughly a quarter the size of their conventional peers. l

An Iranian gold coin is placed next to bank notes at a gold shop in Tehran, Iran

REUTERS

Hacker group targets company financial info

Euro zone companies come home as Asian costs rise n Reuters, Milan After years of moving production to Asia, some European companies are following the example of their US counterparts and coming home.

Decisions by the likes of Italian leather goods brand Piquadro SpA and battery maker FIAMM SpA to boost production at home do not mark a reversal of the “off-shoring” phenomenon that has shaped global business for two decades.

But companies are tiptoeing back to their home regions, driven by rising salaries in China that are eating away at the profit margins that once lured them abroad. They are weighing the still lower but climbing manufacturing costs abroad against the difficulty of overseeing production far from home, plus the cost and time taken to get goods to Western markets.

“Reshoring” is being led by clothing, footwear and electronics companies, partly because they are rediscovering the cachet of the “Made in Europe” label. But in Spain, for example, depressed wage levels since the euro zone crisis have also prompted foreign car firms to open production lines there.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 384 euro zone non-financial companies last month found almost 60% had reshored some operations, mainly production, over the past year, against 55% which had done the opposite. Italy topped the reshoring list with 44 companies, while Ireland, Germany and Spain also featured prominently.

Luciano Fratocchi, a professor of management and engineering at Italy’s L’Aquila University, said reshoring has become part of companies’ survival strategies since the economic crisis. Many Italian firms have reduced or overhauled their production lines because of falling demand, concentrating their remaining manufacturing closer to target markets.

Of the around 450 relocations analysed

by Fratocchi since 2007, Italy has ac-

counted for roughly a fifth, second only to the United States which had the lion’s share with nearly half.

In Spain, trade unions have accepted flexible working practices and salary freezes due to high unemployment, encouraging companies such as Ford Motor Co and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA to open assembly lines.

The trend has affected even countries which weathered the crisis relatively well. German mid-sized companies like household goods brand Fackelmann and

'Chinese factories are designed to handle large volumes: we increasingly need smaller volumes of a much larger variety of products' chainsaw maker Stihl have also reshored production. High-end teddy bear maker Steiff announced in 2008 that it was returning production from China because it had quality problems and transport took too long.

Often, however, rising wages in Asia are the main factor. According to consulting firm AlixPartners, official data show China’s average wages in manufacturing rose 364 percent between 2004 and 2014, albeit from a far lower base than in Europe.

The biggest narrowing of the wage gap is in the United States. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said manufacturing costs in China are only 4% below those in the United States, compared with 14% in 2004.

Italian wages have risen steadily over the past decade, despite periodic recessions, and overall manufacturing costs remain almost 30% higher than in China, according to BCG.

Piquadro Chief Executive Marco Palmieri says the average monthly salary of the firm’s Italian factory workers is five times the Chinese level. But this gap was around 16 times in 2008, while executive pay is now the same in both countries.

Piquadro’s Italian production is about a third more costly than at its Chinese factories. But Palmieri says this is partly offset by high transport costs from Asia and import duties.

Shipping from China also takes more time, a handicap for fashion companies whose customers want the latest products fast. Piquadro therefore decided 1-1/2 years ago to make its Sartoria line of bags near Pisa, close to its leather suppliers.

“Chinese factories are designed to handle large volumes: we increasingly need smaller volumes of a much larger variety of products. And we’re also under pressure to reduce the time-to-market of our products,” Palmieri says, adding that the “Made in Italy” label is a plus for his higherend bags.

While fashion companies form the bulk of those that have reshored to Italy, other producers are changing strategy too.

Car battery maker FIAMM shut one of its two plants in the Czech Republic five years ago and decided to keep open a factory in Avezzano, in Italy’s central Abruzzo region hit by an earthquake in 2009, investing 30 million euros to upgrade it.

FIAMM Chief Executive Stefano Dolcetta said high staff turnover was a problem in the Czech Republic. Productivity was low and the number of defective items high.

In Avezzano, even after a 20% cut agreed with trade unions, hourly labor costs are 19 euros ($24), compared with 5 euros in the Czech Republic. Still, Dolcetta says higher productivity and fewer discarded items make up half the gap.

“Many have offshored production only to discover how difficult it can be to run a plant that’s far away,” he said. l

n AFP, Washington A hacker group has tapped into email accounts of executives in more than 100 companies that could give them lucrative access to market-moving information, a US security firm said Monday.

San Francisco-based FireEye said the mysterious group, dubbed FIN4, showed deep familiarity with the way businesses work and appeared to target the accounts of officials with knowledge of merger and acquisitions and other valuable corporate secrets.

Based on information from its corporate security clients, FireEye said FIN4 has gone after access to email accounts of companies’ top executives, legal counsel, outside consultants and researchers.

Some two-thirds of the companies FIN4 has targeted since mid-2013 are in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, where there has been a surge of large deals in the past year, FireEye said.

FireEye said that of the companies it knows were targeted by the group, all but three were listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market.

But it would not divulge their

China to crack down on tax avoidance by foreign firms n Reuters, Shanghai China will toughen its stance on tax avoidance by foreign firms to prevent tax payments being directed overseas, the official Xinhua news agency has said, after Beijing levied $140m in back taxes from US firm Microsoft Corp last week.

Beijing will closely monitor the profit levels of foreign firms operating in China to ensure companies do not shift profits to other regions where taxes are lower, a practice known as “base erosion and profit shifting” (BEPS), the Xinhua report late on Monday said.

China is cracking down on business practices by overseas firms in China, with a series of probes by anti-trust regulators prompting business lobbies to say multinational firms were being singled out by Beijing.

Xinhua reported last week that a US company whose name starts with “M” must pay the Chinese government 840m yuan ($137m) in back taxes and

DILBERT

An employee prepares FIAMM batteries, in this photo illustration taken at the battery maker's factory in Avezzano

REUTERS

names, citing client confidentiality.

“FIN4 knows their targets,” the FireEye report said.

“We can only surmise how they may be using and potentially benefiting from the valuable information they are able to obtain.

“However one fact remains clear: access to insider information that could make or break stock prices for dozens of publicly traded companies could surely put FIN4 at a considerable trading advantage.”

FIN4’s techniques for obtaining access to executives’ communications involves “spearphishing” schemes.

Those involve ostensibly real emails that trick the targeted individual into an action - like linking to a website that can divulge to the hackers crucial login information.

In the FIN4 case, the bait emails often play on executives’ concerns over the security of corporate information and adhering to securities regulations, according to FireEye. Some of the lures are previously stolen company documents, and the hacker emails often “would be incredibly difficult to distinguish from a legitimate email” in the victim’s email account. l

interest, as well as more than 100m yuan in additional taxes a year in the future.

The report said the firm was one of the world’s 500 biggest firms and had established a wholly owned foreign subsidiary in Beijing in 1995. Microsoft, which did not deny its involvement, is the only company that fits that description.

“China will coordinate with other countries to clamp down on BEPS plotting and cross-border tax avoidance,” Zhang Zhiyong, deputy director of the State Administration of Taxation, told Xinhua.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other G20 country leaders pledged to increase efforts to prevent tax avoidance last month.

China is the largest country for foreign direct investment but this fell for the fourth straight period on a cumulative basis in October, underscoring investor caution as the world’s secondlargest economy cools. l