01 feb, 2015

Magh 19, 1421 Rabius Sani 11, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 297

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages | Price: Tk12

B1 | BUSINESS

7 | CAREER

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

FY15 EXPORTS MAY FALL SHORT OF TARGET

BANGLADESHIS MANIFEST IMMENSE POTENTIAL AT WORLD STAGE

WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAY?

MALAYSIA SEAL LAST FOUR

Where is the rule of law?

‘Only PM knows what is next for Khaleda’ n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Around 10:30pm yesterday, 18 hours after the power supply was severed, authorities restored electricity to Khaleda’s office. But land and mobile phone and internet services remained snapped until filing of this report around 10:45pm.

“Cutting off power supply to Khaleda Zia’s office is entirely a political issue. The cause of preserving consumer rights has not been considered here,” said Prof Samsul Alam, an adviser to the Consumers Association of

Both the ruling party and the BNP-led 20-party alliance are adamant about their ongoing steps and next course of action, the leaders say.

The BNP-led alliance is determined not to backtrack from the nationwide non-stop blockade and hartals until the government assured them of holding mid-term national election, while the Awami League-led ruling alliance has expressed resolve to control the ongoing “unrest” at any cost.

The Awami League high command believes that the ongoing movement would end once the top leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are arrested, as it happened in 2013, ahead of the January 5 poll. The prime minister has also threatened to take stern measure against the BNP chief.

Yesterday, the authorities cut off electricity connections of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office while the detectives arrested its Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi from a hideout.

Speculations say Khaleda, who has been staying at her office since January 3, could be arrested any time and sent to CMH, Dhaka to keep her away from party activities. However, it could not be confirmed whether any such decision has already been made.

A minister, who is also a senior leader of the Awami League, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The government will not take a U-turn from the mass arrest of BNP-Jamaat men. The drives will continue.

“If the violent activities cannot be controlled, the government will finally go tough against BNP chief Khaleda Zia.” The leader further said the government would not want to arrest Khaleda by the police or the joint forces and that she would not be kept under custody of the law enforcers.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in parliament on January 21 said it would be logical to arrest the BNP chairperson as the key accused on charge of “aiding and abetting those who have

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Khaleda gets back electricity but still no phone, internet n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Eighteen hours after disconnecting power supply, the authorities restored electricity to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office around 10:30pm yesterday.

However, all kinds of voice and data connections to the office remained snapped until filing of this report around 10:45pm. Until then, Khaleda has been staying in her office.

Earlier she said the ongoing blockade and hartal programmes would continue until “victory” is achieved.

Meanwhile, several offices of the Power Development Board (PDB) have come under attack in different parts of the country.

Miscreants hurled crude bombs targetting two local offices of PDB in Chittagong and Sirajganj in the afternoon.

Until power connection was restored, a generator was supplying electricity to Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office.

Initially, the generator took a long time to get started because it was hardly ever needed before.

The water supply to the office has been in tact until last evening; but police did not allow the office staff to take in two drums of water.

Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) disconnected  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

The photo on the left shows the Gulshan political office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia after power, snapped for nearly 18 hours, was restored. The photo on the right shows severed power supply cables on an electricity pole near the office MEHEDI HASAN/DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Cutting power supply to Khaleda Zia’s office is a political issue’ n Tribune Report The disconnection of power supply to the Gulshan office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been termed a violation of law and human rights, law professionals have said.

According to the Electricity Act 1910, power supply to a consumer can be discontinued only if the consumer fails to pay the bills for two consecutive months. That too cannot be done without serving a notice to the consumer at least 15 days prior to disconnection. The

discontinuation can also happen if authorities find that a connection is illegal.

When contacted, Brig Gen Md Shahid Sarwar, managing director of Dha-

P16 SSC-TAKERS FEEL UNSAFE ka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco), told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have been informed that the owner of the building [of Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office] has two months’ electricity bills due with the Desco. But I cannot tell you whether or not the power cut at Khaleda

Zia’s office is a consequence of that.”

However, according to the Desco, the owner of the building has a fouryear-old unpaid bill of Tk8,823 from the month of December 2010. He has also not paid the bill for December 2014, but the deadline for paying that bill has not expired yet.

When this matter was brought to the Desco MD’s attention, he refrained from making any comment. “The power supply will be reconnected if the consumer pays the dues on time,” Brig Gen Shahid added later.

13 killed, 3 injured in Mirpur plastic factory fire

Rizvi under DB custody n Mohammad Jamil Khan

n Asif Islam Shaon

Thirteen people, including 10 men and three women, died and another three received burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a plastic factory in the capital’s Mirpur area yesterday.

Of the dead, four could be identified - Rashia Begum, 40, Shabnam Parvin, 27, Billal Hossain, 26, and Mokhlesur Rahman Bachchu, 40.

The three injured - security supervisor Towhidul Islam, 50, security guard Kamal Hossain, 35, and worker Robiul Islam, 35 - were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and were said to be in a critical condition.

The severity of the burn made it difficult to perfectly identify the bodies but relatives gathered at the hospital at night to see if they could recognise their near and dear ones.

The factory named Affortade Product of Consumer Commodity Ltd (APCCO), a four-storey building with a tin roof, is located inside the Nasim Industrial Estate on Zoo Road in Mirpur 1.

Fire Service Director General Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said: “The fire originated from an electric short circuit on the ground floor of the building and quickly spread throughout the building after a boiler on the same floor exploded.”

Dr Ahmedul Kabir of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital said: “Four dead bodies were brought

Fire fighters recover a dead body that got burnt in the fire that broke out in a plastic factory in Mirpur yesterday to us. We have managed to identify that one of them was a man and the other was a woman.”

Set up in 2006, the factory used plastic and foam to make disposable household goods. It used to be run on two shifts: 10am-10pm and 10pm-10am.

Factory sources said around 75-80 workers used to work in each shift.

Fire Service DG Khan said: “Around 40 people were working inside the fac-

tory when the fire broke out.”

Fire Service Operations Officer Maj Shakil told the Dhaka Tribune: “The fire broke out around 5:50pm and we managed to bring the fire under control around 6:25pm. A total of 18 fire fighting units worked at the scene.”

Witness Zahid Hasan, a neighbour of the factory, told Dhaka Tribune: “I was standing beside the factory when I heard two loud blasts. By the time

RAJIB DHAR

I went to check out what had happened, two covered-vans had already caught fire.”

“The entire area was filled with smoke and stench of burning chemical,” he said.

Sajib Islam, helper of one of the burnt covered-vans, said: “We came from Savar with our trunks full of polythene materials and plastic.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was taken to the DB police headquarters yesterday afternoon, nearly 15 hours after his arrest by the Rapid Action Battalion from a hideout in the capital’s Baridhara area.

The arrest was made few hours after Rizvi had announced another 72-hour hartal amid the BNP-led alliance’s indefinite blockade, disregarding calls from different quarters to suspend the movement ahead of the SSC exams that begins tomorrow.

Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of legal and media wing of RAB, said the BNP leader had been arrested from house 98 of Park Road around 3am. RAB 1 handed him over to Badda police an hour later.

MA Jalil, OC of Badda police, said Rizvi had been shown arrested in an arson attack case.

He was taken to the DB headquarters on Mintoo Road around 5pm and is likely to be produced before the court today.

Sources in RAB said the house was owned by Katar Mostafa, a worker of Chittagong district unit BNP, who is now staying in Qatar.

However, it could not be confirmed immediately whether Rizvi had been staying at that house since January 7.

The case was filed after a bus had been torched allegedly by the blockade

supporters in Bhatara area on January 26. As many as 28 BNP leaders including Rizvi and around 25 unnamed others have been made accused in the case.

Rizvi, also the acting office secretary, was carrying out the role of party spokesperson after the arrest of acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He issued several statements regarding the government-ouster movement.

Rizvi had been living in an unknown place since January 7 On January 3, a Detective Branch team picked him up from the BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters. Later he was taken in an ambulance to Apollo Hospitals. DMP Deputy Commissioner (media) Masudur Rahman claimed that the police had not arrested Rizvi but only helped him reach the hospital.

On January 7, Rizvi “fled” the hospital evading the eyes of the authorities and the law enforcers.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE 3 | News

The Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2015 begins on Bangla Academy premises and in a portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan in the capital today.

4 | News

An action plan detailing the infrastructure development of the country’s first nuclear power plant has been recently adopted by the Bangladesh-Russia working group of the joint coordination committee for implementing the nuclear power programme.

5 | News

More than 30,000 poor and slum households are enjoying sanitation facilities by dint of commissioning of 11,000 hygienic latrines in the metropolis.

6 | Nation

New and expectant mothers are not finding a healthy environment at the gynae ward of the Modern Sadar Hospital in Habiganj. The labour ward reeks of bad odour, making it difficult for them to live there with newborns.

8 | World

Tens of thousands marched in Madrid yesterday to show support for anti-austerity party Podemos, whose popularity and policies have drawn comparisons with Greece’s new Syriza rulers.

14 | Sport

Hosts Australia won the Asian Cup after beating South Korea 2-1 in extra time of an electrifying final on Saturday, substitute James Troisi smashing home a dramatic winner.

15 | Entertainment

Graceful actress Sumaiya Shimu will appear in a new TV series titled “Lake Drive Lane” which will be aired on television channel Ntv from tomorrow.

01_FR 02_Ne 16_BA

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 1, 2015

4 nations discuss regional cargo, passenger movement n Tribune Report Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have discussed possible cargo and passenger movement under a sub-regional cooperation initiative.

High officials of the countries discussed a range of issues at the second meeting of Joint Working Groups on sub-regional cooperation among the four countries on water resources management and power/hydropower and on connectivity and transit in New Delhi on Friday and yesterday.

“The [connectivity] meeting exchanged ideas on potential cargo [both roads and railways] and bus routes, involving at least three countries in addition to the existing bilateral routes and also agreed to share suggestions in this regard,” says a joint press release issued by the Foreign Ministry yesterday.

The JWG on connectivity agreed on the significance of BBIN agreements to enable movement of motor vehicles and railways, and reviewed the existing arrangements. It was also decided to explore the possibility of using multi-modal transport to meet commercial as well as tourist needs, the statement says.

The JWG on water resources management discussed the possibility of exchanging best practices on basin wide water resources management and development. “It discussed the scope for power trade and inter-grid connectivity between the four countries as well as potential for closer cooperation in future power projects,” the press release added.

It was also agreed to exchange lists

of potential future hydropower/power projects to be undertaken jointly involving at least three countries on equitable basis. The BBIN agreed that joint efforts be made to explore harnessing of water resources including hydropower and power from other sources available in the sub-region.

The JWG deliberated on the need for trade facilitation at land border stations The JWG took stock of the existing bilateral arrangements between the four countries on data sharing for flood forecasting and ways of improving the same.

Exchange of experiences and best practices in other areas of power sector among the four countries were also discussed in the meeting.

The JWG deliberated on the need for trade facilitation at land border stations for effective sub-regional connectivity.

The group exchanged views on usefulness of sharing trade infrastructure at land border stations and harmonisation of customs procedures.

The meetings also covered the terms of reference for both JWGs and decided that the next meetings would be held in the second half the current year in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Tareq Md Ariful Islam, director general (South Asia) of the Foreign Ministry. l

Fire fighters rescue a man after a wall unable to bear the load of curious locals collapsed at the factory that caught fire in the capital yesterday

Transport workers demand Khaleda’s arrest n Tribune Report Some pro-government transport workers demanded to arrest BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia within February 4.

The ultimatum came at a rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital yesterday.

Later, the workers submitted a memorandum to Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner to arrest the BNP leader, who called an indefinite coun-

try-wide blockade that resulted in rampant violence hampering the transport sector of the country.

“If our demand is not fulfilled, we will hold another rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club. And after that we will submit a memorandum to the State Minister for Home Affairs, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to arrest Khaleda Zia,” Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik League general secretary Insur Ali told the rally.

The transport workers held the rally in protest against the on going BNP-led country-wide blockades and hartals.

Meanwhile, yesterday at a demonstration in front of the Jatiya Press Club, Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Malik Sramik Oikya Parishad urged Khaleda Zia to put an end to the blockade.

Showing images of burned buses and dead workers, they called upon the political parties to stop the violence immediately. l

B Chowdhury: Dialogue only way to break impasse n UNB

National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh brings out a rally for peace denouncing violence and terrorism in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

13 killed, 3 injured in Mirpur plastic factory fire  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

We were getting ready to leave after unloading the cargo, a blast occurred and suddenly a fireball hit our vehicle.”

Machine operator at the factory Mamun said he was on the fourth floor when he heard a bang and quickly went to the roof. “I jumped at the nearby building to save myself.”

Factory owner Anisuzzaman could not be traced since the fire broke out, a police official informed.

Fire Service official Shakil said: “There is a huge stock of chemical and flammable substances inside the building. So, the building is still not fully out of danger.” l

Rizvi under DB custody  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Later, the hospital authorities lodged a general diary with Bhatara police accusing the BNP leader of not paying the bills for treatment and a four-day stay there. Within few hours, a representative of Rizvi – who did not disclose his name to the authorities – paid the dues.

Meanwhile, police yesterday detained six leaders of Mohila Dal, the woman wing of the BNP, after coming out of the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office around 6:30pm and 7:20pm.

The detainees who include Khaleda Yeasmin, executive committee member of the BNP, were later taken to the Gulshan police station, OC Rafiqul Islam said.

Dhanmondi police around 9pm arrested Jahangir Sarder, a Jubo Dal leader, for his alleged involvement in sabotage activities, DMP DC Masudur said. l

Khaleda gets back power  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

electricity line of the office around 2:42am yesterday, said the BNP chief’s press wing official Shamsuddin Didar.

One Desco staff claimed that he cut the electricity line as per instruction from Gulshan police. It was seen that a technician from a state-run power utility was climbing a ladder and cutting the line outside Khaleda’s office.

The disconnection came hours after Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan threatened to sever electrical supply to the office and force Khaleda to starve to death if she did not call off the nationwide transport blockade.

The mobile and wireless internet networks were severed yesterday morning.

“Since yesterday [Friday] night, she has been passing sleepless hours with her two grand daughters [Koko’s daughters]. It is utter cruelty of the government. I have no word to say anything in this regard. I am stunned. A civilised government cannot behave like this. It is beyond imagination,” Maruf Kamal Khan, press secretary to the BNP chairperson, told reporters quoting his boss.

According to Maruf, Khaleda also said that it was a violation of human rights and the citizen charter of the Desco.

Khaleda has been allegedly confined in her Gulshan office since January 3 after she issued a threat to rally her supporters against the government led by her arch rival Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the first anniversary of last year’s controversial general election.

On January 12, security was relaxed, but Khaleda never came out and declared that she was going to stay there and blockade would continue unless the government took the first steps towards a solution.

The relaxed blockade is underway across the country amid incidents of violence, arson, vandalism and arrests

of BNP members.

On January 24, after Arafat Rahman Koko died in Malaysia, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sent back from the gate of the Gulshan office where she went to condole Khaleda.

Tens of thousands of people turned up at the Baitul Mukarram mosque the next day, in what appeared to be the biggest showdown for the BNP in months.

The blockade, which enters day 27 today, and the associated unrest have so far left at least 40 people dead, hundreds injured and nearly a thousand vehicles firebombed or damaged.

She also called a 72-hour strike starting today, despite nationwide highschool examinations in which about 1.5 million students are taking part.

After the arrest of BNP’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday, another Joint Secretary Salahuddin Ahmed came into the scene and issued a press release alleging the incumbent government of burying democracy.

“Marshall law has been prevailing in the country in the name of democracy,” Salahuddin said in the release.

He alleged that the government has not only confined three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia but also confined the people and turned the whole country into a jail.

The BNP leader condemned the power and cable cut to Khaleda’s office saying: “It is a rare example in history of world civilisation.”

He asked the government to reconnect everything immediately, otherwise consequences would not be good and the government would have to shoulder responsibility if any untoward situation is created.

He urged all the rights watchdogs home and abroad including the United Nations Human Rights Commission to take effective steps to remedy the situation in Bangladesh. l

Observing that a dialogue with the participation of all parties is the only way to break the ongoing political stalemate, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) president Prof AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday urged the government and BNP to take steps to this end.

“Don’t play ducks and drakes with the fate of the country’s 16 crore people. Hold talks shunning the path of anarchy,” he said.

The former President was address-

ing a seminar titled “National Dialogue to Overcome Current Political Crisis” organised by Good Governance Forum at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.

Pointing to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, B Chowdhury said if she could have sat with Santu Larma to bring peace in Chittagong Hill Tracts, then where is the problem in holding a dialogue with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to establish peace in the country.

He also termed a “political stigma” the severing of power, internet, cable connections to the Gulshan office of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. l

Where is the rule of law?  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Noted lawyer Shahdeen Malik said the authorities do not have any right to cut utility services if a consumer has paid all the bills, unless there is a clear argument that the services were being used for terrorism or against the country’s security.

“A 70-year-old woman, who has been prime minister three times, has been living in that place. How can the government possibly argue that she was doing terrorism?”

Malik said.

“No matter what the government does, it has to stay within the purview of law. What the government is doing in this case is clearly beyond law,” the lawyer said.

Taqseem A Khan, managing director of the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), said last night that he could not tell whether or not the water supply to Khaleda’s office will be cut or not.

No phone, internet

The Bangladesh Telecommunication (amendment) Act 2010 allows the government to direct mobile phone and internet operators to suspend entire network services or that in a particular area if there are concerns about security threats.

According to sources, on Friday night, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) verbally requested all mobile phone and Wi-max operators to block the networks under which the Gulshan office falls.

In reply, the operators told the regulator that they cannot do so unless they are given the order in writing. Then, around 5am on Saturday, the regulator

sent a written order to the operators by e-mail.

The e-mail, a copy of which the Dhaka Tribune has accessed, was sent from the Systems and Services Division of the BTRC. It reads: “I am directed to instruct you to close all kinds of Communication [Mobile, Data, Land phone, Radio, etc] at House#06, Road#86, Gulshan-2 from now onwards till further instructions for obvious security reasons.”

Upon receiving that e-mail, the six mobile operators switched off a total of 60 of their base transmission stations (BTSs) in the Gulshan 2 area.

An operator can disconnect the land line to a particular house, but since that cannot be done with mobile phones, hundreds of thousands of residents in the area and the adjacent diplomatic zone have since been not able use their mobile phone and wireless internet connections.

Requesting anonymity, a senior executive of a mobile operator said: “The services cannot be suspended completely since those with satellite facilities and wi-fi networks, can access internet and other voice and data services.”

Among the base stations blocked, 20 belongs to the Grameenphone, 15 to Robi and 18 to Banglalink. The operators have also changed the direction of some of their antennas in the Gulshan 2 area.

Mushfique Chowdhury, a resident of Gulshan, told the Dhaka Tribune last night: “Despite repeated attempts, I have failed to connect an emergency call with a relative who lives abroad. This is very painful and I do not have any words to express my agony.” l

RAJIB DHAR

Hasan demands Khaleda’s arrest n BSS Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday said BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia should be arrested for creating anarchy across the country in the name of democratic movement.

“Khaleda Zia should be arrested for unleashing violence, hurling bombs in the name of movement....it is the demand of the people to arrest her and bring her to book,” he said.

Hasan Mahmud said this at a human chain in front of the National Press Club organised by Bangladesh Awami Hawkers’ League protesting country wide blockade and hartal called by BNP led 20-party alliance.

“She [Khaleda] is continuing killing people... the death of her son did not matter Khaleda Zia, her only target is to grab state power,” he added.

He urged BNP to withdraw the nationwide indefinite hartal-blockade programme during the SSC examinations.

Former state minister for home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku and vicepresident of Bangladesh Awami Hawkers’ League Sirajul Islam also spoke, among others. l

‘Only PM knows what is next for Khaleda’  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

so far killed people in the name of movement.”

The following day Army chief Gen Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban.

However, President’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim after the meeting said the army chief had apprised the president about the five medical colleges, established by Bangladesh Army, that started academic activities recently.

When contacted, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have not got any directives from the government’s high command [prime minister] to arrest BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. If the prime minister issue orders, we are ready to arrest her [Khaleda] any time.

About sending Khaleda to the CMH, Asaduzzaman said: “I do not know anything about it. It is the prime minster and the higher authorities of the government to decide on it.”

He, however, said anyone might be sent or go to the CMH for treatment.

Sources in the ruling 14-party alliance said the government had decided to control the BNP-Jamaat’s “anarchy” with an iron hand.

As part of the plan, the joint forces and the law enforcement agencies in separate drives arrested several thousand BNP-Jamaat activists and several top leaders including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Protesting the arrests, the BNP-Jamaat alliance has become more desperate and called 72-hour hartal from today amid the indefinite blockade. They

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Amar Ekushey Boi Mela begins today n Nure Alam Durjoy The month-long Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2015 begins on Bangla Academy premises and in a portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan in the capital today.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the fair at 3:00pm. The “Bangla Academy Sahitya Award” 2014 will be given at the inaugural ceremony where Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan will be present.

The fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm every day except holidays. Meanwhile, it will remain open from 8:00am to 9:00pm on February 21, the International Mother Language Day. Speaking at a press conference at the Bangla Academy yesterday, Shamsuzzaman Khan said “This is, perhaps, the world longest book fair.”

This year, more spaces have been allocated for publishers to set up their stalls at the fair. The whole premises— both the Bangla Academy and the portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan— of the fair have been decorated in an artistic manner, he said.

According to organisers 351 institu-

tions are will set up their stalls at the fair. Of them, 92 institutions will set up stalls on the Bangla Academy premises, while 259 institutions in the portion of Shuhrawardy Uddyan.

However, there will be 11 pavilions for 11 publication houses, they said.

Law enforcers will be deployed in a three-layered security net in and around the fair ground. Some 75 close circuit cameras have installed to ensure security, they added.

Cultural Affairs Secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Biswas, member secretary of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela Preparation Committee Dr Jalal Uddin, and Bangla Academy Secretary Altaf Hossain, among others, spoke at the press conference.

International Literary Conference On the occasion of the fair, Bangla Academy will organise a 4-day long International Literary Conference (ILC).

The first international literary conference was held in 1974.

Some 38 famous writers, poets, critics from 11 countries will attend the conference beginning from today and will continue until February 4.

Writers and poets will come from France, Ecuador, USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Malaysia, India. l

Members of Bangladesh Armed Forces inspect the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela premise to ensure security a day before the month-long fair kicks off

First tender for metro rail floated n Shohel Mamun

The first tender for the per-qualification of rolling stock (coach and locomotive) and equipment of Uttara depot for the 20-km-long much-expected metro railway project have been floated yesterday.

The tender have already been published on the website of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) website, and it will be published in the national dailies on the next Monday and Tuesday, said Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project Director Mofazzel Hossain.

Under the tender, 24 locomotives and 144 coaches will be procured from manufacturers and suppliers at the cost of Tk2,700 crore. The 24 trains each having six coaches will run from

Uttara to Motijheel, according to sources in the communication ministry.

On Monday, an amended Metro Rail Bill 2015 was passed in the parliament to curb traffic jam by ensuring quick and improved transport services in the capital.

The first phase of construction of the metro railway would be finished by the December 2019, while the whole project would be completed by 2024.

The metro rail project, the country’s second largest infrastructure project after the Padma bridge project, has faced complexities in the last few years over modification of routes following objections from the air force and to avoid overlapping with the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover.

The trains will run from Uttara to

Motijheel via Pallabi, the west side of Rokeya Sarani and Farmgate, Hotel Sonargaon, Hotel Ruposhi Bangla, TSC of Dhaka University, Doel Chattar and Topkhana Road. The routes would be be extended up to Sayedabad from Bangladesh Bank through Atish Dipankar Road.

According to a Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) study, the trains will operate every three minutes and carry 60,000 passengers an hour.

The Jica has committed to provide Tk16,594.59 crore for the project, while Bangladesh government will allocate Tk5,390.48 crore.

A Japanese consortium is now working on the detailed design of the project. It is also carrying out a topographical, traffic and geo-technical surveys in different parts of the project. l

Rights activists urge politicians to stop violence n Arif Ahmed Human rights activists yesterday urged political leaders to immediately restrain party activists from perpetrating violence and not to ruin people’s lives in the name of politics.

They called on the government to ensure public safety.

Addressing a rally under the banner of National Human Rights Commission on Shaheed Minar premises, the rights activists urged political leaders to observe peaceful programmes and to call off all sort programmes that could bring troubles for Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinees.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman, Honorary Member Professor Mahfuza Khanom, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad General Secretary Maleka Banu and Dhaka University Teachers Association President Professor Farid Uddin joined the rally among others.

Mizanur Rahman said: “I beg of you [politicians], please do not ruin the lives of the commoners.”

The NHRC commissioner also warned security forces not to violate human rights in their attempt to bring peace.

“The forces that were defeated in the 1971 Liberation War began by com-

mitting atrocities in the country to destroy the spirit of the war in the name of democratic movement,” said Mahfuza Khanom.

“A terrorist group began carrying out inhuman activities across the country at a time when the incumbent government cracked down on war criminals, August 21 grenade attackers and also corruption of Khelada Zia’s two sons.

So it is a very clear indication that the anti-liberation forces have resorted to atrocities to press home their demand,” she added.

The indefinite blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance has been in force since January 6. l

Atiur: BB salvaging banks, not big entrepreneurs

RESCUE OF MALAYSIABOUND ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

Seven including two hotel owners sued, one held n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Police yesterday sued seven people including two owners of the Hotel Golden Dream over the incident of rescue of 40 people who gathered at the hotel to go to Malaysia through sea route illegally.

Kotwali police station Sub-Inspector Imam Hossain lodged the case with the police station against the hotel owners, Ali Akbar and Mohammad Mostafa and five others.

Earlier on Friday night, Kotwali police rescued the people from the hotel in the city’s Reazuddin Bazar area.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali circle) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf said they conducted a raid at the hotel on receiving information.

Hotel employee Saiful Afsar, was arrested in this connection, the SI said.

On Thursday, a trawler was capsized around eight kilometres southwest of Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal due to over load.

Forty three people including six suspected traffickers were rescued and seven dead bodies recovered after the incident.

According to victims, the journey began by boat from Chittagong city’s Majhirghat Wednesday around 11pm.

In the last five years, some 3,793 people have been rescued from Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, according to an Anti-Human Trafficking Special Committee report.

In the last one decade, about 15,00020,000 people have been trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia through sea route, the report said.

The report mentioned that one Myanmar national Tajar Muluk, who came to Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar about a decade ago, first started human trafficking from Bangladesh to Malaysia and Thailand in 2000.

The report which was published in 2014 said 11 international human traffickers and 230 Bangladeshi others are engaged in the trafficking who are under the command of one Thailand expatriate Malaysian woman Manaking. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman yesterday came down hard on bank directors after they expressed anxiety over the central bank’s new move to restructure big loans.

He clarified that the central bank was restructuring the loans not rescheduling them, at a seminar titled “Revisiting Corporate Governance Regulations for Banks in Bangladesh” organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at the Westin Hotel in the capital.

“It is meant to salvage the banks, not to salvage entrepreneurs as you seem to suggest,” the governor said, visibly annoyed.

You have to do your business and I am just your referee. If there is a foul, I have to blow my whistle

Muktizoddha Command forms a human chain with a burnt bus protesting the political violence that erupted during the on going blockade. The photo was taken at the Jaitya Press Club in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

“It is your business to give the best loans to the best entrepreneurs. You failed because you lent to the wrong people. You did not do due diligence, and now, finally, the regulator is having to come in and save you,” he said.

The central bank has taken steps to restructure large loans of big corporate houses, which in Bangladesh Bank’s view have faced international price or domestic shocks.

“One should not be confused,” Atiur said when a director termed the latest move a “rescheduling” of the loans.

The governor said the central bank had the choice of either closing its eyes and letting the banks make provisions against bad loans or stepping in to salvage them.

“The big houses employ thousands of people who would be on the street if the businesses closed down and that is a consideration taken by the central bank in deciding to intervene,” he said.

Citing an example, he said on one occasion the large loans of a big group were

restructured for 20 years at zero percent interest and many banks still bear the burden of that decision but the group has become a strong business entity.

He said the Bangladesh Bank restructuring circular issued last week was very stringent and that no loans suspected of being fraudulent or irregular would get access to the restructuring facility. He admitted that the broader governance environment suffered many shortcomings.

Indulgent laxities, delays in taking loan scammers and frauds to court and the abuse of process loopholes in delaying legal redress were the main impediments in establishing excellence in the governance of the financial sector, he said.

The governor said there should be a separate bench for dealing with financial cases.

Citing his role in the commercial sector, he said: “You have to do your business and I am just your referee. If there is a foul, I have to blow my whistle.”

Deputy Governor Shitangshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury made a detailed presentation on corporate governance regulation for banks in Bangladesh.

Vice Chairman of United Commercial Bank Sarif Zahir, a discussant, said there is a set guideline to appoint directors to boards, but in practice boards are comprised of family members who do not give the banks sufficient time.

The banks must take the issue seriously and appoint qualified people who can give enough time for the betterment of banks, said Zahir, who has two decades’ experience as a bank director.

He said there was a common practice among directors to take loans from each other’s banks and the rescheduling of large loans may have a negative impact on the banking sector.

IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan Kyle F Kelhofer and IFC Global Manager Darrrin Hartzler also spoke at the seminar.

A large number of bank directors were present at the programme. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Plan for nuclear infrastructure development adopted n Aminur Rahman Rasel An action plan detailing the infrastructure development of the country’s first nuclear power plant has been recently adopted by the Bangladesh-Russia working group of the joint coordination committee for implementing the nuclear power programme.

A statement released by the coordination committee said two documents - action plan for the nuclear infrastructure development and Bangladesh nuclear power communication strategy – were signed in this regard.

The working group, consisting of 40 experts from Bangladesh and Russia, met in Dhaka from January 13 to 15.

The action plan, to be implemented in next two years, includes many important steps Bangladesh needs to undertake in order to achieve the goals of the nuclear power programme.

The plan lays out details of nuclear safety, human resources, site selection and installation support, management, legislative and regulatory framework, electrical network, funding and financing, planning for emergencies, nuclear fuel cycle, and radioactive waste management.

Head of Bangladesh delegation and co-chair of the working group, Rabindranath Roy Chowdhury, joint secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology said: “The documents we signed are a step forward to implementing the nuclear power programme. Nuclear infrastructure is a vital pre-condition for establishing the nuclear power plant in the country. I am happy that we are proceeding steadily towards our dream.”

His Russian counterpart Yury Sokolov, Director of Department on international scientific and technical cooperation of “Rosenergoatom”, power generation company of “Rosatom”, added: “With our long experience in the nuclear industry, we have worked out with Bangladeshi partners the action plan, which I believe completely corresponds to their needs and at the same time conforms to the guidelines set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)”.

The first meeting of the Bangladesh-Russia working group of the joint coordination committee took place in Moscow on July 22-23 last year and was co-chaired by Director General of Rosatom, Sergey Kirienko and State Minister for Science of Technology of Bangladesh, Yeafesh Osman.

The action plan addresses the 19 IAEA guidelines as well as the needs of Bangladesh and includes examples of best practices of Russian nuclear power industry, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

The other document signed in the meeting, the Bangladesh nuclear power communication strategy addresses the needs to inform and educate people of Bangladesh, Rooppur in particular, about the basics of nuclear energy, its benefits, safety and how eco-friendly and cost effective it is.

Bangladesh plans to produce 1,000MW of electricity by 2021 and another 1,000MW by 2022 from the proposed Rooppur nuclear power plant.

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is implementing the project. l

Hok Protibad organises a programme in remembrance of those who fell victim to political violence during the on going blockade and hartals at the Central Shaheed Minar yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

BNP’s vice-president, 7 others arrested in Rajshahi n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Police yesterday arrested eight activists of BNP and Jamat-Shibir, including BNP’s Rajshahi city unit vice-president Hosrat Mohini.

Spokesperson of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ifte Khayer Alam told the Dhaka Tribune police nabbed Mohini yesterday at around noon from in front of Bangladesh Bank in Rajshahi city.

Mohini, also the central vice-president of Swechchhasebak Dal, was accused of a petrol bomb attack on a bus

at Vodra area of the city at midnight on January 19, Ifte Khayer has said.

Mohini was sent to jail in the afternoon after being produced before a chief metropolitan magistrate court in Rajshahi.

Seven others, including two Shibir activists, were nabbed for triggering hartal violence and sent to jail, Ifte Khayer added.

Five BNP and Jamaat activists were arrested form different places in Rajshahi city in a nightlong drive and sent to jail yesterday afternoon, the AC confirmed.

Two Shibr activists – Saiful Islam, 35, and Nowshad Ali, 19 – were nabbed as they were trying to flee after hurling a crud bomb at the police, during a Shibir procession yesterday morning.

The police had gone to the spot to resist the procession, which was held at 11:30am, in front of the city’s Loknath School, Boalia police sources said.

Otherwise, the Rajshahi Jamat enforced 36-hour hartal, which began yesterday at 6am, passed amid sporadic incidents in Rajshahi city.

The hartal was sponsored by Rajshahi Jamaat in eight districts of Rajshahi

division in protest of the killing of their party activist Nurul Islam Shahin in police shootout on Wednesday.

No major incident took place during the hartal, although no buses left the Rajshahi central bus terminal till noon, Manjur Rahman Pitar, general secretary of Rajshahi Highway Transport Group, told the Dhaka Tribune.

However, light vehicles such as rickshaws, auto rickshaws, motorcycles, CNG, human haulers and micro buses were seen moving on the highway in large scale. Rail communication was also usual. l

Fire engulfs two ‘Kids Read’ event launched in Chittagong Rajshahi civil society for halting houses and shop n FM Mizanur Rahaman ongoing political violence in Chittagong n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi n Our Correspondent, Chittagong Two thatched houses and a grocery shop were gutted in separate fire incidents in Chittagong city’s Teribazar area and the district’s Hathazari upazila early yesterday.

However, no causality was reported in this connection.

Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters in Agrabad sources said a fire broke out from an electric short circuit at a grocery shop at Afim Lane area of Teri Bazar area at around 4am.

Being informed, a fire fighting unit from Nandan Kanon fire service rushed to the spot and put out the fire within half an hour.

Meanwhile, two thatched houses were destroyed by fire at midnight at Geduya area of Hathazari upazila. Fire service sources said the fire erupted from an electric short circuit and soon spread to the adjacent house.

The fire fighters from Hathazari fire station doused the blaze after one hour. l

With a view to developing the reading skill and book reading habit among the infants, a programme titled “Kids Read” was launched in the port city’s Chandgaon area yesterday morning.

British Council hosted the event with the slogan of “Reading is Fun” in Naziria Naymia Mahmuda madrasha of BSCIC industrial area, where education secretary Md Nazrul Islam Khan was as the chief guest.

The BC launched it under its worldwide pilot project financed

by Hong Kong and Sanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

Nazrul Islam Khan said there was no alternative way, except reading

extracurricular books to explore the dreamy world of knowledge while the text books contain limited knowledge.

“Over 50 percent of books have been written up in English and that is why the students have to learn the language as now it is the major medium to enter the enormous knowledge of the modern world,” the secretary continued.

HSBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Bangladesh Francois de Maricourt termed the programme unique tool for the teachers as well as the guardians to build up reading skills and literacy behaviour of children.

The CEO went on: “The event will arouse the interest among the students to learn a lot of things when they will be attached with 50,000 kids across the

world including the Middle East and North African region.”

Six educational institutions including three madrasas there were selected for the pilot project where the secretary and the CEO handed distributed books to the respective institutional heads.

BC’s Senior Consultant Andrew Jones moderated the launching event where famous storyteller Alec Williams from the UK told the kids stories during the story telling session.

Asian Women University’s ViceChancellor (VC) Dr Fahima Aziz, BC Chittagong Manager Nahid Khan and Resource Centre Officer Mashudul Alam, among others, were present there. l

1,400kg of jatka seized in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Nasrul Hamid’s mother dies n Tribune Report Hasna Hamid, mother of State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu, passed away early yesterday. She was 76.

Hasna Hamid, wife of Hamidur Rahman, former AL treasurer, lawmaker and a close associate of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, breathed his last at a hospital in Singapore.

She had been suffering from cancer for a long time, says a media release issued from from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Her first namaj-e-janaza will be held at Gulshan Azad Mosque after Johr prayers today, which followed by the second one on Keraniganj Dowleshwar field after Asr prayers and the third one in Fatulla.

Later, she will be buried at the family graveyard in Keraniganj.

Meanwhile, Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) expressed deep shock at the demise and prayed for the salvation of the departed soul. l

Speakers at a human chain yesterday in the city blamed the activists of BNP-led 20-party alliance for pushing the country into an awful situation in the name of movement to establish the democratic rights.

The event under the banner “Students-Teachers and Guardians of Rajshahi” was held at Shaheb bazar intersection around 10am demanding the withdrawal of blockade and hartal during the SSC examinations.

They also protested the arson attacks on the ordinary people in the indefinite nationwide blockade enforced

by the alliance.

The civil society members opined that the ongoing violence has turned into militant activities pushing the countrymen into a state of great uncertainty.

Urging legal action against the arsonists, Rajshahi Rokkha Sangram Parishad General Secretary Jamat Khan said the political parties have been burning and killing people to realise their demands in the name of political events.

Veteran journalist Advocate Mostafijur Rahman Khan Alam, journalist Hasan Millat and Workers’ Party General Secretary Debashis Pramanik Debu addressed the programme among others. l

Guests inaugurate the National Street Theatre Festival organised by Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation at the Central Shaheed Minar yestreday MEHEDI HASAN

Etihad to offer jobs to 6,000 Emiratis n Tribune Report

Etihad Airways has announced plans to offer job to 6,000 Emiratis over the next five years as part of a development strategy, a media release has said.

This plan comes amid Etihad’s continious efforts to employ Emiratis, which has happened through several agrements for the past few years.

In 2013, Etihad Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, with the aim to sponsor and hire United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals studying abroad.

Earlier, in 2012, the Abu Dhabi-based

airline signed a MoU with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs to recruit 1,500 Emirati citizens to its global team over the next five years, for which more than 900 UAE nationals have so far been recruited.

This MoU was signed as part of a major collaboration of Etihad Airways, the Absher initiative, which was planned by the President of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Other than employment opportunities, Etihad Airways also invests in educational programme, such as the recent launch of a two-year Graduate Finance Development Programme, which prepares Emirati trainess in financial accounting and provides them qualifica-

tion from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for accountants.

Eithad Airways is an Abu-Dhabi based airlines company that holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia, Aer Lingus, Air Serbia, Jet Airways and Alitalia, and is in the process of formalising an equity investment in Swiss-based Etihad Regional, operated by Darwin Airline.

The airline currently offers 21 different development programmes, including programmes in government affairs, network planning, properties and logistics, for training UAE nationals in all aspects of the aviation business. l

Law enforcers yesterday seized 1400 Kg of jatka (hilsa fry) worth Tk2.8 lakh from two retail markets in Barisal.

The juvenile hilsa fishes were caught by violating eight-month restriction against netting jatka.

Maksudul Ahsan, spokesman of the zonal commanding office of Bangladesh Coast Guard, Barisal Zone, said: “Coast Guard members seized the huge amount of jatka after two separate drives at two local markets.”

“We conducted the drives at Shaheber Haat bazar under Sadar upazila and Kaliganj launch ghat bazar under Mehendiganj upazila from early to late morning yesterday,” he added.

The seized fishes were later distributed to different orphanages and madrasas through the district fisheries office.

However, no one was fined or arrested in this regard.

Bimal Chandra Das, officer (Hilsa) of fisheries directorate in Barisal, said there was an eight-month countrywide government ban from November 1 against catching, transporting and marketing of jatka, hilsa fishes which are less than 10 inch long.

Bazlur Rashid, deputy director and divisional fisheries officer, said this year around 1.6 crore mother hilsa safely and naturally laid 49,000 kg of eggs and if half of the laid eggs could be fertilised, then 31 crores of hilsa pollen

would be made. And if 10 percent of the pollen survived, 4 crore jatka could be produced.

Hilsa fries develop 2-2.5 centimetres in length each month and start to migrate to sea after reaching 15-17 centimetres in length.

They begin return journey to sweet water rivers after reaching 25-28 centimetres in length weighing about 300-450 grams to lay eggs.

If only 10-20 percent of the jatka can get the chance to reach maturity, then around 2 lakh tonnes of hilsa worth cores of Taka could be materialised this year, said the fisheries officials.

However after visiting the local markets of the city on Saturday it was found that jatka sell was going unabated defying the 8-month ban.

The district and divisional fisheries department were unable to take action against jatka catchers and traders due to fund constraint, lack of manpower, legal complications and other logistical issues, said Wahiduzzaman, Barisal district fisheries officer.

Israil Pandit, president of Bangladesh Khudra Matsyajibi Samity, said: “Without implementing a full rehabilitation plan for all fishermen, prevention of jatka catching could not be successful.”

Poverty and unemployment will push poor fishermen of the southern districts to continue catching jatka, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Sunday, February 1, 2015

30,000 slum families enjoying sanitation facilities in Rajshahi city

Navy, coastguard seize Tk1.78 crore worth yaba

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Coast Guard yesterday seize a total of 32,500 yaba tablets in separate drives from Chittagong Port’s Outer Anchorage and Teknaf upazila’s Jaliyardwip in Cox’s Bazar district respectively.

However, no was detained during the drives, said navy and coastguard sources. The yaba tablets was worth a total of worth Tk17,750,000.

Bangladesh Navy Anti-Smuggling Cell Chittagong In-Charge Commander Atikur Rahman said a team of the cell tried to approach a fishing boat while patrolling near the outer anchorage area around 3:30am as the boat was carrying some people and its movement seemed suspicious. Sensing the presence of navy personnel, the boatmen and others managed rushed to the shore and fled the spot, he said adding that the team later searched the boat and found 30,000 yaba tablets.

Meanwhile, a coastguard team conducted a drive at Jaliyardwip early yesterday after receiving a tip-off and found 2,500 pieces of yaba from a boat near the shore, said Bangladesh Coast

More than 30,000 poor and slum households are enjoying sanitation facilities by dint of commissioning of 11,000 hygienic latrines in the metropolis.

Similarly, they are getting facilities of safe drinking water from 2,300 tube wells installed in the slum areas besides different other settlement improvement privileges like footpath and drains.

Various other settlement improvement facilities like one community latrine, 42,412 squire-kilometer footpath, 6,708 meter drain, 34 dustbins and seven community centers were developed for ensuring improved water and sanitation among the poverty-prone communities, reports BSS. The access to improved water sources makes the lives of community members healthier while the constructed toilets and bathing facilities leads to improved hygiene practices and the footpaths improves settlement accessibility and mobility.

Ajahar Ali, chief executive officer of

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC),said the infrastructural and settlement improvement activities were executed by the direct supervision and monitoring by 173 Community Development Committees under Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Project (UPPRP).

The slum households have also come together in an antipoverty savings scheme to raise more than Tk9.5 crore Local Government Engineering Department has been implementing the project in association with UNDP and financial and technical supports from UKaid and UNHabitat.

According to the officials concerned, main thrust of the project is to improve the living and livelihood condition of around two and half lakh poor and ex-

treme poor people, especially women and girls, in the city.

Under the project, the beneficiary communities identify and priorities the environmental, social and economic challenges they face as well as the required actions to address them, said Engineer Nur Islam, Town Member Secretary of UPPRP. The slum households have also come together in an anti- poverty savings scheme to raise more than Tk9.5 crore. Through the savings and credit programmes, the communities now can operate their own savings schemes and create a revolving fund from which credit operations are being managed by themselves.

The programme promotes household and community level urban food production technology demonstrations, provides small input supports especially high yielding variety vegetable and fruit seeds, saplings, ducklings, chick and poultry vaccination.

It also provides business start-up grants to extreme poor women for poultry, goat rearing, beef fattening

and agri-business allowing them to have access to regular income.

Besides, the ongoing apprenticeships and vocational training improve the odds of youth landing decent jobs and regular income.

Rapid urbanisation in the city is a growing trend that creates various challenges particularly inadequacy of infrastructural services, basic amenities, violence and socio-economic insecurity like other parts of the country, said Ajahar Ali. He, however, said the community savings and credit activities have been adjudged as an effective means of addressing some of the challenges.

The approach is good for alleviating urban poverty alongside women empowerment as many other slum communities intend to adopt the process after witnessing its overall successes.

The successful trend will continue even after completions of the project that will help the poor and extreme poor people bring about change within their families and communities, he expects. l

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Guard (East) Public Relation Officer Lt Commander M Rajibul Islam. The seized yaba were handed over to authorities concerned and legislative measures would be taken as per as law, said both the navy and coastguard officials.

Since 2014, the navy and coastguard in separate drives have seized about 1,400,000 yaba pills and most of the seizures were from Karnaphuli estuary and Outer Anchorage area, said sources in navy and coastguard. Navy sources said smugglers mostly use fishing trawlers for carrying the contraband items and then deliver it to local dealers.

The navy’s anti smuggling cell sources said as a large number of the fishing trawlers, apart from merchant vessels, roam in the outer anchorage it was hard to trace which vessel carries the drug.

Sources said smugglers use the sea route to bring the drug into the country from neighbouring Myanmar as it is cheaper and safer.

Directorate of Narcotic Control’s Chittagong Metropolitan regional Superintendent Chowdhury Imrul Hasan said the drug was being smuggled from Mongdue city in Myanmar where a total of 37 yaba factories are situated. l

Land feud leads to college student’s murder n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Police early yesterday found the dead body of a HSC first year student who has been missing since January 23.

Initial investigation revealed that he was strangulated by hired killers after being kidnapped over a land ownership dispute between the victim’s father and a local.

The victim, Riyad Rahman Shourov, 16, was son of Chittagong Port Employee Mohammad Mostafa and a student of Chittagong Port Authority Boys School and College.

He resided in Nilachol Residential area of the city.

Bandar police station Officer-inCharge Jahedul Islam said police recovered the body after they arrested Abul Kashem, 25, in connection with the kidnapping and received information from him.

The OC said Riyad’s father Mostafa lodged a general dairy with the station on January 23 night mentioning that his son was missing since he did not return home after leaving for Magrib prayers.

Later, police investigated into the matter and arrested Kashem around 1am yesterday.

Then they found the victim’s body from an apartment in Chittagong city’s

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Patenga area around 3am after receiving information from Kashem.

Quoting Kashem, the OC said a local resident of Mostafa, who has dispute with him over land ownership, hired Kashem along with three others to kill Riyad in exchange of Tk8 lakh. All the kidnappers were from Barguna district, he added.

On January 23, Kashem’s cohort, Mohibur, who was known to the victim, phoned Riyad and asked him to come to a place to meet. Then the killers kidnapped him when he reached Mohib’s mentioned place.

Later, they took Riyad to the apartment in Patenga and killed him that night according to their plan. The killers kept the dead body in a drum, sealed it and kept it in a storeroom over a toilet in the apartment.

The OC said Kashem confessed to the crime during initial interrogation.

The dead body was sent to Chittagong Medical College morgue for autopsy and a case was lodged with Bandar police station, OC Jahedul added.

The police official said they were conducting a drive to arrest the other killers and the mastermind of the murder – the local.

However, he did not disclose any names for the sake of investigation. l

'Violence against indigenous women, children went up in 2014' n Abid Azad

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Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

Bangladesh Sahanti Parishad brings out a procession in front of central Shahid Minar in the capital yesterday protesting the ongoing violence during blockade and hartal called by BNP led 20-party alliance RAJIB DHAR

The number of acts of violence perpetrated against indigenous women and children last year rose a little more than 1.5 times compared to the 2013 figure, according to a report of Bangladesh Indigenous Women Network (BIWN).

The report, which was unveiled at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium yesterday, showed there were 75 such cases in 2014, up from 48 the previous year.

Of the 75 incidents last year, 51 took place in Chittagong Hill Tracts area and 24 in plain lands. The incidents

involved 117 women facing sexual and physical abuse, and 57% of them were children.

The 48 cases in 2013 included 32 incidents in the CHT area and the remaining 16 in flat lands.

Among all the 2014 victims, 21 were raped and gang-raped, seven were killed after rape, 55 were physically assaulted, 21 were attempted to be raped, two were sexually harassed, and 11 were kidnapped and attempted to be kidnapped, according to the report.

The total number of victims of violence in 2013 was 67 while it was 75 a year earlier.

Speakers addressing the briefing pointed out that raising fear among the indigenous people was one of the key motives for subjecting indigenous women and children to sexual violence.

Another reason was to create tension among such communities to have them evicted from their ancestral lands in order to eventually grab the properties, they noted.

Other reasons mentioned for committing acts of violence against indigenous women included non-implementation of the CHT Accord, culture of impunity and political influence.

Speaking at the press conference,

n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

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for all the violence perpetrated against them,” she said.

She also said Bangladesh Mahila Parishad would always be with the movement of indigenous women.

Sabiha Yesmin Rossy, a teacher at Dhaka University, said psychiatric rehabilitation is important for the victims of violence and the government should take relevant initiatives.

Among others, Executive Director of Kapaeeng Foundation Pallab Chakma and indigenous rights activist Rakhi Mrong were present at the briefing.

Joint Convener of the BIWN Chaitali Tripura gave the keynote address. l

One shot dead, 15 injured in Sylhet

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Coordinator of Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha Dilara Rekha described the figures presented in the BIWN report as frustrating.

She said the civil society and the progressive groups in the country should act to bring an end to such culture of impunity.

Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad advocate Rakhi Das Purakayastha said the government should take immediate steps to end violence against indigenous women.

“As citizens of the country, indigenous women have the rights to get justice and they should demand justice

BNP activists yesterday hold a candle-lit vigil in front of the party’s Gulshan office protesting snapping of power, cable and internet lines of the office where BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been staying since Jan 3 midnight DHAKA TRIBUNE

A youth was shot dead and 15 others injured when a group led by a local Chhatra League leader swooped on transport workers over previous enmity in Biyanibazar upazila sadar on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Niju Ahmed, 18, an employee of a shop in Dakkhin Bazar area of the upazila. He is the son of Abdul Hamid Sobol Mia of Koshba village.

Four people, out of the 15 injured, were sent to Osmani Hospital. Jubo League leader Bimol Chandra Das was said to be in critical condition. Police arrested the main accused Shahjahan after a drive on the same day.

Officer-in-Charge of Biyanibazar police station Zubair Ahmed said they were trying to arrest the other members of the group as well.

According to local sources, local Chhatra League leader Jamal Ahmed had a long standing dispute with workers of upazila Sadar truck stand. On Friday, around 10:30pm, a group of followers of Jamal suddenly attacked the transport workers.

Niju Ahmed unfortunately came in the line of fire and died on the spot. Another 15 persons received injury when both the groups threw brick chips at each other. Upon information, Biyanibazar police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control by firing blank shots.

Since then a tension has been prevailing in the area, where extra police men were deployed.

When contacted, Jamal Ahmed said a truck stand worker had a conflict with his cousin over the ownership of a CNG-run autorickshaw. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, February 1, 2015

HABIGANJ MODERN GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gynae ward cries out for healing n Our Correspondent, Habiganj New and expectant mothers are not finding a healthy environment at the gynae ward of the Modern Sadar Hospital in Habiganj.

The labour ward reeks of bad odour, making it difficult for them to live there with newborns. Besides, bathroom and toilets have not been repaired for so long. They too are not cleaned regularly.

Accommodation problem is very much high as the ward remains fraught with patients around three times its capacity every day.

Ruma Roy, 26, who hails from Chunarughat upazila’s Birampur village, said she had been lying on the floor since she was admitted there on Wednesday.

She said she had not got any food from the hospital while the authorities are supposed to give food to each and every inpatient three times a day.

Talking about the hospital toilets, she said: “I do not feel like using them because I am afraid of somebody opening it while I am inside. And so I have to take somebody to guard the toilet door.”

Kamrunnessa, 30, who hails from Bahubal upazila’s Kandi village, said she has been lying on the floor of the ward due to bed crisis for three days.

What is worse, even pure drinking water is not available inside the hospital.

Kulsuma, 25, who hails from Baniachang upazila’s Noagaon village, said she has not seen more than one doctor for three days since she was admitted

to the hospital.

Khush Banu, 30, who hails from the upazila’s Prothomrekh village, said she has got a bed two days after getting admitted there. However, she was not happy with it since she felt like leaving the ward as soon as it was possible.

“The ward reeks of filthy odour. The wall looks so dirty as if it were a cowshed. Besides, one has to go out for pure drinking water. It is tough to fetch water from outside without being accompanied by a male person.”

Mamata Paal, who is in charge of the ward, said 60 to 70 patients remain admitted to the ward every day while it has the capacity of 25 patients. They all are taken care of by four nurses round the clock.

She added that a nurse can take care of up to five patients every day but they have to attend huge number of patients every day and so the nursing service could not be much better as the patients expect of them.

Residential Medical Officer Dr Mohsin Karim said there are 23 beds and two more in excess at the gynecological ward while 60 to 70 patients are admitted here every day.

There needs a senior gaynae consultant and two junior gynae consultants to take proper medical care of them. But there is no such consultant and so two junior gynae consultants are made to work here on hire.

About keeping clean the ward, he said there are only two ayas (medical assistants) and a sweeper for the hospital and so it is always tough to keep it clean. l

Candidates of the up coming Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, along with their parents, hold a human chain in Sherpur demanding an end to political violence in the country so that they can participate in the exam safely DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two workers killed in road accident n Our Correspondent, Tangail At least two garments worker were killed in a road accident under Mirzapur upazila of the district yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Sharif,23, son of Mozibar Rahman and Rana,25, son of Kasim Uddin in Razabari village of the upazila.

Md Humayun Kabir, officer-in-charge of Gorai Highway police station said, a speedy bus ran over the two near Mirzapur Cadet College on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in the morning leaving Rana dead on the spot while they were going to their factory by bicycle. l

Students of Government Girls’ School in Barisal city put up an impressive display during the annual sports day of the institution yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS IN BRIEF No articulate info on Shamarukh’s death in second autopsy report Police will have to probe the case filed over Dr Shamarukh Mahjabin’s death based on the first autopsy report as the medical board mentioned nothing lucid about the cause of her death in the second one.

But her father Nurul Islam has demanded not to carry out the investigation in light of the previous autopsy report.

Addressing a press briefing at Jessore Press Club yesterday noon, Nurul also accused the investigating officer of being biased in his work and demanded that he be replaced. On November 13 last year, Shamarukh was found hanging in her in-law’s Dhanmondi residence and doctors declared her dead after she was taken to hospital. Shamarukh’s father-in-law Tipu Sultan is the former lawmaker of Jessore 5 constituency. – Our Correspondent, Jessore

40 injured in Brahmanbaria clash; 15 held At least 40 people got injured as two group of villagers locked in clash in Rajghar village in Sadar upazila yesterday.

Of them, three were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition. During the clash, the unruly people set fire to 25 houses and shops as well. Police said former Natai (north) UP chairman Abdur Rauf and a local advocate named Ali Azam had been at loggerheads over a piece of disputed land. As sequel to the incident, the duo’s followers equipped with indigenous weapons engaged in clash with one another in the morning, leaving the 40 from both sides

hurt. Being informed, local police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control by firing over 20 rounds of rubber bullet. When contacted, Sadar model police station ASP Taposh Ranjan Gosh acknowledged the incident, they arrested 15 people from the spot. – Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

UP member hacked to death A member of Union Parishad was hacked to death by a gang of miscreants at Borolekha upazila in the district on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Md Majir Uddin, 60, member of Shahbajpur ward no: 3. Police and family members said, Majir went out of the house around 11pm by the call of a phone and he went missing since then. Locals found injured Majir in front of Sreedharpur mosque around 11:30pm. He died on the way to Upazila Health Complex. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital. Borolekha police station officer-in-charge Md Maniruzzaman said, the body bore several injuries on head. Majir might have been killed over previous enmity, OC said. Police arrested one Faisal in this connection. – Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

Two held with 44kg hemp Police in a drive arrested two alleged drug peddlers along with 44 kilograms of hemp at Amertal of Kathalbari area in the district town early yesterday. The arrested were identified as Mahidul Islam, a resident of Gharialdanga area of Rajarhat upazila, and Shahinur Rahman Titu, a resident of Lalmonirhat district.

Sources said on a tip-off, a team of police conducted a raid in the area and arrested them along with 44 kilograms of hemp worth Tk3.3 lakh in the wee hours of the day, said Sohrab Ali, officer-in-charge of the Detective Branch of police. The arrested had long been involved in smuggling hemp from India, he added. – Our Correspondent, Kurigram

Human chain demands withdrawal of blockade, hartal

A section of people formed a human chain from Bangladesh Bank intersection to Dawkbangla area in the city yesterday under the banner of ‘Janatar Oikko’ demanding withdrawal of transport blockade and frequent hartals enforced by the BNP-led 20 party alliance.

Leaders of Khulna Awami League, cultural personalities, leaders of several professional groups, students and mass people took part in the human chain, reports BSS. Enraged by the violent acts carried out by the supporters of the blockade professional leaders said that they want to be free from such acts and asked the leaders of the BNP led 20 party alliance to stop attacks on the innocent people. City unit president and general secretary of Khulna Awami League lawmaker Talukder Abdul Khaleque and lawmaker Mizanur Rahman Mizan, vice- president of Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) advocate Saiful Islam, journalists Md. Liakat Ali, Mokbul Hossain, Subir Roy, among others, spoke at the human chain. The speakers demanded withdrawal of hartal and blockade before the beginning of SSC examinations. – Tribune Report

Rampant mugging at varsity campus in Comilla putting students at risk n Our Correspondent, Comilla

Students of Comilla University (CU) are falling victims to frequent mugging, eve-teasing and other forms of harassment at the campus and nearby areas.

As such students are worried about their safety. They are also not being able to attend the classes and other academic activities due to lack of security.

Students alleged that most of these muggings were committed by unknown miscreants. Sometimes ruling party men were also involved.

On January 10, Kamal Hossain, a student of anthropology got mugged by local goons at Shalbon museum area while coming to the university from Kotbari.

A day before that, Papia Sarwar Ridi of English 6th batch lost her belongings to unknown miscreants at Comilla Housing area.

Mohd Imam Hossain of public administration department fell victim at the campus on January 7. He alleged that the muggers were outsiders. On January 5, Mohd Nahid Hasan of English 8th batch was stabbed while miscreants tried to snatch his belongings.

In December last year, resident of Bangabandhu Hall Mohd Muttakin Hossain was robbed in front of the university while returning from tuition.

Rasel Hossain of Bangla department

was severely beaten by miscreants in September in front of the residence of the Pro Vice-Chancellor. His wallet and mobile phone were snatched at that time.

Student of economics Riko Chakma was mugged at the same place on October 29.

And two days before that Biddut Kumar Sarkar of public administration lost his belongings in front of the social forestation department near the university.

In May, Fazle Shahriar, a student of anthropology was mugged at Mainamoti area on his way to the university.

On April 20, Nurul Amin Sabuj, a student who was ousted last year, entered exam hall with arms and tried to physically violate a female student.

On assurance of anonymity, a number of students said the miscreants were protected by the local activists and leaders of the ruling party. Sometimes, officials and teachers of the university also fall prey to these goons but they do not dare to speak up fearing backlash. The students also allege that female students were victim of eve-teasing at the campus.

When contacted Proctor Mohammad Ainul Haq said: “We always take measures when we get complaints. But we need support from the administration. We have requested to set up a police outpost here at the campus.” l

52 landless people get khas land n Our Correspondent, Kurigram Fifty-two landless people of three unions in Kurigram have been distributed 25 decimals of khas land each.

At a programme at the upazila parishad auditorium yesterday noon, kabuliyat documents of the lands were handed over to them.

Rangpur Divisional Commissioner Md Delwar Bakht was present at the programme, which was addressed by Deputy Commissioner ABM Azad, Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) SM Abu Horaira and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Aminul Islam among others.

The speakers said the recipients would be able to change their luck by utilising the khas lands. l

Sunamganj clash leaves 45 injured n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj At least 45 persons sustained injuries in a clash between two group of locals over a disputed land in Sarokandi village in Jamalganj upazila here yesterday.

Of the injured, 12 were admitted to the local health complex. When contacted, Jamalganj police station OC Md Atikur Rahman said the clash took place in the morning as followers of Aiub Ali and Faruk Miah, both residents of the village, locked in clash with one another centring trying to ensure possession on a longstanding dispute land. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Bangladeshis manifest immense potential at world stage Bangladeshis make national debating history at Malaysia Worlds 2015. Mubarrat Wassey, the first Bangladeshi to make it to the top 10 in the international tournament, shares his debating secrets

O

n Tasnuva Amin Nova n the last week of December, more than a dozen university teams from Bangladesh flocked to Kuala Lumpur to participate in World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC), the world’s most prestigious debate tournament, with 400 teams taking part in the competition.

Following days of rigorous discourse over several rounds of debate on contentious topics such as Israel-Palestine and policies of international community with participants from more than 86 countries, Bangladesh was overwhelmed with the outcome of their performances.

For the first time in Bangladesh debating history, highest number of university teams reached knockout rounds of the tournament in the English as Second Language (ESL) category, which puts Bangladesh in the same league with most European, South American and Asian countries.

Five teams from Brac University, Institute of Business Administration-Dhaka University (IBA-DU), Islamic University of Technology (IUT), and Dhaka University had secured their place among the top 64 teams of the world. Rishad Sharif and Raiha Nawal from DU went on to become runners up at the ESL final debate.

Being the third best in ESL category, Saad Ashraf and Wasifa Noshin from IBA-DU broke country record as the first and only team to make it to the English as Primary Language (EPL) category, where their competition were teams from Oxford, Harvard and countries with English as native language.

To top the overwhelming success of the Bangladesh debating community, for the first time a Bangladeshi’s team ranked top 10 in the world, and was also the only Asian team in that league beating teams from universities like London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and Harvard University.

In addition to being part of world’s top 10 team, Mubarrat Wassey, a student of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), also became the second best ESL speaker of the tournament.

With top ESL speaker titles in WUDC two years in a row and titles of being finalist and semi-finalist at several prestigious international debating tournaments like Oxford Inter Varsity and Australs, Mubarrat is now one of the most promising debaters in the world.

How did you get interested in debating?

My brother used to debate. After tournaments he would tell stories about what he did and people he met, which got me interested. Eventually in grade 10, I decided to go to Pre-Worlds debating tournament, which is the most prominent national tournament in Bangladesh. I found out I was not particularly bad at it, especially as a beginner, so I decided to stick to it.

You started your debating career in Bangladesh. Why did you to move to Malaysia?

I was at North South University for a year, but I decided to pursue a university that would maximize my debating

ternatives when it comes to gathering knowledge.

Apart from that, practice speaking every day. Don’t be ashamed of speaking in front of the mirror and giving speeches. Record yourself to track your progress.

Take feedbacks from judges after debating sessions end. Take criticisms positively even if you don’t always agree. Work on your problems. Train with other people.

What do you think of the debaters you are training in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh debating contingent at the World Universities Debating Championship 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ASHIK RAHMAN

For the first time in Bangladeshi history, the highest number of university teams reached the knockout rounds potential. Universities in Bangladesh generally suffer from a lack of funding.

That was my main motivation to go to IIUM, which has probably the best Asian debating club right now, and it is very generous about funding debaters to international tournaments. Although I had to start university all over again by going to Malaysia, it was still worth it.

What have you gained from debating beyond trophies and titles?

Debating has changed my life like nothing else. It opens your mind, because it challenges you to think from other people’s perspectives.

This is a problem we have, especially living in a homogenous country such as Bangladesh, where almost everyone is of the same race and religion.

We have very little diversity, and easily take offense if someone says something mildly contentious. Debating challenged me to think about groups like the LGBT community and ethnic minorities – how they think, why they think the way they do, and why they must be treated respectfully.

It also opens your mind because of the kind of people you meet. Debating has allowed me travel to numerous countries, and most of the time costing nothing because debaters get funded to go almost everywhere. That opens up your boundaries.

We make friends all over the world.

My Facebook friend list is really diverse. I have friends from Palestine, Israel, and countries I have never heard of before interacting with people from there I met at tournaments. The world is full of amazing people.

How has debating affected your thinking process?

What debating has taught me the most is not to be judgmental. Different peo-

ple have different perspectives for different reasons. Often we do not know the context that people have been in so it is best not to judge them.

The other thing people often don’t realise is that debating is insanely competitive. Debating is the world’s largest non-sporting youth congregation. Every year we have WUDC with more than 400 teams participating from around the world. It really forces you to push your limits. It is not good enough that you speak good English. There is more to it than shows; you have to analyse situations with great depth.

I remember once my university’s deputy director accompanied the debating team to one of the tournaments.

He being an erudite academician was shocked beyond his wits to see how well people were debating.

Motions are given only 15 minutes before the actual debate starts. With a team of two, you have to give seven minute speeches each on a single topic. You have to come up with new arguments which other teams cannot think of.

After watching our debate, he said something that really moved me: “It sounds as if these people did a PhD on that particular topic. That’s how debating sounds to me.”

You have to read up a lot for coming up with the level of analysis required for different kinds of arguments. Not just that, you also have to explain what you read up in a manner that people understand you.

You have to analyse in detail each and every argument that you bring in because everyone else is doing it.

Debating maximises your potential in terms of how intelligent and critical you can be in terms of analysing and understanding things. It goes beyond mere presentation skills. It’s a life skill that a CGPA cannot give you.

Mubarrat Wassey, left, and his teammate, Syed Saddiq became the top 10 debating team at World Universities Debating Championship 2015 representing International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) COURTESY Debating teaches me more than a classroom can. Maybe it cannot teach math, but life skills which I’d like to think can take you a long way in life.

What is your winning strategy?

The biggest thing we need to understand is that there are no shortcuts.

Your passion is what will drive you.

If you want to do well it has to be because you love doing this because, at times, it will drive you nuts. It is so competitive and difficult that at some point you will hit stages where you will not know whether or not you will succeed. So if you don’t love the game it is not worth it.

Let me tell you about my debating partner Syed Saddiq. A few years ago he could not speak English properly, and was quite naive. He was the kind of person who debate club recruiters

would think has no future, but today he is part of one of the top ten teams in the world.

In recent history, we are the only Asian team to reach that level. Most teams who are at the top are from Sydney, Melbourne, Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and mostly UK and Canadian teams. IIUM is the only Asian team to have reached to this level and it is because of the sheer hard work and determination we put into it. The one reason Saddiq made it to the top is because of his passion.

Not knowing English is something which you can improve with practice.

I have seen Saddiq learn English words by writing them down on his hands.

Beyond learning English, you have to watch other debaters going at it to familiarise yourself with the kind of arguments used in debates.

Next, I would say, reading has no al-

Everyone has the potential to be what they want to become. Anyone can become anything.

When I started debating, only a few years ago, no Bangladeshi had ever advanced to the knockout stages to the ESL category, let alone in the open category. No Bangladeshi team had made it beyond the quarter finals of an Asian tournament. I never thought I had enough potential to be one of the top ten teams in the world. Until now I used to idolise people in the category I am in right now. So all I would say is human potential is limitless; try to reach your potential.

Whenever I am here from Malaysia I try to reach out to debaters, not just those at school, but also in universities.

The biggest problem that Bangladeshi debaters face right now is a lack of exposure to international debating. Unfortunately, the Bangladeshi government does not fund school children to go abroad to participate in international tournaments. Very few universities here have any formal funding.

Most debaters have to find sponsorship on their own and most sponsors are reluctant to fund random debaters to go abroad. As a result most of the debaters have to depend on their personal finance which is a barrier, especially to talented individuals from the lower or middle class.

The best training a debater can get is the opportunity to attend as many debating tournaments as possible, especially international ones. In addition to very little funding, universities here impose a performance based selection process which bars the potential of new talents. For new debaters to perform they need to learn first; giving them opportunities to attend tournaments is the first step towards enabling their learning.

I think this is the biggest challenge we are facing now and the biggest thing I benefited from by going to IIUM. They have given me the funding to go anywhere giving me the opportunity to debate against learn from the best. That level of competition has challenged me to bring the best out of me.

Nonetheless, I would like to add that Bangladesh debating is much better than what it used to be. If you look at the recent performances of the Bangladeshi teams at Malaysia WUDC this year and at Berlin WUDC 2013 when the first Bangladeshi team won the ESL championship title for the first time in history, the community is making tremendous progress. Thus in terms of exposure to young debaters, we are slightly better because the community itself has better debaters now. I still think this is not enough; we can do much better with more exposure to international tournaments. l

5 Things to avoid during any interview n Nakibul Hoq

A

BIGSTOCK

lmost every single candidate, regardless of country, ethnicity or position, is unnerved by any sort of interview. Be it for a position at a multinational firm or admission into a university, an interview is the only part of the application process that can truly distinguish you and highlight your actual talents and interpersonal, analytical and rational-thinking skills.

Candidates are only called for an interview once the initial parts of their application have been already reviewed. Thus this acts as an opportunity, and the only one at that, which can make or break your career.

While the ultimate decision vests on the people reviewing you, most interviewees do not realise that your ability to steer the interview to your favour is the only thing that matters. The interviewers are there to unnerve you and to find out whether you are actually as impressive as your resume sounds. It is always better to enter the boardroom with a positive attitude and candor that resonates with your character, while keeping in mind that the unexpected can always take place.

From our experiences of working with both interviewers and interviewees at GradConnect, the following are five things that should be avoided during any interview.

Possessing a wrong sense of achievement and pride

You might have attended the best school or university, hung out with the best of people and worn Armani suits, but at the end of the day the people interviewing you will have achieved more in life than you have so far. And that is perfectly fine, but you must not talk or behave in a way that shows you to be superior in any sort of way. Too many people try to turn their nervousness into overconfidence, and when this transpires, the interview is bound to be a disaster. Hold your heads high while retaining humility and a polite attitude.

Even when interviewers do their best to imply that you are naught but a worthless piece of nothingness, accept their insinuations and avoid getting into a fit.

Having a shabby appearance

When it comes to a traditional interview for a corporation, it is important to be at your best. By the word best, I do not imply wedding reception-best; I mean business formal. You must dress to impress and wear the same style of clothing you would normally be expected to adorn during the office hours. The only companies where the shabbiness of your clothing might not be a factor are startups and smaller scale tech-firms. Even in these firms, if you are applying for the post of a

marketer, a business development executive or client manager, it is still important to suit up and position a smart image in the minds of the interviewers.

Lying, about absolutely anything

I will spare the moral and ethical evocations and spill the universally renowned fact: almost everyone in the subcontinent lie at any sort of application process. This practice, ingrained in our culture, proves to be highly irksome to all recruiters and is also very detrimental to the candidate’s own professional career. If you think there is a lack of qualifications in your resume for the job you are applying, I will definitely recommend you to work towards these achievements and then apply for your dream job. If you are not appropriate for the position, you won’t do well in it anyway, so spare yourself and the recruiters the trouble and use your time to focus on what suits your qualifications the best.

Arguing with the interviewers

We had this candidate once who quarreled with us during the interview about a club football game. While he definitely raised some really valid points passionately, at the end of the day, we found him to be too loud for our team. Companies value all sorts of diverse opinion, but

never want loud-voiced people who can hardly be effective team players. This is why interviewers are always trying to test your temperament and opinionating your voice is just one, extremely effective means of finding out how good your interpersonal abilities are. In the aforementioned case, the candidate could have simply said, “While I respect your opinion and understand the points you are trying to make, for me my team is simply the best from my perspective,” and the entire issue would have evaporated instantly in his favour.

Lastly, stammering

Those who have been stammering since birth are advised to watch The King’s Speech and if possible, take a speech training session. I am sure they are offered in several places in Dhaka. But the gist of the idea is, if you can’t express yourself and your ideas properly, and have to be broken off during your speech while you are halfway through, you are definitely not going to make a good candidate. l Nakibul Hoq is the Lead Manager, Content & Analytics for GradInsights, the career intelligence service of GradConnect. Find him at nakib@grad-connect.com. For our signature career-related services, simply drop us a message via email or on our facebook page.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Tens of thousand rally for Spain’s Podemos before elections

Yemen Shiite militia holds widely boycotted meeting on crisis n AFP, Sanaa Yemen’s Shiite militia and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party held a meeting boycotted by others parties Friday to discuss ending the country’s political crisis, as protests hit several cities, including the capital.

The militia, which overran Sanaa in September, seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last week, plunging the country deeper into crisis and prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his prime minister to resign.

Militia chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi had called for a “historic” meeting to begin Friday, urging all political forces to join.

But only Saleh’s General People’s Congress party joined what is to be a three-day conference, heavily secured by the militia, which the former strongman is accused of backing.

Meanwhile, opponents protested against the Huthis in several cities under the slogan: “Revolt until the overthrow of the coup” forces, in reference to the militia.

They also demanded the release of scores of activists and journalists who have been rounded up by the Huthis

Demonstrators gather near the statue of Charles III of Spain at Plaza de Sol during the ‘March for Change’ planned by left-wing party Podemos that emerged out of the ‘Indignants’ movement, in Madrid yesterday AFP

n Reuters Tens of thousands marched in Madrid yesterday in the biggest show of support yet for anti-austerity party Podemos, whose surging popularity and policies have drawn comparisons with Greece’s new Syriza rulers.

Crowds chanted “yes we can” and “tic tac tic tac,” suggesting the clock was ticking for the political elite. Many waved Greek and Repub-

lican flags and banners reading “the change is now.”

Podemos (“We Can”) was formed just a year ago, but produced a major shock by winning five seats in elections for the European Parliament in May. It is currently topping opinion polls in the run up to local, regional and national elections this year.

“People are fed up with the political class,” said Antonia Fernandez, a 69-year-old pensioner from Madrid

who had come to the demonstration with her family.

Fernandez, who lives with her husband on a 700-euros-a-month combined pension check said she used to vote for the socialist party but had lost faith in it because of its handling of the economic crisis and its austerity policies.

“If we want to have a future, we need jobs,” she said.

Spain is emerging from a seven-year economic slump as one of the euro

zone’s fastest growing countries, but the exit from recession has yet to ease the hardship for thousands of households, in a country where nearly one in four of the workforce is out of a job.

Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras promised that five years of austerity, “humiliation and suffering” imposed by international creditors were over after his Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Jan. 25. l

Africa agrees to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram n AP, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia An African Union official says African leaders have agreed to send 7,500 troops to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria.

The head of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, Samil Chergui, said yesterday the move came after the council urged heads of state to endorse the deployment of troops from five West African countries to

Fighting rages in eastern ISIL fighters driven back from Iraqi Ukraine, 15 soldiers killed oil town of Kirkuk n Reuters

Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine yesterday as pro-Russian separatists sought to tighten the circle around government forces clinging on to a rail center, with 15 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the past 24 hours.

Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said separatists were keeping up intense pressure on Debaltseve, a major rail and road junction north-east of the big city of Donetsk, as well as on the neighboring town of Vuhlehirsk.

“The toughest situation is in the Vuhlehirsk area where the terrorists are trying to seize the town and occupy positions to move forward and encircle Debaltseve,” military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a separate briefing.

The rebels were also continuing to threaten Mariupol, a town of half a million in the south-east of the

n AFP, N’Djamena

country on the coast of Sea of Azov, Lysenko said.

“Along all the lines of conflict our losses amount to 15 killed and 30 wounded,” Poltorak told reporters.

The renewed violence followed intense fighting on Friday in which more than 20 civilians were killed in separate shelling attacks in Donetsk, Debaltseve and other areas.

Rebel delegates meanwhile arrived in the Belarussian capital of Minsk for a new attempt to reopen peace talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The meeting of the so-called contact group was originally planned to take place on Friday but was called off before it started and there was no certainty the talks would take place yesterday either. l

The CIA and Israel’s spy agency Mossad were behind an elaborate plot to kill Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in a 2008 car bomb attack in Syria, the Washington Post has reported.

Citing former intelligence officials, the newspaper on Friday reported that US and Israeli spy agencies worked together to target Mughniyeh on February 12, 2008 as he left a restaurant in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

He was killed instantly by a car bomb planted in a spare tyre on the back of a parked car, which exploded shrapnel in a tight radius, the Post said.

The bomb, built by the United States and tested in the state of North Carolina, was triggered remotely by Mossad agents in Tel Aviv who were in communication with Central Intelligence Agency operatives on the ground in Damascus.

“The way it was set up, the US could object and call it off, but it could not execute,” a former US intelligence official told the newspaper.

A senior Hezbollah commander, Mughniyeh was suspected of masterminding the abduction of Western hos-

tages in Lebanon in the 1980s and of the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina that killed 29 people.

He was also linked to the bombing of the US marine barracks at Beirut airport in 1983, in which 241 American servicemen died, and the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985, in which a US navy diver was killed.

The CIA declined to comment to the Post about the report.

According the newspaper, the authority to kill required a presidential finding by George W Bush. Several senior officials, including the attorney general, the director of national intelligence and the national security adviser, would have had to sign off on the order, it added.

The former officials that spoke to the newspaper said Mughniyeh was directly involved in arming and training Shia militias in Iraq that were targeting US forces, and though it occurred in a country where the United States was not at war, his assassination could be seen as an act of self-defence.

“They were carrying out suicide bombings and IED attacks,” one former official told the Post, referring to alleged Hezbollah operations in Iraq. l

fight the terror group.

African leaders who are members of the 54-nation African Union are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for a two-day summit that ends yesterday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon earlier said he support the AU’s move to send a force to fight Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is increasing its attacks as Nigeria prepares for Feb. 14 elections.

Thousands have been killed in the 5-year insurgency. l

3 Chad soldiers, 123 Boko Haram militants killed in Cameroon Three soldiers and 123 Boko Haram militants were killed when the Islamist group attacked a Chadian army contingent in northern Cameroon, the Chadian military said.

Twelve soldiers were wounded in the attacks staged by the Islamists on Thursday and Friday near the border town of Fotokol, according to a military statement read out on national television.

Chad sent a convoy of troops and military vehicles into neighbouring Cameroon on January 17 to deal with the growing threat Boko Haram poses in the region.

“The enemy was repelled by our defensive forces,” the general staff ’s statement said, adding that the troops had “routed” the Islamists in the second attack.

The soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices, the statement said.

A senior Cameroonian security source said the Chadian troops were deployed to the town, which sits opposite a Nigerian town under Boko Haram control and is also close to the border with Chad, on Wednesday. l

CIA-Mossad operation killed Hezbollah figure n AFP

since their overtake of Sanaa.

View gallerySupporters of the Huthi movement attend a gathering, … Supporters of the Huthi movement attend a gathering, called out for by the Yemeni Shiite Huthi group …

Witnesses said the militia kidnapped the head of a students union in the universities of Sanaa and Amran, Radwan Masoud, after Friday prayers.

Sanaa University has been the focal point of anti-Huthi protests, frequently dispersed by the militia firing in the air and detaining activists.

Benomar said this week that Hadi and his cabinet were effectively under house arrest, and warned that violence could erupt at any time.

But he added that a power-sharing deal “was possible,” according to two diplomats who attended a session during which he briefed the UN Security Council by video link from Sanaa.

But a faction of the separatist Southern Movement announced Thursday it would stop participating in the “pointless” talks brokered by Benomar, “which will lead the country into the unknown” and are taking place “under intimidation and a siege of the legitimate authorities.” l

Egyptian court bans Hamas’ armed wing, lists as terrorist organisation

n Reuters, Cairo Smoke billows in the background as Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take positions on the side of a road in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk

n Agencies Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, who launched an offensive on the northern Iraqi town of Kirkuk, have been driven back from the oil-producing town by Kurdish forces.

A senior Kurdish military commander, Brigadier General Shirko Fatih, and at least 25 of his soldiers were killed in the battle on Friday in one of the most aggressive ISIL attacks for months, officials said.

“ISIL fighters took advantage of the fog and they launched their surprise attack, but we managed to defeat them,” Mariwan Abdel Khaleg, from the Peshmerga 17th Brigade, told Al Jazeera.

“We are responsible for protecting Iraqi territory, inch by inch.”

The casualties near oil-rich Kirkuk

were a heavy setback for the Iraqi Kurds, who have been at the forefront of the battle against ISIL, which has captured a third of both Iraq and Syria in a blitz last year.

Home to a mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, the Kurds want to incorporate Kirkuk into their self-ruled region in Iraq’s north, a proposition strongly opposed by Arabs and the Turkmen.

Twin bombings Attacks elsewhere on Friday killed 27 people, with twin bombs hitting a crowded market in Baghdad and a suicide bomber targeting pro-government Shia militiamen who were manning a checkpoint outside a city north of the Iraqi capital.

In the Baghdad market attack, a bomb first exploded near carts used for selling clothes in the central Bab al-Sharqi area, followed by a second

AFP

bomb as people rushed to help victims from the first blast.

Police and hospital officials said 19 people were killed and 28 others were wounded.

Also in Baghdad, mortar shells landed on a residential area in the Shula neighbourhood, killing four people and wounding seven others, police and hospital officials said.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into a security checkpoint manned by Shia militias near the city of Samarra, killing four militiamen and wounding 10.

The casualties come as Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops.

ISIL controls about a third of the country, including the north’s biggest city Mosul, as well as large areas of neighbouring Syria. l

An Egyptian court yesterday banned the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas and listed it as a terrorist organisation.

Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood which the authorities have also declared a terrorist group and have repressed systematically since the army ousted one of its leaders, Mohamed Mursi, from the presidency in 2013.

“The court ruled to ban the Qassam Brigades and to list it as a terrorist group,” said the judge of the special Cairo court which deals with urgent cases.

Egyptian officials say weapons are smuggled from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into Egypt, where they end up with militant groups fighting to topple the Western-backed Cairo government.

Islamist militants based in Egypt’s Sinai region, which has a border with Gaza, have killed hundreds of police and soldiers since Mursi’s political demise. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

China offers up to $50K in cash for terror tips in Tibet n AP, Beijing Chinese authorities are offering up to 300,000 yuan ($50,000) for tips on terrorism activities in the Himalayan region of Tibet, the official Xinhua News Agency said yesterday.

China’s recent efforts to fight terrorism has largely involved the neighboring region of Xinjiang, where violent attacks blamed on Muslim separatists have left hundreds of people dead in the past two years.

There has been little public knowledge of terrorism in recent years in Tibet, although more than 130 Tibetan Buddhist monks and laypeople have set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest of Beijing’s strict controls over the region and their religion, according to overseas international human rights

Katju: Ilmi more beautiful, should have been BJP’s CM candidate

n Agencies Retired Supreme Court Justice and former Press Council chairperson Markandey Katju drew flak on social media on Friday after he tweeted that he considered Shazia Ilmi more beautiful than Kiran Bedi and if she had been made BJP’s CM candidate, the party would have won the elections.

Going a step further, Katju said that people vote for beautiful faces, like in Croatia, and if Ilmi was the candidate, even someone like him who does not vote would have voted for her. When someone responded to him to say he should consider his age, he responded with a Hindi quotation, ‘my heart is still young.’

When the criticism started flowing for his sexist comment, Katju said people should develop a sense of humour, it was said in a lighter vein and should be construed as such. l

groups. The protesters also have called for the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing believes to be intent on splitting Tibet from China, a charge he denies.

Xinhua said the new rules by the Tibetan Autonomous Region’s police department encourage member of the public to report any suspected terror activity, such as plotting attacks, promoting religious extremism, and transporting controlled weapons, for cash rewards.

It’s unclear from the new rules if Chinese authorities are treating self-immolation as a form of terrorism or if violence inside Tibet has escalated. With journalists’ access to Tibet tightly restricted, all information from the region is extremely difficult to confirm. Occasionally, there have been un-

India tests longrange missile from mobile launcher n AFP

confirmed reports of clashes between state security and unarmed Tibetan demonstrators.

Earlier this week, Chinese investigators announced findings that 15 Communist Party officials in Tibet joined underground Tibetan independence organisations, provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama and his supporters, or participated in activities deemed harmful to China’s security.

The report was highly unusual and suggested continuing unrest in Tibet, which has had a heavy security presence since a wave of riots and protests against Chinese rule in 2008.

A discipline investigator, Ye Dongsong, was quoted in state media as saying that the Tibetan regional government should focus on neutralising separatists and maintaining social stability. l

PM Narendra Modi slams ‘backstabber’ AAP, praises Kiran Bedi n Agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party calling it a party of ‘big talkers’ and accusing it of ‘backstabbing’ the people of Delhi in the last assembly elections.

Modi was speaking at a rally in CBD grounds near Karkardooma court complex. He will address three more rallies in the Capital - one on Sunday in Dwarka and two rallies on February 3 and 4 at Rohini and south Delhi.

“A year ago the people of Delhi voted with some dreams, but those very people betrayed you and led you to instability,” Modi told the gathering.

The PM said Delhi is the focal point this elections and will reflect how India will be viewed by the world.

“Delhi needs a person who can

lead from the front. Kiran Bedi is the right person for the job and for Delhi,” he said.

Bedi, he said, knows every bylane of the city and has been a part of its history.

Modi also trained his guns at Congress and said he has come to reinstate Delhi and fix the damage that was caused in the last 15 years.

He enumerated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s programmes for the people and said his party is dedicated to serving the poor.

“By the time we celebrate the 75th year of Independent India, we will ensure that all slums are replaced by cemented houses,” he said.

Modi’s attack comes on a day the AAP released its manifesto promising an all-round development for the Capital. l

9

Sunday, February 1, 2015

In this handout photograph received from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) yesterday, the Agni V blasts off from a canister mounted atop a mobile truck on Wheeler Island, off the eastern state of Orissa AFP

India yesterday succeeded for the first time in using a mobile launcher to testfire a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead deep inside rival China.

Although yesterday’s launch was the third test of the Agni V missile, it was the first time the weapon had been fired from a so-called cannister mounted on a truck rather than from a concrete launchpad used in previous trials.

The new delivery mechanism gives the armed forces increased operational flexibility.

“Successful test-firing of Agni V from a cannister makes the missile a prized asset for our forces,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter after the test on an island off the eastern state of Orissa.

The Agni V — developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation — was first tested in April 2012.

Analysts say the Agni V has the range to strike any target on the Chinese mainland, including military installations in the far northeast.

India sees the rocket, which has a range of 5,000 kilometres , as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows — albeit slightly — the huge gap with China’s missile systems.

Agni, meaning “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of a guided missile development project launched in 1983.

While the shorter-range Agni I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, analysts say later versions with a longer range reflect the shift in India’s focus towards China.

India and China, each with a population of more than one billion, have prickly relations and a legacy of mistrust that stems from a brief but bloody border war in 1962.

India, the world’s biggest arms importer, is in the midst of a $100-billion defence upgrade programme.

The new right-wing government has cleared long-delayed projects worth over $16bn since storming to power at elections in May. l

N Korea’s Kim slams ‘rabid dogs’ after Obama comments Shikarpur blast: Station n AFP North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Pyongyang would not sit idly by “with rabid dogs barking” about toppling its socialist system, in apparent reaction to comments by US President Barack Obama that the regime was doomed, state media reported yesterday.

Kim made the remarks while overseeing a joint naval and air force drill simulating an attack on a US carrier strike group off South Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

It did not give details of the venue and date of the war games, which were believed to have taken place on Friday.

“He solemnly declared that we have no willingness to sit any longer with the rabid dogs openly barking that they will bring down by the method of bringing about ‘changes’ the socialist system, the cradle which our people consider dearer than their own lives,” KCNA said.

Kim said North Korea was ready to counter “any war including a war by conventional armed forces and a nuclear war.”

In an interview on YouTube from the White House on January 22, Obama spoke of the eventual collapse of the North Korean regime, calling it “the most isolated, the most sanctioned, the most cut-off nation on Earth.”

“We will keep on ratcheting the pres-

sure, but part of what’s happening is ... the Internet over time is going to be penetrating this country,” Obama said.

“Over time you will see a regime like this collapse,” he said, adding the US was looking for ways to accelerate the flow of information into the country.”

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman lashed out at his remarks

on Sunday, portraying them as “nothing but a poor grumble of a loser,” adding that attempts to topple the regime would only strengthen unity among its people.

The North has often used bombastic and sometimes racist rhetoric to slam Obama and other US leaders.

In December its top military body

chaired by Kim compared Obama to a “monkey” over his support for the screening of a Hollywood comedy hated by Pyongyang.

“The Interview” – about a fictional plot to assassinate Kim – was released online and in theatres despite devastating cyberattacks on its producer Sony Pictures. l

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

REUTERS

China rebuffed over UN move targeting NGOs

Japan says hostage negotiations with militants ‘deadlocked’

China was forced on Friday to drop a measure at the United Nations that targeted non-governmental organisations seeking to be heard at the world body.

China had proposed that the United Nations refrain from naming countries that criticise NGOs during meetings of a committee that decides which groups are accredited to the UN. The information blackout would have allowed China and other countries distrustful of non-governmental organisations to air their opposition without being singled out in any UN public report.

The United States had sharply criticised the Chinese proposal at the UN’s NGO committee, saying it would be a setback for transparency and openness at the United Nations. l

n Reuters, Tokyo

n AFP, United Nations

Efforts by Japan and Jordan to secure the release of two of their nationals held captive by Islamic State militants remain “deadlocked” and the situation remains highly unpredictable, Japanese officials said.

Militants had threatened to kill Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh unless a would-be suicide bomber being held on death row in Amman was handed over by sunset on Thursday.

Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was also being held by the militants.

“The situation is deadlocked,” Japan’s deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama, said in Jordon late on Friday according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in Tokyo yesterday that the situation was unpredictable and that anything could happen, NHK reported.

“Anything could happen,” he said.

“We can’t predict it at all. While preparing for every situation, I want to make every effort for Mr. Goto’s release.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga arrived at the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office yesterday afternoon, and the prime minister is on standby to receive regular updates on the situation, NHK said.

Jordan’s army said on Friday state agencies were “working round the clock.”

An audio message purportedly from Goto said the pilot would be killed if Jordan did not free Sajida al-Rishawi,

jailed for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman.

The message extended a previous deadline set on Tuesday in which Goto said he would be killed within 24 hours if al-Rishawi was not freed.

The hostage crisis comes as Islamic State, which has already released videos showing the beheadings of five Western hostages, is coming under increased military pressure from US-led air strikes and by Kurdish and Iraqi troops pushing to reverse the Islamist group’s territorial gains in Iraq and Syria.

Abe has repeatedly said Japan would not give in to terrorism and would keep cooperating with the international community. l

House Officer suspended n Agencies As the nation mourns Friday’s deadly blast on Shikarpur’s Masjid-o-Imambargah Karbala-i-Moulla that killed at least 60 people, Station House Officer (SHO) Lakhi Gate Bashir Ahmed Khokar and the head constable have been suspended for showing negligence in performing their duties.

Additionally, constable Javed who had been designated the security of the imambargah has been arrested.

Businesses in almost all major cities of Sindh remained closed early yesterday while sit-ins to protest the government’s failure to afford protection to members of the Shia community were organised in Karachi.

A large number of people came out in protest against the attack in Shikarpur itself and set alight tires.

A mass funeral of the victims has been planned to take place yesterday afternoon.

After the tragedy struck, Inspector

General (IG) Sindh Police Ghulam Qadir Thebo formulated a two member committee to investigate the bombing under the leadership of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umar Khattab.

SSP Khattab visited the site of the fatal blast along with SSP Mazhar Mashwani today and observed the destruction rendered by the deadly attack.

After collecting crucial evidence, SSP Khattab confirmed to Dawn that the explosion was a suicide blast.

A counter-terrorism team of officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also proceeded to the blast site yesterday for investigation and took statements from eye-witnesses.

Police officials said the suicide jacket had been filled with ball bearings, the use of which is aimed at magnifying the impact of the blast.

The investigation has moreover revealed that the explosive material used in the blast weighed five to seven kilograms. l

AirAsia captain left seat before jet lost control n Reuters The captain of the AirAsia jet that crashed into the sea in December was out of his seat conducting an unusual procedure when his co-pilot apparently lost control, and by the time he returned it was too late to save the plane, two people familiar with the investigation said.

Details emerging of the final moments of Flight QZ8501 are likely to focus attention partly on maintenance, procedures and training, though Indonesian officials have not ruled out any cause and stress it is too early to draw firm conclusions.

The Airbus A320 jet plunged into the Java Sea while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board.

People familiar with the matter said earlier this week that investigators were examining maintenance records of one of the automated systems, the Flight Augmentation Computer (FAC), and the way the pilots reacted to any outage.

One person familiar with the matter

said the captain had flown on the same plane with the intermittently faulty device days earlier. There was no independent confirmation of this.

After trying to reset this device, pilots pulled a circuit-breaker to cut its power, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

People familiar with the matter said it was the Indonesian captain Iriyanto who took this step, rather than his less experienced French co-pilot Remy Plesel, who was flying the plane.

AirAsia said it would not comment while the matter was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) of Indonesia. The NTSC has said it is too early to say what role either human factors or equipment may have played in the crash, which is still being investigated.

Experts say the loss of the FAC would not directly alter the trajectory of the aircraft but would remove flight envelope protection, which prevents a pilot from taking a plane beyond its safety limits, and require the crew to fly it manually. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, February 1, 2015

CODE-CRACKER

Enough is enough

W

e condemn the BNP alliance’s insistence on calling a further 72-hour hartal from Sunday.

Over 35 people have been killed and hundreds injured by political violence in the past month. Each day the blockade continues brings the prospect of more unconscionable injury to innocent members of the public and harm to the economy.

The last month has shown once again that no matter what political leaders say about only supporting peaceful protests, calls for blockades and strikes invariably lead to violence.

Both sides must realise that they have made their point. The BNP has shown its willingness to enforce blockades and the government has shown its resolve in standing firm against violent actions.

They have nothing further to prove by continuing this confrontation, which can only lead to a cycle of growing carnage and economic crisis.

Both parties owe it to the nation to take a step back from willfully prolonging the deadlock.

They must not worry about losing face, but show conclusively they are prepared to act in the interests of the public whom they exist to serve, The BNP has to to abandon its blockade and stop following a course that inflicts loss of life and economic damage.

Similarly, it is not enough for the government to simply take tougher actions in the name of law and order, if it does not also show more flexibility in acting to resolve the deadlock. This means allowing meaningful political space to the BNP to hold peaceful rallies in the capital.

Both parties owe it to the nation to take a step back

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

PM: Bomb makers, throwers should be burnt

January 17 should rise up against these political killings, burnSecretaryofDemocracySaving-BAL ing, looting, and property damage. That is the only Joy Bangla! East or West, Sheikh Hasina is the way politicians will learn their lessons. best! #sheshouldhavewonthenobelprize #chiefminister #wohasinazulfowalijaneyjaha.

Dr Ahsan Habib Is this a new law the PM is endorsing? Then add it sirajulmo@yahoo.com to the penal code.

Islam does not allow the burning of living beings, unless we think the Bangali public are not living Joshim Uddin beings. People should realise that the country Dr Ahsan Habib: She must. belongs to them not certain political parties. We

Four blockade victims may never see again January 18

Rizwan Ahmed “One of the victims has said: ‘I am from a very poor family and I do not know how I will make a living now.’”

Seeking our honorable PM’s immediate intervention here please!

Tasneem Kashem This could be me, you, or anyone in your neighborhood in the near future ...

Parliament must protect Sundarbans

W

e welcome the important questions being asked by the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Forest and Environment about the resumption of shipping on the Sela river barely a month after December’s catastrophic oil spill.

The committee is right to criticise the government for allowing the resumption of vessel movements last month without waiting for a full study of the long-term effects of the accident.

It is right to demand a formal explanation from the Ministry of Shipping about its rush to lift the ban on the plying of vessels along this environmentally sensitive route.

There is no shortage of reasons to act with the utmost caution in safeguarding the unique national symbol and World Heritage Site of the Sundarbans. Whilst the long term effects remain to be observed, considerable damage was clearly done to the habitats and food chains of dolphins and endangered tigers.

Parliament must take a more firm stance in ensuring stringent protections for the Sundarbans, and in holding to account those responsible for the negligence and law breaking which led to the disaster in the first place.

Without accountability, the public will rightly have little confidence in the ability of the government to ensure that even those conditions which were set for the resumption of shipping, will be upheld.

The government must act on the committee’s recommendation to ensure the earliest possible dredging of the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel and development of new land routes to ensure less risky routes are made viable soon.

Hold to account those responsible for December’s oil spill

Muhith: Tk 1, 2 going off market

January 18

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid Bad idea.

Fahmida Islam Wait, what?! I don’t understand how this will smoothen transactions? Also, how would this affect the poor?

SA I am glad he didn’t go through with it, and ruled that they would stay in the market. I hope Muhith never reconsiders this unless the situation truly demands it. Or else, what am I going to do with all my then worthless Tk1 and Tk2 notes and coins? :-(

Democracy or peace?

January 17

Evil People Politics It speaks a lot about the current state of affairs when the average citizen has been pushed to the brink of trading his/her democratic right for one day of peace. A damn shame.

Cheaper bliss January 17

DP Dem turrists dun stole my freedoms!

The merchant of London January 17

MysticMinstrel Great read, Tim. It’s funny, you know, that it takes an Englishman to discover our heritage.

BNP softens, AL sets conditions

January 17 rose In my opinion, the government should really hold dialogue with BNP in order to end the existing blockade.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents R so fill R every time the figure 21 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

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.

Dreampie rose: Damn straight brudah!

Joshim Uddin Dreampie: Yes, the government should also burn the terrorists.

The perfect driver

January 17 Barely Legal Alien If that’s the case, why hasn’t anyone filed charges for DUI against the incumbent driver?

Karl Hungus An effective analogy for the current state of our leadership. Lets hope the current ones at the wheel keep their collective eyes on the road.

10 reasons to become an entrepreneur in Dhaka

January 18 DonT Actually, there are 10 million reasons to become an entrepreneur in Dhaka. You know, people, customers, the market size. Someone advising impressionable students ought to have really started with cold hard cash rather than psychobabble about being a leader of change. sat Is there any environment to do business for the small enterprises in Bangladesh? Political instability and corruption are always prevailing. Even getting govt support requires bribes and political connections.

There is no strong logic in doing business in Dhaka.

The reality is totally different from the reports.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Laundry item (6) 5 Trivial falsehood (3) 7 Tracking system (5) 8 Seesaw (6) 10 Beak (3) 12 Coarse file (4) 14 Petty quarrel (4) 16 Part of a yacht (4) 17 Sun personified (3) 18 Ill nature (4) 20 Couple (3) 23 Worn away (6) 24 Proverb (5) 25 Also (3) 26 Shows contempt (6)

DOWN 1 Location (4) 2 Reluctant (6) 3 Summit (5) 4 Stringed instrument (4) 5 Devoted follower (3) 6 Choler (3) 9 Appendage (4) 11 Sporting item (3) 14 Alone (4) 15 Gage (6) 16 Outfit (3) 17 Sea nymph (5) 18 Seeks charity (4) 19 Says further (4) 21 Pale (3) 22 Strange (3)

rose Quite inspiring and encouraging.

PM: No delay to arrest arsonists January 18 16corerajakars And that is why she congratulated Dr Iqbal and Nanak for killing 11 people by setting fire to a bus in Moghbazar?

No mercy for campus killers

CALVIN AND HOBBES

January 18

Zero-Agenda It’s only appropriate that a nation run by thugs and butchers would breed even more of themselves in its educational institutes. probir bidhan Zero-Agenda: Totally agree with you! The present situation is the result of politicisation at the educational institutes by subsequent governments since long.

And we, the ordinary citizens, are to be sandwiched for studying at the same institutes.

I wonder why our governments don’t just go ahead and establish political universities.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

Viber, Tango blocked in Bangladesh January 18

Sekander Badsha This is a conspiracy by the mobile operators. BTRC and mobile phone companies are losing international call charges because of these apps. Thats why they asked BTRC to shut them down! >.< Kawshik Ahmed Sekander Badsha: That’s not actually the reason.

Viber is partnered with most of the mobile operators of Bangladesh and is the main source of net consumption in mobile phones.

BTRC blocked Viber and Tango because the Ministry of Home Affairs told them to block it, seeing how the opposition is using these two services.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, February 1, 2015

The last days of January n Iffat Nawaz

J

anuary 25

Random morning thought on the way to work: Nice breezy traffic.

Is it a blockade or strike + blockade at this moment? Someone should start a hotline providing this information, until things settle. While they are at it, they should also start providing security alerts. Why should the expats get intelligence about security and insecurities from the super embassies? Come on digital Bangladesh! Note to self, pitch idea to spin-off-loving friends.

January 26

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

Whose job is it anyway?

B

n Abak Hussain

angladeshis have never lost much sleep over the moral quandaries of mobenforced street justice. It happens here all the time – wrongdoer (alleged) gets caught, a crowd gathers, and the unlucky fellow gets the daylights beaten out of him, or even killed.

Our confidence in our law and order system is so dangerously close to rock bottom that you can hardly blame the average person for not giving a damn about whether or not a perpetrator of a terrible crime gets his day in court. We roll our eyes when we hear Western-liberal claptrap about how even bad guys, even the ones caught red-handed, deserve fair trials.

There has long been a general feeling that the police won’t do their job. People perceive our law enforcement personnel to be incompetent, apathetic, and deeply corrupt and lacking in ethical training.

Civilians would rather deal with their problems themselves, or even suffer in silence. There seems to be little hope that uniformed personnel will do anything good for the community, or improve their track record. With good reason, we are a deeply cynical bunch.

Recently, the ruling party decided to form resistance committees to crack down on violence that is currently being unleashed across the country by hartal-enforcers of the BNP-led coalition. Acts of arson, vandalism,

and sabotage have gone on unchecked, and the Awami League is hoping these resistance committees, comprising of party members in plain clothes, will come down on these subversive activities with a firm hand before handing culprits over to the police.

Given that we are yet to see mob justice as the deeply troubling thing that it is, resistance bodies might look like a good idea. But this cannot and should not ever be the way of doing things in a nation that wants to be peaceful, progressive, and respectful of the rule of law.

all other kinds of violations of people’s rights, and the waters can get muddied very quickly.

There is no shortage of opportunists simply waiting to take advantage of a chaotic situation. During sprees of hartal-violence, there are often individuals with no actual party loyalty who join in and cause random destruction just for the fun of it.

The same danger is there when a group of people who are not actual law enforcement think they have the right to enforce justice through their strength in numbers. Situations can

Allowing for vigilante justice opens up possibilities of all other kinds of violations of people’s rights, and the waters can get muddied very quickly

No matter how daunting the task, we absolutely must fix our broken law enforcement system. We need serious reform, and outsourcing the job of the police is not a viable solution.

There is great risk in people taking the law into their own hands. It is a dangerous practice that invites anarchy, and flies in the face of the democratic principles we otherwise pretend to stand for. Allowing for vigilante justice opens up possibilities of

easily get out of hand, and a frenzied mob is never a good thing.

Recently, seven suspected robbers in Narsingdi were caught while attempting to flee, and beaten to death by village locals. The robbers won’t be getting a whole lot of sympathy from anyone, and that’s fine. However, there can never be any excuse for beating people to death on the streets.

Murder is murder, no matter who it is being done to.

We live in a land of laws, no matter how problematic its enforcement. The robbers, once caught, should have been handed over to the police. We cannot flagrantly flout the rule of law, while at the same time expecting the justice and law enforcement system to improve.

It is the job of the police to handle criminals, and it is the job of our courts to administer punishment. Everybody does, indeed, deserve a fair trial, and just because someone has instigated the anger of a mob, it does not mean they deserve to be killed right there on the spot.

Our police force needs a lot of work.

Police personnel must be trained more rigorously. This includes not just training on how to be more effective, but also ethical and sensitivity training.

We need to be able to trust our policemen to maintain law and order, and to protect the innocent.

Corruption in law enforcement is rampant all over the world, but in Bangladesh the situation looks particularly hopeless. Changes need to be made everywhere, from hiring practices to salary structures. Stern disciplinary action must be taken against crooked officers. Given the way things are now, this might seem like a tall order. But that does not mean we should throw our hands in the air and give up.

The police, just like everybody else, have a job to do. And we must demand that they do it. l

Late afternoon thought from an event with the privileged Dhaka: What do women do post-event with these fancy sharis they are wearing? I mean, it is obvious that some do not wear a shari twice.

So if most of these expensive sharis are one-time-use, then someone should try to pull it out of their walkin-closets. Should I start a used shari selling website?

Sell your fancy sharis, the business gets 10% commission and 5% goes towards humanitarian purposes, preferably helping under-privileged women. Rich will be happy, poor will be happy, and I will be slightly richer.

Note to self.

January 27

Second thought of the morning: Where did winter go?

Mid-day pondering: Dhaka is amazing, really. I mean, look at all the great things going on, Chobi Mela, Sufi Fest, friends and artists gathering on roof tops to create art and music. All these uninterrupted creations, flowing at a fast pace, must catch the drift.

Thoughts before taking a CNG home: Which side of the CNG should I jump out of in case of a patrol bomb.

Left, right? Left? The side of the sidewalk obviously, not the side of the traffic.

Duh Iffat! Do your cocktail bomb escape plan right!

January 28

Post-work thoughts at home after ordering-in: Life has changed since the launch of online food delivery services in Dhaka. Hungry no question naki.

January 29

At a roadside flower shop: Why won’t these florists sell Bangladeshi flowers?

Rojonigondhas left to the side under the shadow of blue, orange, purple orchids, mums, and lilies. When I grow up I am going to open a Bangladeshi flower shop, kanakchapa, jobas, and seasonal kodom phool and a staple of beli.

January 30

Afternoon with construction noise: Is there any trick out there that would filter/transform the noise of construction sites to music? Some trance, or even rap, though I would prefer lounge …

Anything really! The soundtrack of our generation just cannot be the grinding of bricks, mixing of cements, and banging of metal poles. Really, it can’t!

January 31

Late afternoon hunger talks: Some people live on breath, they apparently don’t need food, sometimes they take water. I like food, I cannot be a breatharian. However, what if a spiritual leader posed this solution to eradicate hunger for ultimate food security?

Where will the foreign donors spend their money?

Thoughts late evening: I don’t want to think about the 35 deaths since January 5, or the hundreds of injuries, I want to think about the book fair and spring, hope for it to rain again unseasonably, hence unreasonably, and still take rickshaws.

I also hope the upcoming cricket games will distract the arsonists.

Here’s to February lessening fear. Take your frustration out Dhaka, then sell it for some short change and buy something nice with it? l Iffat Nawaz is a writer and development practitioner.

BIGSTOCK

Abak Hussain is Op-Ed Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

Haunted highways n Aaqib Md Shatil

M

ehrab Hossain, a six-yearold from Faridpur took his admission in a primary school in his locality. On January 1, he received his books from the school and was about to attend the first class of his life on January 3.

He left his home for school early morning that day, and only five yards ahead of his school, the child was run over by a bus and left to die on the Dhaka-Khulna highway. The incident took place in Nagorkanda upazila of Faridpur district.

This was among the 204 deaths caused by road accidents reported in a daily newspaper. 204! The total number could be much higher than the reported number, as it is almost impossible to collect and publish all the news regarding the road accident on a daily basis.

These deaths are not linked with any of the political violence. The number was higher in December of last year, and it decreased in January due to the shortage of traffic amid the countrywide blockade program enforced by the opposition camp.

The Guardian, published from the

UK in an article published on December 9, 2012 termed the Dhaka-Sylhet highway “the world’s deadliest road.”

But the number of deaths in other highways indicates that almost every single highway of the country has turned into a two-lane slaughter alley.

And this is no less than the fact.

According to a study conducted by the Accident Research Centre of BUET, road accidents claim on average 12,000 lives annually, and lead to about 35,000 injuries. Moreover, WHO believes that more than 20,000 people are killed on Bangladesh’s roads every year.

Amid a large number of fatalities every year on the highways, the government has shown little interest in implementing basic safety features on the roads of the country.

Apart from the bridges and link roads to those bridges, the sides of the roads have no crash barriers. There are no dividers in the middle of the road to prevent dangerous overtaking and stop the majority of the head-on collisions.

There is a lack of pedestrian footpaths, traffic lights, or speed controls. Foot over-bridges are like a blue moon on Bangladeshi highways,

leaving no other option to the pedestrians but to cross the deadly roads at their own risk.

Some parts of society, especially the members of civil society and the media, apparently look over this alarming issue. They are even more interested to show and discuss the political violence and the burn victims instead of covering the deadly highways.

But, after the death of renowned filmmaker Tareque Masud and television personality Mishuk Munier in a deadly road accident, a good number of people and some members of civil society raised their voices to protest the deaths of this duo and asked the government to implement safety features on the highways.

They organised a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar on Eid day demanding the resignation of the connectivity minister.

The government, instead of increasing safety measures on the highways, lambasted the people who raised this issue that time. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came down heavily on those who arranged the sitin program and directed intelligence agencies to gather details of the

organisers of the sit-in.

Moreover, the families that suffer due to the road accidents are denied justice in most of the cases. One of the most remarkable examples is the one of filmmaker Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier.

singularly on January 30 in eight districts across the country. The number is higher than the total of 20 deaths due to the petrol bomb attacks in January.

The comparison is irrelevant to some extent but the numbers were

The number of deaths in highways indicates that almost every single highway of the country has turned into a two-lane slaughter alley

The driver responsible for the death of this duo was granted bail after a platform of road transport owners and workers called an indefinite bus strike in 21 southwestern districts demanding the release of the driver.

A minister gave them assurance that the government would accept all their demands.

According to a news report, 23 people were killed in road accidents

compared because the government is about to deploy 12,000 Ansar personnel in 993 troublesome points of the highway to resist the petrol bomb attacks on the roads during the blockade program.

Though the total number of deaths due to the road accidents is ten times the number of deaths due to burn injuries according to the news reports, the government seems to have no

concerns regarding the rampant deaths on the roads.

In Bangladesh, students are often asked to write essays on their first day at school. Most of them express their thrilling experience of the day when they came to their schools for the first time with their parents with eyes full of dreams. They write about their first teacher and friends who often become their soulmates in time.

Mehrab, the six-year-old child, will never be able to write about his first day at school. A reckless driver with his bus snatched away his life and all the dreams he had in his eyes. His family will probably never get justice.

And this vicious circle of injustice will remain as it is.

The alleged arsonists were often paid back in their own coins; many of them had to give their lives in the “encounters” with law enforcers. The deployment of a huge number of law enforcers may put an end to such violence some day. But who will take the responsibility to save the people from these haunted highways? l Aaqib Md Shatil is a blogger and member of Dhaka University Model United Nations Association.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, February 1, 2015

13 Afridi blitz in vain

as Kiwis spank Pakistan

14 19th Slam

for Serena Williams

14 Australia break

Korean hearts in Asian Cup final

Sport

Did you know?

India have finished winless in an ODI series of 3+ completed matches for the 10th time

Malaysia keep hosts afloat n Shishir Hoque from Sylhet The high flying Malaysia U-23 side outplayed Sri Lanka national team 2-0 to make Bangladesh’s equation to move to the semifinals easier in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Sylhet District Stadium yesterday.

A draw on Monday’s last Group A match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka will be enough to see the hosts progress to the last-four while only a win can take the island nation to the knockout stage.

Sri Lanka head coach Nikola Kavazovic fielded an unusual formation of 3-1-4-2 and the Serbian also hinted to go unchanged against Bangladesh in the next game though he believes the hosts are in a better position to qualify for the semis.

“We know each other very well.

Bangladesh know everything about us and we know about them. So there’s no secret,” he said adding, “They were prepared for this tournament while we were not prepared. Even if we give our best effort and they will go to semifinals with a draw. So they (Bangladesh) are in better position than us.”

The Lankans defended well in the first half but the dominating Malaysian force broke the shackles right at the stroke of half-time to take the lead.

Termed as ‘It was almost perfection’

Clarke named for Tigers warm-up n Minhaz Uddin Khan Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who is recovering from surgery in his right hamstring, has been pencilled in to play for Australia XI against Bangladesh’s World Cup squad in a practice match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on February 5.

Clarke will, however, only play “as a batsman and in a limited fielding capacity,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Bangladesh have chalked out a plan to stretch Clarke to the limit in the practice match, confirmed bowling coach Heath Streak. “We will push the field back and try to get him (Clarke) to take as many cheeky singles as he wants,” said Streak yesterday.

Ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan on the other hand thinks that the Aussies will dearly miss Clarke’s services if he is ruled out of the World Cup. “He can score as many runs in the practice game as he wants, as long as he does not score runs against us in the World Cup. If he does not play in the World Cup, it will be a huge loss (for Australia),” said the Bangladesh ODI vice-captain.

Clarke will also play, as a batsman only, in grade cricket for Western Suburbs in Sydney this weekend and Cricket Australia is confident he is on track to be fit for Australia’s second World Cup match against Bangladesh on February 21.l

by Nikola, the Malaysian young guns looked more composed and organised compared to their outing against Bangladesh. They threatened more and opened up more scoring chances once Sri Lanka looked to cancel the lead.

However, the lead could have come in the 36th minute but Lankan goalkeeper Sujan Perera made a stunning save to deny Mohammad Ridzuan’s low header from inside the box following a pinpointed cross of Syahrul Azwari.

Bangladesh know everything about us and we know about them.

So there’s no secret Sri Lanka were unlucky as their freekick specialist N Rowshan’s curling attempt from 25 yards out hit the woodwork in the 41st minute and further misery was added to their fate when Syahrul Azwari converted successfully from the penalty spot for Malaysia inside the next five minutes.

Malaysia piled up more pressure as the lead was eventually doubled at the hour mark with Mohammad Ridzuan smashing home from the edge of six-yard box following a corner from the right. A decent save from Perera in a one-on-one situation against Muhamad Faizat ensured Sri Lanka concede no more in the game where Malaysia could have scored at least two more. l

Malaysia players rejoice the strike of Mohammad Ridzuan (No 10) against Sri Lanka at Sylhet District Stadium yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Kruif seeks for the ‘rights’ to happen LG gives away free n World Cup tour Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh football head coach Lodewijk de Kruif is simply hoping to see the three “rights” click for his charges in their crucial Bangabandhu Gold Cup tie against Sri Lanka at the Bangabandhu National Stadium tomorrow.

“I want all the rights – the right feelings, the right touch and the right moments,” said De Kruif after completing the Bangladesh practice session at the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club ground yesterday.

“I am sorry to say that till taking the responsibilities, scoring remained as

the major headache for us.

“It is not that we are not working on it, we have been trying hard to overcome the weakness and I hope the players will give flashes of improvement against Sri Lanka,” he hoped.

The Dutchman pointed the first 20 minutes of their game against Malaysia as the prime reason behind their defeat and he was certain that the players will put on a better game-face against Sri Lanka.

“The players were sorry for the loss, in fact I think we messed up the first 20 minutes and we lost there. In the other parts Bangladesh were not far behind the Malaysians, we want to rectify the

mistakes and come out fresh and focused,” he said.

“We are not focused upon the past, it is past and its a new day and new Sri Lanka, the temperament of the friendlies and a full international fixture is not the same, its far different and Sri Lanka will be a hard nut to crack.”

Kruif added, “There is no room for complacency, we have to be alert in the defence and of course avail the scoring chances, that’s all we need.

Hopefully we can do it,” said Kruif, who discontinued his job last year after 17 months at the helm, but only returned to Bangladesh for Bangabandhu Gold Cup duty. l

Confident Bahrain kick off Dhaka phase

NCL 2nd round starts today n Minhaz Uddin Khan

n Raihan Mahmood

The second round of the 16th National Cricket League will begin today despite the ongoing political unrest in the capital.

However, the game between Rajshahi and Chittagong will be held at SBNS instead of Fatullah. In the second round, Dhaka will face Dhaka Metropolis, Khulna will take on Barisal at BKSP 2 while Rangpur and Sylhet will lock horns at BKSP 3.

Dhaka are currently at the top of the points table with a total of 25 points. l

The Bangabandhu Gold Cup, after the opening two days in Sylhet, will hit the capital today with top seeded Bahrain taking on Singapore at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5pm.

The strong contender of the 20oz gold cup, Bahrain starts their campaign today while Singapore will be fighting for their existence after they lost their opener by 3-2 goals against Thailand.

“We are here to win the title, the conditions are a little different but we are eager to show our worth as the top ranked team and we are ready to put the best,” said Bahrain’s coach Adrian Whitbread, a former English Premier League player.

Meanwhile, his counterpart Richard Bok said “We beat them 3-2 in Bahrain and we want to draw inspiration from it, the football is round and the chance is open, we will try our best to win,” said Bok. l

n Raihan Mahmood Abul Kalam, a Saudi Arabia immigrant currently enjoying his vacation in Bangladesh, was named the lucky winner of the LG-Butterfly “Fat is good-Free Australia Trip”, a ICC cricket World Cup customer promotional campaign, yesterday. Abul will get free match tickets along with return tickets and accommodation from LG. Meanwhile, Nazma Akter came second in the contest and she, along with the third-place winner, will receive return air tickets and match tickets of the World Cup in Australia.

A total of 54 winners were selected from the campaign with 51 of them re-

ceiving the match tickets of the premium cricket tournament in the world. The campaign will have another two phases before the conclusion of the event.

The prize distribution ceremony was held at the City Centre in the presence of MA Mannan, the chairman and managing director of LG, who handed over the prizes to the winners. Also present during the event were Mustafizur Rahman Shazid, director of sales and marketing, Mahbub-ur Rahman Shajib, director of operations, Mahbubul Haque Sufyani, executive director, Mostafa Kamal Ahmed, CFO and M Tanvir Alam, creative manager.

The LG-Butterfly campaign will run till February 15. l

LG-Butterfly managing director MA Mannan hands over the ‘Free Australia Trip’ award to Abdul Malek at the compnay’s head office yesterday COURTESY

New journey for disabled cricketers n Minhaz Uddin Khan

The national disabled cricket team pose for photographs after their last practice session, on the eve of their departure for India, at the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club ground yesterday COURTESY

Cricket in our country is all set to see the beginning of a new chapter. While the whole nation is gripped with the ICC World Cup fever, the Bangladesh Physically Challenged cricket team will depart for India tomorrow to participate in the five-nation Physically Challenged Asian Cricket Championship.

This will be the maiden official tour of the side since the formation of Cricket Association for Physically Challenged Bangladesh (CAPCB) a year ago.

In a press conference yesterday held at Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, CAPCB president Sheikh Abdus Salam said the association was boosted with the win in the three-match Twenty20 series against India.

“Following the success, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina aided the association. Akram (Khan) bhai has been

always with us and there are many sponsors who stood by our side and the result of such positives is now we are a proper association and we have being able to take care of our team well,” said Salam.

The CAPCB president informed the Bangladesh side received the invitation for the Asian Championship by the Disabled Cricket Society in October last year. Following the invitation, talent-hunt programmes were organised in Rajshahi, Natore, Bogra and Sirajganj. Several matches were played across different venues amongst the selected ones from the programme and eventually 20 players were selected for the squad. A runner and a coach were also added to the team.

During the side’s tour of India, CAPCB high-ups will meet officials of the International Cricket Association for the Physically Challenged (ICAPC) and

Asian Cricket Association for the Physically Challenged (ACAPC) in order to strengthen ties.

During their 12-day tour of India, Bangladesh will play four T20 matches. The side will begin their campaign against hosts India in Ranchi on February 4 before taking on Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 6 and 7 respectively in Agra. In their last game the physically disabled cricketers from Bangladesh will lock horns with Sri Lanka on February 8 in Firozabad.

The final of the tournament will be held at Agra Stadium on February 9.

Dhaka University vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, Bangladesh Cricket Board director and former national captain Akram Khan, CAPCB advisor Hafizur Rahman and CAPCB general secretary Maksurdur Rahman were present during the press conference.l

Sport

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Corporate Cricket begins in two days n Tribune Desk

NZvPAK, 1ST ODI Pakistan R B Mohammad Hafeez b Mills 0 5 Ahmed Shehzad c Ronchi b Boult 15 34 Younis Khan lbw Mills 9 26 Misbah ul-Haq c Latham b Elliott 58 87 Haris Sohail c Guptill b Anderson 23 38 Umar Akmal b Elliott 13 25 Sarfraz Ahmed c Latham b Anderson 5 12 Shahid Afridi c Guptill b Milne 67 29 Bilawal Bhatti c Guptill b Boult 0 2 Ehsan Adil c B. McCullum b Elliott 6 8 Mohammad Irfan not out 1 8 Extras (lb 3, wd 9, nb 1) 13

The second edition of Olympic Plus Indoor Corporate Cricket, organised by 3 Crics, gets underway this Tuesday at Shaheed Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur. Thirty-two leading corporate houses of the country will participate in the five-day tournament.

The details of the competition were announced in a press conference yesterday held at Dhanmondi Club where the key organisers of 3 Crics – former national cricketers Akram Khan, Athar Ali Khan and Khaled Mashud - were present.

Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Elite Panel umpire Masudur Rahman and Olympic Biscuit general manager Quazi Touhiduzzaman were also present in the press conference.

The participating teams will be divided into eight groups with the top two teams from each group going through to the Super Sixteen knockout round. The Super Sixteen will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. The final will take place this Saturday.

The champions will pocket Tk500,000 while the runners-up will bag Tk200,000. l

Total (for 10 wickets, 45.3 overs) 210 Fall of wickets 1-0 (Hafeez), 2-29 (Shehzad), 3-32 (Younis), 4-81 (Sohail), 5-113 (Akmal), 6-127 (Ahmed), 7-198 (Misbah ul-Haq), 8-203 (Bhatti), 9-203 (Afridi), 10-210 (Adil) Bowling Mills 10-2-29-2 (1w, 1nb), Boult 9-0-25-2 (2w), Milne 10-0-43-1 (3w), N. McCullum 6-0-37-0, Anderson 6-0-47-2 (2w), Elliott 4.3-0-26-3 (1w) New Zealand M. Guptill c Bhatti b Irfan B. McCullum c Shehzad b Bhatti T. Latham c Ahmed b Afridi R. Taylor not out G. Elliott not out Extras (lb 3, wd 8)

Ginola withdraws Fifa presidency bid n Reuters, London Former France winger David Ginola has abandoned his bid to stand in the FIFA presidential elections after failing to secure the five FA nominations needed, he said on Friday.

The 48-year-old launched his surprise attempt to oust Sepp Blatter as head of world soccer’s ruling body under the slogan “Rebooting Football” two weeks ago. l

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six 2:00PM Australian Open 2015 Men’s Final: Djokovic v Murray Orange African Cup of Nations Quarter Finals 10:45PM Ghana v Guinea 1:15AM Ivory Coast v Algeria

Ten Action

Indian-League 04:30PM Sporting Club Goa v Salgaocar 7:30PM Pune v Mumbai French Ligue 1 09:30PM Girondins Bordeaux v Guingamp 2:00AM AS Monaco v Lyon

Ten Sports 7:00PM French Ligue 1 SM Caen v AS Saint- Etienne

Star Sports 1 9:10AM ODI Tri-Series, Final Australia v England

B

Total (for 3 wickets, 39.3 overs) 213 Fall of wickets 1-31 (B. McCullum), 2-75 (Latham), 3-101 (Guptill)

Condolence n Raihan Mahmood Sufia Begum, the mother of Mohammed Shah M Zakaria (Saimon), assistant sports editor of the Daily Star, passed away due to old age complications at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital yesterday. She was 71.

Following the Zohr prayers, her body will be buried at Mohammedpur graveyard after the namaz-e-janaza.

She is survived by three children.

Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association expressed deep shock over the death of Sufia and prayed for the salvation of the departed soul. l

R

39 48 17 12 23 28 59 81 64 68 11

New Zealand paceman Kyle Mills celebrates bowling out Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan during the first one-day international at Westpac Stadium in Wellington yesterday

Afridi blitz in vain as Kiwis spank Pakistan n

Reuters

Grant Elliot’s all-round performance eclipsed Shahid Afridi’s 29-ball blitz to secure New Zealand a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first One Day International in Wellington on Saturday.

Elliot took three wickets for 26 runs to help the hosts bowl out Pakistan for 210 in 45.3 overs at the Westpac Stadium.

He then returned to hit an unbeaten 64, adding 112-runs with Ross Taylor (59 not out) as New Zealand romped home with 10.3 overs to spare.

Earlier, Afridi blasted a 29-ball 67 and captain Misbah-ul-Haq stroked a

patient 58 to help Pakistan overcome a terrible start and post 210.

Put in to bat, Pakistan lost their opener Mohammad Hafeez for a duck to the fifth delivery of the day and kept losing wickets to slump to 127 for six in the 36th over.

Kiwi pacemen Kyle Mills (2-29) and Trent Boult (2-25) stifled the visiting batsmen and struck at regular intervals to put Pakistan on the mat before Afridi went on the attack.

Dropped on 14 by rival captain Brendon McCullum, the flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder added 71 runs with Misbah in 6.2 overs to lend some respectability to the total.

Afridi blasted nine boundaries in his

blistering knock to go with three sixes, the third bringing up his fifty before Adam Milne dismissed him in the 44th over.

Misbah, who was content playing second fiddle to Afridi, perished in the 42nd over trying to accelerate.

The Kiwis were off to a flying start with the first three overs yielding 31 runs before McCullum fell.

Tom Latham (23) could not convert the start he got either but Martin Guptill contributed 39 runs before the unseparated Elliot-Taylor partnership took the game away from Pakistan.

Elliot hit eight boundaries in his 68ball knock, the last sealing the team’s victory. Napier hosts the second and final ODI on Tuesday. l

AFP

Bowling Irfan 10-2-60-1 (5w), Bhatti 8-0-51-1 (1w), Adil 7.3-0-44-0, Afridi 10-0-39-1 (2w), Sohail 4-0-16-0 New Zealand won by seven wickets

Tiger Woods shoots career-worst 82 to miss cut n AFP, Scottsdale Former world number one Tiger Woods fired his worst score as a professional, an 11-over par 82, to miss the cut at the US PGA Phoenix Open on Friday.

Woods stood last at 13-over 155 for the tournament, his first tour event since last August after recovering from a back injury, and said he was healthy but simply needs more tournament work to try and recover his top form.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Woods said. “I’ve got to continue with the process. I’ve got to keep things in perspective. Sometimes it’s difficult.

No doubt about it.”

Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, is assured of missing the cut for only the 13th time in his pro career.

He will have missed the cut at least once in each year since 2008, when he won his most recent major title at the US Open at Torrey Pines.

Woods is set to play a tour event next week at Torrey Pines, where he has won eight times but last year struggled and missed a secondary 54-hole cut.

In his first event since turning 39 last month, Woods opened with a 73 Thursday but struggled almost from the time he began Friday off the 10th tee.

After a bogey at 11, Woods made a double bogey at the par-4 14 and triple bogey at par-5 15, then took back-toback bogeys at 17 and 18 to make the turn 8-over, the 44 matching the worst nine holes of his career.

Woods parred the next three holes before a double-bogey at the par-3 fourth. l

Sloppy Bayern stunned at Wolfsburg n AFP, Berlin

Wolfsburg breathed life into the Bundesliga’s title race on Friday with a shock 4-1 hammering of leaders Bayern Munich, who suffered their heaviest German league defeat for six years.

Pep Guardiola’s Bayern also lost their first league game of the season as second-placed Wolfsburg trimmed their lead to eight points.

Bayern leaked as many goals in Wolfsburg as in the entire first half of the season as the home side ruthlessly exploited Bayern’s numerous errors.

“We put in a huge performance,” beamed Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. When you want to beat Bayern, you need a day like that. The team did everything we talked about and it went 100 percent according to plan.”

Netherlands striker Bas Dost gave

the hosts a deserved 2-0 lead at the break as his thunderbolt volley crashed into off the post just before the halftime whistle following an earlier goal.

Belgium international Kevin de Bruyne made sure of the three points with two second half goals while de-

BUNDESLIGA RESULT

VfL Wolfsburg

4-1

Bas Dost 4, 45, Kevin de Bruyne 53,73

Bayern Munich Juan Bernat 55

fender Juan Bernat scored Bayern’s consolation goal. “We lost our shape and we lost too many balls, it wasn’t our day.

For the first time in three years, Bayern found themselves 2-0 down at half-time on their way to their heaviest league defeat since losing 5-1 at Wolfsburg in April 2009 - when Wolves won the Bundesliga title.l

VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (C) shoots to score against Bayern Munich during their Bundesliga match on Friday REUTERS

Clarke denies rift with Australian teammates n AFP, Sydney

Star Sports 2 9:30AM Ranji Trophy Punjab v Odisha 6:30PM Hockey India League Kalinga Lancers v Jaypee Punjab Warriors 1:45AM Italian Serie A Milan v Parma

Star Sports 4

English Premier League 7:30PM Arsenal v Aston Villa 10:00PM Southampton v Swansea City 2:00AM Barcelona v Villarreal Clarke batting for Western Suburbs against Gordon yesterday

INTERNET

Australian captain Michael Clarke on Saturday rejected speculation about a rift with teammates as he battles for fitness ahead of the World Cup. Speaking as he returned to the field for a grade cricket match, Clarke said the six-and-a-half weeks he had spent recuperating from hamstring surgery had not driven a wedge between him and the squad.

“It certainly hasn’t been for me, it seems like it might have been for a few other people and I’m not talking about my teammates or the Cricket Australia staff,” said Clarke.

Clarke was forced to bow out after the first Test against India in December with the serious hamstring injury, with Steve Smith filling in as captain for the three remaining Tests.

Reports have suggested that the team have taken to Smith’s style, while

speculation that Clarke wants to have a strong say in when he is ready to return to the team has caused friction with Cricket Australia.

“I’m not going to get into it,” Clarke told reporters.

“It seems like some people in particular are going to write what they want to write. I’m really happy and comfortable with my relationship with Cricket Australia firstly, certainly with my teammates. It’s water off a duck’s back for me, I’ve copped it my whole career.

It’s another day, another newspaper sold. I don’t really care.”

He batted for almost three hours for his Western Suburbs team Saturday, scoring 51 from 128 balls, including two fours and a six, and said medical staff considered his recovery was ahead of schedule.

“But there’s still a long way to go before I can walk out in an international and represent Australia,” he said.l

Gervinho poised for Ivory Coast return

n Reuters, Malabo Ivory Coast forward Gervinho is due to return to action at the African Nations Cup on Sunday after completing a two-match suspension in a boost to his side’s chances in their quarter-final against Algeria.

“It is clear that we will face a good Algerian team. We will need to be at our maximum level if we are to advance to the semi-finals of the Nations Cup,” he told reporters on Saturday.

Television pictures of an animated Gervinho running a gauntlet of emotions while supporting his country from the stands have served as a reminder of the passionate approach he brings to the team.

The AS Roma winger was sent off for slapping Guinea’s Naby Keita in his side’s opening match at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, February 1, 2015

19th Slam for Williams n AFP, Melbourne Serena Williams won her sixth Australian Open and 19th career Grand Slam with a hard-fought win over bitter rival Maria Sharapova on Saturday, consolidating her place among the game’s legends.

The 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) triumph means the American world number one overtakes 18-time major champions Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert to go clear second on the all-time Open-era Grand Slam winners’ list, three behind Steffi Graf.

Australia’s Margaret Court, who played many of her match before the Open-era, has 24 titles. Evert, commentating on ESPN, backed Williams to eventually overtake Graf’s mark “if she stays healthy, if he stays motivated”.

“Standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen, I went on the courts with just a ball and a racquet and hope and that’s all I had,” said Williams, at 33 the oldest women to win the Melbourne title.

“I’m just so excited to have this title,” she added, revealing that she had been “throwing up” when she went off court during a rain delay in the first set.

The American has been battling a cold all tournament and was coughing during the match.

The first Australian final in a decade to feature the tournament’s top two seeds was a one-sided affair in the opening set, although Sharapova rallied to make a contest of it in the second, saving two championship points before falling to a third.

The win extends Williams’ decade-long run over the Russian to 16 matches, with the second seed hailing her rival’s “incredible achievement”.

An intensely focused Williams outgunned Sharapova, cannoning down 18 aces, including a 203 kmh (166 mph)

Murray, Djokovic both bidding for firsts in Australia n Reuters, Melbourne

thunderbolt and glaring at her opponent during key moments as Sharapova struggled to stay in the match.

Sharapova made a disastrous start when she double faulted to go down a break in the opening game, succumbing to pressure as Williams aggressively stood inside the baseline and easily read the Russian’s intent.

The American pounced on any tentative shots from Sharapova who resorted to drop shots in a bid to vary her tactics and avoid getting into a slugfest with the game’s most powerful hitter.

Heavy rain interrupted play at 3-2, with Williams taking shelter and towelling down as the roof was closed, while Sharapova sat courtside then performed warm-up exercises.

Williams emerged, later saying she had been sick before the match finally resumed after 13 minutes.l

SERENA TITLES Australian Open (2015, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2003) French Open (2013, 2002) Wimbledon (2012, 2010, 2009, 2003, 2002) US Open (2014, 2013, 2012, 2008, 2002, 1999)

GRAND SLAM WINNERS 22 Steffi Graf (GER) 19 Serena Williams (USA) 18 Chris Evert (USA), Martina Navrati11 9 8 7 5

lova (USA) Margaret Court (AUS) Monica Seles (USA) Billie Jean King (USA) Venus Williams (USA), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS), Justine Henin (BEL) Maria Sharapova (RUS), Martina Hingis (USA)

Serena Williams of the US poses for photographs holding the 2015 Australian Open trophy after her victory against Russia’s Maria Sharapova in the women’s singles final in Melbourne yesterday AFP

For two men who have accomplished so much in their closely intertwined careers, the Australian Open final between friends Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on Sunday could achieve a number of firsts.

Should Djokovic beat Murray he will become the first man in the Open era to win five titles in Melbourne and be one away from Roy Emerson’s record of six, won before the game went professional in 1968.

Victory will also allow him to reclaim his mantle as the king of Melbourne Park, having reached the final in four of the past five years.

“Getting to the finals is already a great achievement ... but now this is the match for which you have worked for now two months,” Djokovic said after he beat last year’s champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final. “This is where you want to be.

“This is why you put all these hours on and off the court, trying to get yourself in a position to win grand slam trophy, because that’s what matters the most.”

Djokovic is bidding for his eighth grand slam title and has a superior 15-8 career record over Murray.

He has also won seven of the last eight matches, while in his run of three successive Melbourne Park titles, he beat Murray twice, in 2011 and 2013.

“There’s no clear favourite. But ... the record I have in finals against him here in Australia, we played couple times, can serve maybe as a slight mental edge,” Djokovic said. “But not much.”

While the history is against Murray, the Scot is used to rewriting it.

It would be his first title at Melbourne Park, from his fourth final appearance, the most required in the Open era to win the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. It would also end another long barren streak for British men’s tennis, as he would be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1934 to clinch the Australian title.l

Sharapova still haunted by Serena jinx PSG edge Rennes to n close gap on Lyon AFP, Melbourne

Maria Sharapova vowed Saturday to keep grinding away to break her jinx against Serena Williams, after she was beaten to the Australian Open title by a player who has won all 16 of their last encounters.

Despite being number two in the world, the Russian just cannot beat her bitter rival, with her winless streak going back a decade.

Coming into the tournament the Russian also had the chance to topple Williams as world number one, but the opportunity also slipped from her grasp.

However, Sharapova said she was a fighter and would work hard to keep putting herself in the position to beat the intensely focused American.

“Yes, I haven’t won against her many times, but if I’m getting to the stage of competing against someone like Serena, I’m doing something well,” she said.

“I’m setting up a chance to try to beat her and it hasn’t happened. I’m not just going to go home without giving it another chance.

“That’s just not who I am and not who I was raised to be. I’m a competitor. If I’m getting to the finals of Grand Slams and setting myself up to play a match against Serena, I mean, maybe you’re telling me I’m wrong, but I’m happy to be in that position.

“I love the competition. I love playing against the best, and at the moment she is.”

The first Australian final in a decade to feature the tournament’s top two seeds was a one-sided affair in the opening set, although Sharapova rallied to make a contest of it in the second, displaying her renowned fighting qualities.

She held off a championship point at 5-4 in the second and another at 6-5 when it went to a tie-break before Williams won on her third attempt with an ace.

Sharapova admitted Williams’ huge serve -- some of them fired down at 200 kph (166 mph) was key to her victory.

“That’s one of her biggest strengths, her serve. Maybe it’s something that has saved her in many matches, situations where you cannot get the racquet on the ball,” she said.

“You have to let that go. And if you’re able to get in the point somehow, make it a little bit easy for yourself -- I didn’t feel that I had many of those chances to get in the point.

“When the games on her serve were 30-All, 40-30 or 15-30 a few times, she came up with really great serves.”

Despite being outgunned, the 27-year-old, known for her steely composure on court, admitted it was tough to go home the loser without adding to her five Grand Slam titles.

“It’s always tough getting to a final stage of an event where it’s down to two players and you end up become the one that’s going home with the smaller trophy, there’s no doubt about it,” she said “No matter how you played, well or not, whatever the scoreline is, it’s always tough. But it will be alright.”

Sharapova, who at least improved on her 6-1, 6-2 capitulation to Williams in the 2007 final at Melbourne Park, said the venue was still special for her.

“I’ve had some of my best memories on this court and also some of my toughest losses as well, but that’s the life of a tennis player,” she said.l

n AFP, Paris Ezequiel Lavezzi scored the only goal as champions Paris Saint-Germain edged Rennes 1-0 on Friday to maintain their undefeated Ligue 1 home record and cut the gap on leaders Lyon to just one point.

RESULT PSG

1-0

Rennes

Lavezzi 29

The win was PSG’s sixth consecutive home win in all competitions while stretching their Ligue 1 record at the Parc des Princes to eight wins and three draws.

However, Lyon, who face PSG in 10 days’ time, can restore their four-point lead with victory at Monaco on Sunday.

“I would have liked to have had a bigger victory, but we kept a clean sheet. That’s satisfying,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc.

“We scored a very good goal but we expect more up front.”

Hollywood actress Salma Hayek, the wife of Rennes owner Francois-Henri Pinault, watched the game from the stands but her star quality failed to rub off on her husband’s mid-table team.

“There’s a little bit of frustration because we had chances to take a point,” said coach Philippe Montanier.

“Paris scored a magnificent goal but when we had opportunities we were unable to take them.”

Lavezzi grabbed the decisive goal after 29 minutes after a neat interchange of passes down the left between Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was involved twice, Adrien Rabiot and Javier Pastore.

Argentine star Lavezzi, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool before the transfer window shuts on Monday, was then on hand to tuck the ball past Benoit Costil in the Rennes goal for his third goal of the season.

Rennes may have gone into Friday’s game having not won a game in Ligue 1 since December 3 but they had defeated PSG 2-1 on their last visit to the capital in May.l

Australia break Korean hearts in Asian Cup final n AFP, Sydney Hosts Australia won the Asian Cup after beating South Korea 2-1 in extra time of an electrifying final on Saturday, substitute James Troisi smashing home a dramatic winner.

Troisi broke Korean hearts with the last kick in the first period of extra time after Son Heung-Min had snatched a dramatic injury-time equaliser at the end of normal time.

Australia’s triumph gave the Socceroos a first title since defecting from Oceania nine years ago, while South Korea’s anguish continued after failing to break a hoodoo in the tournament stretching back to 1960.

Australia, runners-up to Japan in 2011, had been on the brink of victory after a stunning strike from Massimo Luongo on the stroke of half-time, triggering wild celebrations from the waves of fans in green and gold in a

crowd of 76,000.

But South Korea’s superstar Son produced a moment of sheer brilliance in injury time, bursting through to fire past goalkeeper Mathew Ryan after a clever flick from captain Ki Sung-Yueng.

The Socceroos, the Asian Cup’s top scorers with 14 goals, were forced to work hard for victory in a reversal of the group tie between the teams earlier in

ASIAN CUP RESULT Australia Luongo 45, Troisi 105

2-1

South Korea Son 90+1

the tournament, which was dominated

by Australia but won 1-0 by the Koreans.

Australian captain Mile Jedinak set the tone for a bruising final when he clattered Son during the early skirmishes, and right-back Ivan Franjic was then booked for a crude foul on Park Joo-Ho. Defender Kwak Tae-Hwi headed a Ki free kick wastefully wide after 24 minutes, before Tim Cahill forced a

smart save from Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon at the other end as both teams came out of their shell.

Son, Australia’s tormentor in chief, almost broke the deadlock when he lashed a left-foot volley just over the bar as South Korea pushed hard for the opening goal.

But then Luongo, who has been a revelation for Australia in this tournament, wriggled free to blast a fierce long-range drive past goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon against the run of play.

It was the first goal South Korea had conceded in the tournament on their way to a first final in 27 years.

With the match drifting into stoppage time, Son pounced dramatically, celebrating with the massed ranks of “Red Devils” fans behind the Australian goal.

South Korea were re-energised, but in extra time Tomi Juric picked Kim Jin-Su’s pocket and when his cross was pushed out by Kim Jin-Hyeon, fellow substitute Troisi belted the ball into the roof of the net. l

Australia captain Mile Jedinak (C) holds the 2015 Asian Cup trophy after their win over South Korea in the final at the Stadium Australia in Sydney yesterday REUTERS

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

15

Sunday, February 1, 2015

DREEK coming soon with their debut album

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

SUMAIYA SHIMU assigns to steal legal wills n Shadma Malik Graceful actress Sumaiya Shimu will appear in a new TV series titled “Lake Drive Lane” which will be aired on television channel Ntv from tomorrow. In the drama, she shared screen with Ziaul Faruq Apurba.

The television series will be aired on every Monday and Tuesday at 8:20pm.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Sumaiya said: “In the TV series I am playing the role of a simple girl who has come to Dhaka from a small town.

She is struggling to earn livelihood.

She needs to earn money to maintain her family as her father was disappeared.”

“Due to desperate need of money, I got involved in such tasks which is questionable in term of morality,” she explained her character.

The plot of the story revolves around a house where Sumaiya works as a ghost-writer and she writes the biography of a person named Lutfar Rahman. But Lutfar’s son lured her to work for him in exchange of huge amount of money. At one stage, she agreed to do so. Then the son hired Sumaiya to steal a will paper from the house as his father wants to give his assets to one of his nephew.

“The story talks about moral values of doing such thing, on the other hand it also gives an insight story of a girl who is struggling to earn money and doing such tasks she expresses her pain and guilt. In a way the character is negative but looking the other side there is a meaning to commit a crime,” Sumaiya said.

“We have finished shooting eleven episodes and there will be hundred and four episodes.” l

Dreek, one of the hard rock bands of the country, is all set to bring out their self-titled debut album in February. Though the release date has not been finalised yet, the band members expect the album’s post-production work would be completed within a couple of week as they are passing hectic time in the Bengal Studio.

The band, influenced by the popular international hard rock acts of the 80s and 90s, will have a collection of some great numbers in the album for the

n Entertainment Desk Munsur Ali’s “Shongram”, a romantic drama set in the background of the liberation war of Bangladesh, will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York tomorrow.

Bollywood star Anupam Kher, Bangladeshi artists Amaan Reza and Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee, among others, stared in the film.

Produced, written and directed by British Bangladeshi Munsur Ali, who made the film in search of his roots and to share the story of the liberation war to a global audience.

n Entertainment Desk

Exhibition

Chronology

By Kazi Rakib Tine: 11:00am – 7:30pm Galleri Kaya, House 20, Sector 4, Uttara Tarshito: Embroider the World Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts Road No 16, Dhanmondi Light, Dark, Space

By MD Tokon Bengal Art Lounge 60 Gulshan Avenue , Road 131, Gulshan

Theatre

Ochin Dwiper Upakhhan Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm Experimental Theatre Hall, Shilpakala Academy

KATE BOSWORTH talks about Still Alice n Entertainment Desk

The newest additions to the Steve Jobs biopic have been announced. Kate Winslet and Jeff Daniels have signed on to star as former Macintosh marketing boss Joanna Hoffman and former Apple CEO John Sculley. Michael Fassbender will portray Steve Jobs with Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak.

Other cast members include Katherine Waterston, who will play Steve Jobs’ ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan. Michael Stuhlbarg will play Andy Hertzfeld, one of Mac’s original developers.

Sarah Snook is set as Andrea Cunningham, project leader of Apple Macintosh, and Adam Shapiro as Avie Tevanian, Apple Computer Senior VP of software engineering.

The film is being directed by Danny Boyle with Aaron Sorkin is penning the script. l

Zahir Raihan Film Fest 2015 Time: 5:30pm – 9:30pm Shilpakala Academy, Shegun Bagicha

About the album release plan Upal added: “As there is a decline in physical album sales, the album will see online digital release primarily, and later we will bring out a physical version of collector’s edition CD.” In 2007, Dreek came out on top six in Djuice DRockstars competition and have released four singles since then. They are “Opurnota”, “Adhar Manush,” “Khuji Tomaye” and a tribute to Kazi Nazrul Islam’s song “Jhornar moto Chonchol.”

The band’s current line up beside Upal includes Saif on vocal, Ratul on guitar and Rahi on bass. l

Shongram to be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York

WINSLET, DANIELS join Steve Jobs biopic

Film

hard rock enthusiasts.

Hasibul Hossain Upal, band’s founding member and drummer, told to the Dhaka Tribune: “We are putting together nine versatile tracks, mostly hard rock with two romantic ballad, in the album. Besides, we have placed four tracks of the genre which we relish to perform on stage.”

Drawing a huge fan base with the release of three songs - “Tarunner Michile”, “Notun Alo” and “Golok Dhadhaye” - on Radio Foorti last year, the band has already made an impression with their kind of music.

Hollywood actress Kate Bosworth talked about her role in Still Alice and opened up about not being in hurry to have kids with husband Michael Polish.

She talked about “Still Alice,” wherein she stars in a small but meaty role. The film revolves round Dr Alice Howard, a professor, played by Julianne Moore who comes to terms of having Alzheimer’s. Kate plays the role of her daughter, Anna.

Kate reveals that she read the book and was so moved by its story that she asked her manager if anyone was making a movie out of it and that is when she found out about the men behind “Still Alice,” looking for an actress to play the role of Anna. l

GAME OF THRONES season five trailer released n Entertainment Desk “Game of Thrones “season five is nearly here, and the trailer has finally been released. There is plenty to be excited for, and the trailer even teases something that many fans have wondered. It may be that Daenerys taking over the Iron Throne is the endgame after all.

“Game of Thrones” did something that no other TV show has done this year. It shared the final two episodes of season four in the IMAX last week, and then shared the season five trailer just afterwards. It took some time, but the official teaser has now been released.

The tagline for season five is “justice has a price,” and there are certainly clips of prices while the song Heroes by David Bowie plays. All the major players were on

the screen, including Tyrion Lannister, the Stark sisters, Jon Snow and the Lannister twins. One of the most dramatic clips has to be the one between Sansa and Littlefinger, when he tells her to avenge “them,” presumably her parents and brother. He also tells her that the only justice is one that “we make.”

Daenerys is also becoming the powerful leader she showed that she could be in the earlier seasons of the show. There are going to be a number of new characters in season five of Game of Thrones, and the newly released trailer certainly showed them. Alexander Siddig will take on the role of Doran Martell, and it is clear that he is after revenge for his brother’s death.

The show will return to HBO on April 12.

Link of the official trailer: http://www. hbo.com/game-of-thrones#/ l

The Shongram was premiered at the London Indian Film Festival.

The film was also screened at the Darpan Singapore Film Festival, LA Indian Film Festival and Keswick Film Festival.

“It’s not enough to make films for a Bangladeshi audience only, we need to export Bengali stories to share our experiences and to compete on the world stage,” says Munsur Ali. Munsur Ali is now planning his new film called “Cinema,” which will be shot in India, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. l

WHAT TO WATCH TELEVISION

THE DA VINCI CODE HBO Hits, 4:45pm Cast: Hanks, Tautou, Jean Reno A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.

300 WB, 4pm Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey King Leonidas and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Zee Studio, 9:30pm Cast: Depp, Bloom, Keira Knightley Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.

THEATRE THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 I PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (3D) I ROMEO V/S JULIET I BOYHOOD I BEAUTY AND THE BEAST @ Star Cineplex NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB I EXODUS 3D I THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES I THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 3D I EK CUP CHA INTERSTELLAR @ Blockbuster Cinemas

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, February 1, 2015

SSC examinees, guardians feel insecure, victimised The education minister has called for the BNP alliance to suspend its programme Education Minister Nurul Islam Our Habiganj correspondent reportGen Aziz Ahmed said: “The BGB will n Tribune Report arrange special patrol during the exam- ed that the guardians of around 17,000 Nahid too urged the BNP-led alliance Around 1.5m students across the country are set to sit for the SSC and equivalent examinations tomorrow amid fear of sudden violent attacks by the blockaders, as the BNP-led 20-party alliance has not yet lifted the indefinite blockade.

Students as well as the guardians express fear despite the government’s assurances of providing adequate security. The government is adamant not to reschedule the exam dates.

Uncertainty has gripped them mainly because of reports on the violent incidents centring the government-ouster movement. Many said they felt like hostages by the political parties. It has hampered their preparations too while the students say their results would not be what they expected.

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday promised full security for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinees if the blockade continued.

Border Guard Bangladesh chief Maj

inations to ensure safety of the examinees.”

Fatema Binte Mohsin will have to go to Motijheel Government Girls’ High School from Rampura to sit for the exams. She has to take a bus to reach Motijheel. Her father Sheikh Mohsin is now scared of attack on their way to the exam centre.

“We have learnt about the assurance of the state minister and the law enforcing agencies. But they can ensure safety only in and around the centres.

How will they manage the street attacks?” he asked.

Demanding withdrawal of the blockade and hartals during the SSC examination, another guardian Rehana Begum said the government’s rescheduling the examination would also affect the students’ preparations.

She was not convinced by the pledges of the authorities. “This types of assurances come from them [government] always. But nothing keep the miscreants away from doing misdeeds.”

Violence kills two more men n

Tribune Report

A bus driver and an autorickshaw passenger died in petrol bomb attacks in Lakshmipur and Sirajganj yesterday, the 26th day of the indefinite blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance across the country.

Besides, a policeman was injured in a crude bomb attack in Chittagong, two vehicles were torched in Narayanganj and Chapainawabganj and two Chhatra Shibir activists were caught red-handed while fleeing after hurling crude bombs at police in Rajshahi.

Our Lakshmipur correspondent reported that the bus driver, Md Sumon, 30, was injured when Molotov cocktails were thrown at the vehicle on Lakshmipur-Noakhali highway around 11:45pm on Friday. He died on the way to hospital late at night.

Sumon lived in Senbagh of Noakhali, said Humayun Kabir, officer-incharge of Chandraganj police station.

In Sirajganj, Ganesh Das, 45, was injured along with four others when a petrol bomb was hurled at the autorickshaw they were travelling by around 9pm. He died after being taken to hospital.

In Chittagong, police constable Md Shamim of Kotwali police station, was injured in a crude bomb blast near Didar market area at noon. He was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where doctors said his injuries were minor and he was out of danger.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali circle) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf said

some Shibir activists blasted five crude bombs aiming at police in the area.

Police detained Ekramul Haq Suman, 23, from the scene and nabbed another 35 students from Darul Ulum Madrasa with some explosives, he said.

Besides, police in separate operations arrested 10 BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami activists from different areas in the district for their alleged involvement in subversive activities.

Four people were detained on charge of setting fire to a truck in Gomastapur of Chapainawabganj late on Friday night.

In Rajshahi, two Shibir activists – Nawshad Ali and Saiful Islam Selim - were caught red-handed when they were trying to escape after throwing crude bombs at police, said Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Boalia police station.

A crude bomb was blasted on Jagannath University campus at noon while police recovered an unexploded bomb from the scene.

Maasranga Television staff reporter Jahid Selim and cameraman Moazzem Hossain were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after they were injured in a crude bomb blast at TSC area of Dhaka University around 7:30pm.

Sharif, who hurled the bomb, was given a mob beating before being handed over to police.

A policeman was injured when a petrol bomb was hurled at New Market police station at 8:15pm but the miscreants could not be captured, said Duty Officer Asaduzzaman. l

examinees of the district were tensed about their children.

Alima Begum, an examinee from Shastipur Girls’ High School in Bahubal upazila, will have to travel 10 kilometres to attend the exam.

His father Mohim Uddin said: “Students will go to exam halls. But can they keep their minds tense-free from sudden attacks?”

Deputy Commissioner of Chapainawabganj Jahangir Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have taken every possible measures to ensure that the examinations are held properly.”

Sahabul Islam from Kansat area under Shibganj upazila, where many incidents of violence were reported in the last couple of days, thinks violence is obvious during blockade and hartals, our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports.

Similar reactions came from Chittagong, Sylhet, Tangail and Gaibandha districts as reported by our district correspondents.

to withdraw the blockade and hartals considering sufferings of the SSC examinees.

Businessman Nasir Chowdhury, resident of Chittagong city’s Halishahar area, expressing his anxiety, said his elder daughter’s exam centre was about 10 kilometres off their house.

“I have a car but I cannot run it on the streets during hartal,” he said adding that the public transports or hired vehicles were low in number and targeted by the blockaders very often.

A candidate of PDB High School, Mohammad Rahi, fears that he might not reach the exam centre in time due to bad transportation during hartal hours. His mother Shahana Begum is more concerned about Rahi’s safety.

CMP Additional Commissioner (crime and operation) Banaz Kumar Majumder said they would deploy additional forces in every risky and important points of the city while special teams to patrol around the exam centres. l

Since the BNP-led 20-party alliance announced a fresh 72-hr hartal across the country for Sunday onwards, candidates of the upcoming SSC examination and their guardians took to the streets protesting the decision.

(Left) General students hold a human chain in front of the BNP’s Gulshan office yesterday urging the party to recall its decision. l (Top right) Meanwhile, guardians of the SSC examinees bring out a rally and form a human chain in the capital’s Gulshan area. l (Bottom right) Students, teachers and guardians form a human chain demanding no political programmes during the SSC examinations. The photo was taken in Rajshahi city’s Shaheb Bazar area yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE/AZAHAR UDDIN

Police-BGB to secure SSC exam venues n Mohammad Jamil Khan Bangladesh Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have said their forces would provide security for Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam candidates amid the BNP-led alliance’s hartal and transport blockade programmes.

The BNP coalition’s declared 72-hour hartal overlaps with the first day of the SSC exam scheduled to start tomorrow.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque, at a press briefing at police headquarters yesterday, said if the government decides to hold SSC examinations during the opposition programmes, police would provide security.

Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Police Mokhlesur Rahman, AIG (Media) Jalaluddin Ahmed and other top police officials were present.

The IGP said that besides providing security for exam halls, police would also provide security for localities having more than 50 candidates.

The police chief said: “Being a father and a common citizen of the country, I request the BNP alliance to withdraw the programmes for the sake of the students.”

Barring a withdrawal of the blockade, he the opposition coalition to keep SSC examinees outside the purview of their programmes.

The police chief said professional saboteurs were hurling petrol and

crude bombs for money and many of these paid troublemakers were in police custody.

Asked about the arrest of top BNP leaders for sabotage, the police chief said that was up to the investigation officers of the specific cases.

A special meeting held at police headquarters to plan for SSC exam security decided to deploy metropolitan police, district police, highway police, armed police battalion and Rapid Action Battalion forces along with regular police at exam venues and on the roads and highways.

BGB chief Major General Aziz Ahmed, Ansar chief Major General Md Nazimuddin, Special Branch Additional IGP Dr Jabed Patowari, RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed, Additional IGP Mokhlesur Rahman and DMP Commissioner Asaduzzman Miah were present at the meeting.

A DMP press statement signed by Commissioner Asaduzzaman yesterday banned the entrance of the general public within 200 yards of exam halls, ordered under section 28 and 29 of the DMP Ordinance.

BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that the BGB would be deployed near examination centres two or three hours before and after exam times, so that examinees can sit the exams and return home safely, he said. l

DMCH doctors nearly send live newborn to grave n Mohammad Jamil Khan Negligent doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) nearly caused a newborn to be buried alive yesterday, after they issued a death certificate to an unresponsive one-day-old who was still alive.

Preparations for the neonate’s funeral had been completed and the grave site was being dug when passers-by noticed the shrouded figure moving and halted the burial.

But when the relieved but upset family was back at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) with the newborn at 1:30pm, a DMCH doctor snatched away the death certificate and tore it up, family members said.

The baby is now undergoing treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

In December last year, a DMCH patient, reported to have been neglected by doctors because she appeared to be a vagabond, was declared dead but came back to life while being carted off to the Dhaka Medical College morgue.

Declared dead

Jahangir Alam was moments away from committing his one-day-old son Sobahan to the earth at Azimpur Graveyard around noon yesterday when students of Shaheed Begum Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Government College, who were passing by, noticed the tiny figure moving.

Oni Islam, a first-year student of the college, said: “We stopped the father

from burying the infant after we noticed it moving inside its shroud.”

According to the DMCH admission registrar, the infant’s mother, Sultana Akther, 28, of Cunkutia in Keraniganj was admitted to the hospital around 10pm Friday with labour pains.

Two hours later, she gave birth to a three-month premature baby. The newborn required oxygen support.

The infant’s maternal grandmother, Hanufa Begum, said, soon after the birth, DMCH doctors suggested that the baby be admitted to the Children’s Hospital.

“But it was night, so we decided to keep the baby at DMCH with oxygen support and wait for morning so the boy’s father, a worker of a steel factory, could arrange money for treatment,” she said.

“At 9am, the baby was unresponsive so we contacted the doctors and they, without checking anything, issued a death certificate and told us the baby had died,” Hanufa said.

Sultana was being treated at ward 212 under the MAT-II unit in the gynaecology department of DMCH under supervision of Prof Dr Iffat Ara. Asked how this could have happened, DMCH Director Brig Gen Mustafizur Rahman said: “Undoubtedly, this was a great mistake. The doctor should not have issued the [death] certificate without a proper check-up.”

“We have taken steps to move against those responsible for this and a four-member probe body will give its report within the next five days,” he said.

The committee, headed by surgery

department Associate Prof ABM Jamal, includes Medicine department Associate Prof Dr Sudip Ranjan Day, Gynaecology resident surgeon Chowdhury Taslima Nasrin and DMCH Deputy Director ASM Sahidullah.

Probe in progress

Brig Gen Mustafizur said the committee would investigate exactly how the death certificate came to be issued.

He said according to hospital protocol, only the on-duty assistant registrar has the authority to issue death certificates.

But the hospital director would not name who was responsible.

Sources at the hospital confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that Assistant Registrar Dr Meherunnessa was on duty at the time. She was not available to comment about the matter.

Professor Dr Ferdousi Islam, head of gynaecology at DMCH, said: “The woman gave birth to the child prematurely and could not give a clear idea about her pregnancy.”

“Besides, she had not gone to a doctor during the six months of her pregnancy which caused confusion leading to a misunderstanding,” she added.

“Despite all this, because the neonatal ICU had no vacancies, we asked the baby’s parents to shift the child to another hospital but they would not listen to us,” Dr Ferdousi said.

“In medical terms, a 24 to 26 week premature birth is described in medical terms as ‘clinically dead’,” she said.

Dr Ferdousi said in these cases, a

baby might be unresponsive for up to 48 hours. Doctors, failing to see a response from the infant, might have issued the death certificate.

Still at risk

Prof Dr Abid Hossain Mollah, head of the paediatric unit of DMCH, said the baby was born 28 weeks prematurely and weighed just 1200 grammes which means it will be difficult for it to survive.

“The baby is now in an incubator and if he survives, it will be a rare case,” he added.

The chief of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Prof Dr Eklasur Rahman, said: “The baby is breathing with the support of ventilation machine, a very costly treatment. At any other hospital, it would cost nearly Tk50,000 per day.”

“The baby was born prematurely and was hypothermic. The machine keeps him warm. If he can survive inside there, his brain and other organs will mature,” Dr Eklas said.

This is the second time in recent memory that DMCH doctors mistakenly declared a living patient dead.

In early December last year, doctors mistakenly declared a woman dead but four hours afterwards, she started moving while being taken to the morgue.

She died a day after her apparent revival, but was only declared dead after proper pathological tests were conducted.

This time, three hours after doctors declared him dead, little Sobahan showed signs of life. l

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B3 Russian central bank

makes surprise interest rate cut

B4 OPEC oil output rises as

key members stand firm

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Current account deficit likely for 1st time in 2 years n Tribune Report The current account balance is likely to plunge to deficit for the first time in two years in the current fiscal year with imports exceeding exports.

The deficit is projected to be $1,348m in the fiscal year 2014-15, according to the latest monetary policy statement.

Until the first quarter of the fiscal, the current account had been in the black since FY2011-12.

The current account balance recorded a deficit of $1,316m during the July-November period of 2014 compared to a surplus of $1,127m in the same period a year ago, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

“The current account balance was negative during the period, particularly owing to import growth outstripping export growth,” said the central bank statement.

On projection of current account for this fiscal, it said there will be a correction in the pace of export growth as the existing outcome of export earnings appears to be the lag effect of cancellation of garments order followed by political deadlock in the first half of current fiscal year and collapse of Rana Plaza, along with a pick-up in imports as investor confidence grows.

Imports rose by 11.59% to $17.8bn in the first half of this fiscal when exports rose 1.56% to $14.91bn compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

A banker said imports might increase further with the start of Padma Bridge construction works, the country’s largest infrastructural project.

Political unrest might dampen export growth, which would put the balance of payments under pressure in future, he added.

For this fiscal year, the central bank projects an overall export growth of 8%, import 15% and remittance 12%, which will lead to having a reasonable

balance of payment surplus.

However, starting from FY2015 in order to retain external sector stability it will be important for export and growth to pick up as imports are likely to grow further, Bangladesh Bank said in policy statement.

“This will require coordinated activities to boost export diversification, change in destination, manpower exports, upgrading skills of migrants and enhanced incentives to use formal channels to remit and invest funds.

Bangladesh Bank will continue its efforts in this regard,” it said.

Despite a reasonable remittance growth of more than 10% in the first six months of this fiscal year, the deficits in trade balance ($4.48bn), services account ($2.05bn) and primary income account ($1.21bn) exacerbate the current account balance to a deficit, according to BB. It said fortunately, remittances and other secondary income to the tune of $17bn are expected to cushion against the deficits of trade, services, and primary income, limiting the amount of current account deficit to $1.35bn for FY2015 – which appears to be normal and serviceable for a growing economy like Bangladesh.

Aiming at keeping exchange rate stable, Bangladesh Bank will continue to buy greenback.

“Intervention in the foreign exchange market have protected exporters by slowing the appreciation or in turn, helping depreciation of the taka.”

The central bank anticipates further buildup in foreign exchange reserves in the second half of FY2015 though at a more moderate pace than FY2014 due to the balance of payments assumptions.

Foreign currency reserves are hovering over around $22bn – enough to cover imports of more than six months.

After a period of appreciation since early 2012, the exchange rate remained stable since mid-2013. l

Banks’ Return on Assets hits 10-year low Spillover effect of loan scams continues in the banking sector sector through forgery by Hallmark owned commercial banks, said the n Jebun Nesa Alo and Bismillah group between the year statement.

The country’s banking sector witnessed lowest return on assets in 10 years due to the rise in default loans.

Return on Asset (ROA) was declining since December 2010 from 1.8% to 0.6% in June 2014 thanks to maintaining higher provision against the bad assets, according to Bangladesh Bank monetary policy statement that announced on Thursday last for H2.

The banks, however, bagged highest return on assets above 1.5% during the year 2010 and 2011 when the private sector credit growth was also highest ever 24.2% and 25.8% respectively according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The return on asset witnesses a sharp fall in the year 2012 as several loan scams took heavy toll on the banking sector.

Loans over Tk4,500 crore have been taken away from the banking

FY15 exports may fall short of target

Political unrest has already slowed export growth in the current fiscal

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh is unlikely to reach its export target set for the current fiscal year in the wake of the prevailing political unrest that has already undertaken heavy toll on the country’s economy.

The government has set US$33.2bn export target for the fiscal year 201415 to earn $27.5bn from the nation’s potential garment sector. The target is 8.85% higher than that of the last year’s earning of $30.19bn.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the first half of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $14.9bn, which is 4.42% less than that of the export target of $15.6bn for the period.

On the other hand, the export growth had showed a slower trend to 1.56% in July-December period, the lowest in the last five year.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

In the first half of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh has witnessed over 1.5% growth against the target of around 10%, former finance adviser to a care taker government ABM Mirza Azizul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

“If we want to meet the target, we have to achieve over 15% growth in next six month, which is not possible due to the ongoing political unrest as it has already disrupted both the supply and the demand sides,” said Islam.

In this regard, he also reminded that the buyers were unwilling to place orders in Bangladesh amid political unrest.

“The export target for the FY2014-15 is under great threat due to the ongoing political turmoil since January 5 and if the present situation does not improve, it will be quite impossible to meet the target,’’ Mohammad Hatem, former first vice president of Bangladesh Knit-

wear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told the Dhaka Tribune.

A confirmed order worth $3.8m has finally been withdrawn as the buyer is not willing to take any risk placing orders in Bangladesh under the current state of political unrest, he added.

If there is not enough work orders for the export-oriented industry, especially the apparel industry, how come it would be possible for us to ship the products under police escort? questioned an exporter, commenting on the government’s initiative to keep the supply and delivery chain smooth at any cost.

The country’s supply chain has been shattered since 5 January and if it continues any further, production at the export oriented factories will come to a halt, he added.

After the X-mas, it is the high time for the buyers to place orders but they are placing at least 30% to 40% less orders due to the political unrest, he further said.

As there is no sufficient orders, a good number of factory owners is running their factories partly, said BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim.

“It would be quite impossible to reach the export target by any means under the current situation and consequently, it would badly hit the export target of $50bn by 2021,” he added.

According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the RMG sector has lost more than 30% orders as the buyers are not even coming to Bangladesh to place their orders.

Bangladesh mainly depends on garment, leather, agricultural products, shrimp and jute and jute goods to achieve its export target.

Among the major export sectors, Knitwear sector failed to reach the target by 2.41% followed by Woven 7.27%, leather and leather products 12.80%, home textile 7.19%, specialised textile 12%, frozen fish 10.47% while vegetable 26%. l

2010 and 2012. Loan forgery of around Tk4,500 crore took place in BASIC Bank during the same period.

The spillover effect of the loan scams continued in the banking sector with eroding its earnings, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

The ROA increased to 0.9% in December 2013 mainly because of the temporary relaxation of loan rescheduling policy, according to the central bank monetary policy statement.

The required provision against bad debt for the year 2013 came down to Tk4,600 crore compared to Tk8,640 crore for 2012 thanks to huge loan rescheduling under the relaxed policy that was given from December 2013 to June 2014.

The earning ratio declined again to 0.6% at the end of June 2014 due to further increased amount of default loans and the net losses made by state-

The private sector credit growth also remained in slower pace ranged between 10% and 12% during last one and a half year.

The return on asset of the stateowned commercial banks, including Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali became negative in June 2014 from 0.6% in the year 2013, according to the central bank data.

The return of these four banks grew consistently since the year 2008 and reached to the highest 1.4% in the year 2011. Later, it turned negative in the year 2012 due to the huge corruption in loan disbursement.

The banks showed artificial return of 0.6% in the financial statement of the year 2013 through regularising huge amount of default loans under relaxed policy. But it did not sustain as clients fail to continue installment

BANGLADESH – IRAN BALANCE OF TRADE Year

Export

Import

Balance

2008-09

46.51

38.40

8.11

2009-10

77.44

36.80

40.64

2010-11

97.15

63.30

33.85

2011-12

83.01

12.70

70.31

2012-13

75.42

7.10

68.32

2013-14

59.80

7.80

52.00

2014-15

28.27(July- Dec)

-----

----

Source: Export Promotion Bureau (million US dollar)

Initiatives taken to cement bilateral ties with Iran n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh wants to strengthen bilateral ties with Iran focusing on trade and business, said official sources.

The governments are likely sign a trade agreement and a number of memorandums of understanding at Joint Economic Council Meeting in May in Tehran to boost bilateral relations.

Bangladesh and Iran signed an MoU on signing a bilateral trade agreement at the meeting held in 2013.

Besides, there is a preferential trade agreement signed in 2006 between the two countries which has remained not functional for last nine years.

The proposed joint council deal is expected to increase Bangladesh’s export to Iran as the latter has good demand of jute and jute goods.

“Bangladesh government also plans to provide some trade facilities to exporters to Iran. The issue will be discussed with the Iranian authorities,” said an official.

Senior commerce secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) has already evaluated cost and benefits of the proposed trade deal with Iran.

He, however, is not sure that the

deal will be signed in the next Joint Economic Council Meeting.

Of the MoUs, an MoU will be signed on the import of wheat from Iran, officials said. An MoU on agriculture sector signed at the 2013 meeting will be extended till 2020.

About the PTA, officials said the countries have failed to settle dispute of rules of origin of products in last nine years of signing of the agreement, which has kept it non-functional.

Meanwhile, Iran asked Bangladesh to regularly pay instalments of a loan taken from the country in the 1980s.

An ERD letter sent to foreign affairs ministry recently cited the development.

Bangladesh took the loan to construct Ashuganj Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd, but later faced problems to continue repayment of instalments after the sanction was imposed on Iran in 2006. l

amid political unrest. As a result, the ratio of return again turned to negative in June last year.

The default loan rate also pushed the capital adequacy ratio of banking sector down to 10.6% at the end of September last year from 11.5% in December 2013. The private commercial bank though successfully maintaining the CAR standard of 10% since December 2010 but the state-owned commercial banks are still struggling to fulfill the regulatory requirements.

The rise of default loans continued during the first three quarter of 2014 because of the implementation of the new guideline for loan classification and rescheduling, Bangladesh Bank explained in its monetary policy stance.

In addition, the lack of profitability due to the uncertainties emanating from political factors contributed to this increased volume of default loans, said the policy. l

NBR forms units to block duty dodging n Tribune Business Desk The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has formed three risk management units, aiming to block duty dodging, a major concern of the government in revenue collection.

The three units – National Committee (NC), Technical Unit (TU) and Local Unit (LU) – have been constituted recently with the view in mind the high risk of duty evasion following the repeal of the mandatory pre-shipment inspection system, a senior NBR official told UNB. Duty evasion and money laundering – purportedly using under-and over-invoicing of goods as a tool – has been a major disquiet for the government amid the rise of international trade volume.

Of the three units, incorporating the NBR top officials, he said, the TU would play an important role in curbing the duty dodging as it will collect information and data from local and international sources and review as well.

He further said, the TU formed with the Director General (Commissioner of Customs or equivalent post holder) as its head, will also preserve risk register, identify the mode of risk management, handle the risk-related selectivity module of the ASYCUDA World and target the highest risk matters.

He said the revenue collection authority decided to establish Customs Control at its custom offices across the country under the risk management units. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bearish mood grips stock market

DSE key features January 25-29, 2015

DSE GAINERS

Turnover (Million Taka)

Traded Issues

313

n Tribune Report

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

69

Phoenix Fin. 1st MF-A Aziz PipesZ BD Submarine Cable-A Fareast Islami Life -A Monno Stafllers -A BATBCL -A Kohinoor Chem -A Fareast Finance-Z FarEast Knitting -N National Polymer -A

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

242

Bearish mood gripped the stock market for the third consecutive week as deepening political unrest has persistently hit investor sentiment.

The market witnessed lower volume of trade throughout the past week that ended Thursday, as even some good corporate earnings failed to generate buying spree.

In the past week, the benchmark index DSEX ended at 4,724, shedding 74 points or 1.8%, which is lowest in more than four months.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index moved down 31 points or 1.8% to 1,747. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, was down over 20 points or 1.9% to 1,115. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, lost almost 189 points or over 2% to settle at 8,736.

There is no sign of political reconciliation yet, leading investors to hold back investment, said an analyst.

“Unless political dust is not settled, no positive news like good corporate earnings will buoy up investor mood.”

Boiling political situation faced by the country since early this month has forced investors to remain inactive, pushing down the daily turnover in the past week averaged Tk217 crore, registering a drop of nearly 16% over the previous week’s average of Tk257 crore.

The turnover figure was very poor compared to the market depth. Investors’ attention was mostly focused on textiles and power sectors, accounting for more than 30% together of the

DSE LOSERS Company

Closing (% change)

National Feed-N Shampur Sugar -Z Hamid Fabrics -N GSP Finance-A Usmania Glass -A Al-Haj Textile -A National Tubes -A Modern Dyeing -Z Khan Brothers-N Mercantile Insur -A

-15.14 -13.04 -12.87 -12.06 -11.75 -11.64 -11.11 -9.44 -9.06 -8.93

CSE LOSERS Company National Feed-N Eastern InsurA Hamid Fabrics -N Bangladesh Lamps -A Sonargaon Tex -Z GSP Finance-A National Life I -A Prime Textile -A Midas Financing-Z Usmania Glass -A

Closing (% change) -14.25 -13.35 -12.01 -11.53 -11.30 -10.93 -10.79 -9.95 -9.64 -9.17

ANALYST

4724.04933

(-) 1.54%

1747.75509

(-) 1.75%

14427.1057

(-) 2.06%

11743.2557

(-) 1.64%

8736.0301

(-) 2.12%

Average (% change) -9.08 -13.04 -9.36 -10.51 -11.32 -11.12 -10.86 -10.43 -8.55 -9.51 Average (% change) -9.53 -13.35 -9.30 -10.28 -8.96 -8.79 -10.79 -9.74 -9.69 -8.48

Closing average 31.93 8.00 30.12 28.09 98.99 89.23 94.99 94.49 28.25 15.22

Closing average 31.99 29.20 30.04 104.21 10.47 28.22 202.50 17.24 15.00 100.00

Weekly closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Weekly high

31.40 8.00 29.10 27.70 99.10 88.80 95.20 95.00 28.10 15.30

Weekly closing

37.80 8.90 33.90 33.90 111.90 102.00 106.00 106.00 31.00 16.60

Weekly high

31.30 29.20 29.30 102.80 10.20 27.70 202.50 17.20 15.00 100.00

37.90 31.10 33.50 110.00 11.00 35.90 220.00 19.00 15.00 109.00

351,205

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,525.76

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.62

CSE key features January 25-29, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

1,024.22

Turnover (Volume)

35,547,685

Number of Contract

62,938

Traded Issues

264

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

59

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

200

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,433.90

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.50

Turnover in million

31.10 7.50 28.80 27.40 97.00 87.30 93.20 95.00 27.90 15.00

Weekly low

226.921 0.104 102.681 271.496 7.281 41.757 16.896 0.189 68.713 2.286

Turnover in million

31.10 28.00 28.90 102.10 10.00 27.50 185.00 17.10 15.00 100.00

60.904 0.025 17.616 0.310 0.172 29.160 0.042 0.582 0.000 0.211

20.45 15.14 11.20 6.95 6.51 5.72 5.00 4.94 4.94 4.84

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Closing (% change)

Latest EPS 1.37 -52.72 1.88 1.58 -0.88 0.98 -1.36 -0.50 1.36 1.48

Latest EPS 1.37 2.31 1.88 1.13 -0.84 1.58 12.46 1.04 -3.24 -0.88

Latest PE 23.3 -ve 16.0 17.8 -ve 91.1 -ve -ve 20.8 10.3

Latest PE

Company Phoenix Fin. 1st MF-A Prime Bank-A BD Submarine Cable-A Brac B.C. Bond-A Aziz PipesZ Fareast Islami Life -A Pragati Gen. I -A Bengal Windsor-A Rangpur Foundry -A AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A

Closing (% change) 23.26 11.11 10.91 10.68 9.47 8.75 8.00 7.56 6.67 6.67

Average (% change) 27.36 14.04 10.01 6.60 5.65 5.52 4.06 3.88 4.33 2.52 Average (% change) 22.40 11.05 11.24 10.68 9.26 8.54 8.00 11.30 6.78 6.22

Closing average

Weekly closing

5.54 21.20 108.39 75.74 299.85 2,930.29 345.28 16.86 25.31 68.43

5.30 21.30 109.20 76.90 302.50 2,934.40 348.90 17.00 25.50 69.30

Closing average

Weekly closing

5.30 18.99 109.34 1010.00 20.76 75.64 37.80 62.56 100.81 4.78

5.30 19.00 108.80 1010.00 20.80 75.80 37.80 62.60 100.80 4.80

Weekly high 5.60 21.70 112.10 77.40 306.80 2,957.30 359.00 18.20 26.20 70.40

Weekly high 5.30 19.30 112.30 1010.00 21.00 76.00 37.80 63.40 103.00 4.80

Weekly low 4.20 18.20 89.00 70.60 278.40 2,780.00 330.00 16.50 23.00 61.00

Weekly low 4.30 17.70 89.10 1010.00 17.70 71.60 36.00 58.00 94.00 4.60

Turnover in million 13.905 0.827 113.422 27.706 5.917 35.020 2.097 35.874 33.897 42.463

Turnover in million 0.458 0.562 26.220 0.005 0.034 0.357 0.010 1.548 0.179 0.058

Latest EPS 0.84 -0.37 0.76 4.60 1.17 94.59 10.10 1.08 1.96 3.30

Latest EPS 0.84 1.87 0.76 0.00 -0.37 4.60 2.47 4.10 3.23 0.11

Latest PE 6.6 -ve 142.6 16.5 256.3 31.0 34.2 15.6 12.9 20.7

Latest PE 6.3 10.2 143.9 -ve 16.4 15.3 15.3 31.2 43.5

News, analysis and recent disclosures AGM/Dividend

GSPFINANCE: The Board of Directors has recommended 55% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

Date of AGM: 23.02.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, IDEB Bhaban, 160/A, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000. Record Date: 05.02.2015.

The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.58, NAV per share of Tk. 22.77 and NOCFPS of Tk. (6.50) for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment:

BXPHARMA: The Company has informed that it has entered into a new Loan Agreement with BHF-Bank Aktiengesellshaft, Frankfurt, Germany to borrow up to US $51.559 million to partially finance the purchase of new plant and machinery to expand its production facilities it will be covered by Hermes (German Export Credit Agency Euler Hermes Aktiengesellshaft, Hamburg) guarantee. The Loan, which is secured on the plant and machinery being purchased, will be drawn down in four tranches against delivery and installation of the plant and machinery commencing now and due for completion in June 2016, with commissioning to be completed by September 2016. The Loan will attract interest at the rate of 2.25% per annum above LIBOR in addition, the Lender will receive management fees and commitment fees.

Repayment will be made over five years, in 10 semi-annual payments commencing for US $5.597 million from the earlier of six months after delivery and Installation or 15 January 2016, with repayment of the balance commencing from the earlier of six months after commissioning or 30 March 2017.The Loan Agreement, the terms of which were agreed by the Company and the Lender in December 2014, was subject to formal approval by the Board of Investment, Bangladesh. The BOI in its meeting held on 20 January, 2015 has approved the agreement.

MTB: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to issue Subordinated Bond of Tk. 3,000.00 million as Tier II Capital of the Bank subject to approval of regulatory authorities and General Meeting of the valued shareholders.

BENGALWTL: The Company has informed that Bengal Petrochem and Synthetic Textiles Ltd. (BPSTL), a subsidiary company of Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics Limited (Holding 80% shares of BPSTL) is going to install ten (10) injection molding machines for producing garments hangers and accessories with a production capacity of 2.5 lac pieces per day. The new machines will go into production within March 2015.

The yearly revenue of BPSTL will increase approximately by BDT 40.00 crore.

ARGONDENIM: BSEC has expressed its in-

ability to approve the rights issue of Argon Denims Limited as per Commissions Directive No. BSEC/Enforcement/2137/2014/20 dated January 27, 2015.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports:

DESCO: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 846.62 million with EPS of Tk. 2.24 as against Tk. 191.94 million and Tk. 0.51 respectively.

PADMAOIL: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk 884.26 million with EPS of Tk. 9.00 as against Tk. 1,015.30 million and Tk. 10.34 respectively.

EASTRNLUB: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 1.55 million with EPS of Tk. 1.56 as against Tk. 2.99 million and Tk. 3.01 respectively.

MEGCONMILK: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. (35.33) million with EPS of Tk. (2.21) as against Tk. (36.65) million and Tk. (2.29) respectively.

MEGHNAPET: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. (2.63) million with EPS of Tk. (0.22) as against Tk. (7.77) million and Tk. (0.65) respectively.

APEXSPINN: (Q3 Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 14.38 million with EPS of Tk. 1.71 as against Tk. 11.69 million and Tk. 1.39 respectively.

NLI1STMF: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 44.80 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.89 as against Tk. 23.54 million and Tk. 0.47 respectively.

23.4 12.6 16.0 92.2 -ve 17.9 16.3 16.6 -ve -ve

Unless political dust is not settled, no positive news like good corporate earnings will buoy up investor mood

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

303,417,938

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

10,850.04

Turnover (Volume)

week’s total turnover value. “Amid worsening political condition and continuous blockade, market lacked any motivation to stay optimistic,” said IDLC Investments in its weekly market analysis. Consequently market entered the downtrend, which has continued for the last three weeks, it said.

It said as political stability was the prime concern for investors, expectation of the Monetary Policy Statement for the second half of FY 2015 announced on Thursday hardly cast any impact on the market.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market went farther down amid uncertain political situation. The market continues its bearish sentiment in the week amid countrywide political instability and lingering political unrest in the country, which suppressed investor’s confidence, it said.

“Bearish stance in the market made the investors cautious amid the quarterly earnings season.”

Almost all the sectors closed in red in the week except food and allied sector which gained 3.8%, driven by heavy weight BATBC that rose more than 10% during the week.

Telecommunication suffered most posting a loss of over 5%, followed by power 2.5%, cement 1.4%, pharmaceuticals 0.5%. Banks and non-banking financial institutions also closed marginally lower.

Newly listed C & A Textiles dominated the week’s top turnover chart with shares worth Tk78.2 crore changing hands, followed by Grameenphone, Lafarge Surma Cement, Alltex Industries and CVO Petrochemical. l

Company

Sunday, February 1, 2015

DSE Million Taka 1196.83 889.52 167.10 1140.00 375.74 1440.65 11.99 1925.78 924.58 43.49 470.34 48.62 141.15 416.83 386.05 65.60 112.21 497.63 95.65 500.28 0.00

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

% change 11.03 8.20 1.54 10.51 3.46 13.28 0.11 17.75 8.52 0.40 4.33 0.45 1.30 3.84 3.56 0.60 1.03 4.59 0.88 4.61 0.00

Million Taka 72.80 59.24 21.66 106.92 33.27 91.58 0.00 288.34 57.85 25.51 43.45 17.26 16.48 36.03 25.07 3.04 3.30 43.85 21.25 105.94 0.09

CSE

% change 6.78 5.52 2.02 9.96 3.10 8.54 0.00 26.87 5.39 2.38 4.05 1.61 1.54 3.36 2.34 0.28 0.31 4.09 1.98 9.87 0.01

Million Taka 1269.62 948.75 188.76 1246.92 409.01 1532.22 11.99 2214.12 982.43 69.00 513.79 65.88 157.63 452.86 411.12 68.64 115.51 541.49 116.90 606.22 0.09

Total

% change 10.65 7.96 1.58 10.46 3.43 12.85 0.10 18.57 8.24 0.58 4.31 0.55 1.32 3.80 3.45 0.58 0.97 4.54 0.98 5.08 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Company C & A Textile -N Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z Alltex Industries -Z CVO PetroChem RL-A GSP Finance-A SummitAlliancePort.-A Brac Bank -A DESCO Ltd. -A National Feed-N

WesternMarine -N

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company C & A Textile -N National Feed-N Alltex Industries -Z WesternMarine -N GSP Finance-A BD Submarine Cable-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z SummitAlliancePort.-A Jamuna Oil -A

Grameenphone-A

Volume shares 30,796,442 1,152,679 2,739,604 9,798,862 566,620 8,756,731 4,214,781 6,681,120 3,440,276 6,728,147

3,967,782

Volume shares 6,013,644 1,812,201 1,333,140 704,050 923,355 254,611 828,749 207,404 401,720 102,444

52,645

Value in million 781.20 384.21 337.18 307.80 295.25 271.50 266.64 266.30 235.74 226.92

195.20

Value in million 152.59 60.90 41.70 34.72 29.16 26.22 25.71 25.52 25.47 20.76

17.63

% of total turnover 7.20 3.54 3.11 2.84 2.72 2.50 2.46 2.45 2.17 2.09

1.80

% of total turnover 15.02 5.99 4.10 3.42 2.87 2.58 2.53 2.51 2.51 2.04

1.74

Weekly closing 25.10 329.30 124.50 29.00 500.90 27.70 62.60 39.50 68.30 31.40

48.50

Weekly closing 25.10 31.30 29.00 48.50 27.70 108.80 30.80 124.50 62.80 200.90

329.60

Price change -4.20 -5.59 -1.19 -8.81 -1.92 -12.06 -5.15 0.00 -0.29 -15.14

Weekly opening 26.20 348.80 126.00 31.80 510.70 31.50 66.00 39.50 68.50 37.00

Weekly high 27.50 348.10 126.30 33.50 559.00 33.90 67.70 40.50 71.00 37.80

Weekly low 23.70 325.50 120.50 28.70 498.30 27.40 59.60 38.90 65.80 31.10

Weekly average 25.22 329.38 123.70 29.18 504.74 28.09 63.40 39.40 68.13 31.93

Price change -2.71 -14.25 -8.23 -4.53 -10.93 10.91 -3.45 -1.19 -4.41 -0.59

Weekly opening 25.80 36.50 31.60 50.80 31.10 98.10 31.90 126.00 65.70 202.10

Weekly high 27.40 37.90 33.50 51.00 35.90 112.30 32.00 126.00 67.90 208.80

Weekly low 23.60 31.10 28.60 48.10 27.50 89.10 30.30 120.50 59.20 191.20

Weekly average 25.26 31.99 29.07 48.74 28.22 109.34 30.93 123.24 63.59 203.48

-4.34

-5.59

50.70

349.10

51.30

352.90

47.80

326.00

48.68

329.57

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Russian central bank makes surprise interest rate cut n Reuters, Moscow Russia’s central bank unexpectedly cut its main interest rate on Friday as fears of recession mount in the country following the fall in global oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

The central bank reduced its oneweek minimum auction repo rate by two points to 15%, a little over a month after pushing it up by 6.5 points to 17% after a run on the rouble.

The bank had been widely expected not to change the rate. Following the decision, the rouble extended losses to trade as much as 4% on the day against the dollar, though it later clawed back some of the losses.

The move implies a shift in the bank’s priorities away from clamping down on rising inflation and supporting the rouble, towards trying to support economic activity, which the bank expects to fall sharply in the coming months.

“Today’s decision to lower key interest rate by 2 percentage points is intended to balance the goal of curbing inflation and restore economic growth,” the bank’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said after the announcement.

In an emailed statement, the banks’s press service quoted her as saying the rate remained high enough to allow the Bank of Russia to reach its inflation target in the medium term.

The decision will also fuel speculation that recent changes in the bank’s senior management have shifted the bank towards more dovish monetary policy, possibly under pressure from the Kremlin, banks and business lobbies.

“The decision appears to be politically driven, since it is a cut that shows the central bank is worried about the risks to the banking sector. It looks like the central bank’s hand has been forced,” said Nicholas Spiro, managing director

Fed’s Fisher: Stronger dollar good for US jobs n Reuters, San Francisco Sharp gains in the US dollar are good for the US labor market, a top Federal Reserve official said on Friday, downplaying a crescendo of complaints from top executives over the dent to their profits.

“CEOs that have international operations complain about it,” Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Reuters in an interview. “I hear from every one of them - it offsets their powerful earnings here domestically.”

Fisher takes those complaints with a grain of salt.

“It brings to my mind the vision of Edward Munch’s painting ‘The Scream’,” he said, adding, “It’s not the end of the world.” l

A woman waits before inserting a 50-rouble banknote into an ATM bank machine at a branch of Sberbank in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia of Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London.

Earlier this month the bank’s head of monetary policy, Ksenia Yudayeva, an anti-inflation hawk, was replaced

by Dmitry Tulin, a central bank veteran seen as more acceptable to bankers, who have been called for lower interest rates.

But the shift in policy may also re-

flect the realisation that Russia’s economy is heading for a hard landing as low oil prices look set to persist and the conflict in Ukraine has worsened, defy-

REUTERS

ing hopes of an early end to Western sanctions.

Macroeconomic data released earlier this week showed real wages slump-

ing by 4.7% year-on-year in December and real disposable income slumping by 7.3%, boding ill for economic growth in the months ahead.

In an accompanying statement, the bank said it expected gross domestic product to fall by 3.2% in annual terms during the first half of 2015, following growth of 0.6% in 2014.

Analysts had nevertheless expected the bank to hold rates this month, as the bank had previously said it would cut rates when inflation is on a sustained downward trend. Inflation has instead been shooting up as a result of the slide in the rouble.

The bank said that it saw conditions for lower inflation in the medium term, but effectively acknowledged that inflation would stay in double-digits throughout this year.

It said it expected inflation to fall below 10% in January 2016. Inflation was 13.2% as of Jan 26, the bank said, up from 11.4% in December.

“I see big risks in today’s decision,” said Rosbank economist Evgeny Koshelev.

“Now the geopolitical background is unclear and inflation pressure remains quite strong, as well as signals for the outflow of capital... This (rate cut) is probably a reason to sell the rouble more in the short term.”

However, Renaissance Capital economist Oleg Kouzmin said he welcomed the move: “It’s good that they are lowering now. This is a sensible step. This will help the economy and allow stability to be preserved.”

He added that high interest rates do not especially help the rouble as capital outflows are largely linked to debt repayments.

“Will the capital outflow be stronger? Yes, but there will be a weaker rouble and a stronger current account, which means it won’t be necessary to spend more forex reserves.” l

Japan inflation puts pressure on BOJ US economic growth in n Reuters, Tokyo

Japan’s core inflation slowed for a fifth month in December and is seen pressured further by collapsing oil, putting more distance to the central bank’s 2% price target even as other data point to a steady recovery for the recession-hit economy.

The Bank of Japan will be encouraged by data showing a rise in factory output thanks to a much-awaited rebound in exports, while household spending showed signs of bottoming out.

The big question for policymakers is whether Japan can skirt the faltering economies in Asia and Europe without having to ease for a third time in as many years, which some fear could trigger a damaging decline in an already weakened yen.

“The downward pressure from crude oil falls on Japan’s inflation is far bigger than the boost from higher im-

port costs from a weak yen,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, who is expecting a further slowing in core inflation over coming months.

The price data on Friday appeared to back Shinke’s views.

Excluding the effect of a sales tax hike in April last year, core consumer price index (CPI) - which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil products - stood at 0.5%, just a quarter of the way in achieving the BOJ’s 2% target.

Core consumer prices rose just 1.1% last year when stripping away the taxhike effect.

Still, the BOJ hopes to hold off on easing and look through the pressure on prices from lower oil costs, an approach that found backing from premier Shinzo Abe’s advisers who once pressured the bank to take bolder steps to beat deflation.

For one, the BOJ can afford to take a

cautious approach on policy given the brighter outlook for the United States, Japan’s major export market.

The pick-up in output also backs up the BOJ’s argument that a solid economic recovery will help accelerate inflation toward its ambitious target early next year, although oil price falls will continue to weigh on inflation in the short run.

“Consumption and production will likely keep recovering this year as the impact of last April’s sales tax hike fades.

Cheap oil prices also help boost consumers’ purchasing power,” said Taro Saito, an economist at NLI Research Institute.

Factory output rose 1% in December, boosted by brisk shipments of smartphone parts to Asia and solid domestic car sales.

Manufacturers surveyed in the data expect output to rise 6.3% in January, prompting the government to raise its assessment to say production is “picking up moderately.” l

CORPORATE NEWS

DMD of Sonali Bank and chaiperson of its management committee, Md Khorshed Hossain has presided over the committee’s meeting on business planning held on Thursday at the bank’s conferance room

2014 fastest in four years n AFP, Washington The US economy grew at its fastest pace in four years in 2014, outpacing all of the other major developed countries as consumers gained confidence helped by sinking oil prices.

But a slowdown in the fourth quarter bared some of the persistent challenges - like the strong dollar - to locking the world’s largest economy into higher gear.

While the halving of fuel prices clearly gave American consumers the power to spend more at the end of the year, businesses slowed investment and the government cut back on spending, especially for defense, dragging down momentum.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that US gross domestic product grew at an annual 2.4% pace last year, up from 2.2% in 2013, as the United States distanced itself from the sagging economies of Europe and Japan.

The firming recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 was marked by improved consumer confidence, the best year of job creation since 1999, and a surge in business profits.

By comparison, Japan and the eurozone continue to battle with recessionary pressures; China - the other key motor of global growth - is slowing more than expected; and other emerging economies are also struggling with slumping activity, partly because of the crash in commodity prices.

Strong dollar a challenge

Even so, the Commerce Department’s first estimate of fourth-quarter activity showed the United States is not completely in the clear.

Following a bristling 5% pace of expansion in the third quarter, GDP grew at a 2.6% rate in the October-December period, slower than the 3.2% expected by economists.

On the positive side, consumer spending accelerated as shoppers took advantage of the savings on cheaper gasoline to spend elsewhere.

On the other hand, businesses - likely including companies in the oilfield - pulled back in the October-December period and government spending contracted, especially on defense.

Moreover, the dollar, which has gained about 15% against a basket of currencies over the past year, likely spurred a pickup in imports and held back exports, a negative for GDP growth.

“There is a clear dichotomy between consumers, benefiting from cheap gas and a strong dollar, and businesses, suffering from cheap oil and the strong dollar,” said Chris Low of FTN Financial. l

Euro falls as Greece rejects bailout talks with troika

Modhumoti Bank Limited has recently held an annual conference for its managers at Modhumoti Training Institute. The bank’s chairperson, Humayun Kabir, was present at the conference as chief guest

n AFP, New York BRAC Dairy & Food Enterprise and The Chars Livelihoods Programme (jointly funded

by UK Aid, Australian Aid and implemented through Maxwell Stamp PLC) have recently signed an agreement genetic improvement of dairy cattle in rural area of Bangladesh.

Director of BRAC Dairy & Food Enterprises, Taufiqur Rahman and team leader of The Chars Livelihoods Programme, Matthew Pritchard signed the agreement

Managing director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), Brigadier General Md Nazrul Hasan (retired) has recently received ICMAB Best Corporate Award 2014 from Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith

That has put the US on a divergent policy course with the others: while their central banks are implementing measures to stimulate demand and head off deflation, the US Federal Reserve is moving to tighten monetary policy and raise interest rates in the coming months.

Southeast Bank Limited has recently launched its mobile financial services named TeleCash at Banani in Dhaka. The bank’s chairperson Alamgir Kabir, FCA accompanied by its other directors inaugurated the new service

The euro retreated against other major currencies Friday as struggling Greece refused to meet with its international creditors and rejected fresh loans, and the eurozone showed weaker inflation.

The finance minister of Greece’s new anti-austerity government, Yanis Varoufakis, said that despite warnings Greece would shortly run out of money, his government preferred to do without the instant fresh cash, and instead renegotiate the entire bailout package.

“This government was elected on the basis of analytically questioning the very logic of the program now being applied,” he said, referring to the reforms and budget cuts demanded by Athens’s international troika of creditors -- the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Internation-

al Monetary Fund.

“Our first act as government will not be to reject the logic of questioning this program by requesting to extend it,” he added.

At a strained press conference with Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Varoufakis said Athens was willing to negotiate with its lenders but not with the troika auditors who he said were merely a “committee built on rotten foundations.”

Athens had been promised another 7.2bn euros in funds from the troika if it completed reforms required by its lenders by February 28.

“Greece is clearly creating more headaches for the eurozone because if they do not allow the troika into the country, they may not receive the next aid disbursement that they desperately need to avoid default,” said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Oil price will average less in 2015 than during financial crisis n Reuters Crude oil will likely continue falling before posting only a mild recovery in the second half of this year, a Reuters survey of analysts showed on Friday, with prices set to average even less in 2015 than during the global financial crisis.

The survey of 33 economists and analysts forecast North Sea Brent crude would average $58.30 a barrel in 2015, down $15.70 from last month’s poll, in the biggest month-on-month forecast revision since prices last collapsed in 2008-2009.

The mood will remain cautious for the remainder of the first half of the year, before high-cost US supply discipline starts to emerge in the third quarter If the forecasts for 2015 prove correct prices will average the lowest since 2005, even if they recover after June, illustrating the impact of OPEC’s decision to maintain output in the face of fast-growing U.S. shale output.

“It should be a year of differing halves. The likelihood of further nearterm fund selling will see Brent trade down to $42 per barrel and WTI at $40 per barrel by the end of Q1 2015,” ANZ analyst Mark Pervan said.

“The mood will remain cautious for the remainder of the first half of the year, before high-cost US supply discipline starts to emerge in the third quarter,” he added.

Twenty seven of the 28 analysts who contributed to data for both the December and January Reuters polls have slashed their forecasts.

More than half of those lowered their projections by $15 a barrel or more from last month.

European investment bank Barclays, which has the lowest forecast according to the poll, cut its 2015 price outlook for Brent by almost 40 percent to $44 per barrel.

Goldman Sachs, widely-seen as one of the most influential banks in commodity markets, sees WTI hovering around the $40 per barrel mark for much of the first half of this year. It has slashed its 2015 Brent forecast by $33.40 to $50.40 per barrel.

Most of the analysts were in agreement that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would maintain its stance of not cutting production despite oil prices touching multi-year lows, with any tightening of supplies expected to come from higher-cost producers outside the group.

“Low crude prices negatively affect (US) shale oil profitability,” Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Daniela Corsini said.

Brent has averaged $49.57 so far in January, consolidating over the past two weeks after hitting a near six-year low of $45.19 a barrel on Jan 13. It was trading around $48.75 on Thursday.

The poll forecasts US light crude will average $54.20 a barrel this year and $64.90 in 2016. WTI has averaged $47.24 a barrel so far in 2015, hitting a post-2009 low of $43.58 on Thursday.

Brent’s premium to US crude, known as the Brent-WTI spread, is expected to widen to $4.10 a barrel in 2015 from around $2.20 so far this year, the poll showed. l

A table with OPEC logo is seen during the presentation of OPEC's 2013 World Oil Outlook in Vienna

REUTERS

OPEC oil output rises as key members stand firm n Reuters, London

OPEC’s oil supply has risen this month due to more Angolan exports and steady to higher output in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers, a Reuters survey showed, a sign key members are standing firm in refusing to prop up prices.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a November meeting decided to focus on market share rather than cutting output, despite concerns from members such as Iran and Venezuela about falling oil revenue.

Supply from OPEC has averaged 30.37 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from a revised 30.24 million bpd in December, according to the survey based on shipping data and

information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.

At the Nov 27 meeting, OPEC retained its output target of 30 million bpd, sending oil prices to a four-year low close to $71 a barrel. Crude since fell to a near six-year low of $45.19 on Jan. 13 and was trading above $49 on Friday.

OPEC Secretary General Abdulla alBadri, speaking in London on Monday, defended the no-cut strategy and said prices may have reached a floor, despite oversupply. Other OPEC delegates have since echoed this message.

“Prices are stabilizing,” said a delegate from a Gulf producer. “But the world economy is not very strong and stocks are too high.”

The largest boost this month has come from Angola, which pumped 1.80

million bpd and exported about 57 cargoes, up 160,000 bpd from December.

Output would have been higher without some cargo delays, including of new crude Sangos.

OPEC’s other West African producer, Nigeria, also managed to boost exports, the survey showed, although the increase was restrained by outages of the Forcados and Nembe Creek pipelines.

Smaller increases have come from Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Output in top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia has been flat to slightly higher, sources said. Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday production was currently at 9.8 million bpd, although it was unclear if that was the daily rate or the January average.

“Steady is what I’m seeing,” said an

industry source who tracks Saudi supply. “Exports are a bit lower and this is most likely offset by slightly higher refinery runs.”

The largest reduction this month has come from Iraq, where southern oil exports slipped from December’s record high and flows from northern Iraq also declined, according to loading data and an industry source.

Exports are likely to hit new records in coming months, technical problems and weather delays permitting. A loading program schedules record southern exports in February.

OPEC’s other country with a notable decline in output this month is Libya, where ports and oilfields have been shut due to fighting and supply fell further in January to 350,000 bpd. l

World investors’ cash holdings highest since 2012 India’s economic growth zone growth and inflation. In contrast, monetary authorities in the United States are widely expected to start raising interest rates, bringing an end to an era of monetary stimulus launched in response to the 2008-9 financial crisis.

Unpredictable

A picture illustration shows US 100 dollar bank notes and Japanese 10,000 yen notes taken in Tokyo

n Reuters, London 'With the ECB’S announcement on QE we are debating the extent of euro weakness in 2015-16, which partly reflects the decision the Fed will need to take on interest rates in a few months'

World investors increased cash holdings in January as they braced for a choppy year with markets buffeted by conflicting forces such as diverging monetary policy and rising geopolitical risks, a Reuters poll shows.

A monthly survey of fund managers in the United States, Japan, Europe and Britain found the average allocation to cash in balanced portfolios jumped 1-1/2 percentage points to 7% - the highest since May 2012. Forty-four institutions took part in the poll.

Investors typically increase holdings of cash when they expect markets to fall, often at the expense of more volatile assets such as stocks.

REUTERS

The average allocation to equities remained unchanged at 48.2%, though bond holdings fell to 36.6% from 38.2%.

Holdings of property were down to 1.9% from 2.6% while exposure to alternative assets, such as hedge funds and private equity, rose to 6.4% from 5.3%.

“The overriding feature for 2015 will be bouts of higher volatility and risk-off episodes that mean investors will need to be far more wary,” said Ashok Shah, investment director at British investment manager London & Capital.

The polling period was dominated by the European Central Bank’s announcement last week that it would start buying bonds under a 1tn euro quantitative easing program from March with the aim of stimulating euro

Divergent monetary policies in major economies, geopolitical risk around Russia, a slowing Chinese economy and political uncertainty in Europe after Greeks elected an anti-austerity government, make markets unpredictable, investors said.

“Our portfolios have been long the dollar for some time,” said Andrew Milligan, head of Global Strategy at Standard Life Investments. “With the ECB’S announcement on QE we are debating the extent of euro weakness in 2015-16, which partly reflects the decision the Fed will need to take on interest rates in a few months.”

The poll was taken from January 16-29, during which time world stocks rose around 1.5%. The ECB’s QE announcement, which had been widely expected, was on Jan. 22.

The US S&P 500 index .SPX was little changed over the survey period, having retreated more than 3% from a record high set at the end of 2014.

Emerging market stocks hit a sixweek high and advanced more than 1.5% during the survey period, despite fallout from Russia’s economic and political situation and worries about slowing Chinese economic growth.

US fund managers recommended increasing cash allocations to their highest in over seven years, to 10.1% from 5.1% last month, the highest since at least May 2007. British fund managers also boosted the amount of money kept in safe-haven cash as well as alternative investments.

Hedge funds and other alternative assets can benefit from volatile markets, in part because they are able to profit from falling prices through mechanisms not available to conventional funds, such as short selling.

Meanwhile, European investment managers placed their bets firmly on stocks in January, anticipating an imminent lift to corporate profitability from the ECB’s stimulus measures.

Japanese fund mangers still want to put more than half their assets under management into bonds, despite falling yields, expecting a prolonged period of low interest rates around the world, the Reuters survey showed. l

revised up by almost 50% n Reuters, New Delhi India’s economy grew almost 50% faster in 2013/14 than earlier thought, the government said on Friday after changing a formula, a reminder of the challenges that unreliable statistics present to Indian policymakers.

In the year leading up to the elections that brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power last May, the economy grew 6.9%, not the 4.7% reported earlier, chief statistician TCA Anant told reporters. Modi’s campaign succeeded partly because of the widespread feeling that his predecessors from the Congress party had plunged the economy into the country’s longest deceleration in growth in a generation.

The revised formula, showing a faster recovery, includes under-represented and informal sectors as well as items such as smartphones and LED television sets in gross domestic product.

That could boost India’s growth fig-

ure in the year ending in March 2015, which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected to be around 5.5%.

Some in government predict the change will help bring down the fiscal deficit as a share of gross domestic product, making it easier for Modi to trim the gap to a seven-year low of 4.1% in the year to March despite a shortfall in revenue.

However, Anant said the overall size of India’s $1.8tn economy had not changed enough to shift the ratio significantly, adding: “Our ranking in GDP terms will not change as the size of economy has almost remained the same.”

The new methodology moves India more in line with global standards by measuring the economy at market prices, and by tracking consumer rather than wholesale inflation.

“This will help lower market distortions and give better representation to the manufacturing sector,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic adviser at State Bank of India. l

German retail sales grow for fifth year in row n AFP, Berlin German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, showed solid growth last year compared to 2013 despite rounding off the year with a modest rise, data showed Friday.

The 1.4% increase for 2014 as a whole marked the fifth consecutive year that German retailers posted real and nominal year-on-year sales increases, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Retailers’ sales went up by 0.2% in December compared to the previous month when they rose by 0.9%, the statisticians said. Retail sales data are

DILBERT

subject to frequent revision.

“Average monthly retail sales in the fourth quarter rose by a whopping 1.6% over the third quarter average, suggesting that consumption made a major contribution to GDP growth in the fourth quarter,” said analyst Christian Schulz at Berenberg bank.

A poll this week found that consumer confidence in Germany was at its highest since late 2001, as rising optimism over the economy and income expectations persuade German shoppers to open their wallets.

The German government has raised its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.5%. l