23 December, 2014

Paush 9, 1421 Safar 29, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 259

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages | Price: Tk12

B1 | BUSINESS

7 | LONG FORM

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

PARLIAMENTARY BODY FOR SONARGAON HOTEL’S FACELIFT

FINANCIAL INCLUSION: CHALLENGES OF SME AND START-UPS

LEARNING FROM OTHERS

BANGLADESH IS MY SECOND HOME: KOTTAN

Padma claimants being robbed by government staff

Plan made to form Saarc energy regulatory authority n Aminur Rahman Rasel

THIS PLACE FOR RENT !

Recipients having to pay 10-20% as bribes to get land acquisition compensation

n Zahirul Islam Khan, Madaripur Like the old saying “you cannot have an omelette unless you break the egg,” thousands of poor families in Madaripur gave up their lands for the sake of a bridge over Padma River, hoping that their lives will change forever.

But, these families – many of whom have lost a lot to the infamous gluttony of the river’s erosion – who gave up their meagre belongings to the government for a greater good, are having to pay too high a price now.

When the government decided to acquire their lands, there were pledges for fitting monetary compensations depending on the size of land each had to give up.

‘If I had really taken any bribe, can anyone show any document or proof?’

The government’s policymaking mechanism did its part by allocating and releasing the fund for the compensation, but some of the lower level local state employees are literally robbing these poor families while disbursing the money.

The government has already taken over more than 50% of the locals’ lands in several upazilas in Madaripur which were marked for acquisition to build an approach road and a river training embankment.

At least 6,102 affected families in the area have got over Tk300 crore as compensation for the lands they had given up for the bridge.

But most have alleged that they had to pay 10-15% of the receivables as bribe to the local government employ-

Qaisar war crimes verdict today n Ahmed Zayeef The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its judgement in the case against war crimes accused Syed Mohammad Qaisar, a former Jatiya Party state minister, for his alleged involvement in the killing of over 150 people mostly Hindus, rape and other crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of tribunal 2, passed the order yesterday.

During the closing arguments in the case, the prosecution sought death for Qaisar for the crimes he had committed as the top leader of “Qaisar Bahini” – a group formed with 500-700 anti-liberation people in Habiganj and Brahmanbaria to collaborate with the Pakistani occupation forces.

The prosecution also demanded compensation for two rape victims and a war baby.

According to the prosecution, he was a local Peace Committee leader and razakar commander. Son of a Muslim League leader, Qaisar had been affiliated with Convention Muslim League, BNP and Jatiya Party in his political career.

Qaisar from Itakhola village at  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

ees. Those who have failed or refused to pay the bribe, have not got their compensation and are having to face harassment.

Dhaka Tribune’s reporter talked to around 50 families from the Bakhorerkandi and South Charjanajat villages under the Shibchar upazila in the district. All of them said they had to pay bribe to get the compensation.

Kawsar Sarkar from South Charjanajat told the Dhaka Tribune: “The government allocated Tk19 lakh for acquiring my land. When I went to the DC [deputy commissioner] office, Mohiuddin [surveyor of the LA section] refused to give me the money unless I gave him 10%. Eventually, Tk7 lakh was deducted from my amount saying it was a government fee.”

Salim Bepari, resident of the Madbarchar Union, said the government owed him two separate bills for acquiring his land – one for his homestead and another for his farm.

“I was supposed to get Tk3.8 lakh for the land of my homestead. I had to go to the DC office 15-20 times to get the money. In the end I got the compensation, but not before paying Tk60,000 in cash to Mohiuddin,” he said.

He also alleged that Mohiuddin had allocated the land of his farm to a rich neighbour in exchange of bribe. When Salim protested, Mohiuddin threatened to get him arrested. After that, Salim has not gone back there again fearing arrest.

To get compensation, a claimant needs to produce several documents including updated papers from the local land office, citizenship and succession certificates attested by UP chairmen, and no-objection affidavits from all co-owners.

Beauty, a resident of South Charjanajat, said: “My father died 19 years  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

This is no post-modern art installation standing tall in the middle of a busy road. A ruling party leader has just found a better use for the out-of-order traffic light post in the New Market area in the capital. This is one of the many traffic lights the authorities installed as part of a digitised signalling system costing a lot of money. While traffic has never ceased to be controlled manually, many of these lights have been dysfunctional for long MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

n BSS Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the top officials of the districts to go hard against all criminals irrespective of their political or social identity, saying law and order should be kept normal by any means to go ahead with development.

“We want a peaceful situation to expedite the pace of development. Action should be taken against each and every criminal without seeing their face,” she said, adding: “We do not want recurrence of the criminal activities as we have seen before January 5, 2014 election.”

In a video conference with the District Development Committees of Lalmonirhat and Barguna, the prime minister said the government wants quick development of every part of the country to slash poverty by 10% more during its current tenure.

“We want quick execution of the projects undertaken fulfilling the basic needs of the people and overall economic development of the country,” she said. In view of this, the govern-

2 | News

5 | News

4 | News

6 | Nation

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP acting secretary general and spokesperson, has termed the judiciary more terrifying than the police department.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PM tells officials to be 500 more Pakistani terror convicts tough against criminals on execution list ment wanted the cooperation of all, particularly the district level executives, she said.

During the video conference from the secretariat’s cabinet room, the prime minister talked to the officials of the districts and concerned divisional commissioners, local public representatives and the officials of various departments.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyn conducted the conference arranged by the Cabinet Division after a weekly cabinet meeting as part of the Prime Minister’s plan to communicate with the grassroots officials and local body representatives to bring dynamism in the administrative and development activities.

The prime minister said the country’s poverty rate declined by 24% during the 2009-2013 tenure of her government. In the current tenure, the government envisaged declining of poverty rate by 10% more.

Hasina said her government wants to change of the fortune of every people and improve their living standard.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

n Agencies Pakistan has finalised a list of around 500 militants for execution in the coming weeks, officials say, after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases following a Taliban school massacre.

“The Interior Ministry has finalised the cases of 500 convicts who have exhausted all the appeals, their mercy petitions have been turned down by the president and their executions will take place in coming weeks,” a senior government official told AFP yesterday on condition of anonymity.

A second official confirmed the information.

Six militants have been hanged since Friday amid rising public anger over the December 16 slaughter in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which left 149 people dead including 133 children.

After the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.

Of the six hanged so far, five were involved in a failed attempt to assassinate then military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003, while one was involved in a 2009 attack on army headquarters.

Police, troops and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed across the country and airports and prisons put on red alert as the executions take place while troops intensify operations against Taliban militants in northwestern tribal areas.

Pakistan has described the Peshawar rampage as its own ‘mini 9/11’ Pakistani jets and ground forces killed 59 militants in northwestern Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border, the army said Friday. The army’s ground forces late Thursday killed 10 militants while jets killed another 17, including an Uzbek commander. Another 32 terrorists were killed by security forces in an ambush in Tirah valley in Khyber on Friday as they

INSIDE BNP has applied to Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Public Works Department seeking permission to hold rallies at Suhrawardy Uddyan or Shapla Chattar or Nayapaltan in the capital on January 3 and 5.

The national energy regulators of the Saarc countries have agreed to form a Regional Energy Regulatory Authority to adopt a plan of action which will include the removal of regulatory barriers to the cross-border trade of electricity among Saarc states.

“The decision was taken in a twoday-long meeting among the Saarc energy regulators that ended today [Monday],” Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) chairman AR Khan told a press conference at a city hotel yesterday.

“The plan of action is intended to facilitate the creation and effective operationalisation of a common electricity market in the South Asian region... There are many opportunities in the Saarc countries. All the countries would be benefited if we can form the body.

“We need a trans-border electricity grid line so that we can exchange or trade power,” AR Khan said.

Mohammad Ibrahim Ghafoori, director of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Secretariat, said: “The meeting was fruitful and the decisions we have taken will strengthen the relationship among the Saarc countries.”

According to the plan, national energy regulatory authorities would communicate with each other in electronic format through the designated focal points for sharing knowledge, expertise and experiences, along with legal documents on energy regulation as well as on specific regulatory issues.

Member states were also encouraged to harmonise their regulatory frameworks relating to cross-border electricity trade.

The Saarc energy regulators recognised that harmonisation of regulations, codes and standards for electricity grids were of vital importance for cross-border electricity trade in the region.

In this regard, they agreed that the national regulations, codes and standards relating to electricity grids would be exchanged among member states in electronic format.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has proposed to replace rickshaws in the capital’s streets with “commercial motorcycles” – or motorcycle taxis – to reduce traffic congestion.

A section of people, who have lost their land for constructing the Padma bridge, formed a human chain in front of Madaripur Press Club yesterday demanding compensation.

3 | News

Chhatra Dal has demanded that the Chhatra League withdraw negative comments about BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, or be prepared to be taught a lesson.

9 | World

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks could have been averted if intelligence agencies of the US, the UK and India had not failed, an investigative report said.

15 | Entertainment

Indian singer Shaan duets with Bangladeshi youngster Porshi for playback song in ‘Mental.’ The film is directed by Shamim Ahmed Rony.

headed toward the Afghan border, the military said.

Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif late Thursday signed death warrants of six “hard core terrorists” convicted and sentenced to death by military courts.

Prime Minister Sharif has ordered the attorney general’s office to “actively pursue” capital cases currently in the courts, a government spokesperson said.

The prime minister also asked for appropriate measures for early disposal of the pending cases related to terrorism, the spokesperson said without specifically confirming the plan to execute 500.

Pakistan has described the Peshawar rampage as its own “mini 9/11,” calling it a game-changer in the fight against extremism.

Meanwhile, the decision to reinstate executions has been condemned by human rights groups, with the United Nations also calling for it to reconsider saying this would not stop terrorism and might even feed a “cycle of revenge.”  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Padma claimants  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

Abdur Razzak (second from left), a day labourer from Ailhash union in Alamdanga upazila, Chuadanga could not put up a fight when local influential Mahmuduzzaman Litu Biswas forcefully took possession of his homestead – the only asset Razzak has to his name. In protest, Razzak and his family staged a hunger strike in front of National Press Club yesterday RAJIB DHAR

BNP seeks permission to hold Dhaka rallies n Tribune Report BNP has applied to authorities concerned asking permission to hold rallies in the capital on January 3 and 5.

On Monday, the party submitted applications to Dhaka Metropolitan Police and PWD seeking clearance to hold meetings at either Suhrawardy Uddyan or Shapla Chattar, or the front of the party’s Nayapaltan Headquarters.

Abdul Latif Jony, an assistant office secretary of the BNP confirmed that two separate letters have indeed been sent to DMP and PWD authorities, but no response has yet been disclosed.

Party insiders feel that the alliance’s movement to topple the government would gain a fresh impetus if the rallies are disallowed; in that case, tough programmes such as hartals and blockades would be enforced.

Razzak’s 3rd death anniversary today n Tribune report Today is the third anniversary of death of ruling Awami League’s former Advisory Council Member Abdur Razzak.

The AL and its front organisations arranged various programmes to observe the day in a befitting manner.

The programmes include milad mahfil, doa and quran-khani, and a memorial meeting. Leaders and activists of the AL will place floral wreaths at Razzak’s grave at the Banani Graveyard in the capital at 9:00am.

Razzak, also a former water resource minister, played a key role in organising the country’s Liberation War, as a leader of then Awami League and its student front Chhatra League.

He led the Bangladesh side in signing the historic Ganges water treaty between Bangladesh and India in 1997. l

Plan made  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

The Saarc Secretariat, upon receipt from member states, will convey the information to the Saarc Energy Centre to prepare by December 2015 – a compendium and a comparison chart of national regulations, codes and standards as well as national tariff determination principles and relevant procedures.

The compendium and the comparison chart will then be circulated among member states in electronic format through the Saarc Secretariat. The document will be made available in the websites of the Saarc Secretariat and the Saarc Energy Centre.

Under the plan, elements of regulatory issues relating to crossborder electricity trade or exchange may be deliberated in subsequent meetings with a view to harmonising the elements. l

500 more Pakistani  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

New York-based Human Rights Watch on Saturday termed the executions “a craven politicised reaction to the Peshawar killings” and demanded that no further hangings be carried out.

Pakistan began its de facto moratorium on civilian executions in 2008, but hanging remains on the statute books and judges continue to pass death sentences.Before Friday’s resumption, only one person had been executed since then – a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012. l

Reports on Sunday claimed that the BNP-led 20-party alliance is planning to hold two public rallies on January 2 and 5 in the capital, attempting to mount pressure on the government to hold intermediate-elections under a non-partisan government.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP chairperson’s Adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo, Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas, and Dhaka city unit BNP member secretary Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel held an hour long meeting with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence on Sunday.

A senior leader of the party told the Dhaka Tribune that decisions on the rally were made in that meeting.

The first rally, intended initially to be held on January 2, has now been scheduled on January 3. l

‘Tarique should be brought back for trial’

n Tribune Report Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday said BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman should be brought back to face trial for his derogatory remarks on historically settled issues of the country.

Tarique Rahman is resorting to falsehood on various historical facts to hatch a conspiracy against the country, he said.

The Awami League leader was addressing a discussion titled, “The present context-current politics,” organised by the Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote.

Hasan Mahmud said the government should take steps to bring Tarique Rahman back to face the number of defamation cases that have been filed against him for making derogatory remarks about the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“The people of the country expected BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to offer an apology for her son’s derogatory comments on Bangabandhu and different settled issues,” he said, adding: “The public was frustrated because Khaleda had supported Tarique’s remarks.” l

New Indian visa application centre opens January 1 n Tribune Report

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka has announced the opening of a new Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) facility point in Dhaka to receive and deliver of visa applications with effect from January 1, 2015, said a press note.

The State Bank of India has been made the authorised agent of the High Commission of India to handle visa applications from the new IVAC location in Dhanmondi, according to the visa advisory note.

However, the press note did not mention if the current visa application system would remain. When contacted, an official concerned told the Dhaka Tribune that they were yet to receive any information from the authorities in this regard.

All IVACs receive all categories of visa applications. The following IVAC facilities are now available in Gulshan, Motijheel, Dhanmondi, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Rajshahi.

The press release says: “While submitting visa applications, applicants are advised to select the correct catego-

ry of visa they wish to apply for. They should ensure that all documentation is genuine, complete and accurate.

“Applicants are advised to be vigilant about agents and middlemen and to report all such cases to the nearest Police State/Law Enforcement Authority. The IVAC does not have nor has authorised any person/organisation to act on its behalf in Bangladesh.”

The revised visa processing fees are: Tk600 for all IVACs in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi; for IVACs in Sylhet and Khulna Tk700.

To upload photographs, the applicants will be required to scan and upload their photographs in the designated space provided on the online application form. Application forms received without the scanned photograph would be considered incomplete.

A special counter for Medical Emergency Visas is available at the Gulshan centre. Medical emergency visa applications may be deposited on a walk-in basis there, even without an appointment date. l

Qaisar war crimes verdict today  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Madhabpur in Habiganj contested the 1970’s election as an independent candidate but was defeated. After the independence, he fled to London and on his return in 1978 Qaisar was elected an MP in the 1979 election as an independent candidate and joined the BNP under the leadership of Gen Ziaur Rahman.

Later he joined the Jatiya Party and was elected from Habiganj 4 in 1986 and 1988 elections. In 1988, Qaisar joined the Jatiya Party and became state minister for agriculture.

The accused was arrested on May 16 last year, just a day after the tribunal had ordered his arrest, and admitted to a private hospital in the capital. The tribunal later granted him conditional bail considering his age.

The 73-year-old is facing 16 charges of crimes against humanity that include genocide, torture, murder and rape.

He was indicted on February 2 and the trial began on March 4. A total of 32 prosecution witnesses including a rape victim and a war baby testified against the accused; the defence,

however, did not place any witness.

On August 20, the tribunal kept the case adjourned for verdict. It also cancelled his bail and ordered jail.

The prosecution said since war crimes convict Abdul Alim had not been given capital punishment due to old age, Qaisar tried to show his complications before the tribunal.

On charge 16, Qaisar was charged for participating, abetting, facilitating and substantially contributing in the actual commission of the killing of 108 unarmed civilians belonging to Hindu community in Nasirnagar.

In charge 12, the tribunal said at noon of a day in mid-August, Qaisar, his companions in “Qaisar Bahini” and members of razakar force had brought Mazeda Begum, her father Atab Mia and uncle Ayub Mia to the army camp set up at Jagadishpur High School at Madhabpur, on capture from their house.

Qaisar had handed Mazeda over to the army, despite protest on her father’s part. The army men thus committed successive rape upon Mazeda.

In charges six, Qaisar has been

ago. We built our homestead 15 years ago. We have not yet got our bill because we could not pay the bribe. We are now helpless. Where will we go if we are evicted from here and do not have any money?”

Ripon Mia from the same village said: “Those who have managed the hefty bribe, got their bills. I am a day labourer. I earn Tk200 per day. Where will I get the money to pay the bribe?”

Momtaz Begum has been coming and going to the DC office for months.

The Dhaka Tribune reporter met her in front of the DC office.

“The government has taken away my home, land, everything. If I do not get the money, where will I go? Whenever I come here, they tell me to come again with money. They want Tk10,000 for every Tk1 lakh. They are earning crores of taka in this way,” she said in despair.

Dadon Mia, who lives in the baily bridge area near the Kawrakandi launch terminal, alleged that surveyor Mohiuddin took Tk80,000 from him, but has neither yet given him the compensation nor returned the bribe.

Mohiuddin’s story

The Shibchar upazila is around 65km from the Madaripur district township where the DC office is located.

If any claimant fails to give bribe, surveyor Mohiuddin and his subordinates come up with newer excuses for not disbursing the compensation.

Sometimes they say “your papers are faulty; get them corrected” or “we have not got your papers ready yet; come back next week.”

But, if one has the bribe money, even faulty paperwork will not matter, victims have alleged, adding that the employees of the LA section are mostly involved with the corruption.

When asked, Mohiuddin threw an open challenge saying: “Is there any proof? Who took the bribe? Why do they not complain to the DC or to the LA Sir? There is a magistrate. There is ADC Sir. If I took any money, is there any document or proof?”

Seeking anonymity, a low-ranked employee of the LA section told the Dhaka Tribune that he had recently heard one of the officers saying: “I do not worry even if I lose my job right now. I have earned enough for the rest of my life!”

Madaripur Deputy Commissioner GSM Zafarullah said Mohiuddin and some other officers of the LA section under his office had recently been transferred after the allegations were raised.

Asked why he was transferred if he had not done anything, Mohiuddin said: “I was transferred to the SA section in the next room. This is a regulation transfer, not because of bribery or corruption.”

Requesting anonymity for obvious reasons, an employee of the DC office told the Dhaka Tribune: “Most surveyors of the LA section have accumulated illegal wealth. Surveyor Mohiuddin alone handled more than 2,000 compensation claims. He earned around Tk75 lakh this way. But as far as I know, he has not kept the money in any bank.

He has divided the money in several parts and kept them with his relatives.”

Another employee said: “If you look at the statement of the deputy commissioner’s local revenue fund after the land acquisition started, I am sure you will find irregular figures.”

Sources said government officials who work above Mohiuddin also get thick shares of the bribe.

Immediate past DC Shashi Kumar Sinha was transferred following allegations that he was involved with the bribery. Over the last one year, the Madaripur DC office has seen three land acquisition (LA) officers – all of the rank of magistrate.

Formal complaints

On November 13, Rashid Shikder, a claimant from the Shukkur Hawlader’s Kandi village, submitted a written complaint to the DC office.

He alleged that surveyor Mohiuddin and some other officers have been squeezing out 10-20% of each compensation claim saying they would deposit the money in the DC’s account.

Before that, Rashid filed similar complaints addressing the project director of the Padma bridge and the Anti-Corruption Commission. Mentioning the names of Mohiuddin and some other officers, the complaints also said these people have made a fortune from the biribes taken from the helpless compensation seekers.

The complaints also said if anyone protested, the accused officers threatened them using the name of the local parliament member.

When asked, DC GSM Zafarullah said they had not yet taken any step regarding these complaints. l

PM tells officials to be tough against criminals  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

disaster prone area which is always hit by any natural disaster, affecting the lives and livelihood of the people, she said.

Hasina said her government has identified the problems of every district, upazila and union, and chalked out development programmes. She added that her video conferences with two far-flung districts are manifestation of the execution of the pledge of building a Digital Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina said the present government has discovered the prospect of the country’s southern belt surrounded

by Barisal, Barguna and Patuakhali. The government has embarked on massive development programmes in that area, she said, adding that the Paira Port has come to existence and a naval base is being constructed.

Assuring the local people to take more projects for development of Barguna district, the premier said the government would work for overall development of the area including improving the communications and introducing ferry service to travel during monsoon.

“Country’s southern part remained neglected for a long time. Inshaallah, it will not be anymore neglected in future,” Hasina assured, saying everything possible would be done for development of the area. In this regard, she said a cantonment, coal-based power plant, ship-building and ship recycling industries would be developed in the area.

Mentioning her candidacy from a Barguna seat earlier, Hasina said she has a responsibility for the district. She said more multi-purpose cyclone centres would be constructed in Barguna to protect the people from natural disasters.

She also asked the local representatives to visit the area’s community clinics from time to time to ensure that people were getting healthcare services. She also asked them to extend cooperation to complete the construction

of a 250-bed hospital being constructed in Barguna.

The prime minister emphasised on creating a greenbelt across the coastal area of the district to protect the area from cyclone and water surge.

“We have to keep in mind that greenbelt can protect us from water surge,” she said, urging the district administration and the coast guard to promote tree plantation and development of greenbelt in the coastal district.

The prime minister urged the district administration officials to take care of the poor Rakhaiyan community and help them maintain their lives and livelihoods.

Talking with the officials of Lalmonirhat, the prime minister said once it was a poverty stricken district. Now the situation has been improved. However, special attention should be given to the extremely poor areas Gaibandha, Nilphamari and Kurigram.

Lalmonirhat would be of great importance when transit with India, Nepal and Bhutan would come into effect, she said.

The upazila chairman of Patgram upazila thanked Hasina for coming to a settlement with India to allow the people of two border enclaves – Dahgram and Angurpota – to move 24 hours. She said the Awami League government constructed the Teesta Bridge during its last spell and took the district for cultivation of maize.

She said the government has started sending blankets for cold-stricken people of the northern district. She asked the officials to give importance to the people above 60 years and disabled persons while distributing winter clothes.

The prime minister said her government has declared Rangpur as a divisional administrative unit and allocated fund for its development. So it was time to build the division under a master plan, she said, asking for taking a long term plan to build a beautiful Rangpur City. l

charged for raping an indigenous woman, Hiramoni, on May 11 or 12th of 1971 at Chanpur Tea Garden. Qaisar along with the Pakistani army personnel had gone to Chunarughat area and raped the Santal woman.

Charges six, seven and eight mention the offences took place in May 1971. At that time, at least 17 people had been murdered and tortured by Qaisar along with the Pakistani army.

According to charges 12-16, he had captured freedom fighters from Chunarughat, Madhabpur and Nasirnagar. In these criminal incidents, Qaisar used his personal force “Qaisar Bahini” to assist the Pakistani Army.

Monwara Begum of the tribunal’s investigation agency conducted the probe against Qaisar. On May 29, 2010, the War Crime Fact Finding Committee handed over a list of the 19 top-rated war criminals to the tribunal. Qaisar’s name was on the list.

there had been no collaborators’ group named “Qaisar Bahini” in Habiganj in 1971. Lawyer SM Shahjahan also claimed that the prosecution had failed to prove the case.

The defence refuted the claims made by third prosecution witness Md Tajul Islam, 83. During his testimony on March 30, Tajul apologised to the tribunal for his involvement in atrocities as a member of the “Qaisar Bahini.”

The witness said Qaisar had welcomed the Pakistani force to Shahbazpur along with his 15 associates on April 27, 1971. Then he met the commander of the Pakistan Army at Noapara and requested him to provide the group with arms. Tajul said he had been with Qaisar at that time.

The tribunal also recorded the description of formation of the “Qaisar Bahini.”

On April 14, Manzur Ali, a Convention Muslim League leader and uncle of Qaisar, called a meeting at his place where the chairman and the member of local Union Parishad were present. Qaisar joined the meeting. “I was present

at that meeting and Qaisar was appointed as the chief of Peace Committee.”

Tajul admitted that he had also been made a member of the Peace Committee. “And after that meeting, Qaisar created his group with at least 500 people from Itkhola, Ghatua, Belghar and Bejura villages,” the witness said.

During the closing arguments, prosecutor Tureen Afroz said: “For the first time, a war child has testified in a war crimes trial in Bangladesh. Two women victims and the war child – also a woman – have been enduring miserable life.

They were also subjected to social harassment. They are real claimants for compensation.”

Then the tribunal asked her about the process of paying compensation, if Qaisar was convicted. The prosecutor replied that it was possible to pay the victims from the property of the accused. Official documents stated that at least 25,000 women faced forced pregnancies during the Liberation War which was the result of one of the war strategies of the Pakistani Army and the collaborators, the prosecutor said. l

So, the government wants proper execution of the social safety net programmes and other projects taken for overall development, she said.

In this regard she asked the officials to give special attention to the proper implementation of the multifaceted programme taken for fulfilling the basic needs of the people. At the same time, attention should be given to the programmes taken for overall development including agriculture, SME, youth welfare and create job opportunities, she said.

The premier said the government wants to make every family independent through implementing the one house one homestead programme. She asked district officials to make list of the homeless people and take arrangement to build home with the fund from the Grihayan Programme.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is now self-reliant economically to a large extent. The term “monga” is not heard now in the country’s northern parts where it was a common phenomenon during a particular period every year few years back.

“Now every people of those areas is employed. Economic condition of all areas of the country, particularly the northern districts which once were neglected and poverty-ridden has improved. We heard no news of ‘Monga’ in Rangpur during our previous fiveyear tenure,” she said.

Talking to the officials of Barguna, the prime minister said the district – situated at the extreme south of the country – was a very inaccessible region. The communications of the district improved remarkably during the period of Awami League government from 1996-2001.

Awami League government, she said, has improved the communication system through constructing roads and culverts, which helped improve overall socio-economic development of the area. The Barguna district was also a

‘No Qaisar Bahini’

The defence of Qaisar during the closing arguments in the case claimed that

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

3

Chhatra Dal to teach ‘decency’ by mob-beating JCD leaders tell BCL activists to apologise and retract negative comments on Tarique

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The Chhatra Dal, the BNP’s student wing, has demanded that the Chhatra League, the AL’s student wing, withdraw their negative comments about BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, or be prepared to be taught a lesson.

Issuing a note of warning, Chhatra Dal leaders said if they do not retract their statements and apologise, the Chhatra League will be taught a lesson in political decency by mob-beating them in the street.

“The BNP chairperson’s public meeting will be held in Gazipur on December 27 and to make sure of it the Chhatra Dal will do whatever is required,” Akramul Hasan, general secretary of Chhatra Dal, told journalists at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan office.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is scheduled to hold a rally in Gazipur on December 27 but the Chhatra League announced that it would hold a rally at the same venue on the same day.

Akramul said ever since the party’s senior vice-chairman had told the truth about history, the Awami League and Chhatra League had became desperate.

“These are not Tarique Rahman’s statements. These truths have emerged from the findings and writings of researchers and writers on the Liberation War.” He blamed the Chhatra League for fomenting chaos in the country’s educational institutions.

“Educational institutions have turned into a valley of death because of the Chhatra League’s extortion, criminality, abductions and killings. In the last year, 50 have died as a result of their intra-party feuds.” l

BNP activists hurl bricks at members of an opposing faction of the party during a clash in the capital’s Paltan area yesterday

Tarique faces legal actions for Bangabandhu remarks n Tribune Report As furore continues over BNP leader Tarique Rahman’s recent remarks on Bangabandhu, separate defamation cases have seen a Dhaka court issue an arrest warrant against the BNP senior vice-chairman, while courts in Chittagong, Barisal, Comilla and Meherpur have also summoned him.

A Dhaka court yesterday issued an arrest warrant against BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman in a defamation case filed for calling Bangabandhu a “razakar.”

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman took a defamation case into cognisance and issued the arrest warrant after Alhaj Monir Hossain Molla, a Chhatra League leader of Rupnagar thana, filed a defamation case against Tarique for his remarks on Bangabandhu. The court also fixed January 20 for the police station concerned to submit a warrant execution report.

On December 15, Tarique called Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman a “razakar,” blaming him for accepting Yahya Khan as the erstwhile Pakistan’s president and going for the national and provincial elections under Yahya’s conditions. He also claimed that Bangabandhu never wanted an independent Bangladesh but a combined Pakistan.

Speedy energy supply act gets another extension n Aminur Rahman Rasel A parliamentary body has approved another four-year extension for the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) (Amendment) Act 2014.

It was the second extension as the law, which was promulgated in 2010, got its first extension for two years in 2012.

The act would remain effective till December 31, 2018, said Tajul Islam, chairman of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, at a press briefing in the parliament building on Sunday following a meeting of the committee.

“The move was needed to ensure continuation of the ongoing projects as well as completion of the unfinished ones. It would be tabled in the next session of the House,” he said.

Under the act, the government has already signed agreements on setting up the country’s first LNG terminal.

Ten wells are currently being drilled, and more than 25 quick rental power plants along with two other independent plants are operating under the act.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Md Eunusur Rahman told the meeting that the BPC earned Tk40,835 crore in the fiscal year 201314 by selling petroleum products. “But we spent Tk43,312 crore to buy them, which means we incurred a loss of Tk2,477 crore. We deposited Tk4,525 crore with the government treasury during the same period,” he said.

The committee also asked the BPC to calculate losses and submit a report on the capsize of the oil tanker in the Sela River of the Sundarbans. l

Tarique has been in London since September 2008 on medical grounds after securing parole in various cases.

Meanwhile, the court of Chittagong District Judicial Magistrate Farzana Yasmin yesterday summoned Tarique in a defamation case lodged by the Chhatra League’s Chandanaish upazila unit leader Mizanur Rahman, reports our Chittagong correspondent.

In Barisal, the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Nusrat Jahan accepted two defamation cases and summoned the BNP senior vice-chairman to appear before it on March 11 next year. Nahid Serniabad, joint convener of Chhatra League’s Brojomohun College unit; and Advocate Kaium Khan Kawsar, convening committee member of Awami Jubo League’s Barisal city unit, lodged the cases separately, says our Barisal correspondent.

In Comilla, three separate courts of Senior Judicial Magistrates Nasrin Jahan, Afroza Jesmin Koli and Mithila Islam – yesterday summoned Tarique to appear before the courts on different dates in January next year. The courts issued the orders after taking into cognisance separate defamation cases against Tarique – filed by Chhatra League leaders Kamal Parvez, Hossain Ahmed and Mozammel Haque, reports our Comilla correspondent.

In Meherpur, Senior Judicial Magis-

ANANDA SHIPYARD LOAN SCAM

trate Abdullah Al-Mamun took a defamation case against Tarique into cognisance and summoned the BNP leader, after district Chhatra League President Bariqul Islam Lijon had filed the case in the afternoon.

Our correspondents in Barguna and Jessore also said cases were filed against Tarique with their local courts.

Barguna district Chhatra League President Rubayet Adnan Anik filed a case charging Tarique with defamation and sedition – with the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Noman Moeen Uddin, while Jessore Senior Judicial Magistrate Maruf Ahmed accepted a defamation case filed by district Awami League leader Khoyrat Hossain. However, two other similar petitions by local Awami League leaders in Jessore were not accepted by the court.

Meanwhile in Gaibandha, the local Muktijoddha Sangsad formed a human chain and submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, demanding Tarique’s punishment. The Chuadanga unit of Muktijoddha Sangsad – a platform of freedom fighters – also formed a human chain and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Home Ministry.

On the other hand, a press conference in Sylhet also declared BNP leader Tarique a persona non grata in Sylhet as well as in the United Kingdom. l

Seven more bankers face ACC interrogation n Adil Sakhawat The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday grilled seven high officials of Mercantile Bank in connection with an inquiry over a Tk1,300 crore loan scam of Ananda Shipyard from 14 banks and financial institutions.

Senior Deputy Director Mir Jainul Abedin Shibly interrogated the officials at the ACC headquarters in the capital from 10:30am to 1pm.

The officials are Assistant Vice-President Asish Kumer Laskor, Executive Vice-President Shoeb Ahmed, Senior Vice-President Faisal Ahsan Chowdhury, First Vice-President KM Anwarul Islam, Senior Executive Vice-President Mohammed Ismail of head office, Manager Mahmud Alam Chowdhury and Principal Officer Maruf Uddin Kamal of the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh branch.

The ACC earlier quizzed 26 officials of Islami Bank, from where the ship builder had loaned Tk456.34 crore.

Ananda Shipyard secured Tk1,300 crore loan from 14 banks and financial institutions between 2010 and 2013 without depositing proper security money in line with the bank rules in the name of exporting ships, the allegations say. It also did not experience

KIBRIA MURDER

Sylhet councillors protest implicating mayor n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

More than half the Sylhet City Corporation councillors yesterday brought out a silent procession in the city demanding that BNP leader Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury’s name be dropped from the supplementary charge sheet in SAMS Kibria murder case.

Out of 27 councillors, 15 including panel mayor Saleh Ahmed and five reserved women councillors attended the protest programme. In the evening, the same councillors campaigned in different wards.

Fugitive Ariful was supposed to surrender yesterday, a day after the CID had submitted revised copy of the charge sheet.

The court on Sunday accepted the charge sheet and issued an arrest warrant against the 13 accused in the case who are on the run. The judge signed the charge sheet yes-

terday when the arrest warrants came into effect.

CID’s Assistant Police Superintendent Meherunnesa submitted the supplementary charge sheet before a Habiganj court on November 3 after adding the names of 11 more people, raising the total number of accused to 35.

The newly-included people include Mayor Ariful, Habiganj municipal Mayor and BNP leader GK Gaus, and Harris Chowdhury, a former political adviser to BNP chief Khaleda Zia. On December 3, the court directed the investigation officer to correct the name of the city mayor and the address of Gaus. The CID in the revised charge sheet, however, dropped the names of three persons – one of them already died while the addresses of two others could not be confirmed, police said.

Of the accused, 11 Huji operatives

including its chief Mufti Hannan are in jail while eight are on bail.

Five people including Kibria were killed in a grenade attack after attending a rally in Boidyer Bazar of Habiganj on January 27, 2005.

Sylhet district unit Awami League leader Abdul Mazid Khan MP filed two cases the following day – for murder and use of explosives.

The former finance minister was critically injured in the attack and died on the way to hospital.

The four other deceased were his nephew Shah Manzurul Huda, and Awami League leaders Abdur Rahim, Abul Hossain and Siddique Ali. Over 100 people were injured the grenade attack.

Meherunnesa submitted the charge sheet 23 months after she had been given the responsibility.

The order follows a no-confidence petition filed by Kibria’s wife on January 5, 2012. l

Chapainawabganj SP under ACC scanner n Adil Sakhawat Chapainawabganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Bashir Ahmed is now being investigated by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for allegedly taking a bribe in kind from one of the two sides engaged in a conflict in the district.

The commission decided to run

an inquiry into this at its regular meeting held at its headquarters in the capital yesterday.

Seeking anonymity, a senior official confirmed this to the Dhaka Tribune and said they received a two-page allegation against Chapainawabganj SP Bashir on September 13.

The allegation in brief is that Bashir

had taken 160 baskets of mangoes worth Tk90700 in bribe from one of two opposing sides in exchange for providing support illegally.

ACC Deputy Director Sheikh Faiyaz Alam yesterday sent a notice to its Rajshahi divisional office to appoint an officer to run an inquiry into this and submit a report as soon as possible. l

ship exporting during that time.

The ACC launched the inquiry in April this year after a Bangladesh Bank investigation had found irregularities in disbursing loans to Ananda Shipyard.

The central bank report says Ananda Shipyard took Tk221.2 crore from Mercantile Bank, about Tk187 crore from AB Bank Limited, Tk114.21 crore from One Bank, Tk238 crore from Janata Bank, Tk24 crore from Bangladesh Development Bank and Tk15.14 crore from the NCC Bank.

Bangladesh Bank in early November appointed an observer to Mercantile Bank in the backdrop of loan irregularities allegedly committed by its board of directors. The board had earlier provided loan worth Tk250 crore to Sanmar group violating loan formalities. It also approved loan of Tk300 crore to Jamuna group violating single borrower exposure limit. The central bank also found that a former chairman of the bank had embezzled Tk2 crore from the bank’s CSR fund.

Observers were appointed to five more banks – state-run BASIC Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, ICB Islamic Bank, National Bank and Islami Bank – for various reasons. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

ACC to file case against Nasir Group chairman n Adil Sakhawat The Anti-Corruption Commission is likely to file a case against 11 people of Nasir Group, including its chairman, for money laundering and tax evasion.

ACC Assistant Director SM Rafiqul Islam last week submitted his inquiry report to the director of the commission against the Nasir Group for laundering Tk80 crore.

The other accused are Nasir Group General Manager (import) Alfaz Uddin, GM (marketing) Shamim Ahmed, GM (finance and accounts) Siddiqur Rahman, Assistant General Manager (purchase) Mobaidul Islam, Cashier Mohammed Shamim, employees Niaj Biswas, Emdadul Haque, AJ Money Exchange owner Saidul Islam, Firoz and Adil.

The ACC found that Nasir Group paid only 40-50% of the total money against each Letter of Credit while importing products through bank accounts.

A senior ACC official said primary investigation has revealed evidence of money laundering by the group Earlier in February this year, the inquiry officer interrogated the Nasir Group’s chairman and officials and for the second time the inquiry officer issued them a notice to appear before the commission on December 15. But the accused skipped interrogation on that day and sought time extension. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Fakhrul: Judiciary more frightening than police Correspondent, n Our Brahmanbaria BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has termed the judiciary more terrifying than the police department.

A total of 8,000 cases against Awami League activists, and another 15 against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, across the country have been disposed of but the court to try BNP chief Khaleda Zia has been set up in a madrasa ground, said Fakhrul.

Addressing a council of the district unit of BNP in a local ground near the municipality yesterday, Fakhrul said the judiciary and the Election Commission had no independence.

“The government has destroyed the judiciary and the Election Commission. Impeachment act has been enacted against judges,” he said.

The BNP leader said Awami League had destroyed the country’s democracy and humanity had been endangered.

Murals for voiceless Bangalis at ULAB

n Tribune Desk

Students of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh students, as part of their coursework, drew several murals across the capital to highlight various marginalised communities that they thought were voiceless in the public sphere.

The topics chosen were bachelors looking for housing, autism, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, rickshaw-pullers, household helps, and street children without toys etc. The students felt that these groups were mistreated, misunderstood or not heard at all. They used Facebook to promote their causes and raise funds for the campaign. The works are also on display at Dhaka Art Center till December 24. l

Claiming that no one voted in the January 5 general election and a total of 154 candidates won without facing any opposition, the BNP acting secretary general said it was a farce and a drama in the name of polls.

Fakhrul said no country in the world accepted the way the election was held.

He also sided with the party’s Senior Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, saying that Awami League leaders were aggrieved at what Tarique had said in London on the basis of academic reference.

“If Awami League leaders think that Tarique had made mistakes, they should prove that by presenting concrete academic evidence. Instead, they are verbally attacking our chairperson and her son in an indiscriminate way,” said Fakhrul.

Vice-chairman of the BNP’s executive committee Advocate Harun Al Rashid inaugurated the council which was also addressed by several top leaders of the party. l

Students of physiotherapy form a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday demanding speedy implementation of the Bangladesh College of Physiotherapy project MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Westmont chairman, Rupali Bank MD skip ACC questioning n Tribune Report Westmont Power Limited Chairman Kazi Tajul Islam Faruque and Rupali Bank Managing Director M Farid Uddin did not show up before the Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday to face grilling over a money laundering case. ACC lodged the Tk79-crore suit with the Motijheel police station.

The duo, who were served notices on December 15 to show up, pleaded for more time to make their statements.

Tajul’s counsel Sohrab Hossain submitted an application to the commission yesterday where he said his

client would need another three to four months before facing any questioning over the issue.

The application said Tajul had not received the ACC notice and came to know about the interrogation through newspaper reports. Farid also petitioned for time, stating the same reason.

The case was filed by ACC Deputy Director Akhter Hamid Bhuiyan on April 21, 2011, against seven people, including Tajul, former assistant general manager of Janata Bank Limited Rafiqul Haque Chowdhury and five nationals of Malaysia and the Philippines.

A top ACC official told the Dhaka

Tribune that Westmont Power Limited borrowed Tk79 crore from Janata Bank in 2002 for building a power plant, but the money was later siphoned off abroad in the name of importing machinery for setting up the plant.

He said Farid at the time was the general manager of the Janata Bank branch where the loan was taken from.

Tajul came in the limelight after lodging a case against Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina on April 9, 2007, where he accused her of extorting Tk5 crore.

But on December 23, 2008, he petitioned to withdraw the case. l

Police arrest two while trying to dump dead coworker n Tribune Report Police detained two men who were caught by locals while fleeing, leaving behind a dead body near Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday. Both, aged around 25, are called Imran.

Sub-Inspector Shah Alam of Shahbagh police station said locals caught the two when they tried to leave behind the body of coworker Shahabul in a garden adjacent to DMCH after 12am.

Later the duo was handed over to police, he added.

The SI said dead Shahabul worked in a factory at Munshiganj. On Sunday evening, he fell to the ground from a 30-

feet high pipe and had severe injuries.

The detainees claimed that Shahabul was first taken to a hospital in Sonargaon of Narayanganj but the doctors there advised to take him to DMCH. Later, four workers, including the two, and a driver brought Shahabul to DMCH on a pickup van; but when they reached the hospital, they noticed that Shahabul was already dead.

Fearing police action, they tried to dump the body but the locals there saw the incident and apprehended the two while the pickup-van driver and two other coworkers managed to flee the scene, the detainees told police during interrogated. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Rickshaws to be 'replaced' with commercial motorcycles DMP commissioner makes the proposal at National Road Safety Council meeting “As a trial, 10,000 motorcycles will n Tribune Report be introduced in selected areas in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has proposed to replace rickshaws in the capital’s streets with “commercial motorcycles” – or motorcycle taxis – to reduce traffic congestion.

DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed brought up the proposal at a meeting of National Road Safety Council, presided

by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, at a city hotel on Sunday.

“Controlling Dhaka’s traffic has become very difficult, and without banning rickshaws in the city, it is not possible to improve the traffic system.

We believe replacing rickshaws with commercial motorcycles on the city streets could help ease the traffic congestion,” the DMP Commissioner said at the meeting.

Earlier, the DMP sent the proposal to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in November, asking to ban rickshaws in the capital and introduce commercial motorcycles as an alternative means of transport.

Commercial motorcycle is a licensed form of transport in many countries in the world, including India, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Sweden, the UK and the US. The DMP offered to run an experiment at Pragati Sarani – the stretch of road between Bishwaroad and Rampura – to see if commercial motorcycles could be a viable replacement of rickshaws.

capital. We think Pragati Sarani will be perfect for the experiment, as most of the residents in the area are heavily dependent on rickshaws for public transportation.”

BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam, who was also present at the meeting, said: “We did receive a proposal from the DMP about allowing commercial motorcycles to run in the capital, replacing rickshaws. However, we cannot allow it as it is not permitted by law, and the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry can allow it through a guideline.”

However, the DMP commissioner did not explain how the elderly people were supposed to commute via motorcycles, or passengers with luggages.

In Bangladesh, at most two people are allowed to ride a single motorcycle. So, when asked how a family was supposed to travel via motorcycle, the DMP commissioner said: “In that case, each family member will have to hire a motorcycle.”

The road transport and bridges minister did not give any instruction regarding the proposal at the meeting.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, BRTA Secretary Muhammad Showkat Ali reiterated the BRTA chairman’s statement. “Motorcycles as a public transport is not legal in the country. So, in order to make it legal, the ministry will have to issue an order in this regard,” he said. l

Preparations for the Christmas celebrations are in full swing at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital. The photo was taken yesterday

Biswa Ijtema to begin on Jan 9 with five-tier security n Our Correspondent, Gazipur The first phase of Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, will begin on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi, Gazipur on January 9.

The three-day first phase of Biswa Ijtema will begin on January 9 and the second phase will start on January 16.

Gazipur Police Super Harun-or-Rashid said additional security measures had been taken for Ijtema to ensure safety for devotees.

“All preparations regarding the congregation is going in full pace,” he said.

He said five-tier security would be enforced with deployment of around 15,000 members of law enforcers in and around the Ijtema ground.

Different government agencies will be working to ensure proper transportation, sanitation, fire safety measures, water supply, electricity supply and health services for the devotees, he said.

The law enforcement agencies, including the intelligence units, have been directed to keep an eye on Ijtema participants from a few specific countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23 DHAKA

TODAY SUN SETS 5:17PM

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:38AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 27 28 26 26 26 27 28 28

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

15 16 12 12 11 14 13 17

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

29.7ºC Cox's Bazar

8.9ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

5:17am 6:37am 11:57am 3:41pm 5:17pm 6:38 pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

and Yemen, said the SP. Earlier, the government asked all Bangladesh missions abroad not to issue visas to the people of five Ebola-virus affected countries – Sierra Leon, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea.

“If any devotee from Ebola-affected countries want to participate in the congregation, he/she has to produce ‘Ebola-free health card’ at airport before entering into the country, said Nurul Islam, deputy commissioner of Gazipur.

Around 15-20 lakh devotees from home and abroad take part in the threeday congregation every year. Tablighi

Jamaat has been organising the gathering since 1976.

Over 15,000 foreign devotees from different Muslim countries are likely to join the congregation at Tongi, some 20 km north of the capital.

Last year, around 20 lakh devotees, including 10,500 foreign devotees from 105 Muslim countries, had joined the gathering, said Ijtema organisers.

The first Ijtema was held at Kakrial Mosque in Dhaka in 1946. This was followed by a congregation at Chittagong Hajji camp in 1958, then at Siddirganj in Narayanganj. Si znce 1965, the Bishwa Ijtema has been held at Tongi. l

Four killed in train accidents in the capital

Three injured in gas cylinder blast in Noakhali n Our Correspondent, Noakhali Three people were critically injured in an explosion of gas cylinder in Maijdee Flat Road Area in Noakhali town yesterday.

The injured were identified as Sumon Chakrabarty,45, an assistant lawyer of district judge court, Abdul Matin,46, a balloon seller, and Fazlul Haque,42. They were admitted to Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College Hospital in critical state.

Quoting locals Nizam Uddin, officerin-charge of Sudharam police station, said Abdul Matin, a balloon seller, was filling balloons with gas at a room of Surma residential hotel. Suddenly, the cylinder exploded with big bang and his right leg was separated from his body. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

n Tribune Report

National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power-Port brings out a rally in the capital yesterday demanding effective measures to stop all activities – ie commercial vessels, power plants – around the Sundarbans that threaten the forest’s ecosystem MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

JU gets new teachers’ association without election n

JU Correspondent

The election commission for the teachers’ association in Jahangirnagar University announced the new association for 2015 yesterday, cancelling the election as most of the candidates withdrew their names from the contest.

Sources said the election for the 15-member Jahangirnagar University Teachers Association (JUTA) was scheduled to take place on December 31, and the last day to withdraw names from the election was yesterday.

Both pro-Awami League and pro-BNP teachers initially submitted nomination papers. Among them, a section of the pro-Awami League teachers teamed up with the pro-BNP teachers to announce their panel. They withdrew their nomination on Sunday, sources said.

Another group of pro-Awami League teachers, who are also followers of former JU vice-chancellor Dr Shariff Enamul Kabir, withdrew their nomination from the contest yesterday.

Seeing as there was no contest for the 15 posts in the JUTA, the election authorities formed the new body.

Election Commissioner AKM Abul

Kalam said: “We have declared the new teachers’ association today [Monday] as there is no contest for the positions.”

Asked why the teachers withdrew their names from the election, Prof Khaled Kuddus of the international relations department said: “We had submitted nominations for the election for technical reasons, but we withdrew our names because we are no longer interested.”

Among the 15 positions, nine went to pro-Awami League teachers, including the post of the president, and the rest went to the pro-BNP teachers.

Members of the new JUTA are: Prof Md Khabir Uddin of environment science department as president, Prof Dr Nazmul Alam of botany department as vice-president, Prof Mahrufi Sattar of pharmacy department as general secretary, Muhammad Nazrul Islam of mathematics department as joint-secretary, Prof ASM Abu Dayen from Bangla department as treasurer, and Prof Ajit Kumar Mazumder, Prof Asit Baron Pal, Prof SM Badiar Rahman, Prof Farid Ahmed, Prof Bashir Ahmed, Prof Anwar Khasru Parvez and Prof Rasheda Akhter as the executive members. l

At least four people were killed in separate train accidents in various areas of the capital yesterday.

Among the deceased, two are men and two women. However, the police is yet to identify any of them.

Police said, body of a man, 25, was discovered at the airport railway station around 2.30am. He was cut under the wheels of a Rajshahi-bound train.

Sub Inspector of Government Railway Police (GRP) Ali Akhbar recovered the body.

Another body of a female, 30 was recovered from the railway station near Dayaganj bridge of Narayanganj around 9.45pm of Sunday.

Assistant Sub Inspector of GRP Kuddus Fakir said: “It is primarily assumed that she fell under the wheels of a train.

The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital's morgue for autopsy.”

ASI Fakir again recovered another body of a female, 35 from Moghbazar rail line area.

Meanwhile, around 12.30am a youth, 25 was hit by a train at Jowarsahara area. He was rushed to the Kurmitola Medical College and Hospital where the duty doctors declared him dead. The body was later taken to DMCH. GRP police station Officer in-Charge Abdul Mazid said they were trying to trace the relatives of the deceased. l

Non-govt teachers-staff demand national pay scale n Tribune Report Teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions demanded to be included in the recently announced national pay scale.

Speakers at a human chain formed in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday also warned to go on a strike if their demands were not met.

Md Selim Bhuiyan, chairman of the Shikkhok Kormochari Oikyajot of Dhaka district, said the organisation had also arranged human chains in 64 districts of the country demanding the same.

“The government told us that if we want the new pay scale, our schools will have to deposit all its income to the government fund. But we want the new pay scale without any such condi-

Two held with gold bars in capital n Tribune Report

Two people were held with gold bars and gold jewelries at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital yesterday.

The arrestees are Anis Mia, 23, and Farid Matbor,30.

Umme Nahida, assistant commissioner of the customs intelligence and investigation department (CIID), said they arrested Anis with 36 gold bars from the domestic terminal area of the airport around 11:30am.

The gold bars weighing around 195 grams worth Tk2.2 crore, she said adding that Anis reached the airport by a flight of Biman BG 084.

Meanwhile, Farid was arrested from the green channel of the airport around 12:00am.

He came from Malaysia to Dhaka by flight of Malaysian Airlines around 10:00pm on Sunday.

CIID Joint Commissioner Kazi Md Zia Uddin said Farid was held with seven gold bars and jewelries weighing around 134 grams worth Tk40 lakh. l

tion,” he added.

Another leader of the organisation Shahadat Hossain said they would neither give in to the condition nor be silent.

He further said: “We are giving an ultimatum to the government for our inclusion in the national pay scale within January 2. Otherwise, we will observe a full day work stoppage on January 3.” l

Fire guts valuables worth Tk7 lakh n CU Correspondent Four houses and two shops were gutted by a fire in Chittagong city’s Khulshi area yesterday.

However, no causality was reported in the incident.

Agrabad Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters Assistant Director Md Iyahiya said the fire originated from an oven in a kitchen of a house around 2:30pm, and engulfed to the adjacent houses and the shops. Two units of fire fighters from Kalurghat and Agrabad fire stations doused the flame after one hour of efforts, he said. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Crude oil floods Gaibandha n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha Unscrupulous traders are selling crude fuel oil in Gaibandha after procuring it from Sylhet Gas Field.

They collect the crude oil from the gas field in collusion with its unprincipled officials and employees.

Unrefined oil is sold for Tk40-45 per kg while refined oil is sold for Tk96.49 in the local market.

Professor Jahurul Kayum of Sadullapur Degree College said the unrefined oil is less combustible and seriously harms the environment and suggested not using it.

Our correspondent said there were at least 50 places where unrefined was being sold at seven upazilas in the district.

Hasan Filling Station, situated in Gaibandha Police Lines area, was recently found involved in the sale of the unrefined oil.

Its staffs were selling crude oil

at Sadullapur upazila’s Dharmapur Bazar on November 26, when local businesspersons protested it and recovered 60 litters of crude oil from them.

Police soon rushed in and recovered only 15 litters of crude oil, which is now stored in their custody.

Gaibandha Sadar police station Sub-Inspector Rakib Hossain also admitted it and said they had received a general diary about this.

When Hasan Filling Station’s proprietor Litu Mia was asked about the allegation, he denied and called it a plot of his business rivals.

He explained that his rivals were no longer getting customers after the latter had learned that they had been being cheated by them in terms of weight while they are never cheated by him.

Deputy Commissioner Ehsan-e-Elahi said he would see so that actions were taken about this, add. l

Freedom fighters form a human chain in Jhenaidah town yesterday, demanding exemplary punishment for Tarique Rahman for making derogatory against Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Stop indigenous land lease for afforestation’ AL to hold its triennial council today n Our Correspondent, Bandarban Indigenous people at Ghundhum union in Naikhongchhari upazila have called on the local forest authorities not to allocate their lands for social afforestation.

The indigenous communities living in 268 Rezu mouza said they have been using the lands for Jhum cultivation since the British era, which has been their main livelihood since then.

Locals said 22 plots in the mouza were leased out to outsiders for a few

years even though they have been paying taxes every year.

The Forest Department in Lama has recently planned to allocate plots again in the name of social afforestation, a move the indigenous people have described as a violation of their land rights.

On Thursday, upazila surveyor Monirul Haque visited the lands on behalf of the upazila nirbahi officer in the wake of the complaint from the indigenous families.

Local residents of the mouza said the

lands already boast a whole lot of trees of many species, including fruit trees.

They questioned the motive for the anticipated lease, alleging that outsiders are bribing local forest authorities to secure the lease.

But Beat Officer of the mouza Zahedul Hasan argued that social afforestation would benefit the indigenous people.

“The Forest Department owns 2,000 acres of land in the mouza. It planted teak trees in a 1,400-acre tract in 199496 but those no longer exist,” he said. l

Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj After a hiatus of long nine years, the Chapainawabganj chapter of the ruling Awami League (AL) is all set to hold its triennial council session today.

The session, scheduled to begin at 11am at Harimohan Govt High School field, will be attended by health minister Mohammad Nasim, state minister for textiles and jute Mirza Azam, local parliament members and other district leaders.

Chapainawabganj town has been adorned with arches, banners, festoons and graffiti adding a feel of festivity because of the council session.

Meanwhile, district AL leaders and activists have stepped up their activities to lobby for the president and general secretary posts.

The potential candidates for the post of the district chapter president are current secretary Mainuddin Mondol, former upazila chairman and assistant secretary Md Ruhul Amin, advocate Shamsul Haq

and Shibganj MP Golam Rabbani.

Persons vying for the general secretary posts are MP of Chapainawabganj Sadar Abdul Wadud, MP of Gomostapur Golam Mostafa, executive body member of the district chapter Mahfuzur Rahman Benju and former chairman of Bholahat upazila advocate Abdus Samad.

Local people are hopeful of a peaceful council session. Earlier, the councils of union, upazila, municipality and city Awami League chapters were held successfully. l

Hartal protesting killing of AL leader passes off peacefully n Our Correspondent, Jessore A dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by district Awami League was observed peacefully in Jessore yesterday.

The district Awami League along with a civil society platform ‘Action Committee’ has enforced the strike, protesting the killing of Mollah Oliur Rahman, joint secretary of Abhoynagar upazila unit Awami League and councillor of Noapara municipality.

Police said Oliur came under attack by a group of miscreants on his

Teachers form a human chain in Jhenaidah district town yesterday, demanding salaries as per new pay scale

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Teachers for salaries as per new pay scale n Tribune Report Teachers and employees non-government schools and colleges formed human chains and held rallies at different parts of the country, to press home their demands yesterday.

The demands include nationalisation of their jobs and inclusion of the salaries other benefits in the newly proposed pay scale for the government employees, and ensuring pensions after their retirement.

In Kurigram, the Kurigram district unit of Teachers Employees Unity Alliance formed a human chain on Kurigram-Chilmari Highway for two hours.

With the alliance’s Kurigram District Unit Convenor Prof Shafqul Islam Bebu in the chair, its Joint Convenor Hasibur

Rahman Hasib, former law maker Umar Faruk, Kurigram Press Club’s former general secretary Ahsan Habib Nilu, teachers’ leaders Golam Rasul Raja, Nurunnabi Sarkar, Ruhul Aminul, Safina Begum Sheli, among others spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, teachers and employees of non-government school, and colleges formed a human chain on Shaheed Hasan Premesis in Chuadanga Town, to place home the same demands, reports our Chuadanga correspondent.

Bangladesh Teachers’ Association Chuadanga District Unit President Fazlur Rahman, General Secretary Rashidul Islam, Tressurer Mojubul Haq, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Addressing the human chain, the teachers’ leaders said the teachers are

called the backbone of the nation. But they are leading an inhumane life due the ignorance of the government.

It is repeatedly told by the government that the country is moving toward prosperity. But its double standard attitude toward the teachers imply that the teachers are being pushed into the darkness.

Our Barguna correspondent reports, officers and employees of Barguna municipality formed a human chain on Barguna Press Club premises around 11:00am, to press home their demands, including nationalisation of their jobs, and ensuring pension and other benefits after their retirement.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to the prime minister through the deputy commissioner of Barguna. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Housewife found dead

One dies after falling from train

The body of a housewife was recovered from her house in Chandramohon Bazar area under Sadar upazila yesterday. The victim was identified as Saleha Begum, 44, wife of Yunus Matubbar.

Rezaul Islam, officer-in-charge of Barisal Bandar police station, said husband and son of the victim went to mosque for performing Fazr prayer. After returning home, they found slaughtered body lying on floor and informed police.

– Our Correspondent, Barisal

A youth died after falling from a train in Jamalpur Railway Station area yesterday. The identity of the victim could not be known immediately. Railway police sources said locals found the body and informed the police. The body was sent to Jamalpur Hospital morgue.

– Our Correspondent, Jamalpur

Miscreants kill youth A youth was killed by miscreants in Gobindapur village under Chauddagram upazila in the district yesterday. The deceased was identified as Delwar Hossain,24, son of Shahidul Islam. Police said the miscreants might have slaughtered Delwar any time at night.

– Our Correspondent, Comilla

Case filed against 30 over clash A case was filed against 30 people in Savar yesterday centering a clash between two rival groups on Saturday. Sources said a clash took place between the supporters of Shamsul Haque and Hossen Ali in Heamaitpur on the day over land. At least 50 people were injured critically during the clash. Later, police filed a case against 30 people in this connection. Savar Model police station Officer-in-Charge Mostofa Kamal confirmed the incident.

– Our Correspondent, Savar

Suspected robber killed in shootout n Our Correspondent, Magura

A suspected ringleader of robbers was killed by law enforcers in a gunfight in Baliadanga Mandartola area under Sadar upazila early yesterday.

The deceased was Ujjal Sheikh, 37, son of Aul Sheikh, a resident of Dhalohara village.

Three constables Ekram Hossain, Nayeb Ali and Rafiqul Islam were injured during the gunfight, police said.

Assistant superintendent of police, Shudarshan Kumar Roy, said a team of police led by its officer-in-charge Jahangir Hossain was patrolling in the area along the Magura-Narail road around 1:45am when they came across the robbers’ team.

The criminals were taking preparation to rob bus passengers by felling trees on the road, he said.

As the police attempted to put the tree-branches off the road, the robbers opened fire at them, prompting police to retaliate.

The law enforcers fired some bullets when most of the gang members retreated, Shudarshan Kumar said.

After the gunfight, the police found bullet-wounded Ujjal on the spot and took him to Magura Sadar Hospital where the duty-doctor declared him dead, he said.

A pistol, four bullets and some other robbery equipments were seized from the spot. l

way back home after performing Fazr prayers at a local mosque at Guakhola village in Abhaynagar upazila on November 23.

The attackers fired two gunshots at him near, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he died on way to Khulna Medical College Hospital.

During the hartal, pickets set fire on tires on the Jessore-Khulna Highway in the morning.

They also barred the movement of a motorcade of Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu while the minister

was going to Khulna to attend a programme.

Later, the minister through loudspeaker urged the agitators to withdrew blockade and assured them that killers of Oliur Rahman would be brought to the book soon. Then, agitators withdrew the barricade.

Most of the shops, schools and non-government offices remained closed and almost all modes of vehicles remained off the streets.

A large number of police personnel were deployed to fend off any trouble. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Special

7

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Financial inclusion: Challenges of SME and start-ups Dhaka Tribune and Rotary Club of Dhaka Mahanagar recently held a round table discussion on Financial inclusion: Challenges of SME and start-ups

B

IN A NUTSHELL Kamal Talukdar, DMD Eastern Bank Ltd: It is impossible to support such a vast sector utilising only the windows of a hardcore commercial banking system.

Commercial banking is simply not equipped to carry SMEs forward to the next phase. Other nations which share our socio-economic structure have all adopted an SME banking system exclusively dedicated to support and facilitate SME entrepreneurs.

n Tribune Desk

angladesh’s inclusive growth strategy views SMEs as crucially important drivers of sustained broad based output, employment and income generation. According to the Bangladesh Bank Governor, SMEs account for 40% of overall employment and 80% of industrial jobs in Bangladesh. 90% of total industrial units are SMEs, contributing nearly 25% of the country’s GDP. Absence of track record in business and lack of real assets to offer as collateral make it difficult for SMEs to access debt finance on affordable terms.

Banks and financial institutions primarily geared towards serving larger urban businesses are in general neither well motivated nor well equipped to serve SMEs in dispersed locations far off from branches.

Besides higher risks in SME lending, they also find SME loan administration costlier. Commercial banks are not interested to finance SMEs because of the high risk and high supervision cost. In these circumstances SMEs find it hard to get credit for inputs procurement and other expenses.

SMEs often also have to sell their produces on credit, further burdening their precarious finances.

Bangladesh Bank has adopted a comprehensive approach in trying to address the multifarious SME financing impediments and disincentives, covering all areas from attitudinal orientation of the lending institutions onward, such as: mainstreaming institutionalisation of socially and environmentally responsible financing in corporate ethos and objectives of lending institutions as well as practices like credit rating supplemented by “factoring” of receivables are a few to mention.

Syed Tamzidur Rahman (STR), Moderator at the discussion, CEO and Chief Consultant of Changemaker The government and civil society organisations are active in supporting and promoting SME initiatives, working for removal of the financial and nonfinancial impediments to their commercial sustenance in the supply chains of the goods and services they produce. What are the major impediments still remaining in the financing of SMEs?

Kamal Talukdar, DMD Eastern Bank Ltd The NGOs that have been working towards poverty alleviation have also created numerous entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, these entrepreneurs fall in the gap of microcredit clients and lenders of commercial banks; and SME entrepreneurs are candidates of such a “gap.” This gap still exists as we (the commercial bankers) are trying to cater to their need using the conventional banking system.

The provisions that exist for the purpose of financial inclusion of SME are unfortunately quite inadequate. As a banker I can say that it is impossible to support such a vast sector utilising only the windows of a hardcore commercial banking system.

Commercial banking is simply not

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

equipped to carry SME forward and graduate them to the next phase. Other nations which share our socio-economic structure all have adopted an SME banking system exclusively dedicated to support and facilitate SME entrepreneurs. SMEs are often known to incur loan defaults, not because they are unwilling to pay but due to unavoidable external factors.

The laws that apply to large enterprises should not be applicable for SMEs. I believe there remains more room for updating the guidelines of Bangladesh Bank to further accommodate the SME context. It is absolutely necessary for us to become more pragmatic and address the grassroots level entrepreneurs effectively and this can be achieved by creating a specialised SME banking system.

STR: SME financing has been identified as a major obstacle to SME growth.

Though the majority of the issues are with the SME themselves, the banks also have major issues in designing financial products for the SMEs. SMEs have very limited bank finance and self-finance remains the major source of their fund.

What are the demand side issues ie, issues with the SME themselves and what are the different strategic models which can best suit to address SMEs needs?

CM Alam, Entrepreneur and former MD IPDC SMEs defined as Small and Medium Enterprises pose a problem for small rural businesses, so I like to define them simply as “small business.” In order to address their financial issues it needs not only a different mindset but also never-ending-passion for entrepreneurship development. It is a fact that rural entrepreneurs have keen business instincts along with being resilient and enterprising. It is prudent to mention here that in rural areas impact in terms of job/wealth creation is high and specialised knowledge in book keeping and the like are crucial to the smooth running and profitability. Something in the form of an equity fund could have solved most of their problems, and this could easily come from banks as part of their CSR allocation as well as from international organisations focusing on such needs.

At the end of the day, accumulating funds is not the problem, proper distribution of the funds is.

South America does this using a scoring system through a questionnaire; we could emulate them instead of planning on and being apprehensive of conducting elaborate studies. This will be an effective approach because the entrepreneurs know their local situation best, which is all that is relevant. In terms of monitoring, nowadays we have at our disposal the cell phones which can act as trackers, providing us with the data we need.

The bottom line is, the banking system, corporate bodies, the government

and a number of relevant international organisations can come together creating a fund which can be used as equity investment for rural entrepreneurs, while credit can come from the government or financial institution on a wholesale basis.

STR: Your long experience as formerly an SME entrepreneur and now as a director of a financial institution, what do you think about the policy reforms towards more inclusiveness and what are the major challenges especially for woman entrepreneurs

STR: What have been your experiences in finding ways to bringing down lender’s and borrower’s costs?

Hasina Newaz, Leading Entrepreneur in Printing and Packaging, Director of a National Bank and Women Entrepreneurs’ Leader

Syed Faridul Islam, Head of Risk Management, BRAC Bank Limited Bangladesh Bank has created a number of policies regarding SMEs. In 2010, the SME cell was created with the sole purpose of facilitating the growth of SMEs. Banks are provided with targets and these are in turn monitored to see whether the targets are being achieved. The majority of banks emphasise on urban needs but it is imperative that we realise that a large portion of financial needs come from rural areas. We need a drastic shift in mindset if we are to address the rural needs by taking the initiative and reaching out to them.

Bank branches are not adequately equipped to effectively reach remote rural areas, which is why BRAC Bank has 458 SME units touching almost all the districts of the country. These units have autonomy to a certain extent, and beyond that threshold of decentralised work process, we have a more centralised process in place.

This combination of decentralisation and centralisation appears to work best when it comes to addressing the needs of SMEs spread out all over the country, especially in terms of timeliness in a loan sanction. As far as the product is concerned, we essentially have what we need; we simply need to redesign it to fit the exact needs faced by entrepreneurs.

In terms of gaps between banks and entrepreneurs, formal financial statements often become an issue, however, banks can always take the initiative and educate these people in the ways of formal book keeping as well as take a closer look at whatever form of records they do keep which are usually authentic indicators of the enterprise’s profitability.

As you know SME loan demands high supervision which involves cost. More monitoring leads to more increase in cost. However, with adoption of modern technology this can be reduced. Mobile banking systems can not only do away with the need to physically be present while providing a loan, it can even allow the recipients to pay monthly instalments using mobile phones.

Limitations are there in that daily transactions are restricted to Tk25,000 but if such hindrances are dealt with effectively we can definitely take mobile banking to the next level, thereby exponentially assisting in rural banking needs of SME entrepreneurs.

I have had the fortune of sitting at both ends of the table; I am working in the banking sector and I have been an entrepreneur in the SME sector for a while. The policies provided by Bangladesh Bank are more than sufficient for financing SMEs, but unfortunately the implementation of such policies is far from effective. It is a common occurrence that entrepreneurs reach the gates of banks in the hopes of acquiring a loan, but the person who will sanction such a loan remains far from their reach.

It all boils down to the right mindset and I can assure you that SME entrepreneurs, especially woman entrepreneurs almost never cause a loan default; we face cases of loan defaults in amounts reaching cores of Taka and yet SMEs hardly ever ask for loans above Tk5 lakh and rarely ever fail to pay it back.

Timeliness is another major issue in case of loan sought for a particular season and it is utterly useless if not provided within the time to catch the seasonal market. To ensure that SMEs get more loans and banks also meet their SME targets, the present mindset needs to be changed. This will flourish both the enterprises and the banking sector.

STR: What are the industry/enterprise practices that can work as risk guarantee schemes for SMEs? What are your experiences?

Niaz Rahim, Managing Director Rahimafrooz Superstores, President Rotary Club of Dhaka Mahanagar During the days when the first retail superstore Agora was being established “passion” was key since supporting and contributing factors were mostly unavailable. In terms of managing the supply chain, our suppliers were often extremely small in scale and scope. Moving forward, even though we were heavily discouraged from packaging our products in the fear of raising prices too high, we were steadfast in the idea that we as producers, need to exercise a minimum sense of quality and dignity.

Those suppliers who appeared aligned with our progressive mode of thought were the only ones brought into our fold. In my opinion, money can never be the sole driver of a successful business enterprise, it is simply an important ingredient accompanied by numerous factors among which

market access is noteworthy. We facilitated access to finance of small businesses and start ups by effectively closing the gaps between the two, banks and the suppliers who were intimidated by banks. We filled their forms and guided them through every step of the way and gradually they became regular borrowers of the banks which they could not approach earlier.

When we look at the same suppliers today, we see that almost all of them have grown significantly. At the end of the day, smooth functioning of a business pivots upon the partnership between financial institutions and business entities.

STR: How much access has actually been created through Bangladesh Bank policy packages? What is your view on the overall access to finance?

Arfan Ali, DMD, Bank Asia As we know, the bank performs three functions: Efficient distribution of capital, risk management and low cost funding. In terms of acquiring financing, challenges are faced mostly by small businesses because they lack the experience and resilience required to absorb economic or environmental shocks.

Ours is a densely populated country and a large portion of its population is employed by SMEs, consequently it is crucial for banks to reach out to these SMEs and provide assistance.

Bangladesh bank has created policies on SMEs in order to facilitate the growth and smooth running of such enterprises. On top of that Bangladesh Bank also encourages female entrepreneurship through such steps as reduced interest rates on loans to 10%, collateral fee up to an amount of Tk25 lakh etc. When speaking of financial inclusions, three elements are indispensable.

First, the channel of distribution needs to reach the doorstep of the customers. Second, in terms of service, banks have to be able to cater to unique needs and tailor their services to fit the requirements of the region.

Third, the service that is brought can never be so costly that it ceases to be a feasible venture for the customer.

SMEs are known to have poor book keeping practices and a solution as encouraged by Bangladesh Bank is Agent Banking.

The well connected NGOs that are active in nearby areas can be engaged and utilised through partnerships, thus bringing about Agent Banking.

In this, Bank Asia goes a step further by managing and maintaining a booth in remote locations, through which SMEs are being provided with loans.

An entrepreneur can submit the loan application to the agent who will in turn submit it to a branch office and it will then be the responsibility of the branch to process and sanction the loan applied for. Agents can even be utilised to supervise and collect instalment payments from clients. l

CM Alam Entrepreneur and former MD IPDC: Better understanding of small business’ dynamics, passion for entrepreneurship development, and equity fund could have solved most of the problems of small business financing. It is a very serious and equally rewarding national agenda and thus should be addressed jointly by the banking system, corporate bodies, the government and relevant international organisations together.

Syed Faridul Islam, Head of Risk Management, BRAC Bank Limited: Mobile banking system can not only do away with the need to physically be present while providing a loan, it can even allow the recipients to pay monthly instalments using mobile phones.

With the furthering of mobile banking services the SME entrepreneurs’ rural banking needs can be assisted exponentially.

Hasina Newaz, Leading Entrepreneur in Printing and Packaging, Director of a National Bank and Women Entrepreneurs’ Leader: It is a common occurrence that entrepreneurs reach the gates of banks in the hopes of acquiring a loan, but the person who will sanction such a loan remains far from their reach. Timeliness is another major issue in case of loan sought for a particular season and it is utterly useless if not provided within the time to catch the seasonal market.

Niaz Rahim, Managing Director Rahimafrooz Superstores, President Rotary Club of Dhaka Mahanagar: We facilitated access to finance of small businesses and start ups by effectively closing the gaps between the two. We negotiated individual cases with banks, filled their applications forms and guided them through every step of the way, and gradually they became regular borrowers of the banks which they were previously unable to approach. When we look at the same suppliers today, we see that almost all of them have grown significantly.

Arfan Ali, DMD, Bank Asia: Encouraged by Bangladesh Bank, Agent Banking can serve the purpose of easing access to finance for SMEs and the various NGOs’ outreach can be utilised here. An entrepreneur can submit the loan application to the agent who will in turn submit it to a branch office, and it will then be the responsibility of the branch to process and sanction the loan that is applied for. Agents can even be utilised to supervise and collect instalment payments from clients.

BOTTOM LINE l This is a national agenda and all

stakeholders should be duly educated on the small business dynamics l A specialised SME banking with

innovative products and service packages l Equity type of participation should

be initiated and incentivised l The business evaluation should not

be an elaborate traditional method, it needs to follow simple scoring systems such as South American products l Bank, corporates, GOB need to

combine to address equity financing

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Veteran Essebsi wins Tunisian election; riots break out in south, participants mostly youths n Reuters, Tunis

Supporters of the Nidaa Tounes (Call for Tunisia) secular party movement wave flags and shout slogans in Tunis on Sunday

REUTERS

Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi has won Tunisia’s first free presidential election, official results showed yesterday, the final step in a transition to democracy after an uprising that ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

But rioting broke out in one southern city, with police firing teargas to disperse hundreds of youths who burned tyres and blocked streets to demonstrate against the victory of an official from Ben Ali’s old guard.

Essebsi beat rival and incumbent Moncef Marzouki with 55.68% of the vote against 44.32%, the results showed.

A former official in Ben Ali’s one-party administration, he has recast himself as a technocrat and his secular Call for Tunisia party profited from the backlash against the country’s first post-revolt Islamist government, which many voters blamed for turmoil after 2011.

Protests erupted in Hamma after Essebsi declared victory in Sunday’s run-off.

“Hundreds of angry youths upset

over Essebsi’s victory declaration set fire to tyres in the streets of the city while police fired teargas and arrested several youths,” Hamma resident Ammar Giloufi said.

“All shops are closed. They are chanting ‘No to the old regime’.”

Another resident told Reuters protesters had tried to storm a police station, but had been driven back by teargas. Local police officials could not immediately be contacted.

Critics of Essebsi, an 88-year-old former parliamentary speaker under Ben Ali, see his return as a setback for the 2011 uprising that ousted the veteran ruler and put the North African country on the road to full democracy, with a new constitution and free parliamentary and presidential elections.

The Tunisian uprising also inspired the Arab Spring revolts across North Africa and the Middle East.

As frontrunner, Essebsi dismissed critics who said victory for him would mark a return of the old guard. He argued that he was the technocrat Tunisia needed following three messy years of an Islamist-led coalition government. l

10 years on, tsunami warning Kenya tells US to back off over ‘terror’ law stumbles at the ‘last mile’ n Agencies

n Reuters, Bangkok In April 2012, Indonesia’s Banda Aceh, the city worst hit by the tsunami that killed at least 226,000 people on Boxing Day ten years ago, received a terrifying reminder of how unprepared it was for the next disaster.

As an 8.6-magnitude quake struck at sea, thousands of residents shunned purpose-built shelters and fled by car and motorcycle, clogging streets with traffic. A network of powerful warning sirens stayed silent.

No wave came. But if it had, the damage would have been “worse than 2004, if it was the same magnitude of tsunami,” said Harkunti Rahayu, from Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology.

As the 10th anniversary of the disaster approaches, experts and officials say weaknesses remain across the region in a system designed to warn people and get them to safety.

For millions in coastal areas, warnings don’t always get through, thanks to bureaucratic confusion and geography. In the most vulnerable areas, infrastructure is wanting, and many lack the basic knowledge to keep themselves safe from the deadly waves.

Since the disaster, a sophisticated early warning system has sprouted from next to nothing, costing over $400m across 28 countries.

With 101 sea-level gauges, 148 seismometers and nine buoys, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System can send alerts to countries’ tsunami warning centres within 10 minutes of a quake, Tony Elliott, the head of the UNESCO secretariat that oversees the system, told Reuters.

But there has also been mismanagement and waste.

In Indonesia, a German-funded detection initiative built an expensive network of buoys – and then scrapped them – after reports of cost overruns and signs they were ineffective.

All but one of nine Indonesian-op-

erated buoys had been lost or damaged by fishermen, said Velly Asvaliantina, an official at Indonesia’s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

The remaining buoy is not operational, she said.

Elliott said technological advances mean the lack of buoys is not a significant impediment in tsunami detection.

A far bigger concern is getting warnings to at-risk coastal communities, and making sure people get to safety in time.

In some of the countries worst affected in 2004 – Thailand, Indonesia and India – much progress has been made, officials said. But concerns remain about this final, crucial stage.

The 2012 failure in Aceh prompted a reassessment in Thailand, where 5,395 people died in 2004, said Somsak Khaosuwan, head of Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center.

“We put our systems to the test each day. Our warning system is one of the best in the world, but I must admit we lack maintenance,” he said.

Samit Thammasarot, a former head of the agency who was ousted from his position following a 2006 coup against then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was more damning.

“If a tsunami happened today, would we be prepared? No, we would not,” Samit told Reuters.

“On an official level there has been, in the past, corruption and cut-price equipment bought that does not meet international standards.”

In India, the new system struggles to communicate alerts by fax, text message and email to remote locations, said Ajay Kumar, an official at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services.

“Some of the people, officials, are not getting the alert,” he said.

“Secondly, one thing that has come out from the drills is that the last mile connectivity is still missing. If (a) tsunami is coming, even now people don’t know what is to be done, where to move.” l

A senior Kenyan official at the State House has criticised the United States for raising concerns about a new Kenyan law aimed at fighting “terrorism.”

Munyori Buku said in a statement on the presidential website that Kenya’s new law had checks and balances, unlike US security laws that have created the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and given the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and intelligence officers

Ex-minister Kudrin warns of ‘full-fledged crisis’ in Russia

n Reuters

Russia’s government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said yesterday, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy.

As he spoke President Vladimir Putin prepared to hold emergency talks with Western leaders to try to resolve the stand-off over Ukraine, the central bank bailed out its first victim of the collapsing currency and authorities announced a tax on grain exports to protect domestic stocks.

A Reuters poll of 11 economists predicted that Russia’s gross domestic product would fall 3.6% next year, after only 0.5% growth this year.

But Kudrin – a darling of investors who is credited with building Russia’s $170bn sovereign wealth funds – asserted that sanctions over Ukraine, not falling oil prices, were primarily behind the collapse of the rouble, and warned that Russia risked having its debt downgraded to junk status in 2015.

“Today, I can say that we have entered or are entering a real, full-fledged economic crisis. Next year we will feel it clearly,” the former minister said. l

Cuban cigars get a foot in US doors n Reuters

Milagros Diaz has been rolling cigars for 48 years, so long she cannot even smell tobacco anymore, and she is thrilled that the US market is finally opening up for her handmade Cuban “habanos.”

Since US President Obama announced on Wednesday he would restore diplomatic ties with Cuba and start dismantling economic sanctions, Americans have been filing into the cigar shop at the Hotel Nacional in Havana, where she hand-rolls cigars using techniques little changed since the 19th century.

“The Americans!” she said, her face lighting up as she clapped her hands over her head. “They’re not scared anymore. I’m super happy because in my 67 years I never thought I would see diplomatic relations. And we think we’re going to sell more, because this is just getting started.”

Cigars have been Cuba’s signature product ever since Christopher Columbus saw natives smoking rolled up tobacco leaves when he first sailed to the Caribbean island in 1492.

Fidel Castro, who took power in Cuba’s 1959 revolution, was often seen puffing on his favored, long and thin lancero model until he quit in 1985.

Cuban cigars are considered by many as the best in the world – brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo and Partagas – but the US trade embargo blocks their access to a market that last year imported 317.6 million cigars.

When Obama unveiled the new Cuba policy, which aims to end more than five decades of conflict, among the first forbidden Cuban products legalised was the cigar.

Under new rules to be implemented soon, the United States will make it easier for some Americans to travel to Cuba and they will be able to return with $100 worth of alcohol and tobacco.

The restrictions could be further loosened over time. Wholesale shipments directly to the United States would require the US Congress to lift the embargo, or for Obama to declare an exception for cigars under the Trading with the Enemy Act. Even the preliminary steps have delighted aficionados on both sides of the Florida Straits, as well as Cubans working in the industry.

Diaz, the cigar-maker, says the extra revenue could help tobacco farmers better finance their fields and improve transportation for their workers.

With carefully dried tobacco leaves

that come from western Pinar de Rio province, she twists them into a bunch and stuffs them into wooden molds that are pressed tight for at least 20 minutes. Then they are ready for the outer layer, which she carves with a “chaveta,” or half-moon shaped blade.

When she worked in the Romeo y Julieta factory in Havana, she says, she could turn out 200 in an eight-hour shift, though the pace at the hotel is a lot easier, mostly for show.

Cuba’s government estimates the windfall from the embargo being lifted on Cuban cigars and rum would allow it to pump more than $200m a year into social welfare programs.

Their status as “forbidden fruit” has only boosted their appeal among cigar lovers in the United States. A small black market means determined customers can find them but no one doubts there is pent-up demand.

“They have a certain cachet which makes them more desirable .... Everyone will want to try one,” said David Weiss, the owner of the Lone Wolf Cigar Company, which has two stores and a cigar lounge in Santa Monica and Los Angeles.

He said US retailers will buy directly from Cuba if sanctions are lifted. l

“a carte blanche in the fight against terrorism and biological warfare.”

On Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the law his government says will help fight terrorism. But critics in Kenya have said it will be used to crush dissent by curbing civil liberties.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday said the US was concerned about the move.

“We’re...concerned about provisions that appear to limit freedom of assembly and media, and access to

asylum for refugees.”

Kenya’s main opposition group, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy said the real target of the new law was not terrorism but to reintroduce the police state and political hegemony, and would hand the president sweeping autocratic powers.

The controversial measures extend the time police can hold “terror suspects” from the current 90 days to nearly a year, increase sentences and give more powers to tap phones. l

Sony hack: North Korea threatens US as row deepens n Agencies North Korea has threatened unspecified attacks on the US in an escalation of a war of words following the Sony Pictures cyber-attacks.

In a fiery statement, the North warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and “the whole US mainland.”

North Korea denies US claims it is behind cyber-attacks linked to a film that features the fictional killing of its leader.

North Korea has a long history of issuing threats against the US. The latest statement comes days after the US formally accused the North of orchestrating a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures.

“The army and people of the DPRK [North Korea] are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare space,” a long statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency said.

“Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole US mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far surpassing the ‘symmetric counteraction’ declared by Obama.”

It accused President Obama of “recklessly making the rumour” that North Korea was behind the Sony attack.

It also said it “estimates highly the righteous action” taken by the hackers of Sony, although it is “not aware of where they are.”

North Korea frequently uses fierce rhetoric against both South Korea and the United States so there’s no great stepup in fierceness. And it is for domestic consumption as well as for outsiders.

The statement has weight because it comes from the most powerful body in North Korea, the National Defence Commission, chaired by Kim Jong-un.

It has two arguments – essentially “we didn’t do it” and “whoever did do it was right.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

9

Failure of spy agencies in three countries resulted in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks n Tribune Desk The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks could have been averted if intelligence agencies of the United States, United Kingdom, and India had not failed to join the dots gathered after their high-tech surveillance, an investigative report said.

A detailed report by the new york times, propublica and the pbs series “frontline” titled “in 2008 Mumbai killings, piles of spy data, but an uncompleted puzzle” said “that hidden history of the mumbai attacks reveals the vulnerability as well as the strengths of computer surveillance and intercepts as a counter-terrorism weapon.”

“What happened next may rank among the most devastating near-misses in the history of spycraft. The intelligence agencies of the three nations did not pull together all the strands gathered by their high-tech surveillance and other tools, which might have allowed them to disrupt a terror strike so scarring that it is often called India’s 9/11,” said the lengthy report.

Citing classified documents leaked

by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, it said although electronic eavesdropping often yields valuable data, even “tantalising” clues can be missed if the technology is not closely monitored, the intelligence gleaned from it is not linked with other information, or analysis does not sift incriminating activity from the ocean of digital data.

The report said Indian and British intelligence agencies monitored online activities of Zarrar Shah, a key 26/11 planner and the technology chief of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, “but couldn’t connect the dots” before the attacks that killed 166

Lal Masjid protest activist threatened n Agencies Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir, one of the main organisers behind the Lal Masjid protests in Islamabad, yesterday received a threatening phone call from an individual claiming to be Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar’s spokesman.

A man claiming to be Ehsanullah Ehsan asked Nasir to end the protests, or “be ready for consequences.”

Nasir however remained defiant and determined to continue the protest, despite the threat.

“We’ve told him we are standing firm,” the activist said on social media.

Nasir shared a recording of the telephone conversation with local daily The Express Tribune, which was made accessible online: According to the audio recording, a man claiming to be Ehsanullah Ehsan told Jibran Nasir that by continuing with the protests against Lal Masjid, both Nasir and the demonstrators were putting themselves in danger. The caller further said that Jamaatul Ahrar should not be considered weak/unable to act. l

people, including six Americans.

In the fall of 2008, Shah “roamed from outposts in the northern mountains of Pakistan to safe houses near the Arabian Sea, plotting mayhem in Mumbai, India’s commercial gem.”

He was, however, unaware that by September, the British were spying on many of his online activities, tracking his internet searches and messages, the report said.

“They were not the only spies watching. Shah drew similar scrutiny from an Indian intelligence agency,” it said, citing a former official briefed on the operation.

While the US was unaware of the two agencies’ efforts, it had picked up signs of a plot through other electronic and human sources, and warned Indian security officials several times in the months before the attack, the report said.

Routing calls through US

The Pakistan-based LeT’s technology chief had posed as an Indian businessman while negotiating to buy from an American company a Voice-over-Internet Phone service that was later used by the LeT handlers to communicate with 26/11 attackers while concealing their actual origin.

Shah, a 30-year-old computer expert, had set up an internet phone system to disguise his location during the 26/11 attacks by routing his calls through New Jersey.

The report said that Shah contacted the New Jersey company, “posing online as an Indian reseller of telephone services named Kharak Singh, purporting to be based in Mumbai.”

“His Indian persona started haggling” over the price of the VoIP that had been chosen because it would make calls between Pakistan and the

Tourists sit in front of the Taj Mahal hotel, which was one of the targets of the November 26, 2008 attacks, in Mumbai terrorists in Mumbai appear as if they were originating in Austria and New Jersey, it said. “its not first time in my life I am perchasing in this VOIP business,” [sic] Shah said in shaky English, to an official with the company when he thought the asking price was too high, according to British intelligence documents quoted in the report.

“I am using these services from 2 years.”

Shah had set up the VoIP service through the New Jersey company, ensuring that many of his calls to the terrorists would bear the area code 201, concealing their actual origin.

In November 2008 however, the company’s owner wrote to the fictitious Indian reseller Singh, complaining that no traffic was running on the digital phone network.

“Dear Sir, I will send trafic by the end of this month,” (sic) Shah said in

Lawmakers grill Modi on mass conversions

China condemns Sony cyberattack, no mention of DPRK

n AP

China has said it opposes all forms of cyberattacks, but it stopped short of directly condemning the hacking of Sony Pictures, or of responding to US calls for action against North Korea, blamed

by Washington for the assault.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi “reaffirmed China’s relevant position, emphasising China opposes all forms of cyberattacks and cyber terrorism” in a conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday, the foreign ministry in Beijing said in a statement. “(China) opposes any country or individual using other countries’ domestic facilities to conduct cyberattacks on third-party nations,” it said.

The statement made no direct mention of North Korea.

China is North Korea’s only major ally, and would be central to any US efforts to crack down on the isolated state. But the United States has also accused China of cyber spying in the past and a US official has said the attack on Sony could have used Chinese servers to mask its origin. l

Opposition lawmakers, charging that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done little to stop hard-liners in his party from forcibly converting religious minorities to Hinduism, threw Parliament into an uproar Monday, with the upper house of Parliament adjourned after descending into shouting matches.

Right-wing Hindu groups allied to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – and whose members are overwhelmingly BJP members – have conducted a series of ceremonies across India over the past week to convert Christians and Muslims to Hinduism.

Some of the Muslims have complained that they changed their religion out of fear. India is largely Hindu, but has large Muslim and Christian minorities.

Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist and longtime member

of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal or the National Volunteers Association, one of the main groups behind the conversions, has remained largely silent on the issue.

Parliament has been repeatedly thrown into an uproar over the past week amid arguments over the conversions. Opposition lawmakers say Modi’s silence is damaging the secular nature of Indian society and the religious freedoms guaranteed by its Constitution.

The Upper House of Parliament was adjourned Monday after opposition lawmakers demanded that the prime minister clarify his position on the conversions.

Muslims make up about 13 per cent of India’s 1.2 billion people.

The Muslim community has been particularly wary of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which won a huge majority in general elections in May. l

n Reuters

Tiger and wild cat trade from Myanmar to China growing, 200 tigers thought killed n BBC

The trade in tigers and other wild cat parts from Myanmar into China has grown in recent years, a new study based on two decades of survey data suggests.

It reports a surge mainly in Mong La, a Burmese town bordering China, where shops selling such products have more than trebled in the past eight years.

Tiger parts were found in 80% of the surveys, the study says, representing at least 200 tigers.

The most common parts were from clouded leopards, numbering some 480 animals.

The findings, published in the journal Biological Conservation, reinforce past claims that the town was emerging as a major wildlife market in the region for products from as far away as Africa.

At the same time, they suggest that in another Burmese town, Tachilek, on the border with Thailand, there has been a fall in trade.

“It could be due to greater enforcement action in Thailand,” says report author Chris Shepherd of Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring network.

“But because that is yet to happen on the part of China, Mong La has seen the rise in wildlife trade,” he added.

Experts say the Burmese authorities have no control over the town, which is run by an armed group following a peace deal with the government.

No government or local official was available for comment.

Dwindling numbers

Burma has banned the trade in tiger and leopard parts, under the international convention against the buying and selling of endangered species (CITES).

Wildlife conservation organisations have told BBC News that the law is not working in Mong La. “Many of the products, particularly wildlife meat and tiger bone wine, don’t enter China but are consumed in Mong La by Chinese tourists,” says the World Wildlife Fund’s Thomas Grey, in the Greater Mekong area.

“However presumably many of the skins are imported into china as souvenirs.

“So what we need is better enforcement at the border so Chinese

tourists are not bringing illegal wildlife products back into China.”

The latest study on wildlife products supply from Myanmar to China is based on information gathered from 19 separate surveys of the wild cat trade in Tachilek between 1991 and 2013 and seven surveys between 2001 and 2014 in Mong La. The surveys recorded a total of over two thousand wild cat parts – mostly skins.

Other products included tigers and leopards’ claws, skulls, and canine teeth.

This year there were 21 shops selling some of these parts in Mong La, compared with just six in 2006, the survey found.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of tiger products and has been criticised for not doing enough to control its domestic trade.

Earlier this year, the BBC reported that China publicly admitted for the first time that it allowed trade in tiger skins, although buying and selling tiger bones was banned.

Despite growing international concern, poaching of tigers has continued and there are now only around 3,000 of the endangered species left across the globe.

That is only 5% of what the population was a century ago.

Surveyed traders in Burma’s Mong La and Tachilek said the tiger and leopard parts reaching China originated from Burmese territory and India.

Experts say the two countries and others in South East and South Asia are now also losing leopards, as demand has shifted to other wild cats in the wake of a dwindling tiger population and stricter wildlife regulations in some countries.

Previous studies have also shown the Burmese town Mong La is emerging as a major centre for other wildlife products, including ivory.

One study, by Oxford Brookes University and Traffic earlier this year, found nearly 3,300 pieces of carved ivory and 49 whole tusks were “openly for sale in Mong La.” “The origin of the ivory may constitute a combination of Asian elephant ivory from Myanmar and African ivory imported via China,” the report read.

It said the survey in 2009 found just 25 elephant skin pieces, while between 2013 and 2014 the figure had jumped to 1050. l

his ominous reply.

In a plan to pin the blame on Indian Muslims for the attacks, Shah had typed a statement of responsibility for the attack from the Hyderabad Deccan Mujahadeen – a fake Indian organisation.

Early on November 26, Shah emailed a draft of the phony claim to an underling with orders to send it to the news media later, according to American and Indian counter-terrorism officials.

REUTERS

The report described Shah as a “digitally savvy operative” who had “strong ties to Pakistani intelligence and an intense hatred for India.”

“As he made his plan, he searched on his laptop for weak communication security in Europe, spent time on a site designed to conceal browsing history, and searched Google News for “indian american naval exercises” – presumably so the seagoing attackers would not blunder into an overwhelming force,” it said. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Mobile banking is the path to inclusion

A

survey conducted recently makes it clear that the number of Bangladeshis with bank accounts needs to be increased, as we editorialised yesterday.

But there is a problem. Because of the high overhead costs of operating conventional banks, it is generally not feasible for traditional banks to accommodate the poor and underprivileged, who find it hard to maintain the minimum balance required to make maintaining an account worthwhile for a private bank.

The best solution to this problem is mobile banking. As the success of mobile banking services shows, mobile banking can bring more people into the financial system than a traditional bank with a physical location ever can. Mobile banking services do not require large savings, and cater to a section of the population that would not be considered as attractive customers by conventional banks from a profit-making point of view.

Mobile banking services, by not needing physical bank branches, and operating through agents who work on commission, can bring their overhead costs down significantly. Because of their reduced expenses, mobile services can be offered to the poorest of the poor.

For years, financial inclusion has been used as an excuse to keep open state-owned banks, with the argument that private banks were profit-seekers. But perpetually loss-making state-owned banks that hurt the economy are not the solution. Most people in Bangladesh own a mobile phone – using this technology for banking is the right way to go.

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

From Iowa to Bangladesh December 10

Most people in Bangladesh own a mobile phone – using this technology for banking is the right way to go

Farewell to Dr Maqsudul Alam

W

e are saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Maqsudul Alam, a brilliant scientist whose research has made an unforgettable impact on our nation’s jute industry.

Dr Alam and his team of Bangladeshi researchers gained international renown for decoding the genome sequence of the indigenous Tosha (high-yield variety) jute. This achievement was followed by the successful sequencing of the DNA mapping of a fungus that was known to reduce the yield of more than 500 species of crops, including jute, soybean, and cotton.

Dr Alam’s work in genome sequencing has initiated improvements on jute fibre, by developing on fibre length and quality, including colours and strength, and developing high-yielding, saline soil and pest-tolerant varieties of jute.

What is more, his research has made it possible to produce new jute seeds that are compatible with hostile weather caused by climate change and to curb diseases.

This is a man who has recognised the importance of jute and dedicated his life to making it as accessible as possible to humanity.

With jute being an all-purpose, all-natural fibre with many different applications, there is no reason why we should not expand on his efforts and concentrate again on shifting to jute products and building up the jute industry, not if we wish to regain our place internationally as a leading jute exporter, if not as the leading jute exporter.

There is no reason why we should not expand on his efforts and concentrate again on shifting to jute products

make use of technology in agriculture. I hope they will continue doing this and make further improvements in their work performance.

Mamun Rashid I read a few articles about how bad Bt Brinjal is, and so is GMO. A good piece, Ambassador. Feeding all our people without doing too much harm to the nature should always be the option.

F Singh Back in the 1970s, agronomist Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for increasing crop production in countries like Pakistan. Food is still the primary struggle of South Asia, in spite of the fact that affluence has hit a few sectors of society.

Mr Borlaug had faced a lot of opposition from idealists who believe agricultural science is some sort of voodoo.

Cheers to Mr Mozena for writing, and the DT for publishing an op-ed article that some naysayers will no doubt see as biotech voodoo, but is really just a basic effort to improve food supply. rose It is indeed admirable to know that our farmers

Migrant workers’ fight for freedom December 17 BS

NRBs reach Dhaka after a five-hour-flight from Middle Eastern countries, and then wait for another five hours in the Dhaka airport for their luggage. What a great and valuable service is provided to our great FC earners.

SC summons Prothom Alo editors

December 16 Omanishar Ondhokar What the heck? He is the one and only educated person in Bangladesh, and the rest of them are illiterate or half-educated?! From their actions, it appears the AL-led government is trying to silence everyone by using the police, courts, and the BCL. Babul Sarwar “It is not possible for a half-educated man to realise the real explanation of laws, said Justice Shamsuddin.” The justice’s comment is disgraceful.

How could he claim he is full-educated? What is happening to us? The colonial legacy is still on!

CALVIN AND HOBBES

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents N so fill N every time the figure 18 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Justice Jackson I wince every time I hear from some uninitiated meathead how genetically modified crops are some kind of worldwide conspiracy to kill off/ control the general masses. Glad to see the author attempting to allay those preposterous fears while contextualising the issue to our own country.

Abellard the Greek-lover Mr Mozena a farm boy? Whodathunkit? In any way, the Bt Brinjal is a great example of how GMO crops can help a country like ours. vhs Good to see the author write about this. Our priority should be to increase our yields-per-acre and feed more mouths. Bt Brinjal is good news for our country and we should encourage this for other crops as well.

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.

Lalon Shah Good to see the US Ambassador taking a keen interest in our agronomy. No doubt His Excellency has developed much fondness and admiration for the average people, having travelled to the nooks and crannies of the land. In that spirit, I hope he would recommend to his bosses in Washington to restore GSP.

In quest of a statesperson December 10

vhs “A statesman is not a tyrant; he is the free leader of a free people.”

The problem is, you can’t really get to power here without committing a bunch of evil deeds.

A genuine statesman wouldn’t want to go down that road.

A citizen Will we ever get a true statesman in Bangladesh?

Not if the progeny keep lining up to take power, as is de rigueur in the subcontinent!

Evil People Politics A citizen: As the age-old advice goes: “Keep your chin up.” shottikar bangalee Mujib. Now he was a statesman.

Dhaka needs contested elections December 10

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Young horse (4) 5 Halt (4) 10 Prejudice (4) 11 Land measure (3) 12 Take as one’s own (5) 13 Tear (3) 14 Hackneyed (5) 16 Spring back (6) 18 Happenings (6) 21 Composure (5) 23 Edge (3) 24 Competitor (5) 26 Before (poet) (3) 27 Dreadful (4) 28 Hollow in a surface (4) 29 Slippery catches (4)

DOWN 2 Musical instruments (5) 3 Pouring edge (3) 4 Tells tales (7) 6 Pastry dish (4) 7 East (6) 8 Energy (3) 9 Impartial (4) 15 Daydream (7) 17 Terminate (6) 19 Of a new kind (5) 20 Fine sediment (4) 22 Augury (4) 23 Colour (3) 25 Wrath (3)

Osmania What is left unsaid, but I hope is meant, is that what applies to Dhaka is applicable to Bangladesh. The country needs contested elections to improve accountability to the people.

Maus Osmania: Well said.

Human rights are everyone’s business December 10

A citizen Glad to see this piece on International Human Rights Day. The things the author mentions are a constant fight, and we can never let up. Businesses will always try to make money, but it wouldn’t kill us to keep human dignity in mind while we do it. Let’s move the free market system forward while protecting the rights of all people.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

Celebrimbor It is utterly despicable how some entities will go out of their way to silence voices which dare to speak for those who cannot!

Glad to see DT harbouring more pressing articles such as this one.

Karl Hungus Excellent article. Gets to the heart of how human rights are mostly being violated by indifferent, bordering-on unscrupulous, businesses all over Bangladesh.

Seira Excellent piece of writing.

“Bangladesh must do more to make businesses compliant to human rights standards and ensure greater protection to civil society organisations and human rights defenders.”

Agree whole-heartedly.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The strong arm of the law n Ibtisam Ahmed

R

Are we too hung up on imperialist enemies?

REUTERS

Learning from others

U

n Khawaza Main Uddin S President Barack Obama acted as if Washington made a castling by tightening the noose of economic embargo on giant Russia, but easing sanctions against tiny Cuba.

After the division of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic into 15 nation states in 1991, the West found Russia as a capitalist ally until Vladimir Putin brought back tension reminiscent of the Cold War by aggressive acts. Until last week, Cuba stuck to the socialist path, almost alone.

Fifty-two years after the US satellite had detected the unloading of Soviet missiles at Havana port for protection of the new socialist island state from none but America, which objected to the deployment in its backyard, the Cuban missile crisis (1962) brought the US and the USSR to the brink of a nuclear war. However, John F Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev proved their prudence in decision-making.

Cuba, which the US branded as a state sponsor of terrorism, has now joined the “imperialist enemy” by extending an olive branch to Obama’s initiative for engagement. Back in 1968, the US sleuths in Bolivia killed Che Guevara, the Latin American romantic revolutionary who was active in the socialist armed struggle that overthrew the Batista regime in Cuba in 1959.

The turn in the Cuba-US relation has come at a time when Putin’s economic system is about to collapse

as a result of the Western embargo, plus a slump in the price of oil – Moscow’s major source of revenue.

Old friends have fallen apart and the most powerful country is shifting its tilt from one “foe” to another, seeking friendship.

Only some of our intellectuals, who are living in the Stone Age, term some countries as tested friends

Havana’s policy shift, Russia’s latest misery, or Obama’s adventure to normalise relations with Cuba – everything involves economic interests of each country that have impacts on lives and politics.

These cases reaffirm that human needs can’t be denied, doesn’t matter if you understand the rules of economics or not. Also in foreign relations, there is no permanent friend and foe for national interests, which vary over time. Only some of our intellectuals and policymakers, who are living in the Stone Age, term some countries as tested friends.

The Cuban leadership rose to the occasion, realising the reality of life.

Obama wants to make history. For him, it’s a victory of magnanimity

ights are a difficult thing to consistently keep in the public eye. People have a way of championing the most honourable causes for weeks, only to give up when they realise the rest of the world has moved on. It is not entirely their fault.

After all, the only way to get others to pay attention is to talk about something recent. Racism was the hot topic for a while because of Ferguson and New York – and it still is for the people living there with its ramifications – but it lost traction in the UK the minute student protestors made headline news.

The possibility of a bigoted police force was no longer as terrifying as the reality of law enforcement officials lobbing CS gas at unarmed students and threatening them with conducted electrical weapons. This, in the same country which has still achieved no closure over the riots in 2011 which shut down the capital for the same reasons Ferguson became, and continues to be, a war zone.

What these two seemingly disparate movements are failing to bring attention to is the one common problem they share with each other and with various other parts of the world. While #ICantBreathe has become the rallying cry against racism and #CopsOffCampus for student rights, the underlying problem is that of police brutality.

The overarching narrative on both sides of the pond has been to focus on the individual tragedies of the events. The unprovoked shooting of a teenager, the strangling of an unarmed civilian, the image of a young student with bloated eyes while struggling to breathe – these are the stories that garner attention.

In order to stay relevant, campaigns are forced to highlight such specifics at the cost of a wider debate. The events of 2014 have allowed us to more openly challenge racial discrimination and student assault by law enforcement agencies but, by choosing to not look at the larger issue of police violence, we have allowed the state to quietly implement policies that could prove far more damaging in the long run.

of bigness and for Raul Castro, the Cuban leader who happens to be Fidel Castro’s brother, it’s a win through recognition of sovereign equality of the brave people of Cuba.

And, the crisis of Russia is the outcome of acts of the obsessive thinking of Putin, a product of the Soviet spy agency KGB. The man, who revived the country and the economy from the ruins, left by post-Soviet Russian president Boris Yeltsin, is now responsible for the destruction of the economic lifeline of Russia on the capitalist path.

Dhaka has imitated Moscow’s policy antagonism to the West, the US in particular. Bangladesh refrained from voting on the Crimea issue in the UN General Assembly earlier this year to keep Russia happy, a move which antagonised the West.

Still, our policymakers may not notice Putin’s Russia has faltered, despite the military might and abundance of natural resources. He blames the US for the economic plight and so do our rulers for the loss of GSP or the World Bank’s suspension of funding for the Padma Bridge project.

Forty-one years after Dhaka had invited the US wrath by exporting jute goods to Cuba, Havana has gone one big step closer to the superpower neighbour. Before being lonely after the collapse of socialism, Castro’s Cuba had the advantage of America’s deterrence with the Soviet Union.

The government in Dhaka is calling a publicity “jihad” against Washington, by using insulting words about US officials. I don’t think we’ve made any

sound calculations of the costs of such policies.

In the 1970s, Vietnam, after winning the war against America, approached France to mediate her opening of relations with the West. Where’s the East Asian country standing now, and where are we? Our leaders are not ashamed of the fact that some countries with equal development potentials have surpassed Bangladesh by this time.

Cuba is too far away from Bangladesh. We are not even properly following neighbouring Myanmar, which is growing fast, overcoming the setbacks it incurred during the decades of embargo on it. Ahead of the once pariah state, Bangladesh is still talking of reaping the fruits of the Blue Economy whereas Myanmar has started harvesting the results.

We’re then curious to know about what kind of message Premier Sheikh Hasina’s administration has inferred from Putin’s perishing of his country’s economy and causing public suffering.

What does it imply for Bangladesh in terms of overseas business, remittances, investment, job creation, and public welfare?

Amid the hue and cry of the Ukraine crisis, the world forgets the Russian president has been elected in a questionable election. But unforgettable is Bangladesh’s performance to get 153 lawmakers elected without a single ballot and to cling to power, fooling the people and the world. l Khawaza Main Uddin is Executive Editor at ICE Business Times.

Consider the use of weaponry in the UK. British police are consistently compared favourably to their transatlantic partners in crime due to the restraints placed on firearms. Unfortunately, that does not by any means ensure a lack of lethal force. The decision by the current government and the mayor of London allowing the use of water cannons to help protect the peace is the most glaring example of this increasing

are often not in consonance with each other. Political reality, by the way, is a cute word that is used to signify a “problem” for the high-fangled ideals of Central laws.

But political reality when translated into real-world terms means mass public opinion – the same public in whose name laws and constitutions are made and amended. This gulf between law books and the opinion of the people is quite acute when it comes to external affairs.

Let’s look at the law-book then.

According to the constitution of the Indian Union, the Centre can change territorial borders, take “foreign” land, give away “own” land, and so on. The state assembly has no role in this decision-making process nor does popular opinion of the affected state technically matter.

The Land Boundary Agreement between the Indian Union and Bangladesh will exchange certain pockets of land that lie surrounded by “alien” territory (that is a pocket of Bangladesh land completely enclosed by territories of the Indian Union). There are any number of political forces that whip up Jihadi fervour on the supposed “holiness” of every inch of “own” territory,

promising life, blood, and what not.

“Bina juddhe nahi debo suchagro medini” (We will not give up even a needle-point amount of land without war) – goes the political line of the Kaurabs in the epic Mahabharat. This absurd jingoism is in prominent display at the icy heights of Siachen, for which a hungry, diseased subcontinent pays through its nose, day in, day out.

In an unequal centre-state relationship, the political opinion of a state can be “managed” by offering “deals” – that range from special grants to varying speed of investigations. So much for the “holiness.” This is corruption, and this must end as soon as possible.

The interests and counter-interests of almost all nation-states in South Asia have a lot to do with each other.

We have allowed the state to implement policies that could prove more damaging in the long run

recklessness on the part of the authorities. They might not fire live ammunition, but these guns are capable of causing severe injuries, particularly to vulnerable organs like the eyes. Yet, these same machines are now valid responses to protests and rallies.

With authorities clearly sanctioning police brutality, we have entered a more dangerous world

The situation across the pond is much worse. The numerous shootings of alleged suspects have already highlighted the problem of excessive arms usage but, instead of taking steps to correct these oversights in favour of more balanced measures, the official response has been to ramp up the pressure. Even as individual officers are escaping punishment, their colleagues are being ordered to take to the streets in armoured vehicles.

Protestors in Ferguson are making do with handmade gasmasks and helmets, while the police are arriving in full riot gear and army-grade hardware. Never mind the fact that the UN Committee Against Torture has openly condemned such tactics.

British and American law enforcement agencies are increasingly moving away from their role of protecting the people, and the state is sanctioning them to take steps that are disproportionately violent and brutal. This is even more worrying given that these are the nations the developing world learns its lessons from.

Their police forces provide technical expertise and training to many African and Asian nations, including Bangladesh, while their government policies are the gold standard to which we strive. Unfortunately, this opens the door for authorities in countries that already have problems of corruption and discriminatory practices to oppress and exploit civilians even further. We might not openly acknowledge Boris Johnson or Jay Nixon, but their decisions affect us all the same.

In an ideal world, the law and law enforcement agencies are not beholden to the state. Their duty is to protect the citizenry, not the regime. Unfortunately, the reality is that the state is now openly directing its officials to exert progressively cruel methods against the populace. It would be wrong to suggest that different types of discrimination do not feed into this system.

Indeed, it is our duty to fight against any infringement on human rights in whatever way we can. That being said, it would also be remiss to ignore the bigger picture. With authorities clearly sanctioning police brutality, we have entered a more dangerous world. We need to challenge these measures and make it safe again. l Ibtisam Ahmed is a freelance contributor.

We, the people n Garga Chatterjee

T

he Indian Union has a division of power between entities called Centre and states in a way Bangladesh doesn’t. The constitution of the union of India is a product of interests of the Centre, given that only the Central parliament and not the state assemblies can change it. In fact, the Centre has the power to make new states, abolish existing states, change existing state boundaries, and so on, as it deems fit.

If political forces of the states have to oppose central decisions, they need to do that through political agitation.

This the Centre sometimes fears, especially in case of big states. The reason of the fear is that whichever is the ruling party at the Centre does not want to be seen completely opposed to a popular mood of a state because then that party risks becoming politically irrelevant in the state.

This is why the Centre loves those states where the Congress and the BJP are the two main political poles, because of most issues, these two parties have a wide-ranging consensus. Most instances of Centre-State dispute are in states where non-Congress, non-

BJP forces are strong and are around issues where BJP and Congress are in near-complete agreement on each other.

No wonder, Delhi-based media and think-tanks have for years propagated a virulent campaign against so-called “regional” forces, essentially terming them to be disruptive to the beautiful vision of the nation conjured up by the Congress-BJP combine. Federalism or the cooperative relationship between the Centre and the states, by their ideology, is a necessary evil at best.

While they wish of an India whose political space is contested and divided neatly between the BJP and Congress, it is the people of this subcontinent who frustrate the apparatchiks at Delhi by electing such political forces in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Telengan, and elsewhere, who put the interest of the their state first. They refuse to become a mere jagirdar in an imperial system run from Delhi.

One thing needs to be admitted.

The laws that are enacted by the parliament at Delhi (representing something intangible called the “Centre”) and the political reality of the states (representing real lands and people)

West Bengal (and others) and Tamil Nadu have to have an official say in Delhi’s dealings with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

But when the loudest thikadars of “holiness” decide otherwise, the sacrality of “own” land somehow evaporates. This bluff cannot be called out because the “nationals” have always been in private agreement on these issues, whatever their public stances may have been.

Much of the Indian Union’s external affairs pertain to neighbouring nations.

Some states of the Union share borders with these nations.

These states must have more than consultative role in issues pertaining to these neighbouring nations, especially if these agreements affect sub-

jects in the “State list.” For example, land exchange has an effect on land revenue and many other things that are squarely in the state’s jurisdiction.

We know the farce-like “consultative” process that the Centre holds with states on such issues.

In a democracy, public opinion in the states must be respected; near-unanimous resolutions in state assemblies have to have some value.

On agreements with neighbouring nations, affected border-states must have veto power. This means, West Bengal (and others) and Tamil Nadu have to have an official say in Delhi’s dealings with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Delhi Dhaka Express has to pass via Kolkata.

A federal democratic republic like the Indian Union has to fundamentally renegotiate the division of power between the Centre and states in the favour of the latter so that federalism and democracy survive in reality and not only in the unaccountable “spirit of the constitution.” “We, the people” cannot ignore the people of the states indefinitely. l Garga Chatterjee is a freelance contributor.

He can be followed on twitter @gargac.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 23, 2014

13 Phelps sentenced

to 18-month driving probation

14 Skrtel rescues a

point for Reds against Gunners

14 Griezmann

hattrick inspires Atletico

Sport

Did you know?

India have lost six Tests away from home in 2014, the most defeats they have suffered in overseas Tests in a calendar year

Bangladesh is my second home: Kottan n Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh’s 2003 Saff Championshipwinning coach George Kottan returned to Dhaka yesterday to take charge of traditional crowd-pullers Abahani Limited. The 68-year old HungarianAustrian coach looked fit and did not show any old age complications when he was greeted by the Abahani officials and players in the afternoon.

Later onwards, Kottan shared his views and observations with the media. Here are the excerpts:

What prompted you to return to Dhaka?

Abahani players welcome their new coach George Kottan (3L) at the club premises yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Partex refuse to play, drop down from top-flight n Minhaz Uddin Khan The standard of umpiring in the Dhaka Premier League has been a hot topic off late and the league was struck by a horrible scene yesterday when Partex Sporting Club chose to get relegated instead of playing against “poor umpiring.”

What promised to be an intense do-or-die battle between bottom lurkers Kalabagan KC and Partex – both in their last match of the season locked on three wins each – lasted just 21.3 balls before the latter refused to play follow-

Adamjee Cantt lift College Rugby title

n Raihan Mahmood Adamjee Cantonment College lifted the title of the Quick City College Rugby defeating St. Joseph Higher Secondary School by 31-10 points at the Paltan ground yesterday.

In the third-place decider, Cambrian College finished third as Gazipur Cantonment College did not turn up. Asibur Rahman Prince was adjudged the best player of the tournament.

National Sports Council secretary Shibnath Roy distributed the prizes as the chief guest. Quick City chairman Azam Khan was the special guest. Bangladesh Rugby Union general secretary Mousum Ali, vice president Abdullah al Zahir Swapan, officials Saeed Ahmed, Parvin Putul and Din Islam were also present among others. l

Rajib clinches Rapid Rating Chess n Raihan Mahmood Grandmaster Enamul Hossain Rajib emerged as the champion of the Walton Home Appliance Victory Day International Rapid Rating Chess having earned eight points from nine games at the hall room of Bangladesh Chess Federation yesterday.

His teammate at Bangladesh Navy, GM Abdullah al Rakib, also finished with eight points, however, after the tie-breaking game he was adjudged the runner-up.

International Master Abu Sufian Shakil finished third, IM Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar came out fourth, Fide Master Khandokar Aminul Islam finished fifth, FM Mehedi Hasan Parag became sixth and Anisuzzaman Jewel was seventh.

Walton additional director FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn distributed the prizes as the chief guest. Acting general secretary of the chess federation, Morsailin Ahmed, vice president Jahangir Islam and other officials were also present on the occasion. l

ing Rajin Saleh’s leg-before dismissal.

“I got an inside edge which the keeper (Sahagir Hossain Pavel) failed to catch. I don’t understand how the umpire made the decision (of LBW) despite the fact everything was clearly visible,” said Rajin who stood stunned at his crease after umpire Abdul Matin raised his finger following the appeal from left arm spinner Nasum Ahmed.

The former Bangladesh captain further complained, “This is not the first time that an umpire gave a wrong decision against us. This happened to us

at least four to five times in the ongoing season. Our performance was never that bad but wrong decisions by the umpires made us play the relegation matches. This is my 17th season in Dhaka League and I have never seen such bad umpiring.”

Within seconds of Rajin reaching the dressing room, Partex officials called back Mehrab Hossain Jr from the middle, who was batting on two runs, as they refused to continue to match.

Match referee Morshedul Alam and the umpires waited for 30 minutes for Par-

tex to return, but with no change in fortune the on field umpires removed the bails at 11am. Kalabagan were awarded the match as per law (Playing Condition) 21.3 A (ii) by Morshed.

Partex were reeling at 77 for four and Rajin’s lbw wasn’t the only decision the officials complained about. They also claimed Daniel Housego’s dismissal, who was out leg-before off Anjum Ahmed in the 19th over, controversial.

Partex joins Old DOHS as the two clubs relegated from the top flight this season. l

I returned to Bangladesh as I call it my second home. I was in Germany and got a call from [Satyajit Das] Rupu who offered me to coach Abahani. I said I will be free from 29th of November and I asked him about the former coach of the club. Then, one day later I called him back and said I want to check the club and want to know about Bangladesh football. If I find everything ok then I will be here for the season.

What were you doing in Germany prior to coming here?

I was coaching SV Kottenburg, a team in Germany. The owner of the club is my friend and he asked me to help him and take the job of his club. The regular trainer could not continue his job as his wife was critically ill. I accepted the job from 5th of July to 29th of November.

Then I decided to come here. * It would be mentionable that the team, also known as Kotte Green, remained unbeaten in 13 matches under the supervision of Kottan in the Vogtland League and were the tabletoppers.

What are your targets with Abahani?

All I want to see is Abahani as the champions. I came to know that Abahani had not won any silverware last season. Abahani are a brand.

Abahani are a well-known name in the

sub-continental football. My target is to win titles for Abahani. The team are not bad. I came to know that they need a few players in a few positions. I think that will lift the team. I am working upon it with Rupu.

Which players would you prefer for Abahani - European or African?

You know African players adjust well with the conditions here. In Europe the temperature rises from minus to 35+degrees and the players struggle to cope with it. African players are more convenient with the conditions here.

They can play in the hot and humid conditions and also in the monsoon.

However, I also want to say I have not seen my players in the field. I have to observe them first then I can say where I need the foreign players in which positions.

Do you want to insert something new in Abahani?

At the moment if I want to comment about sub-continental football I can say India have improved. Pakistan have not.

I can’t say specifically about Bangladesh as I did not follow them over the years.

I sometimes saw some news in the AFC website about Bangladesh. Now, I am coming from Europe. They (Europeans) have changed the style. Now, the playing style is short pass-short pass and long with quick movements. I would like to implement it in Abahani. If they can adopt the system it will improve the standard. However, I am afraid that at the moment Bangladesh lack quality football fields. If you want to improve you need quality football fields.

Any interest regarding coaching the national side?

Yes, I was interested about coaching the Bangladesh national football team and if the federation asks me to assist I will be ready for that. I don’t have any idea about the current coaching staff.

However, if it is attainable, why not again? l

Tamim doubtful for World Cup! n Minhaz Uddin Khan A knee injury during the recently-concluded bilateral series against Zimbabwe at home gradually intensified into a Grade 1 meniscus injury for Tamim Iqbal as the experienced southpaw’s chances of opening the innings for Bangladesh in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand has been thrown into major doubt.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Dr Debashish Chowdhury termed the injury as “nothing severe” and can be cured either through conservative treatment or an operation, which leaves a big question mark on whether Tamim will be fit in time for the mega event on February-March, given he goes under the blade.

“The medical investigation reports that we got today (yesterday) revealed he is suffering from a Grade 1 meniscus injury in his left leg,” said Debashish yesterday. “This can be solved both in a conservative way or an operative way.

We discussed this with our specialists from Australia and we have sent them the medical reports today (yesterday) and we are expecting a feedback soon.

“If we get a feedback that Tamim needs to get operated then we will send

him to Australia as soon possible.”

According to Debashish, sometimes players carry this kind of injury throughout their career. “There are also cases when a player gets physically and mentally affected from this injury and prefers an operation. One thing I want to clear, this is not a severe injury that will keep Tamim away from the field for a long time. I hope he will be able to return to the game soon,” he said.

With the World Cup only 53 days away, Debashish elucidated saying in most of the cases it takes a little more than four weeks for a player to get fully fit, however, “It depends on who operates on Tamim. There can be three types of operations and each has different outcome. But we are expecting the sports surgeons, whom we are in talks with, to take the shortest time possible.”

“Rest, rehabilitation, physiotherapy are parts of conservative treatment and to be honest it is difficult to predict the time of cure.”

The decision of undergoing an operation will involve the selectors, the team management and Tamim himself and thinking of a long-term career, the latter is considering to get operated, which leaves him doubtful for the World Cup. l

Mamunul Islam (C) back in Sheikh Jamal colours, stretches during their practice session yesterday

Mamunul’s bittersweet ISL experience n Shishir Hoque Talismanic Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam recently returned to the country after winning the maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title with Atletico de Kolkata. Although he did not play a game, Mamunul had a great time sharing the dressing room with the likes of former Spanish footballers Luis Garcia and Josemi.

The left-footed midfielder yesterday shared his experience with the media, including his understanding with the Atletico coaches and two explanations he believed were the reasons behind his snub.

On winning the title...

“This is the first edition of the ISL and Atletico are the maiden champions of the tournament. It will be written in the history of the ISL and Kolkata as well. As a Bangladeshi as well as a member of this team, it is a great honour for me.

Reasons behind snub...

GMs Enamul Hossain Rajib (L) and Abdullah al Rakib receive their awards from Walton additional director FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn yesterday COURTESY

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

“To continue without playing is a tough thing for any player and it is no exception for me. I guess there were two reasons why I did not get a chance in the playing XI – firstly, I missed out on the conditional training

camp at the Atletico de Madrid stadium in Spain and secondly, I came back home to play two friendlies against Sri Lanka and picked up an injury.

Relationship with coaches...

“He (coach Antonio Lopez Habas) told everyone good things about me but he did not try me out. I do not know why. I talked very little with the coaches because they used to stay in a different hotel. We only used to see each other during training.

Understanding with players...

“Every player talked to me and they always encouraged me. Our [Spanish] defender Josemi encouraged me the most. He spoke to me directly and said he also spent unsure times during his career. He told me when he joined Villarreal from Liverpool, he had to sit on the bench for two seasons despite playing well. He advised me to work hard and practise twice more.

Difference between Atletico and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club...

“I always say there is not much difference between the two clubs. We have enough coaches who maintain high standards in

training. Maruf[ul Haque] bhai, [Saiful Bari] Titu bhai, [Shafiqul Islam] Manik bhai always maintain high standards. The problem is that our league is a bit slow. There is also a dearth of crowds in the matches. And, the field is not perfect.

Meeting with Atletico owner, former India cricket captain Saurav Ganguly...

“It was great to meet cricket legend Saurav Ganguly. He asked me if I enjoyed the training sessions and the tournament itself. I replied, yes. He congratulated me as a team member and was surprised after hearing that I came from Bangladesh.

Childhood idols, details of learning process...

“From my childhood I watched and followed the plays of [Zinedine] Zidane, [David] Beckham, Xavi [Hernandez] and [Andrea] Pirlo and learnt a lot from them.

As a midfielder I need to know what a midfielder’s role is. I even read books and try to watch every game on TV. I want to see how a midfielder plays but it also depends on my team members and how my game can contribute to the team. So, I learn from every player and try to follow them. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

13

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

QUICK BYTES

Schuerrle happy to fight for his place German World Cup winner Andre Schuerrle has ruled out a move away from Chelsea despite failing to secure a regular starting place this season.

Schuerrle has been troubled by injury and illness since helping his country to the World Cup title in July and says he has no intention of leaving the Premier League leaders. “The last few weeks I have been able to intensively train and fight myself back into the team,” said the forward in his online blog on Monday.

“Things are getting better. “Nevertheless, in a phase with less operating time, transfer rumours are always coming up.

Of course I want to be on the pitch as much as possible and score goals for my club,” added Schuerrle ahead of Monday night’s league game at Stoke City. “In a team like Chelsea, with many top players, you have to prove yourself again and again....but this is not an issue for me. I feel comfortable here and would not think of such a thing.” Schuerrle, who joined the Stamford Bridge club from Bayer Leverkusen for 18 million pounds ($28.10 million) in June 2013.

– Reuters

No retirement in sight for evergreen Socceroo Cahill

Australia’s all time leading goal-scorer Tim Cahill is feeling as fit as ever and thinks he could continue playing for another four seasons into his 40th year. With his weight and body fat ratio unchanged since he was 17, Cahill said he would be looking for a two or three year contract when his deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York Red Bulls expires next year. The 35-year-old forward, in Australia to prepare for next month’s Asian Cup, said he could yet return to the English Premier League, where he spent nine years with Everton before making the switch stateside. “The future’s bright,” Cahill told the Australian Associated Press. Playing for his country, for whom he has scored at the last three World Cup and 36 goals in total, remains a key factor in his considerations over where to play. “I’ve gone to the MLS because that allows me to play internationally,” he added. “The next decision that I make will still allow me to play internationally. I average 30 or 40 games every season since I was 17 years old and nothing’s changed.”

– Reuters

Hull recall Ince and Figueroa Hull City have recalled Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa from loan spells in a bid to dig themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone over the festive season programme. Steve Bruce’s side have failed to win any of their last 10 games, a run of poor form which has seen them slip to 19th place in the table with only Leicester below them. A statement on the club’s website announced: “Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa have been recalled from their loan spells with Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic respectively. “Both players will be available for selection for the Boxing Day fixture against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.” Ince was a summer signing from Blackpool but struggled to get into the side, apart from a goal in the League Cup defeat to West Brom, before joining Forest on a temporary basis. Ince will be given the opportunity to compete with the likes of Gaston Ramirez and Robbie Brady for first-team action.

–AFP

Gutierrez to return after beating cancer Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez will return to action in an under-21 game on Monday after recovering from testicular cancer, the Premier League club said. Gutierrez had an operation in his native Argentina in September to remove his left testicle after the discovery of a tumour and received chemotherapy treatment. The 31-year-old will feature as an over-age player for Newcastle in an under-21 Cup fixture against West Ham United, the north-east club said on their website.

Gutierrez, who has scored 10 goals in 177 league appearances for Newcastle since joining the club in 2008, last made a first-team appearance on loan at Norwich City in April.

– Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2 10:00PM Ranji Trophy Kerala v Hyderabad

Star Sports 4 2:15PM T20 Big Bash League Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers

Switzerland’s Roger Federer (CR) poses with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka (CL) and artists after ‘The match for Africa 2’ charity tennis match in Zurich on Sunday

Bayern domination sparks off ‘boring Bundesliga’ debate n AFP, Berlin

Bayern Munich will start 2015 with a record 11-point lead in the Bundesliga, sparking debate over how to stop Germany’s top flight becoming boring.

Pep Guardiola’s Bayern have brushed off their domestic rivals with ease and are poised to become the first team to go through a Bundesliga campaign unbeaten on their way to what would be a third consecutive title.

They set more records in Friday’s 2-1 comeback win at Mainz having conceded just four goals since August and their points lead at the season’s halfway stage is also a league best.

They have dropped only six points from a possible 51 so far and post heavy wins in Germany’s top tier with monotonous regularity.

None of the chasing pack of Wolfs-

burg, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen or Schalke look realistically capable of closing the gap while last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund are languishing in the relegation places.

Ex-Germany coach Berti Vogts sparked debate about how to loosen Bayern’s iron grip on the German title by suggesting they should receive less of the league’s television revenue.

Sky currently pay 628 million euros ($768m) to televise Bundesliga games in Germany and the cash is divided up on a percentage basis with the most going to the league winner.

“We have to get to the point where we subsidise the smaller clubs, by a redistribution of the television money, for example,” suggested Vogts.

But the mere suggestion left ex-Bayern midfielder and Germany interna-

tional Paul Breitner fuming.

“We (Bayern) can’t do anything about the inability of the other clubs.

And if we have to bleed now, so the money is redistributed, that’s just nonsense!” he snapped.

Bayern are one of the world’s richest clubs. They recently paid off the loan on their Allianz Arena stadium decades ahead of schedule and posted a record 528.7 million-euro turnover for the 2013/14 season, with a profit of 16.5 million euros.

German teams seem to play Bayern in more hope than expectation of claiming league points.

“Bayern Munich are in a different league, I think we can all agree on that,” said Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl after Bayern thrashed his team 4-0 at home.

And Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol reached the same conclusion be-

Phelps sentenced to 18 months probation for drunken driving n Reuters, Baltimore American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, pleaded guilty on Friday to driving under the influence of alcohol and received 18 months of supervised probation and a one-year suspended jail sentence.

The 18-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested for drunken driving early on Sept. 30 after speeding and then crossing the double yellow lines inside a Baltimore tunnel, police said.

“The last three months of my life have been some of the hardest times I’ve ever gone through, some of the biggest learning experiences I’ve ever had,” Phelps, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, told reporters.

“I’m happy to be moving forward.

I’ll continue to grow from this.”

Phelps, 29, was clocked by radar at around 1:40 a.m. traveling 84 miles per

hour (135 kph) in a 45-mph (72-kph) zone, police said, adding that he blew a .14 on a Breathalyzer, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 in Maryland. He faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

“I hope we don’t have this conversation again and I’m optimistic that we won’t have this conversation again,”

Judge Nathan Braverman told Phelps during his sentencing.

Among the observers in the courtroom were Phelps’ mother, Debbie, his two sisters, and close friend Ray Lewis, the retired 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens.

Police said an officer followed Phelps’ 2014 Land Rover onto northbound Interstate 95, through the Fort McHenry Tunnel, and pulled him over just beyond the tunnel’s toll plaza.

The drunken-driving arrest was the second for Phelps, who has spent most his life working feverishly in the pool but admits he likes to have a good time when not competing.

Following his arrest, Phelps, who is eyeing a spot on the U.S. team for the 2016 Olympics, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming and barred from representing the United States at the 2015 FINA World Swimming Championships in Russia. l

fore his side were duly dispatched 4-0 in Munich.

“Bayern will lose at home sooner or later, but when you lose four, five or six-nil in Munich, that’s normal,” he mused.

Having won the 2011 and 2012 German league titles, then finished runners-up to Bayern in the last two seasons, Dortmund now peer up at Guardiola’s Munich from near the foot of the table.

Having seen his top players playmaker Mario Goetze and striker Robert Lewandowski join Bayern in the last two seasons, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said any German football fan looking for a consistently successful team has only one choice.

“Anyone who just wants to be successful has only one avenue to go down: you have to be a Bayern fan,” said Klopp, tongue-in-cheek. l

REUTERS

India call up Patel in place of Jadeja n AFP, New Delhi

Rookie all-rounder Akshar Patel will replace the injured Ravindra Jadeja in India’s squad for the remaining two Test matches in Australia, the Indian cricket board announced on Monday.

Patel, who turns 21 in January, is a left-arm spinner and useful left-hand batsman like Jadeja. He has taken 14 wickets in nine one-day internationals, but has yet to play a Test.

Jadeja has a shoulder injury and will return home to undergo a rehabilitation programme, the board said in a statement. It remained unclear if Jadeja, who did not play in the first two Tests, will be available for the World Cup that opens in Australia and New Zealand on February 14.

Australia lead the four-Test series 2-0. The third Test starts in Melbourne on December 26. India are also due to take part in a triangular one-day series with Australia and England ahead of the World Cup. l

Malinga to return in New Zealand ODIs n Reuters

Sri Lanka pace spearhead Lasith Malinga is recovering well from his ankle surgery and should be back in action during the later stages of the one-day international series in New Zealand next month, according to coach Marvan Atapattu.

The mercurial Malinga underwent surgery on his left ankle in September and missed the team’s one-day series against India and England.

The 31-year-old, whose yorkers delivered with a sling-shot action at times makes him almost unplayable, will be crucial for Sri Lanka’s chances in the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“Malinga is still recovering from surgery and everything is going well according to plan,” former Sri Lanka batsman Atapattu said. “He will return for the last two ODI games in New Zealand.”

Malinga, who has taken 271 wickets

in 177 ODIs, has been named in Sri Lanka’s provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup. Sri Lanka, who finished runner-up to India at the 2011 World Cup, will play seven one-dayers in New Zealand to warm up for the Feb. 14-March 29 tournament.

The Island nation will also play two warm-up matches, against South Africa and Zimbabwe, before their opening match of the tournament against cohosts New Zealand on Feb. 14. l

South Africa call up new boy Rossouw n AFP, Johannesburg Left-handed batsman Rilee Rossouw was named on Sunday to replace injured wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock in South Africa’s squad for the remaining two Test matches against the West Indies.

De Kock was ruled out of the Tests and limited overs matches of the West Indian tour after tearing ankle ligaments during the first Test at Centurion, which South Africa won by an innings and 220 runs on Saturday.

Rossouw, 25, made his one-day international debut earlier this year and has been a prolific scorer for the Knights franchise and South Africa A. He hit 231 for South Africa A against Australia A in Townsville in August, sharing a partnership of 343 with Temba Bavuma (162), who is also in the Test squad.

Bavuma was on the field throughout both West Indian innings in Centurion following De Kock’s injury.

The selection of Rossouw means that AB de Villiers, who took over as wicketkeeper in Centurion, will keep the gloves for the remaining Tests, starting in Port Elizabeth on December 26 and Cape Town on January 2.

Meanwhile, Windward Islands leftarm seamer Kenroy Peters will replace fast bowler Kemar Roach in the West Indies squad.

Roach suffered an ankle injury while bowling in the first Test. Peters, 32, was the leading wicket-taker in the West Indian domestic four-day competition in 2013/14.

Peters will be the second replacement in the touring squad. It was announced on Saturday that Narsingh Deonarine will replace injured batsman Assad Fudadin. l

The Adamjee Cantonment College players celebrate their Quick City College Rugby triumph at the Paltan ground yesterday

COURTESY

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Skrtel rescues a point for Reds n Reuters, London Liverpool’s heavily-bandaged Martin Skrtel headed a goal deep in stoppage time to spared them another deflating Premier League defeat as they snatched a 2-2 home draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

Inferior for most of the match, Arsenal still led with goals from French duo Mathieu Debuchy and Olivier Giroud after Philippe Coutinho had put the hosts deservedly ahead.

But Slovakian Skrtel, who required six minutes of treatment on a gashed head after being kicked by Giroud, thundered in a late header from Steven Gerrard’s corner to deny Arsenal and at least give the Anfield faithful some pre-Christmas cheer.

Despite failing to earn all three points, Arsenal moved back into sixth spot on goal difference above London rivals Tottenham Hotspur with 27 points from 17 games, four behind fourth-placed West Ham United who hold the last Champions League spot.

While Arsenal have now lost just once in their last seven meetings with Liverpool, Sunderland have won four in a row against north east rivals Newcastle United after Adam Johnson’s late goal gave them a 1-0 win in the day’s other fixture.

A riveting Tyne-Wear derby at St James Park featured more than 30 goal

attempts but Newcastle-born Johnson was the only one to find the net a minute from time to give Sunderland their third win of the season and lift them away from danger.

“There are different ways to win a game and to win a derby and I think a winning goal in the last minute is a special way to do it,” Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said.

EPL Liverpool

2-2

Coutinho 45, Skrtel 90+7

Arsenal Debuchy 45+2, Giroud 64

Liverpool, languishing in mid-table, lost 3-0 at Manchester United the previous weekend when they created chances at will. A lack of killer instinct seemed about to haunt them again on Sunday as they enjoyed 65 percent possession and had four times as many goal attempts as the visitors.

With each failure to find the net thoughts inevitably drifted back to last season when, with Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez in harness, they blew Arsenal away 5-1.

In the end they needed a defender to salvage something from all their hard graft. Even Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted three points for his side, had Skrtel not equalised, would have been fortunate. l

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel (C) celebrates after scoring the equalising goal in stoppage time during their EPL match against Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool on Sunday

Fans making us jittery, says coach after Benfica win n Reuters, Lisbon

Lazio go third as Inter save Mancini blushes

Coach Jorge Jesus said impatient Benfica fans were making his players nervous after the leaders struggled to a 1-0 win over bottom club Gil Vicente on Sunday.

Nicolas Gaitan scored the only goal on the half hour, firing into an empty net after Maxi Pereira’s shot hit the post, to keep Benfica six points clear of Porto at the top of the Primeira Liga after 14 matches.

Pereira appeared to be offside as he ran on to Ola John’s pass before chipping the ball over goalkeeper Adriano Facchini. The supporters clearly expected more from Benfica as they toiled against the only team yet to win a league game this season.

“The fans made the team nervous,” Jesus told Benfica TV. “They usually help the team when we are playing badly but, on the contrary, that did not happen today.

“We need their support to continue in first place and reach our big target which is to win the title for a second season in a row.”

Gil Vicente finished with 10 men after Diogo Viana was sent off in stoppage time. l

A first-half brace from Felipe Anderson was enough to secure third place for Lazio in Serie A prior to the festive break on Sunday in a hard-fought 2-2 draw away to Inter.

Inter only claimed their maiden win under Roberto Mancini, their first in six games, last week but had the worst possible start at the San Siro where Anderson hit the first of his goals after just two minutes.

n AFP, Milan

SERIE A Verona

0-1

Chievo Paloschi 81

Atalanta

3-3

Denis 40-P, 76, Moralez 55

Fiorentina

Rigoni 6, Vazquez 1, 45+1

1-1

Vargas 44

Sampdoria

Palermo

Empoli Tonelli 57

2-2

Udinese

(Obiang 15, Gabbiadini 60) (Geijo 31, Danilo 34)

Torino

2-1

Glik 52, 63

Inter Milan

Genoa Iago 42

2-2

Kovacic 66, Palacio 80

Lazio Anderson 2, 37

The draw left Inter in 11th place at 18 points adrift of leaders and champions Juventus, four behind city rivals Milan and six behind Lazio in the third and final Champions League qualifying spot.

Earlier, Italy striker Manolo Gabbiadini confirmed he could quit Sampdoria in the January transfer window after heading a late equaliser to secure a share of the spoils in a 2-2 home draw with Udinese.

Alberto Paloschi struck late to secure the points as Chievo beat Verona 1-0 in the city derby to give them some breathing space in the battle for relegation.

Torino had defender Kamil Glik to thank for a brace of goals in a precious 2-1 home win over Genoa which secured just their fourth win of the campaign.

Argentinian striker German Denis, meanwhile, struck a brace including a late leveller as Atalanta fought back to claim a point from a 3-3 draw with visitors Palermo.

Fiorentina were sent on their way towards a seventh win of the campaign after Juan Manuel Vargas struck on the stroke of half-time, only for Lorenzo Tonelli to level just before the hour to secure a point for visiting Empoli. l

Freiburg hearts broken by Hanover’s two-goal fightback n Reuters, Berlin Spanish forward Joselu struck deep into stoppage time as Hanover 96 rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 at bottom club Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Mike Frantz put the home side ahead on the stroke of halftime, drilling the ball in following a cut-back by Christian Guenter, and they also hit the woodwork twice in the second half.

Freiburg finally went 2-0 up when Marc-Oliver Kempf headed in a corner in the 81st minute, the 19-year-old’s second goal of the season.

Leonardo Bittencourt tapped the ball in at the far post for Hanover two minutes later to set up a nervous finale and the 24-year-old Joselu pounced on a bad clearance by keeper Roman Buerki to break Freiburg hearts three minutes into stoppage time.

Freiburg are level on 15 points with last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund who lost 2-1 at Werder Bremen on Saturday. Leaders Bayern Munich, who triumphed 2-1 at Mainz on Friday, are 11 points clear of second-placed VfL Wolfsburg. l

0-5

Frantz 45, Oliver 81

2-2

Hoffenheim

Hanover 96 Bittencourt 83, Joselu 90+3

n Reuters, Barcelona

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann hit a second half hat-trick as they came from behind to win 4-1 at Athletic Bilbao in a hard-fought La Liga clash on Sunday.

Atletico showed the fighting spirit that won them the title last season as they came out on top after a Mikel Rico header had deservedly given the home side the lead in the 17th minute.

Griezmann nodded the equaliser straight after the break and seven minutes later Raul Garcia converted a penalty after Mikel San Jose was adjudged to have fouled Tiago Cardosa.

The France striker finished clinically after a breakaway in the 73rd minute and tapped home from close range in the 80th from what looked an offside position to wrap up the win.

The win leaves Atletico third in La Liga on 35 points, four behind leaders Real Madrid who have a game in hand following their Club World Cup triumph in Morocco on Saturday.

“It was a game that changed direction,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone told a news conference. “Bilbao had more intensity in the first half and won all the individual duals and it was difficult for us to get into the game,” “It was a poor first half from us but

we did well in the second half as we managed to put in place what we talked about at halftime. We opened up the spaces, defended well and the intensity was there.”

Earlier, in-form Luciano Vietto hit two second half goals as Villarreal cruised to a 3-0 home victory over lowly Deportivo La Coruna and moved up to fifth on 30 points.

Former Barcelona youth product Jonathan Dos Santos put Villarreal ahead with his first La Liga goal after 10 minutes and Vietto finished off Deportivo’s resistance with goals in the 68th and 73rd.

Villarreal substitute Tomas Pina was dismissed for a rash challenge on Alejandro Bergantinos in the 80th.

Malaga are behind Villarreal on goal

LA LIGA Villarreal

3-0

difference after they came from behind to beat basement side Elche 2-1 away.

Third-bottom Granada drew 1-1 at home to mid-table Getafe. l

Deportivo

Jonathan 10, Vietto 68, 73

Granada

1-1

Getafe

Cordoba 40

Elche Lomban 45+1

Athletic Bilbao

Velazquez 78

1-2

Malaga

Camacho 49, Luis Alberto 77

1-4

Mikel Rico 17

Atletico Madrid 4 Griezmann 46, 73, 81, Raul Garcia 53-P

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann rejoices after scoring against Athletic Club Bilbao on Sunday AFP

Lennon not an Inter target, says Mancini n AFP, Milan

Relegation a real danger for Dortmund: Hummels

Inter coach Roberto Mancini has played down reports he is trying to recruit Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon as the Serie A side prepare to bolster their squad for a Champions League push in the second half of the season.

Reports in England claimed Lennon, who has fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane, would be one of Mancini’s winter transfer targets. But after Inter’s 2-2 draw at home with Lazio on Sunday, Mancini told Sky Sport: “He has never been one of our targets.”

The former Manchester City manager said the club could make a move for Alessio Cerci, who has been used sparingly at Atletico Madrid. l

n AFP, Berlin

n AFP, Paris

Brooks 23-og, Salihovic 26-P, 39-P, Shipplock 74, Rudy 84

Freiburg

Griezmann hattrick inspires Atletico

Mats Hummels admits there is no guarantee Borussia Dortmund will avoid relegation next May after last season’s runners-up finished the first half of the Bundesliga season joint bottom on Sunday.

“There is no guarantee things will improve,” the Dortmund captain admitted to German daily Bild after his side were beaten 2-1 at Werder Bremen on Saturday.

“Almost all of our first-choice players were missing at some point in the first half of the season and weren’t always 100 percent fit.

“We should manage to get everyone fit during January’s winter break, then we can show a different side when we have our best 15 or 16 players. We have had the worst half to the season anyone could have imagined. The worry has been considerable for weeks and the way we are playing, we are right down there.”

Dortmund were last relegated from Germany’s top flight in the 1971/72 season, when they finished the first half of the campaign in 15th compared to their current position of 17th.

Both Dortmund and Freiburg have a goal difference of minus eight and their points tally of 15 is Borussia’s worst at this stage since the 1987/88 season. l

In-form Marseille end year on top

BUNDESLIGA Hertha Berlin

AFP

Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo poses with his son beneath a statue of himself during the unveiling ceremony in his hometown in Funchal, Madeira on Sunday AFP

Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi scored the winner as Marseille beat Lille 2-1 on Sunday to ensure that they will top the table at Christmas ahead of Lyon, who hammered Bordeaux 5-0.

Batshuayi secured OM’s ninth consecutive home victory, their most impressive run of results at the Stade Velodrome since 1990/91, after Idrissa Gueye had cancelled out the Nolan Roux own-goal which gave the home side the lead.

Marseille, who were last crowned champions in 2010, take the symbolic title of ‘Autumn Champion’ by a margin of two points from Lyon, who contin-

ued their impressive form by destroying Bordeaux on Sunday evening.

OL leapfrog reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who are three points off the pace in third after a 0-0 draw with Montpellier on Saturday, with

LIGUE 1 Marseille

2-1

Roux 32-og, Batshuyai 69

Saint-Etienne

Lille Gueye 61

3-0

Evian

Gradel 2, van Wolfswinkel 20, Hamouma 65

Bordeaux

0-5

Lyon 5

Lacazette 39, 90, Tolisso 56, Fekir 81, Ferri 85

Saint-Etienne in fourth after beating Evian 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Batshuayi, who had only been used as a substitute in the league since signing from Standard Liege in the summer, was given the nod by coach Marcelo Bielsa after Dimitri Payet was dropped for an alleged lack of effort in training.

And the Belgian Under-21 international seized his chance in a game watched by a record Velodrome attendance of 62,048 spectators.

Meanwhile, Lyon made it four league wins in a row to move above Paris as they outclassed 10-man Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, led by the in-form Lacazette. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Shaan duets with Porshi for playback song

15

The Counselor Star Movies, 11:13am

n Entertainment Desk Indian singer Shaan duets with Bangladeshi youngster Porshi for playback song in “Mental.” The film is directed by Shamim Ahmed Rony.

Titled “Tor Chhayate Thaktey Chai,” the song was written by Indian lyricist Prasen and composed by Prosenjit Dabbu Ghoshal. The recording was completed at the SB Studio in Mumbai on December 17.

The 42-year-old Indian singer was singing for the third time for a Bangladeshi playback song. Previously he lent his voice in Iftakar Chowdhury’s “Agnee” and Debashis Biswas’s “Bhalobasha Zindabad.”

Porshi, who came to prominence after grabbing the 2nd runner up title in music talent hunt “Khude Gaan Raj” in

A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.

Amour HBO Hits, 4:20pm 2008, will also play a role in the film along with her singing.

Shakib Khan, Tisha and Achol play the major roles in the film produced by Bangla Express Films. l

Georges and Anne, an octogenarian couple. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple’s bond of love is severely tested.

Exhibition

Toma Mirza pairs up with debutant Shayer Aziz in Mission America n

Entertainment Desk

After the success of “Kistimat,” breakthrough director Ashiqur Rahman is working on “Mission America,” a brand-new action thriller set and wholly shot in the United States.

Toma Mirza, who came onto the scene in 2010 with “Bolo Na Tumi Amar,” pairs up with newcomer Shayer Aziz in the bank-heist thriller.

The film revolves around a scheme to rob $120m in diamonds from a vault named America by the lead character played by Shayer Aziz.

Tiger Robi, Iresh Zaker, Saju

AISHWARYA

delighted to work with Karan Johar n Entertainment Desk

Prior to locking Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,” Karan Johar had discussed two more ideas with the actress who was recently honoured with the most successful Miss World model at the Miss World event held in London recently.

Aishwarya said, “When I heard the script of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,’ it made me smile. For me as an actor, it is exciting to be a part of this story and with Karan, it will be the way it should be told. Thus am happy to be on board.”

On the other hand, Aishwarya has so much weight for her upcoming project “Jazbaa” and it was added that the actress will be seen in a new look and SanjayGupta’s film which has been jam-packed with a lot of action stunts. l

Khadem and Salman Muktadir also star in the film alongside Toma Mirza and Shayer Aziz, while the production is hoping to involve mainstream Hollywood actors in the film as well.

Ashiqur Rahman said to the Dhaka Tribune: “The entire shooting of the film will be held in Los Angeles.

We are planning to introduce some new technologies that have not been used before in Bangladeshi films.”

Shooting of the film, jointly produced by Rain Pictures and Rainbow Media of Los Angeles, will commence in the first week of February. l

16th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh Time: 11am – 8pm National Art Gallery Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

Whiteout WB, 10:06am

Shifting Sands Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge 60, Gulshan Avenue

Theatre

Punyabhumi to stage Mohua today

Dorponey Shorotshoshi Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm National Theatre Hall, Shilpakala Academy

Film

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, John Wick, Meghmallar Brick Mansions, Big Hero 6 (3D) Pipra Bidda Time: 10am – 10pm Star Cineplex Amar Dekha Bongobondhu Liberation War Film Festival Time: 6pm International Digital Cultural Archive, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

n Entertainment Desk Theatre troupe Punyabhumi will be staging “Mohua” today at 7pm at the Studio Theatre Hall of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

Written by Dwij Kanai and directed by Julfikar Hussain Sohag, the play is based on Moimonshingho Gitika, a collection of folk ballads from Mymensingh.

But the troupe has redesigned “Mohua” for their fifth production.

Julfikar Hussain Sohag, Durjoy Anowar, Sohag Ashrafi, Hridoy Babu, Projapati Sarkar and Fatema Begum will play the major roles.

The chief of the theatre troupe Julfikar said: “It is a challenge to perform on a big platform. There are many hindrances which the troupe has had to overcome to stage ‘Mohua.’”

“There are many theatre troupes who have put on ‘Mohua’ but I would say, Punyabhumi shows the play in a new way,” he added. l

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko tracks a killer in Antarctica, as the sun is about to set for six months.

Sleepy Hollow, s2 Star World Premiere, 11:30pm

Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery.

LUIPA working on debut solo album n Entertainment Desk The Channel i Sera Kontho 2010 winner Zinia Zafreen Luipa is working on a debut solo album.

The young vocalist has completed work on three song but the album title hasn’t been decided yet.

Luipa is busy promoting her songs on live shows, stage performances and hosting Channel i programmes.

Luipa is a member of Dharok, a band which recently released a self-titled album on Eid. The band performs classics and fusion tracks and one of Luipa’s original songs, “Onol,” has been

a hit with listeners.

Luipa talks about her interest in music: “From childhood, my passion was always to sing. During my school years, I was active in recital programmes and hosting cultural activities.”

The singer says her inspirations are veteran singers Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and younger vocalist Shreya Ghoshal.

She says acting in television dramas is a satisfying diversion.

She has worked on two dramas, Gias Uddin Selim’s “Paliyee Biye” and “Brishti Balika.” l

Today’s guest, model and actress Mithila will be seen on reality show ‘RTV Dettol Shera Ami Shonge Ma Season 3’ today at 5:20pm.

Across the country, mothers and children auditioned for the game show. Judges include Shampa Reza, Saberi Alam, and dancer Munmun Ahmed

CHRIS MARTIN says Angelina Jolie ‘kidnapped’ him to write a song

n Entertainment Desk Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has discussed writing a song for Angelina Jolie’s new movie “Unbroken,” joking that the actress kidnapped him in order to ensure his involvement in the project.

“Unbroken” was directed and produced by Jolie, telling the story of World War II hero Louis Zamperini. Coldplay contributed the track “Miracles” for the film, making them one of the contenders for Best Original Song at the 2015 Oscars.

Now, Martin has spoken to Vulture about how it allegedly all came about, stating: “I got a message [from Jolie] that said, “Meet in this undisclosed location. You’ll be blindfolded and picked up by seven ex-Navy SEALs’.”

Martin added: “So they kidnapped me, hit me over the head, and sprayed me with Mace. When I woke up, I was in an office, and Brad Pitt was doing pushups as Angelina Jolie was just sitting there with her crown on. There was also a guy holding a knife to my throat, and she said, ‘Write me a song, or else’. And Brad Pitt said, ‘Yeah. What she said’.”

Meanwhile, Chris Martin also recently revealed that he once asked David Bowie to record vocals for a Coldplay song but was rejected by the singer.

Martin made the revelation at the BBC Music Awards, a ceremony where Bowie was nominated for British Artist of The Year and Coldplay performed live. He said: “One time I sent him a song to ask him to sing on it. He called me and said, ‘It’s not one of your best.’ He’s got very high standards and I appreciate that. It inspires the rest of us to keep our standards high.” l

Hackers threaten to issue alleged IGGY AZALEA ‘sex tape’ images n Entertainment Desk A branch of the hacker group Anonymous has threatened Iggy Azalea following her recent criticism of rapper Azealia Banks. Accusing Azalea of “misappropriating black culture” and “making light of Eric Garner’s death”, an Anonymous spokesperson claimed that if the rapper does not issue an apology, they will release photo stills from her alleged “sex tape”.

The popular Anonymous account tweeted on Saturday. “We have so much shit on you, your scandal would be bigger than Bill Cosby’s ... You are guilty of misappropriating black culture, insulting peaceful protesters, and making light of Eric Garner’s death ... You have exactly 48 hours ... to release a statement apologizing to Azealia Banks and the protesters in NYC.” Anonymous also stated that they possess a video of Azalea having sex, footage that she has since denied is her. “No sex tape of any kind will be released ... however we will release various snapshots of her face to confirm,” the message wrote. Shortly thereafter, this Twitter account was suspended.

Using their backup account, the group said, “We’ll be back. We just have some stuff to take care of.”

Although Azalea and Banks are long-time adversaries, their feud has intensified amid the outcry over the recent killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. After Banks decried Azalea’s silence on the matter, the Australian MC said that people shouldn’t “judge another’s support . l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Eastern Refinery expansion in limbo n Aminur Rahman Rasel Although the process was initiated almost three years ago, no significant headway has been made in setting up the second unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) – which was scheduled to be completed by June 2016.

Once set up, the new unit would have the capacity of refining around 3.5m tonnes of crude oil annually – three times more than the existing one.

In order to move ahead with the project, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – who is also the minister in-charge of the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry – had already given her consent earlier this year under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act. Following the permission, the Energy Division was supposed to directly invite foreign companies for proposals to build the second unit, said an Energy Division official, adding that after six months however, the division changed its mind and decided to first appoint a firm to prepare a proposal and then invite other companies.

“The project’s implementation process started three years back. But no significant progress has been made so far,” BPC Chairman Md Eunusur Rahaman told the Dhaka Tribune.

The ERL, under Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), will implement the project.

Eunusur added that a 30-acre piece of land near the Eastern Refinery has

already been acquired for the expansion, which has an estimated construction cost of around Tk76.2bn.

After the premier’s permission, the Energy Division acted in accordance with the special act and formed a seven-member Project Processing Committee (PPC) including Finance and Law Ministry officials to negotiate with different foreign companies. The PPC will now invite foreign companies to fulfil the project.

“We will now invite expression of interest (EOI) to appoint a project management consultancy firm which will prepare a proposal to invite the companies,” Eunusur said. Besides, if any foreign company submitted their proposal showing interest to work in the project, it would also be considered, he added.

The Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has already shown their interest to install the unit.

Earlier, the BPC negotiated with a Chinese state-owned firm Wuhun Engineering Company Ltd to implement the project. Both sides were unable to reach any conclusion in this regard.

Located in Chittagong, the country’s lone refiner – Eastern Refinery – currently refines 1.3m tonnes of crude oil per year while the capacity is 1.5m tonnes. The existing unit is able to meet only 10% of the country’s demand.

The BPC annually imports about 5m tonnes of crude and refined oil at an average price of Tk500bn, according to official data. l

Back Page EDUCATION FOR ALL !

This kid carrying a heavy pile of books on his head should have had one of these for himself at the beginning of the new year. Ironically, the message written on the archway above his head reads ‘the role of education is not only to provide knowledge, rather creating values’ RAJIB DHAR

Savar factory UN team reaches Mongla officials confined experts to support the government’s drive to clean up the oil spill in the Sunfor 6 days over pay n UNB An expert team of the United Nations darbans.

Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, a forest conserDevelopment Programme (UNDP) n Our Correspondent, Savar reached Mongla Port in Bagerhat yes- vator (wildlife), said a 25-member UNDP Several officials of a garment factory at Kalma in Savar have been confined for six days by the workers, who have been demanding payment of their overdue wages.

Officials of CPM Composite Knitting Limited have remained inside the factory since December 17. Workers said they confined the officials, including the manager, Md Prince, as the authorities did not pay their outstanding wages.

Several workers alleged that the owner was planning to shut down the factory without paying the due wages. Managing Director of the factory Sohel Sharif could not be reached for comment.

Director of Ashulia industrial police Mostafizur Rahman said efforts were on to resolve the dispute. l

terday afternoon to assess the extent of adverse impacts caused to the Sundarbans by the oil spill following an oil tanker capsize.

“The UN team reached Mongla Port around 4pm, and we along with the team will set out a journey by boats within an hour towards the oil-spill affected area,” Divisional Forest Officer Amir Hossain Chowdhury of the Sundarbans East Zone (Bagerhat) told UNB over phone.

The team left Dhaka around 7am with 20 experts and five other officials, according to a UNDP official accompanying the team.

In response to a government request, the UN system in Bangladesh mobilised the international team of

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

team, including nine foreign experts, will be visiting the affected areas of the Sundarbans.

He said the team will assess the adverse impacts of the oil spill on ecosystem and biodiversity of the mangrove forest while the Forest Department will assist the team during its visit.

“After their visit, the team will hold a meeting with the Forest Department and make their observations on the environmental disaster,” Dr Tapan added.

A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team will also conduct an assessment and advise the government on recovery and risk reduction measures. l

National committee pushes for permanent ban on Sela route n UNB The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports yesterday demanded a permanent ban on the plying of commercial vessels through the Sela River route in the Sundarbans.

“Despite the PM’s directive for reopening Ghoshiakhali channel and closing the Sela River route, there has been no step in this regard…either the PM has no power or she has said something for the sake of saying...she did not give any importance to it,” said committee convener Prof Anu Mohammad.

He was addressing a rally organised by the committee at the National Press Club as part of its countrywide demon-

stration programme.

“A vested quarter is trying to keep the Sela River route open through their hectic lobbying in their own interest.

We cannot rely on the government in saving the Sundarbans from the adverse environmental impacts on it after the oil spill,” he added.

He also criticised the government for not seeking assistance from local and expatriate Bangladeshi experts over the issue immediately after the incident.

The National Committee convener also slammed Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan for what he said his irresponsible comments and relentless move to keep open the Sela River route for serving the interest of the river vessel owners.

He also called for a national unity to protect the Sundarbans.

The committee organised the countrywide demonstration demanding compensation for the affected fishermen following the oil spill and for those who depend on the mangrove forest for their livelihoods, seeking a permanent ban on the plying of commercial vessels through the Sela and Pashur river routes and rescinding the government decision to construct a coal-fired power plant at Rampal, Bagerhat.

National committee convener Engineer Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, Committee organiser Ruhin Hossain Prince, Garments Sramik Oikya Forum president Moshrefa Mishu, among others, spoke on the occasion. l

Tiger and wild cat trade from Myanmar to China growing Can the blood of Ebola

survivors create a cure?

n BBC

The trade in tigers and other wild cat parts from Myanmar into China has grown in recent years, a new study based on two decades of survey data suggests.

It reports a surge mainly in Mong La, a Burmese town bordering China, where shops selling such products have more than trebled in the past eight years.

Tiger parts were found in 80% of the surveys, the study says, representing at least 200 tigers. The most common parts were from clouded leopards, numbering some 480 animals.

The findings, published in the journal Biological Conservation, reinforce past claims that the town was emerging as a major wildlife market in the region for products from as far away as Africa.

At the same time, they suggest that in another Burmese town, Tachilek, on the border with Thailand, there has been a fall in trade.

“It could be due to greater enforcement action in Thailand,” says report author Chris Shepherd of Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring network.

“But because that is yet to happen on the part of China, Mong La has seen the rise in wildlife trade,” he added.

Experts say the Burmese authorities have no control over the town, which is run by an armed group following a peace deal with the government. No government or local official was available for comment.

Dwindling numbers Burma has banned the trade in tiger and leopard parts, under the international convention against the buying and selling of endangered species (CITES).

Wildlife conservation organisations have told BBC News that the law is not working in Mong La. “Many of the products, particularly wild-

n Reuters

Tiger numbers are down to 5% of what they were a century ago life meat and tiger bone wine, don’t enter China but are consumed in Mong La by Chinese tourists,” says the World Wildlife Fund’s Thomas Grey, in the Greater Mekong area.

“However presumably many of the skins are imported into china as souvenirs.

“So what we need is better enforcement at the border so Chinese tourists are not bringing illegal wildlife products back into China.”

The latest study on wildlife products supply from Myanmar to China is based on information gathered from 19 separate surveys of the wild cat trade in Tachilek between 1991 and 2013 and seven surveys between 2001 and 2014 in Mong La. The surveys recorded a total of over two thousand wild cat parts – mostly skins.

Other products included tigers and leopards’ claws, skulls, and canine teeth.

This year there were 21 shops selling

some of these parts in Mong La, compared with just six in 2006, the survey found.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of tiger products and has been criticised for not doing enough to control its domestic trade.

Earlier this year, the BBC reported that China publicly admitted for the first time that it allowed trade in tiger skins, although buying and selling tiger bones was banned.

Despite growing international concern, poaching of tigers has continued and there are now only around 3,000 of the endangered species left across the globe.

That is only 5% of what the population was a century ago.

Surveyed traders in Burma’s Mong La and Tachilek said the tiger and leopard parts reaching China originated from Burmese territory and India.

Experts say the two countries and

others in South East and South Asia are now also losing leopards, as demand has shifted to other wild cats in the wake of a dwindling tiger population and stricter wildlife regulations in some countries.

Previous studies have also shown the Burmese town Mong La is emerging as a major centre for other wildlife products, including ivory.

One study, by Oxford Brookes University and Traffic earlier this year, found nearly 3,300 pieces of carved ivory and 49 whole tusks were “openly for sale in Mong La.” “The origin of the ivory may constitute a combination of Asian elephant ivory from Myanmar and African ivory imported via China,” the report read.

It said the survey in 2009 found just 25 elephant skin pieces, while between 2013 and 2014 the figure had jumped to 1,050. l

For months, Vanderbilt University researcher Dr James Crowe has been desperately seeking access to the blood of US Ebola survivors, hoping to extract the proteins that helped them overcome the deadly virus for use in potent new drugs.

His efforts finally paid off in mid-November with a donation from Dr Rick Sacra, a University of Massachusetts physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia.

The donation puts Crowe at the forefront of a new model for fighting the virus, now responsible for the worst known outbreak in West Africa that has killed nearly 7,000 people.

“They can take antibodies they find in my blood and map them out,” Sacra said in an interview. “They are looking for the ones that are most important in neutralising the virus.”

Sacra, a medical missionary for Christian group SIM USA, said he made the blood donation with “no strings attached,” and does not stand to gain financially if a product based on his antibodies reaches the market.

Crowe is working with privately-held drugmaker Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc, which he said will manufacture the antibodies for further testing under a National Institutes of Health grant. Mapp is currently testing its own drug, ZMapp, a cocktail of three antibodies that has shown promise in treating a handful of Ebola patients.

Crowe’s hope is to improve on ZMapp by isolating the human antibodies of actual survivors and create a drug effective against all strains of Ebola.

Several leading scientists have embraced the idea of using survivors’ antibodies as the most promising approach in the fight against Ebola. Crowe is also part of a large consortium of academic and corporate partners working to develop and test human antibodies from Ebola survivors treated at Emory University that is being assembled by the US Department of Defence.

Last month, a group of prominent scientists including three Nobel laureates, urged the US government to accelerate the antibodies push The push is part of the race to develop drugs to address the ongoing outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Canada’s Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp is also testing a treatment, while drugmakers including GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Merck & Co, in partnership with NewLink Genetics Corp, are working on vaccines.

Last month, a group of prominent scientists including three Nobel laureates, urged the US government to accelerate the antibodies push, Reuters reported.

“We’ve been moving night and day around this,” Crowe said. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 Brent climbs toward

$63 amid stronger Asia markets

B4 Saudi Arabia says won’t cut oil output even if non-OPEC nations do

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Savings certificate profit denied for gratuity funds Bangladesh Bank asks to withdraw investment of gratuity funds, not recognised by NBR, in savings instruments n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has directed withdrawal of gratuity fund investments in the government’s five-year savings certificates scheme.

It said such investments from gratuity fund breach the relevant rules as the fund will not be entitled to get any interest or profit.

‘Bank officials involved with such wrongdoing are supposed to become well aware about such investment.

Despite this fact, some are selling five-year Sanchayapatra to gratuity fund holders, which is not in line with the rules’ The central bank warned bank officials involved with such “unauthorised” investment and asked commercial banks to make a list of the investors.

According to the Sanchayapatra Rules, 1977 (First Amendment 2002), investing in five-year Bangladesh Saving Certificates from gratuity fund is not legal unless the fund has approval

from a tax commissioner.

The central bank has urged all banks and financial institutions to identify officials involved with such unauthorised activities and send a list of them to its Debt Management Department, according to a circular issued yesterday.

“Bank officials involved with such wrongdoing are supposed to become well aware about such investment.

Despite this fact, some are selling fiveyear Sanchayapatra to gratuity fund holders, which is not in line with the rules,” said a BB official.

For stopping such illegal activities, the central bank issued the circular, he said.

Since the interest rate of five-year Sanchayapatra is high, many organisations have opted for investing in the government’s five-year savings scheme.

The interest rate of five-year Sanchayapatra is 12.2% with 99% social premium. For example, any person will get Tk165.95 against his or her investment of Tk100 after maturity period of the scheme.

The government imposes 10% tax on profit gained from such savings scheme.

The government Sanchayapatra is usually sold at most of the central bank branches across the country, commercial banks, post offices and government saving certificate offices. l

Visitors gather at the lake side of Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday

Parliamentary body for Sonargaon Hotel’s facelift n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

A parliamentary standing committee has recommended immediate renovation of Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel as refurbishing of another five-star hotel Ruposhi Bangla got stuck.

The committee on tourism ministry made the recommendation at a meeting yesterday.

“Recently we found the hotel’s service facility not up to the mark. The ministry should quickly take steps to renovate it,” Muhammad Faruk Khan,

Malaysian Int’l trade minister due Jan 12 n Tribune Business Desk

RAK Ceramics to sell entire pharma stake

Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed will arrive here on January 12 on a three-day visit looking for ways to expand trade ties between the two countries.

Malaysian High Commissioner in Dhaka Norlin Othman said this when she met Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at the latter’s office yesterday, UNB reports.

The Malaysian minister will have talks with the commerce minister on January 13 and discuss ways to expand Bangladesh’s export to the Malaysian market.

During the meeting with Tofail, the Malaysian envoy discussed various bilateral issues, including trade and investment, between the two countries.

Tofail briefed the Malaysian envoy on investment facilities that Bangladesh offers to foreign investors. l

RAK Ceramics is set to release its 55% stake in RAK Pharmaceuticals to Gulf Pharmaceuticals Industries Julphar.

A Bangladesh-UAE joint venture company listed with local stock exchanges will transfer 51,702,080 ordinary shares to RAK Pharmaceuticals at Tk7 per share (as per fair value determined by the independent valuer) totalling over Tk36.2 crore.

The company’s board has approved the offer of Julphar and its partner(s) to acquire shares 77.5% shares of RAK Pharmaceuticals and settle its certain liabilities for $9.5m, RAK Ceramics said in a statement yesterday.

Yesterday, share prices of RAK Ceramics fell 4.4% to Tk60.9 a share at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

UAE-based Julphar is one of the largest pharmaceuticals manufacturers in the Middle East and North Africa, which distributes medicines to over 40 countries.

n Kayes Sohel

DHAKA TRIBUNE

With over 800 products produced in various dosage forms and more in the pipeline, Julphar is a stellar example of one of the UAE’s local businesses making an impact on the global stage, according to the company.

Share prices of RAK Ceramics fell 4.4% to Tk60.9 a share at the Dhaka Stock Exchange RAK Ceramics is the first company that was listed with the Bangladeshi bourses in 2010 under book building method.

According to DSE, sponsor or director has a stake of 79.07%, institute 9.95% and public 10.98%.

Ras Al Khaimah’s ruler Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qassimi owns nearly 48% and the emirate’s government holds a further 5% stakes in RAK Ceramics. l

of Ruposhi Bangla are necessary,” Salman added.

Ruposhi Bangla, however, is yet to start renovation works. The hotel has been closed for last two and a half months to start the works.

But it could not go into works within the stipulated time of November as it had failed to complete tender process.

There is a fear that the delay could increase the cost up to Tk450 crore from Tk365 crore.

After renovations, the hotel will open under a new brand name. l

the committee chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune following the meeting.

He said the committee found Sonargaon Hotel’s car parks, food quality and prayer’s space unsatisfactory.

Faruk Khan also raised questions about the security services in the hotel.

“The security system should be improved further. If the present situation continues, it will send a negative signal to the guests.”

Faruk Khan and two other committee members raised the renovation issue at the meeting, said meeting sources.

When contacted, Sonargaon officials said the hotel management was planning a “soft renovation” next year.

“As the hotel is in old format, the authority has decided to refurbish it. We plan a soft renovation next year,” said Salman Kabir, manager (public relations) of Sonargaon Hotel.

Launched in 1980, the hotel went through renovations only once which was in 2008.

“Sonargaon Hotel is the only hotel in Dhaka to accommodate state guests.

So massive renovation works like that

BB cuts rates on loans to Tk10 account holders n Tribune Report

CSE cuts share trading fee

Bangladesh Bank has drastically cut the interest rates on loans under its refinance scheme to the Tk10 account holders.

The banks will now be entitled to charge a maximum interest of 9.5% per annum at the borrowers’ level – 2.5% lower than existing rate of 12%.

In case of the loans provided by the micro-finance institutions (MFIs), the rate would also be 9.5% as compared to existing 19%.

Banks will charge an interest rate of 7% for financing the MFIs to lend the Tk10 account holders.

“The amendments were brought to provide extended credit facilities to the borrowers,” said a circular the central bank issued yesterday. The new rates would take immediate effect.

Most of the refinance fund could be directly disbursed to the borrowers through banks while the areas having no bank branch or outlet would be disbursed through the banks-MFIs linkage. l

n Tribune Report Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has reduced commission charge on daily share transaction with effect from today.

Under the revised charge, new commission will be 0.018% on daily share transaction valued at Tk5 crore, 0.015%

on the transaction ranging from Tk5 crore to Tk10 crore and 0.013% on transaction valued above Tk10 crore, said CSE in a statement yesterday.

The contract or hawla charge will be Tk2 per contract. However, CSE brokers may charge per transaction Tk8 or 1% (of total transaction value), whichever is higher. l

DoE evicts fodder factories n Tribune Business Desk The Department of Environment in a drive yesterday destroyed 28 cauldrons and chimneys, plus seven feed processing machines for producing poultry and fish feed using tannery waste in the city’s Hazaribagh area.

A Department of Environment (DoE) team led by its executive magistrate M Selim Reza, conducted the drive at different factories producing fodder using poisonous tannery waste in Hazaribagh Beribadh and adjoining areas, reports UNB.

During the drive, it was found that poultry and fish feed was being produced at the factory using tannery waste which is harmful to human health.

Later, the team destroyed 28 cauldrons/burners and seven feed processing machines.

DoE Assistant Director (Enforcement) Muhammad Hafizur Rahman, its inspector Saiful Islam and law enforcement members were also present during the drive.

The DoE will continue its drive until feed processing mills set up illegally are evicted, said a press release. l

BB issues guideline on CSR fund allocation n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has outlined an indicative guideline on allocation of Corporate Social Responsibility fund, giving priority over education segment.

Preventive and curative health care support for underprivileged population comes next in priority.

The guideline was issued in the back drop of increased level of financial involvement in CSR activities that have raised concern about ensuring allocation of the fund and its proper use and monitoring, a Bangladesh Bank circular said yesterday.

Around 30% of total CSR expenditure should be used for awarding scholarship or stipend for students from low-income family in reputed academic and vocational training institutions and also for support to upgrade facilities in academic and vocational training institutions, according to the guideline.

Some 20% of CSR fund should go to health care for underprivileged population, said the guideline.

Bangladesh Bank headquarters in Dhaka Health care support to the underprivileged sector comes in the form of direct grant from financial institutions. The fund should

RAJIB DHAR

be used for running hospitals and diagnostic centres substantially engaged in the treatment of patients from grass roots levels.

The remainder of CSR fund should be allocated for areas like emergency disaster relief, promotion of environmentally sustainable output practices and lifestyles and enhancement of artistic, cultural, literary, sports and recreational facilities for underprivileged segments.

CSR units in banks and financial institutions will draw up CSR programmes and implement those annually.

The central bank’s CSR and Supervision Departments will oversee activities of the CSR units in line with the banks and financial institutions’ internal audit.

Every bank and financial institution shall be responsible for monitoring of their CSR funds as to whether or not they are spent onintended purposes.

The institutions will exercise utmost care to ensure that their CSR allocations do not end up financing militancy and terrorism.

Any suspected event of such abuse of CSR assistance must be reported to law enforcement authorities, according to the guideline. l

B2

Stocks edge higher with continued low turnover n Tribune Report

Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSER Closing (% Change)

Keya Cosmetics -A Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z GSP Finance-A Jute SpinnersA Eastern Lubricants -A RAK Ceramics-A Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z Sonali Ansh -A aamra technologies-A Miracle Industries -B

-11.15 -9.38 -4.90 -4.67 -4.46 -4.40 -4.21 -4.16 -4.10 -4.02

CSE LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

Keya Cosmetics -A Nitol Insurance -A GSP Finance-A R. N. Spinning-Z Phoenix Insur -A BATBCL -A aamra technologies-A Rangpur Dairy-N Hakkani P& Paper -B Rupali Life Insur.-B

-9.75 -9.09 -5.19 -5.07 -5.03 -4.61 -4.36 -3.91 -3.65 -3.60

4868.47270

(+) 0.39%

1802.42332

(+) 0.67%

14973.53050

(+) 0.09%

12151.30380

(+) 0.22%

9098.95030

(+) 0.01%

Average (% Change) -8.14 -8.22 -5.30 -5.71 -4.57 -0.43 -0.95 -2.26 -2.41 -3.87 Average (% Change) -4.88 -9.09 -5.49 -4.73 -4.44 -4.61 -1.59 -3.01 -2.33 -3.53

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 25.29 8.82 33.61 61.54 371.00 62.07 18.77 118.76 38.01 17.14

ClosingAvg. 26.10 28.01 33.41 28.42 34.00 2,651.59 38.34 22.20 31.79 53.26

Closing

25.00 28.00 32.90 28.10 34.00 2,651.50 37.30 22.10 31.70 53.50

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 199.25 234.82 61.54 330.97 330.32 285.34 2.16 212.07 370.45 8.17 63.54 10.17 93.65 169.45 99.33 22.81 30.86 57.47 20.77 66.51 0.00

DHIGH 26.20 8.80 35.00 63.10 371.00 64.90 19.40 122.00 39.30 18.20

76,275

Traded Issues

306

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

165

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

134

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,608.25

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.62

CSE key features December 22, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

222.99

Turnover (Volume)

7,054,088

Number of Contract

13,959

Traded Issues

250

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

135

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

106

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,520.81

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.56

Turnover in Million

DLOW 24.50 8.70 32.90 60.00 371.00 60.10 18.00 116.00 37.10 16.40

DLOW

27.20 28.50 34.40 29.20 34.00 2,655.00 38.50 22.50 32.00 54.10

25.00 28.00 32.80 28.00 34.00 2,650.00 37.20 22.00 31.60 50.00

Latest EPS

65.987 0.030 39.884 0.040 0.019 68.172 12.918 2.111 29.228 6.556

Turnover in Million

DHIGH

% change 7.46 8.80 2.31 12.40 12.37 10.69 0.08 7.94 13.88 2.38 0.38 3.51 6.35 3.72 0.85 1.16 2.15 0.78 2.49 0.00

Million Taka 15.56 12.46 4.14 33.37 8.21 17.46 25.63 34.53 6.26 7.89 4.92 12.72 17.65 6.59 1.39 1.09 8.47 4.40 12.26 0.50

CSE

% change 6.61 5.29 1.76 14.17 3.49 7.41 0.00 10.88 14.66 2.66 3.35 2.09 5.40 7.50 2.80 0.59 0.46 3.60 1.87 5.21 0.21

2.36 -47.80 1.59 -43.64 2.08 1.68 0.08 0.60 1.72 0.40

Latest EPS

19.026 0.171 1.201 5.648 0.001 0.045 0.934 0.699 0.502 0.415

Million Taka 214.80 247.28 65.68 364.34 338.53 302.80 2.16 237.70 404.98 14.43 71.43 15.10 106.37 187.10 105.92 24.20 31.95 65.94 25.17 78.77 0.50

Northern Jute -Z Global Insurance -A Aziz PipesZ B I F C -A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A AIMS First -A Eastern Cables-A United Leasing - A National Tea -A Sonargaon Tex -Z

Closing (% Change) 5.42 5.17 4.72 4.27 4.17 4.15 4.02 3.68 3.61 3.60

CSE GAINER

2.36 2.79 1.59 2.19 3.88 94.59 1.72 1.11 0.64 5.33

Latest PE 10.7 -ve 21.1 -ve 178.4 36.9 234.6 197.9 22.1 42.9

Total

Company Reliance1 M.F.-A Aziz PipesZ Fu-wang Ceramic-A Kay & Que (BD) -Z Daffodil Computers -Z Berger Paints-A Grameen M F One-A Asia Pasific Insu. -A Padma Islami Life*-N AIMS First -A

Closing (% Change) 10.00 6.13 5.92 5.26 5.26 5.26 4.98 4.89 4.60 4.55

Average (% Change) 4.51 1.97 3.35 2.48 4.68 2.89 2.70 3.28 2.46 Average (% Change) 10.00 5.14 6.40 6.28 3.60 5.43 4.74 5.06 3.20 4.60

ClosingAvg. 333.33 18.06 21.76 16.95 4.96 27.71 124.71 30.84 712.87 11.26

ClosingAvg. 7.70 22.31 15.96 13.87 13.80 1340.00 23.43 19.30 40.35 27.54

Closing 336.30 18.30 22.20 17.10 5.00 27.60 126.80 31.00 715.20 11.50

Closing 7.70 22.50 16.10 14.00 14.00 1340.00 23.20 19.30 40.90 27.60

DHIGH 344.00 19.00 23.00 17.20 5.00 28.50 127.60 31.20 734.90 11.60

DHIGH 7.70 22.50 16.40 14.00 14.00 1340.00 23.60 19.30 41.00 28.00

DLOW 330.00 17.10 20.70 16.40 4.90 26.50 122.00 29.80 715.00 10.80

DLOW 7.70 22.00 15.50 13.50 13.30 1340.00 22.50 19.30 39.70 26.50

Turnover in Million 0.004 0.252 0.240 7.718 1.044 33.485 0.820 38.515 0.072 0.399

Turnover in Million 0.000 0.018 4.302 0.019 0.361 0.001 0.508 0.010 0.121 1.254

Latest EPS 1.00 1.12 -0.37 1.41 0.48 4.71 0.08 2.33 -6.49 -0.84

Latest EPS 1.38 -0.37 0.40 -1.41 1.16 49.25 3.40 2.32 1.10 4.71

Latest PE 333.3 16.1 -ve 12.0 10.3 5.9 1558.9 13.2 -ve -ve

Latest PE 5.6 -ve 39.9 -ve 11.9 27.2 6.9 8.3 36.7 5.8

News, analysis and recent disclosures ECABLES: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 26.02.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Factory Premises of the Company, Patenga, Chittagong. Record Date: 05.01.2015.

The Company has also reported NAV of Tk. 669.94 million, EPS of Tk. 4.95 and NOCFPS of Tk. 0.46 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.

SAIFPOWER: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the entity rating of the Company as BBB1 with negative outlook based on audited financial statements up to June 30, 2014 bank liability (December 18, 2014) and other relevant quantitative and qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

BATASHOE: The Company has informed that it has sent the interim dividend warrants for the year 2014 on December 21, 2014. The Company has also informed that the folio holders will get dividend warrants to their mailing address by Padma Courier Service and the BO holders will get dividend through BEFTN to their bank account which is mentioned in their BO accounts.

IPO Subscription: Shasha Denims Limited subscription date 14 to 21 December 2014, NRB upto 30 December 2014. @ taka 10,

face value taka 35 and market lot 200.

Zaheen Spinning Limited subscription date 28 December 2014 to 04 January 2015, NRB upto 13 January 2015. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.

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. 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 HFL: 10% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 30.12.2014, Record Date: 22.12.2014.

SONALIANSH: 10% cash AGM: 30.12.2014, Record Date: 21.12.2014.

KEYACOSMET: 20% cash, Record Date: 21.12.2014. Date, Time and Venue of the AGM will be notified later.

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.

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.

PRIMELIFE: 10% cash and 15% stock dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 20.11.2014.

OLYMPIC: 20% cash and 35% stock, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 27.11.2014.

PADMAOIL: 100% cash, AGM: 14.02.2015, Record date: 22.12.2014.

EASTRNLUB: 30% cash, AGM: 17.01.2015, Record Date: 25.11.2014.

ATLASBANG: 35% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 27.11.2014.

SAMORITA: 20% cash and 10% stock dividend, AGM: 07.01.2015, Record Date: 19.11.2014.

DULAMIACOT: No dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 27.11.2014.

POWERGRID: 10% cash, AGM: 17.01.2015, Record Date: 25.11.2014.

Latest PE 11.1 10.0 21.0 13.0 8.8 28.0 22.3 20.0 49.7 10.0

Market ended slightly higher in sympathy with continuous downtrend for the past few weeks as total turnover volume still remained below investor’s expectation

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

24.70 8.70 33.00 61.20 371.00 60.90 18.20 117.60 37.40 16.70

Closing

64,582,910

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights

Company

2,669.65

Turnover (Volume)

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

DSE GAINER

DSE key features December 22, 2014

non-banking financial institutions, power and pharmaceuticals also moved up marginally.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market ended green after consolidating throughout the trading session. After passing a weeklong correction in stocks, market is about to find a way out to bottom out at this level.

“Profit taking continued at the same time which faded the early session’s gain in the last hour of trading.”

IDLC Investments said broad market remained sluggish amid inactivity from the investors and low volatility.

Investors’ concentration shifted to large cap stocks, reflected by their dominance in the top turnover chart.

Zenith Investments said market ended slightly higher in sympathy with continuous downtrend for the past few weeks as total turnover volume still remained below investor’s expectation.

In this bearish market, individual investors demand remained in short term while institutional investors were slowly identifying stock prices at the root level and positioning themselves for concrete investments, it said.

Lafarge Surma Cement Limited was the most liquid name of the session, followed by Western Marine Shipyard, Square Pharmaceuticals, IDLC and RAK Ceramics. l

Stocks edged higher yesterday, driven by mainly large cap stocks, particularly telecommunications.

The market opened on positive note with index soaring 35 points before mid-session but lost the momentum as the day progressed.

The benchmark DSEX was up 18 points or 0.5% to close at 4,868, hitting highest 4885 before mid-session and lowest 4849 just before final session. It, however, had ended flat in the previous session.

The Shariah index DSES inched over 4 points or 0.4% higher to 1,148. The comprising blue chips DS30 ended at 1,802 with rally of 12 points or 0.7%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, gained marginally over 4 points to 9,098.

Trading activities still remained low despite slight increase in turnover as the DSE turnover stood at Tk266 crore, up more than 12% over the previous session and over 14% came from pharmaceutical sector.

Gainers beat losers as out of 306 issues traded, 118 closed negative and 141 gained while 47 remained unchanged.

Among the large cap sectors, telecommunications posted the highest return of 1.7%, followed by cement and engineering 1.3% each.

Other large cap sectors, banks,

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

% change 7.39 8.51 2.26 12.54 11.65 10.42 0.07 8.18 13.94 0.50 2.46 0.52 3.66 6.44 3.65 0.83 1.10 2.27 0.87 2.71 0.02

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

Olympic Ind. -A LafargeS Cement-Z WesternMarine -N Square Pharma -A IDLC Finance -A RAK Ceramics-A Keya Cosmetics -A Agni Systems -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Beximco Pharma -A

Tung Hai Knitting -N Brac Bank -A DESCO Ltd. -A Grameenphone-A Quasem Drycells -A Alltex Industries -Z CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Keya Cosmetics -A LafargeS Cement-Z WesternMarine -N RAK Ceramics-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A SummitAlliancePort.-A R. N. Spinning-Z Grameenphone-A Tung Hai Knitting -N MJL BD Ltd.-A

Agni Systems -A Fu-wang Ceramic-A BSRM Steels-A Khan Brothers-N IDLC Finance -A

VolumeShares 1,059,997 1,264,767 1,392,989 282,405 952,135 1,098,309 2,609,316 1,943,213 537,151 978,808

Value in Million 243.72 152.93 77.11 73.11 71.28 68.17 65.99 64.73 63.72 61.34

% of TotalTurnover 9.13 5.73 2.89 2.74 2.67 2.55 2.47 2.42 2.39 2.30

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

2,577,540 1,403,679 768,552 144,180 563,950 4,845,000

728,892 118,393 225,342 133,032 193,365 71,229 198,736 15,805 251,956 41,144

137,784 269,570 44,413 109,150 48,910

55.76 52.62 51.95 51.19 43.59 113.67

19.03 14.32 12.40 8.32 7.25 5.92 5.65 5.61 5.37 4.87

4.61 4.30 4.02 3.88 3.66

2.09 1.97 1.95 1.92 1.63 1.51

8.61 6.48 5.61 3.77 3.28 2.68 2.56 2.54 2.43 2.20

2.09 1.95 1.82 1.76 1.66

ClosingP 229.00 120.10 54.70 259.10 75.50 60.90 24.70 32.70 117.80 62.50

21.60 37.50 68.10 357.60 77.10 22.90

ClosingP

25.00 120.30 54.50 60.90 37.30 82.70 28.10 356.50 21.30 118.10

33.00 16.10 91.40 35.10 75.50

Change % -2.01 1.69 3.40 2.29 2.72 -4.40 -11.15 -3.54 2.61 -0.16

0.93 0.00 3.50 1.74 0.65 4.09

Change %

-9.75 2.82 3.81 -4.09 0.00 -0.24 -5.07 1.25 0.00 2.96

-3.51 5.92 3.16 0.57 3.28

ClosingY 233.70 118.10 52.90 253.30 73.50 63.70 27.80 33.90 114.80 62.60

21.40 37.50 65.80 351.50 76.60 22.00 ClosingY

27.70 117.00 52.50 63.50 37.30 82.90 29.60 352.10 21.30 114.70

34.20 15.20 88.60 34.90 73.10

DHIGH 234.90 122.20 56.60 260.50 75.90 64.90 26.20 34.10 120.00 63.20

22.00 37.70 68.50 358.50 78.90 24.20

DLOW 228.00 119.80 53.80 254.10 73.50 60.10 24.50 32.40 115.50 62.00

21.20 37.30 65.70 351.90 76.10 20.50

DHIGH

DLOW

27.20 122.60 56.70 65.00 37.90 84.20 29.20 363.00 21.80 120.00

25.00 117.00 52.50 60.50 37.20 82.20 28.00 353.00 20.90 113.20

33.90 16.40 91.50 36.10 75.80

32.80 15.50 89.00 35.00 73.00

AvgPrice 229.93 120.92 55.36 258.87 74.86 62.07 25.29 33.31 118.63 62.67

21.63 37.48 67.60 355.01 77.30 23.46

AvgPrice

26.10 120.98 55.04 62.54 37.51 83.18 28.42 355.08 21.31 118.33

33.48 15.96 90.63 35.52 74.80

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Brent climbs toward $63 amid stronger Asia markets n AFP, Singapore Oil prices rose in Asia yesterday, extending a sharp rebound at the end of last week, with analysts predicting the sector has bottomed out after plunging almost 50% since June.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery gained 79 cents to $57.92 while Brent crude for February added 91 cents to $62.29 in afternoon trade.

“We do not expect WTI and Brent to test new lows this week,” said Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

“Rather, we believe it would just trend within the same trading range as speculators continue on short-covering,” he added.

The gains extended a rebound on Friday, wiping out losses earlier last week that saw prices hit fresh five-year lows.

Oil has shed about half its value since June, and a decision in November by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to maintain output levels despite falling prices has weighed on the market.

With few major market events ahead of the Christmas holiday on Thursday, Ang said “US stockpiles data would

likely determine prices this week”.

“Any oil relief rally is likely to be limited and short-lived, barring a major outage. We see too many headwinds that must be addressed,” Morgan Stanley said on yesterday in a report.

“An oversupplied market is likely to keep crude oil prices under pressure in the first half of 2015, while demand struggles to recover in Asia,” ANZ said in a report.

National Australia Bank said “given the lead time in permit approval and rig construction ahead of oil production, a sizeable negative US supply response given the price drop is unlikely to take place until late 2015, which places further downward pressure on oil prices in the first six months of next year.”

The bank added that it expected Brent and WTI to average $68 and $64 per barrel respectively in 2015.

US stockpiles data is closely watched by oil investors because it is seen as a key indicator of demand in the world’s top crude consumer. A drop in reserves typically indicates increased demand.

Crude stockpiles for the week to December 12 dropped 800,000 barrels, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in last week’s report.

The EIA will release the report for the week to December 19 tomorrow. l

A section of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) oil platform is seen in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland

Dollar holds up in Asia on US rate expectations n AFP, Tokyo

China stock connect scheme scorecard throws up surprises

Asian shares take cue from Wall Street’s rally

n Reuters, Hong Kong

n Reuters, Tokyo

The dollar held steady in Asian trade yesterday, underpinned by expectations the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before other central banks.

The greenback was at 119.51 yen in Tokyo, up from 119.43 yen in New York on Friday. The euro bought $1.2240 and 146.30 yen, against $1.2227 and 146.06 yen in US trade.

“US dollar strength remains a key theme, with broad gains against most currencies,” National Australia Bank said in a note.

Wrapping up a policy meeting last week, the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates low and said it would be “patient in beginning to normalise the stance of monetary policy”.

While the Fed did not accelerate its timeline for raising interest rates, currency traders are betting the US will increase borrowing costs more quickly than other major central banks, which would tend to boost demand for the dollar.

Tokyo markets will be closed Tuesday for a national holiday.

The Russian ruble, which dived to unprecedented levels of 80 to the dollar and 100 to the euro briefly last week, appeared to have stabilised.

The dollar bought 58.50 rubles, while the euro fetched 72.21 rubles yesterday.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

The greenback weakened to 12,452.50 Indonesian rupiah from 12,547.00 rupiah on Friday, to 1,096.46 South Korean won from 1,101.83 won, and to 44.60 Philippine pesos from 44.75 pesos. l

A month after China opened up its equity markets in a landmark trading link with Hong Kong, demand has been subdued and the bulk of activity has come from short-term speculative investors.

The authorities had hoped mutual and pension funds and private banks would form the bedrock of the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect. But early trade volumes in the programme launched in mid-November were completely dominated by hedge funds and banks’ proprietary trading desks, according to five traders at some of the biggest brokerages participating in the scheme.

Regulatory hurdles have kept out a large swathe of the investment community - and the steady business the financial industry and regulators had hoped they would bring - despite a sizzling stock market rally on the mainland.

Market players say it could take months for long-term investors to eventually trickle into the programme, as they devise ways to cope with its peculiarities.

“We are not participating in the scheme yet because of the operational issues that have yet to be resolved and we prefer to access the mainland markets via exchange traded funds,” Robert Cormie, Asia CEO of BMO Private Bank, told Reuters.

Edmund Yun, executive director of investment at the same wealth management firm, agreed, citing a number of prohibitive issues. These include

beneficial ownership, tax and trading settlement.

Hedge funds use banks’ prime brokerages, which help them more deftly manage those regulatory constraints.

Stock portfolios of hedge funds are often held by the prime brokers themselves to facilitate quick trading decisions so they are unaffected by ownership constraints.

For example, under the scheme, funds wanting to sell holdings of Shanghai-listed shares have to deliver the shares to brokers a day before they are to be sold, a peculiarity that exists in no other major stock market.

While regulators have looked for ways to encourage long-term funds, including fast-tracking applications for products benchmarked under the stock connect scheme, industry officials say that persuading pension funds to participate could take months.

Under the scheme, the daily limit on investment bound for Shanghai is 13bn yuan ($2.1bn) and for Hong Kongbound investment it is 10.5bn yuan.

Typically, only a small portion of this has been used, and yesterday of last week, just 10% of the combined 23.5bn yuan quota was used, the lowest level since the launch of the stock connect scheme.

Slim pickings

Brokers that offer a combination of services, such as major banks HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered Plc, BNP Paribas and Citibank, were expected to win the most market share under the scheme. But the regulatory uncertainty

has limited their capacity to dominate flows.

Banks with private wealth clients, such as UBS and those with extensive hedge fund networks, such as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and CLSA, have grabbed early market share, traders said.

That has been helped by a nearly 25% rise in the Shanghai Composite Index since the scheme was launched as hedge funds have found it cheaper to buy mainland shares under the scheme than “rent quotas” from investment banks, a mechanism under which investors buy derivative products from banks who have access to onshore stocks.

More worryingly for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the slower than expected take-up of quotas under the scheme means revenues are unlikely to get a big boost, two traders said.

While the Shanghai-bound flows were heavier early on, Hong Kongbound flows have disappointed from the start, a sales equity trader with a European bank said, as participation has been limited by stringent eligibility requirements.

A CLSA survey of Chinese investors found 90% willing to invest in the Hong Kong market. That dropped to 20%, however, when a minimum investment amount of 500,000 yuan ($80,405) which the scheme currently requires, is applied.

The Hong Kong stock market has also fallen more than 5% since the launch, reducing demand for the territory’s shares. l

Asian shares took their cues from Wall Street and kicked off a holidayshortened week on a strong footing yesterday as oil prices recovered, while the euro touched a fresh two-year low against the greenback on divergent monetary policy expectations.

“Ahead of European trade, we are calling the major bourses firmer, said Melbourne-based IG Markets strategist Stan Shamu, “with some choppy price action likely.”

“We’re seeing a positive lead coming from Wall Street, (the) bounce in oil prices and energy stocks,” said Leanne Jones, market analyst at Bell Direct.

“If we can continue seeing this Santa Claus rally continue then I suppose we’ll finish the year on a positive note,” Jones added.

Oil took a breather after its recent gyrations, with US crude adding 1% to $57.69 a barrel, following a week in which it shed 2% to extend the rout that has nearly halved its value since June. Brent rose 1.2% to $62.03.

Activity was likely to be thin this week, with many investors away for Christmas and the run-up to New Year holidays.

On Wall Street on Friday, US shares rose, with the S&P 500 coming within a few points of its closing record high.

That index has risen 5 percent since Wednesday to log its best three-day gain since 2011, after the US Federal Reserve said it would be “patient” on raising benchmark US interest rates, depending on domestic growth and inflation.

REUTERS

Three Fed officials on Friday offered clues on the thinking inside the US central bank as it gears up to raise interest rates, likely in 2015.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker echoed Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s view at her press conference two days earlier that the drop in energy prices will boost U.S. consumer spending, and said that he supported the central bank’s addition of the word “patient” to describe its interest rate guidance in its policy statement last week. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said rate hikes in 2015 would create “unacceptable” downside risks to US inflation.

San Francisco Fed chief John Williams told Bloomberg Radio it seems “reasonable” for the Fed to raise rates in mid-2015.

By contrast, ECB governing council member Luc Coene said in a newspaper interview on Saturday that the bank should start buying government bonds to tackle poor investor confidence and low inflation in the euro zone.

The euro edged up about 0.2% to $1.2252, after earlier dropping as low as $1.2220, its lowest level since August 2012. Against the yen, it added 0.3% to 146.46 yen, but remained a considerable distance from a six-year high of 149.79 touched earlier in December.

Calming some fears about political stability in the euro zone, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras offered on Sunday to bring pro-European independents into the government and hold new elections in late 2015 if lawmakers back him to elect a new president. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Premier Bank has recently distributed blankets among cold affected people. The bank’s board of directors carried out the distribution along with its chairperson, Dr HBM Iqbal Foodpanda has recently signed an agreement with MediaVest Bangladesh for availing media services. Rakibul Hasan, general manager of MediaVest Bangladesh and MD & cofounder of Foodpanda Bangladesh, Zubair BA Siddiky have signed the agreement

Mercantile Bank Limited has recently organised BAMLCO Conference 2014 in Dhaka on BAMLCO’s responsibilities and activities. The bank’s MD and CEO, M Ehsanul Haque inaugurated the conference as chief guest

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently donated fifty thousand winter clothes to the Prime Minister’s relief fund. The clothes were handed over to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by the bank’s acting chairperson, Engr Mustafa Anwar

Standard Bank Limited has recently started a two weeklong foundation course on postpractical training at branch for its probationary senior officers. The bank’s MD and CEO, Md Nazmus Salehin was present at the inaugural ceremony

Dhaka Regency Hotel has recently held its 7th annual general meeting. The company’s chairperson, Kabir Reza presided over the meeting

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Saudi Arabia say won’t cut oil output UAE: ‘Irresponsible’ non-OPEC output even if non-OPEC nations do

behind oil price plunge

n Reuters, Abu Dhabi Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not cut output to prop up oil markets even if non-OPEC nations did so, in one of the toughest signals yet that the world’s top petroleum exporter plans to ride out the market’s biggest slump in years.

Referring to countries outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters: “If they want to cut production they are welcome: We are not going to cut, certainly Saudi Arabia is not going to cut.�

He added he was “100% not pleased� with prices but they would improve, although it was unclear when.

He blamed the fall in prices to half their levels of six months ago on speculators and what he called a lack of cooperation from non-OPEC producers.

His remarks at a conference in Abu Dhabi marked the second time in three days that the kingdom has signalled that it would not alter output levels, preferring to allow the market to stabilise on its own.

The determined tone of his comments was echoed by some other Arab oil ministers at the conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital.

UAE Oil Minister Suhail Bin Mohammed al-Mazroui urged all of the world’s producers not to raise their oil output next year, saying this would quickly steady prices. He did not elaborate.

Rising supply

The world is forecast to need less OPEC oil in 2015 because of a rising supply of U.S. shale oil and other competing sources, with no significant increase in world demand growth.

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali al-Omair said OPEC did not need to cut production and would not hold an emergency meeting ahead of its next scheduled talks in June. “I don’t think we need to cut. We gave a chance to others (and) they were

n AFP, Abu Dhabi “Irresponsible� levels of output by producers from outside the OPEC oil cartel is among the main causes of the slump in prices, the United Arab Emirates energy minister charged yesterday. “One of the main causes is irresponsible production by some producers from outside the organisation, some of whom are newcomers,� Suhail al-Mazrouei told an energy forum in Abu Dhabi.

Mazrouei said the sharp drop in prices will impose a “major economic burden� on oil producing countries,

insisting nonetheless that OPEC’s decision last month to maintain output levels was “correct.� “OPEC’s decision, which aims to provide the market with time to rebalance, is correct, strategic and useful to the global economy,� he said at the forum organised by the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The OPEC decision will “lead to stability in oil prices,� he said.

World prices have fallen almost 50% since June, mainly due to a supply glut, the weak global economy and a strong US dollar. l

Fitch raises Egypt’s credit rating to ‘B’ n AFP, Washington Fitch Ratings upgraded Egypt’s credit rating one rank to “B� with a “stable� outlook Friday, saying the authorities seemed committed to major reforms. “Fuel subsidy cuts and tax hikes have been implemented as part of a clear five-year fiscal consolidation strategy,� Fitch said in upgrading Egypt from a “B-� rating. “Power shortages are being tackled, overdue payments to oil companies reduced, investment laws revised and disputes with foreign investors settled,� it added, emphasizing that “the measures appear to have strong political backing.�

The budget deficit is expected to decrease as a result of the reforms, though it will remain high at 10.2 percent of gross domestic product for the 2015 fiscal year, which runs through June.

The deficit will also benefit from lower than projected wheat prices, Fitch said.

Similarly, the debt level should go down, after several years of deterioration. At the end of 2014, the debt stood at 90.5% of GDP, but Fitch said it is set to drop to 85.8% of GDP by the end of the 2016 fiscal year.

Economic growth is accelerating, Fitch said, and year-on-year growth reached 6.8% in the third trimester of 2014 - the highest since 2008 - up from 3.7% the quarter before.

According to Fitch projections, annual GDP growth should hit 4.7% in 2016, up from 2.1% in 2013. “Growth is vulnerable to setbacks if reform stalls,� the agency warned, noting, however, that “Political stability has improved under President (Abdel Fattah al-) Sisi.�

The stable outlook reflects Fitch’s opinion that “that upside and downside risks to the rating are currently balanced,� with the main factors that could lead to a downgrade being renewed fiscal problems or security incidents that slow economic activity. l

A man looks at gold jewellery at a shop in a gold market in Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region

REUTERS

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi talks to journalists before a meeting of OPEC oil ministers at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna REUTERS not willing to do so,� he said, referring to contacts with non-OPEC producers before OPEC’s meeting in November in Vienna.

There, OPEC kept its target output of 30 million barrels per day (bpd) unchanged, leaving the market to balance itself without the group’s intervention.

That stance was seen as a shift from a longstanding policy in which OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia has acted as a swing supplier.

Asked about possible cooperation between members of OPEC, which include the world’s lowest-cost producers, and non-member countries, Naimi replied: “The best thing for everybody

is to let the most efficient producers produce�.

Conspiracy theories

He also said that OPEC’s decision would ultimately help the world economy. “Current prices do not encourage investment in any form of energy, but they stimulate global economic growth, leading ultimately to an increase in global demand and a slowdown in the growth of supplies,� he said.

Iraq’s oil minister, Adel Abdel Mahdi, said he saw no need for an OPEC emergency meeting but “we have to wait and see� whether the group was right to keep output unchanged.

Naimi denied politics played a role in the kingdom’s oil policy and said the price fall would not have “a noticeable and big� impact on Saudi Arabia or other Arab economies.

The market slide has triggered conspiracy theories, ranging from the Saudis seeking to curb the U.S. oil boom, to Riyadh looking to undermine Iran and Russia for their support of Syria.

Before the Vienna meeting, there were hints that Russia could cut output or exports if OPEC did the same. But the message from Moscow after the meeting was that the world’s second largest oil exporter would maintain its output. l

Gulf oil producers stand firm on OPEC output n AFP, Abu Dhabi Oil-rich Arab Gulf countries stood firm against non-OPEC crude producers on Sunday, vowing they will not cut output nor hold an emergency cartel meeting to support slumping prices.

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said they would not cut production even if non-OPEC members reduce their output, while the United Arab Emirates and Iraq shrugged off calls for an emergency meeting of the group. “If they (non-OPEC countries) want to cut production they are welcome.

We are not going to cut, certainly Saudi Arabia is not going to cut,� Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali al-Omair agreed. “I don’t think we need to cut. We gave a chance to others and they were not willing to do so,� Omair said, in a clear reference to shale and sand oil producers from North America and elsewhere. “OPEC will not cut. Nothing will happen until June and there is no emergency meeting,� he said.

The global oil market has become in-

creasingly competitive in recent years with the surge in shale and sand oil production from countries outside the decades-old alliance of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

World oil prices have fallen almost 50% since June, mainly due to a supply glut, the weak global economy and a strong US dollar.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei was emphatic that OPEC, which pumps a third of global crude supplies, will not make any move soon to shore up the market. “We will not interfere with market fundamentals and do something that is a short fix,� he said. “We need at least six months� to assess the market and “even if nothing happens when we meet after six months, we will not change our position,� Mazrouei said.

Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdulmahdi also ruled out calls for an OPEC emergency session. “We have to wait and see the reactions of the oil markets and other countries,� Abdulmahdi said, adding that he believes oil prices will stabilise around $60 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Iraq pump around 20 million

barrels a day, or two-thirds of OPEC output. The cartel decided last month to maintain its production unchanged at 30 million barrels per day, which led to a slump in oil prices.

No Saudi ‘plot’

The benchmark Brent oil price is hovering around $60 a barrel after losing almost half of its value since June.

Gulf ministers blamed “irresponsible� non-OPEC producers for the plunge in prices, but voiced confidence markets would rebound. “One of the main causes is irresponsible production by some producers from outside the organisation,� the UAE’s Mazrouei said.

Naimi lashed out at non-OPEC members, blaming the global price fall on a “lack of cooperation by main producing countries outside OPEC, misleading information and speculators’ greed�.

The Saudi minister said some highcost unconventional producers will not be able to continue under low oil prices.

Analysts have said Saudi Arabia is content to see shale oil producers -and even some OPEC members such as Nigeria and Venezuela -- suffer from low prices rather than reduce output to boost prices. l

Gold inches up but holds below $1,200 on robust equities, dollar n Reuters, Singapore

A man looks at new small vehicle 'N-BOX SLASH' of Honda Motor in front of the company's headquarters in Tokyo on December 22. The Japanese auto maker released the new car equipped with 660cc gasoline engine on December 22 all over the nation AFP

Gold edged up yesterday on buying interest from Asia but retained most of last week’s losses, as strength in the dollar and equities dulled the metal’s safe-haven appeal.

Price gains could be difficult to hold due to expectations of higher US interest rates and a strong outlook for the dollar. “The bullion market faces tough upside resistance and further gains may be an uphill battle,� said HSBC analyst James Steel. “A strong U.S. dollar and the likelihood of higher US rates even if inflation remains subdued are a recipe for lower gold prices.�

Spot gold had edged up 0.2% to $1,197.23 an ounce by 0404 GMT, after losing about 2% last week.

In top gold consumer China, prices were at a premium of about $3 an ounce to the global benchmark, in a sign of good buying interest.

But traders were also looking at other factors for cues.

The Federal Reserve, after wrapping up a two-day meeting last Wednesday,

signalled it was on track to increase rates next year but said it was taking a patient stance, keeping gold’s losses in check.

Higher interest rates would boost the dollar and hurt non-interest-bearing bullion, which was boosted by central bank liquidity and a low interest rate environment in the years following the 2008 financial crisis.

Trading activity was likely to be thin this week and next, with many investors away for Christmas and the run-up to the New Year’s holiday.

However, some key US economic data is due this week and could have an impact on prices. A robust economy could prompt the Fed to increase rates

DILBERT

sooner rather than later. “Given that we are in the thick of the festive season, traders are likely to let gold prices drift within a range in the coming week,� said Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures, adding that gold could trade in the $1,180-$1,210 range.

Recent data on investor positioning shows that holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.41% to 724.55 tonnes on Friday.

Other data showed hedge funds and money managers cut their net long positions in gold and silver futures and options in the week to Dec 16, a period of choppy trade amid volatility in the dollar and oil prices. l