08 feb, 2015

Magh 26, 1421 Rabius Sani 18, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 304

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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B1 | BUSINESS

7 | CAREER

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

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more die in firebomb Arrest spree punishes prisons Six attacks during blockade Country's 68 jails designed for 34,147 inmates but currently hold 71,606 n Mohammad Jamil Khan A surge in the number of prison inmates resulting from increased law and order operations has crammed many jails so tightly that inmates cannot find the space to lie down to sleep, inmates told the Dhaka Tribune.

Some 5,000 new inmates, put behind bars between January 6 and February 2 this year, have increased the number of prisoners awaiting trial from 46,119 on January 1 to 51,119 on February 2, according to jail records.

The country’s prisons are packed with at least twice the number of inmates they were designed to hold, with some jails, like that in Chapainawabganj, holding up to six times their intended inmate population, jail records show.

Yet in another brutal petrol bomb attack on a truck three people were burnt to death at the Mahilara bus stand in Gournadi upazila of Barisal early yesterday.

The attack came hours after a deadly arson on a bus in Gaibandha on Friday night where four passengers were charred on the spot and three others succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

The victims included two children.

Sajjad Hossain, OC of the Gournadi police station, said the incident took place around 5:15am.

Driver Ijaeydul Islam, 35; his fatherin-law Motaleb Sheikh, 65, a resident of Tambulkhana Bangdoba in Faridpur; and helper Munnu Mia, 45, died on the spot, the OC said.

Owner of the truck Ripon Mia said the truck laden with poultry-feed was going from Bagher Bazaar of Gazipur to Barisal. After the petrol bomb bit the truck, the driver lost control and it hit a roadside tree.

C 200 P 224 C 200 P 407

C 4,447 P 5,141

Total capacity 34,167 Total prisoners 71,606

C 1,279 P 1,342 C 200 P 698

C 127 P 433 C 153 P 900

'Five people live in a space fit for one. For the last eight days I have had to sleep sitting upright'

C 4,164 P 10,071

C 1,460 P 2,878 C 200 P 764

C 200 P 320

According to sources at Dhaka Central Jail Headquarters, the total inmate capacity of the country’s 68 jails is 34,147 but they are currently holding 71,606 inmates.

Data collected from 25 jails by the Dhaka Tribune showed that many of the country’s already overcrowded jails have seen a 20% surge in the number of inmates this last month.

At the already overcrowded Dhaka Central Jail, 7,621 inmates are currently being held in a facility designed for 2,682.

Forman Ali, senior jail superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, told the Dhaka Tribune that the chronically overburdened jail holds nearly 6,000 inmates all year round, adding: “The number of prisoners has risen in the last month as we could not transfer prisoners to other jails because of the hartal and blockade.”

“Once we are able to present prisoners before the courts and transfer them to Kashimpur Jail, we hope the situation will improve,” he said.

The daily routine of some prisoners arriving in jail and others leaving on

C 10,902 P 24,848 C 420 P 1,158

C 600 P 1,056

C 200 P 481

C 2,168 P 4,895 C 316 P 793

C 245 P 981

C 172 P 398

C 200 P 569

C 4,999 P 8,444 C 400 C 608 P 1,625 P 1,397 C 400 P 516

C 295 P 669

C 6,024 P 15,146

C 633 P 1,150

C 1,463 P 3,060

C 1,753 P 5,867

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam Following a cyber threat in a Facebook page, the leading mobile phone operators of the country have expressed their fears about possible sabotages at their installations.

In a Facebook status update on February 3, self-proclaimed political organisation “Z-Force Andolon Cell” threatened to torch all mobile phone towers and cut cable connections across the country unless these facilities are restored in BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office.

“This is a statement from one of our central leaders” – that is how the status starts.

“If cable, internet and mobile connections to the house of democracy [Gulshan office] of the mother of the nation Khaleda Zia are not restored, then we will ask the freedom-loving gallant soldiers of democracy to torch and burn down all the mobile towers and cable offices around the country.

“What will we do with the ‘dish lines?’ We do not need the media that do not carry our news. Burn all the cable operators’ offices. If the mother of the nation does not get cable, internet and mobile network, then nobody in the country will. Sheikh Hasina will have to shoulder the responsibility for all these. We want peace, not war. We are being forced,” the status reads.

The status ends with “Bangladesh Zindabad,” the official slogan of the BNP. It is attached with a video presentation that gives the operators a 12hour ultimatum to restore the connections to the Gulshan office.

“Z-Force” was the name given to one of the first military brigades formed during the Liberation War in 1971 by the Bangladesh Army. The force got its name from its chief Ziaur Rahman, the first military autocrat of Bangladesh and founder of BNP. In the early hours of January 31, the power connection to the Gulshan office  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said business operation is being disrupted in most districts outside Dhaka because of the political programmes of the BNP-led alliance that have been going on for over a month.

The minister made the statement while addressing in a press conference on releasing a comparative report on economic indicators between the periods of 2001-2005 and 2009-2014 at his ministry office yesterday.

He said economic activities at the district levels should be kept out of the purview of the political programmes for the sake of the country’s economic health.

“There is no disruption in the lives and business activities in Dhaka in the blockade,” he claimed.

He also said that the government will do an official assessment of losses in March.

When asked when the turmoil was going to come to an end, the minister

A win that can usher in a new era n Raihan Mahmood

A lot is at stake for the high-flying home side as Bangladesh will look to end their 12-year title drought when they take on Malaysia in the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup today. The six-nation mega event will conclude today at Bangabandhu National Stadium with Bangladesh taking the field at 5pm for the grand finale of the tournament, designed to pay tribute to the ‘father of the nation’, for the first time in three editions.

Bangladesh kicked off their campaign with a defeat against Malaysia before two identical 1-0 wins paved their way to the final. They were involved in a gruelling semifinal against tournament favourites Thailand U-23 where the hosts impressed with their fighting character to silent the critics and upset their illustrious opponents.

Therefore, it can easily be said Malaysia should brace themselves to face a more strong and organised home side.

However, with only 24 hours to recover from the stress, the home side’s biggest motivation is playing the final. The support of over 26,000 spectators also played a vital role behind the players’

It was around 4am. Truck driver Md Badsha was driving his vehicle fast, with a sense of fear and anxiety. Because, he knew that some trucks have recently come under petrol bomb attacks.

4 | News

The government plans to release five more genetically modified (GM) brinjal varieties at farmers level this year, ignoring the controversies and the poor yield that resulted from releases of earlier varieties.

8 | World

Parents of a 26-year-old American who IS extremists say was killed in an airstrike in Syria said in a statement that the claim concerned them but they were still hopeful.

SSC examinees endure another rescheduling n Munir Momtaj and Chittagong

commitment in the last four and once again Bangladesh will look to use the source to keep themselves charged up.

Even Bangladesh’s Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif said, “We are very close to the title and that’s our

biggest motivation,” and why wouldn’t they be? Having won their first major title back in 1995 in Myanmar, 2003 Saff Championship remain the last silverware Bangladesh lifted and after  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

12 | Sport

15 | Entertainment

Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam (L) and Malaysia Under-23 skipper Nazirul Naim share a light moment during the pre-final press conference of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at BFF House yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Dhaka University has been witnessing a decline in the number of foreign student enrolment in the recent years, fuelled by political instability and declining academic quality.

Hotel owners in Cox’s Bazar have faced difficulties in attracting tourists even after offering discounts during the ongoing countrywide blockade.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations scheduled for today and Tuesday were rescheduled for February 13 and 14 respectively because of the 72-hour general strike imposed by the BNP. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid announced the new dates while addressing a press beefing at Chittagong Circuit House yesterday.

He said today’s English first paper test would be held from 9am to 12pm on February 13 and Tuesday’s English second paper exam would be held from 10am to 1pm on February 14.

Students of madrasa board and the technical education board would also take their tests according to the new schedule.

The education minister said the exams were deferred as the lives of students could not be put in danger.

He said members of the law

5 | News

6 | Nation

refrained from saying anything. However, two weeks ago, he announced that the situation would be brought to normalcy in seven days.

“The situation in the districts outside Dhaka is very serious. So, our job is to bring the situation outside Dhaka to normalcy” he said yesterday.

Expressed doubts about achieving the projected 7.3% GDP growth for this fiscal year if the political programmes continued, he said the BNP and its

Correspondent

INSIDE 3 | News

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Asif Showkat Kallol

**C - capacity P - prisoners

Mobile operators fear network sabotage

The bodies were sent to the Sher-eBangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal city for autopsy. Police lodged a case and launched a drive to nab the attackers, AKM Ehsan Ullah, Barisal district police superintendent, told reporters while visiting the spot after the incident.

Alhaj Abul Hasanat Abdullah, local Awami League lawmaker and former chief whip in parliament, said after visiting the spot that it was a murder.

The BNP-Jammat led terrorists are engaged in a war against the innocent peace-loving people of the country, he said.

Humayun Kabir, deputy inspector general of police, said after visiting the spot that police had already launched a drive to arrest the attackers.

Until filing of this report around 10pm yesterday, two suspects were rounded up in connection with the attack.

Meanwhile, two injured passengers succumbed at the Rangpur Medical College Hospital yesterday morning

Muhith: District-level business dysfunctional

C 2,682 P 7,621

C 200 P 279

n Tribune Report

Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur claimed the north London bragging rights by storming from behind to sink Arsenal 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Monpura star Farhana Mili will appear in four TV plays soon. For the first time, she is going to work in a play adapted from a novel titled “Akjon Mayaboti” by Humayun Ahmed.

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Political turmoil costs CNG stations Tk 10cr a day Raushan seeks support Pump owners demand interest waiver on bank loans of diplomats to end n political crisis UNB

Seeking an immediate end to the ongoing political turmoil, CNG (compressed natural gas) filling station owners yesterday said they have to incur a loss of about Tk 10 crore per day as their sales decline.

“Our sales have declined to 20 percent… For the last one month, we had incurred a loss of about Tk300 crore,” said M Masud Khan, Convener of the Bangladesh CNG Filling Station & Conversion Workshop Owners Association, while addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity to delineate the sufferings of the pump operators.

Among others, CNG Station Owners

Association’s joint convener Alhaz Najib Ahmed and Farhan Noor Bhuiyan were present on the occasion.

We’ve invested about Tk3,000 crore of which Tk2,000 crore came from bank borrowing Demanding interest waiver on the payment of their bank loans for January, Masud Khan said they have been una-

ble to afford to pay their staff salaries due to the fall in their business.

“Since we’re incurring huge losses every day, how can we pay our loan interest to the banks?” he said.

The CNG refueling station owners’ leader said the country’s 590 CNG pump operators are now in a deep crisis due to political situation.

“We’ve invested about Tk3,000 crore of which Tk2,000 crore came from bank borrowing.”

He said the CNG refueling stations are annually saving about Tk12,000 crore as import substitution through supplying alternative green energy to the motor vehicles and making a big contribution to protecting environment.

Initially, the government was encouraging CNG sector, but now they seem to have taken U-turn. “If the government discourages the use of CNG in motor vehicles, it will be detrimental to the environment as well as it will invite disaster to this sector. About 2 lakh people are directly and indirectly employed in the sector,” said the CNG station leader.

The association placed a four-point demand, including interest waver, and rescheduling of bank loans, allowing bill-defaulter stations to pay arrear bills without interest, providing adequate security to the CNG pumps, and resolving political crisis without any delay. l

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Opposition leader Raushan Ershad yesterday sought the support of diplomats in Dhaka to end the ongoing political crisis.

Speaking at a dinner party she hosted for diplomats at a city hotel yesterday, she said the situation would become normal shortly.

Ambassador of the European Union delegation to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon and diplomats of over two dozen countries, including India, the US, the UK, Russia, South Korea, Malaysia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Vietnam, Morocco, Myanmar and Oman, were present at the function.

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad

and most of his party lawmakers attended the dinner, but only Raushan addressed the programme.

She explained her party’s position in the context of the present political situation and also talked about the grounds the January 5 elections were held on.

“We are always in favour of democracy and are working to strengthen it in the country. The Bangladeshis are peace-loving people,” said the opposition leader.

Ershad told reporters after the party that diplomats had expressed concern over the current situation in the political arena.

“What else can they do other than expressing concern? We ourselves have to find out the solution,” he added. l

SSC examinees endure another rescheduling  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

enforcement agencies were extending their best assistance to students so that they could take the exams without any trouble.

This was the third time the government had to reschedule the SSC exams because of the BNP strike.

Before speaking at the press briefing, Nahid and top Chittagong education board officials visited three test centres.

Meanwhile, frequent changes to test schedules have worried examinees.

Ashfaq Ahmed, who are sitting the exams at Azimpur Girls School and

College centre, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday the uncertainty over the exam dates made it difficult for him to take better preparations.

Parents also said they were concerned about the future of their children while calling on the political parties to take steps for resolving the existing crisis.

Habibur Rahman, a guardian, said: “We want to have a fixed exam schedule that will remove the worries of the students. Exams can be taken on every Friday and Saturday, but it has to be decided in a way so that there is no need to make frequent changes.” l

A win that can usher in a new era  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

As part of precautionary measures, a traffic police official wears a helmet while on his duty at Mirpur 10 intersection in the capital yesterday

Six more die in firebomb attacks during blockade  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

raising Friday’s death toll to six. They suffered severe burns in the Gaibandha attack on Friday.

Blockade supporters hurled petrol bomb at the bus which was being escorted by law enforcers. At least 28 people got injured in the attack that took place at the Tulsighat area on the Gaibandha-Polashbari road. Police have so far arrested 11 people in connection.

Sujon, 13, and his mother Sonabanu, 33, both severely injured in that attack, were the two who died yesterday while undergoing treatment at the Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Sonabanu, who was a domestic help in Dhaka, got 80% of her body burnt.

All of the six deceased were from the Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha. Sonabanu’s husband and eight-year-old daughter are also undergoing treatment.

More arson in Gaibandha Around

9am

yesterday

blockaders

launched more attacks on two trucks at the Brac Office intersection at Polashbari upazila on the Dhaka-Rangpur highway in Gaibandha. Police said the trucks were going to Bogra from Rangpur with maize. The drivers and helpers saved their lives by jumping off the vehicles.

In Narayanganj, a truck driver and a helper sustained burn injuries as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb in the Chand Textile area of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj in the morning. Driver Badsha Mia, 40, and helper Helal Mia, 38, were taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Police said miscreants hurled a firebomb on a rice-laden truck in the same area, causing the vehicle to plunge into the roadside ditch around 6:00am.

In Chapainawabganj, blockade supporters hurled petrol bomb at the office of local lawmaker Abdul Wadud yesterday morning. No one was hurt in the incident as the fire was doused immediately.

In Chuadanga, pickets torched two

Arrest spree punishes prisons  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

bail has been disrupted this last month.

Some 18,730 inmates have received court verdicts while another 52,876 are awaiting hearings.

The number of people behind bars has risen sharply since the joint drive to weed out arsonists and saboteurs began in late January. There has been a rise in block raids and combing operations to arrest those believed to be responsible for sabotage and arson.

Between 200 and 300 new inmates have daily joined the ranks of the incarcerated over the last two weeks, records showed. Sahadat Hossain, superintendent of Rajshahi Jail, told the Dhaka Tribune that 25 to 30 people were being sent to his jail daily.

Didarul Alam, superintendent of Laxmipur Jail, said the majority of fresh inmates arriving at his facility had been accused in political cases.

The glut of new inmates was especially pronounced in districts that had seen significant political unrest, jail records show. Some areas did not see a spike in detentions last month.

Amzad Hossain Don, superintendent of Netrokona Jail, said he had not seen an increase in inmates there.

Appalling conditions

With most prisons packed beyond capacity, prisoners and detainees are being forced to live in inhumane conditions without sufficient food, space or toilet facilities.

The Dhaka Tribune managed to talk with a number of detainees recently released from prison.

They said prisoners do not have enough space in the jails even to sit comfortably, let alone lie down and sleep.

“Nearly three hundred prisoners share just one toilet. Inmates queue up for the loo from early morning,” Humayun, recently released from Dhaka Central Jail, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Five people live in a space fit for one,” he said, adding: “For the last eight days I have had to sleep sitting upright in the suffocatingly congested jail.”

“I was given a piece of roti and a dollop of molasses for breakfast and a small amount of rice and dal for lunch and dinner,” another recently bailed former inmate told the Dhaka Tribune.

But Forman Ali, the senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, said: “We provide sufficient food to prisoners.”

He said the new jail being construct-

buses at the Jibon Nagar bus stand in the morning by petrol. Locals doused the fire.

Attacks in Dhaka

In the capital’s Bangabazar area, pickets yesterday hurled crude bombs a police patrol car yesterday evening.

Two miscreants were hurt when police retaliated with gunshots. They were admitted to the DMCH. Abdur Rahman, 30, and Momin Mamun, 35 live in a mess house at Kaliganj in Keraniganj near Dhaka.

Assistant Commissioner of Ramna Zone Shibli Noman said the incident took place around 6pm in front of the Younus Tower. After getting shot, the duo fell on the road and a angry mob gave them a good beating. Two policemen also sustained burn injuries in the petrol bomb attack.

Meanwhile, a police sergeant suffered splinter injuries as miscreants blasted a crude bomb at Shyamoli in the capital yesterday morning. Injured police sergeant Golam Maula was tak-

ed in Keraniganj will permanently solve jail overcrowding in Dhaka jail.

The new facility is expected to be ready to receive inmates in June.

According to Jail Headquarters data, of the 68 jails, 21 are in Dhaka division, and six of these are central jails; 11 are in Chittagong division, of which two are central; four are in Sylhet division, of which one is central; six are in Barisal, of which one is central; eight are in Rangpur, of which one is central; and eight are in Rajshahi, of which one is central; 10 are in Khulna, of which one is a central jail.

Abdul Jalal, assistant inspector general of Jail Headquarters, told the Dhaka Tribune that jail overcrowding is a chronic problem.

When the inmate population grows too large, leave for jail staff are cancelled and staff remain on duty day and night, he said.

While the rules require each cell to be manned by one guard, a manpower shortage has meant that one guard is deployed for every three cells, he added.

“We have sent a request for 17,000 new staff of various ranks for the Prison service,” the assistant inspector general said.

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

en to the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

Maula was on his motorbike when miscreants blasted the bomb near Shishu Mela around 8am, police said.

At 8pm, five people including a woman were burnt in the capital’s Shahbagh when pickets hurled petrol bomb at a bus.

Around the same time, four pedestrians were injured in a crude bomb blast in the Bakshibazar area in Old Dhaka.

At 8:30pm, a man named Abdul Halim was injured in crude bomb blast near the Arts Building of the Dhaka University.

In the capital, police yesterday arrested at least 14 activists of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and banned militant outfit Hiz but-Tahrir for “plotting subversive activities,” said a text message circulated by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Of those arrested, 10 are supporters of BNP, one Jamaat and three support Hizb ut-Tahrir, the text said. l

Compromised nutrition

Increases in the number of inmates to twice, thrice or more times the capacity, is not met with commensurate increases in the food supply to prisons.

Even high level prison officials admit that prisoner nutrition is compromised by large increases in inmate population.

“To accommodate food shortages, we serve vegetables instead of fish, potatoes instead of vegetables and smaller servings of rice,” a high prison official with knowledge of the matter told the Dhaka Tribune, asking not to be named.

According to prison officials, each inmate is daily supposed to receive eight chatacks (1 chattack = 2.06 ounces) of rice, 2.5 chattacks dal, four chattacks vegetables and three chattacks fish or meat. At breakfast, inmates are supposed to get bread and molasses.

Inspector General (IG) of Prisons Brigadier General Sayed Iftekhar Uddin said overcrowding and surges of inmate numbers were not new. He admitted that food problems have sometimes occurred in the past.

“The thing is, we are doing our best and working hard to ensure maximum facilities to inmates with insufficient resources,” he said. l

a lot of twists and turns they are now in a place where they can end the long wait.

However, the home side should also be extra careful of not getting carried away in the moment as history suggests Bangladesh have a high tendency of losing their tempo after putting up a courageous performance.

Despite starting on a losing note, Bangladesh maintained a decent display throughout the tournament as they looked strong in defence and compact while attacking. Their pressing football, one-two passes and quick change of place finally seemed to click as they edged past Sri Lanka and Thailand en route to the final.

And more than that, the source of building an attack was not dependant on specific players during the tournament. Jamal Bhuiyan playing

as a defensive midfielder adds a different dimension to the attack as the right-footed footballer not only supports his defence but also opens up the opponent with his precise passing.

The home side are also charged up in the month of February as skipper Mamunul yesterday said, “We want to play for the martyrs in the month of the language movement, we are ready to put the best and be the best.”

Malaysian coach Rajip Ismail was also aware of the hungry hosts as they are expecting a strong challenge.

“It’s a new day and a new match with the chance of winning the title. After the defeat, Bangladesh had gone from strength to strength, in front of the home crowd Bangladesh will be a charged up unit, however, we are ready to fight and we are not afraid. We are not feeling any pressure, we are ready to win the final,” he said. l

Muhith: District-level business dysfunctional  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

allies are the enemies of Bangladesh and that their chief Khaleda Zia wants to bar the development in the country.

The former bureaucrat said there has been sharp decline in the foreign assistance to GDP ratio because of the political turmoil. Over the last couple of years, the country’s per capita income doubled and food production has been raised to 38.1 million tonnes.

In 2005-06 fiscal year, per capita income was $506. In FY2013-14, it rose to $11,000.

In reply to a query, he said: “I do not want to talk about the country’s industrial sector because Begum Khaleda Zia does not to want to see the country achieve the maximum GDP growth.”

He also said that there has been a real revolution in the information and communication technology sector in

the country.

So far, more than 60 people have died and scores injured in different parts of the country in violence, mostly involving arson on vehicles on the highways by supporters of the blockade and hartal.

The BNP-led 20-party alliance has been enforcing a non-stop blockade since January 5 in protest against the “confinement” of their chief Khaleda Zia. She had been kept confined to her Gulshan party office since January 3 ahead of a party rally marking “Democracy Killing Day.” On January 12, the security around her office was relaxed but Khaleda never came out; instead she said in a press conference that she was going to stay there and the blockade would continue unless the government took the first steps towards solution. l

Mobile operators  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

was cut. Hours later, all data and voice connections to the office and the surrounding areas were also snapped.

Power connection was restored 18 hours later, but data and voice services still remain snapped over a large part of the Gulshan area including Khaleda Zia’s office.

Although the ultimatum expired on Monday morning, some of the mobile operators are still very much concerned.

One Facebook user named Masum Reza commented under the post: “You can severe dish connection, gas lines, water supply and everything but you cannot cut mobile connections. It will have to be kept alive because it is needed to communicate among ourselves.”

As of yesterday evening, the post was viewed 9,521 times, liked by 635 users and shared 938 times. Formed in 2013, the page Z-Fore Andolon Cell has

a total of 56,752 followers.

Several operators have already brought the matter to the attention of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Contacted, a senior official of the BTRC told the Dhaka Tribune that they are fully aware of the situation.

A senior executive officer of a leading operator told the Dhaka Tribune that the blockade has slowed their business considerably and on top of that now they felling insecure.

“Investors are terrified about the fate of their money and all these things will hamper long-term investment,” said the official who wished not to be named.

The six mobile operators of the country have around 30,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs) across the country. The BTSs are the towers that can be seen on the rooftop of high-rise buildings. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Sunday, February 8, 2015

PETROL BOMB ATTACK

No end to burn victims’ sufferings n Mohammad Jamil Khan It was around 4am. Truck driver Md Badsha was driving his vehicle fast, with a sense of fear and anxiety. Because, he knew that some trucks have recently come under petrol bomb attacks on the roads across the country.

But he never imagined that it would be his very truck to fall victim to such attack. Even, he could not make sense of the reason why his assistant suddenly shoved him out the truck yesterday.

Finally he could realize. It was not because his assistant desired to be the driver of vehicle by taking control of the steering. It was because the assistant tried to save his boss from being burned down.

The assistant was succeed in his effort. But not fully. Because, the vehicle caught fire after a young man threw a petrol bomb in Signboard area of Naryanaganj, before he shoved the driver out the truck.

With seven per cent burn injuries in his body, Md Badsha, 38, a resident of Naogaon Sadar, was undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

He was driving the truck loaded with sacks of rice from Naogaon to Chittagong. But the bomb attack stopped his journey and sent him to the hospital bed.

The father of two daughter was running out from money to maintain his four member family. He took risk of his life to

ensure food for his family members.

“I am suffering from pain. It is not a big matter. But I am worried about my family. Who would provide support to them?” Badsha, the lone bread winner of his family.

Since the beginning of the blockade enforced by BNP-led 20-party alliance 33 days ago, a total of 123 people with burn injuries had taken treatment at the DMCH, Dr Partha Shankar Paul, a resident surgeon at the Burn Institute of the DMCH. Now, some 62 people are undergoing treatment in the hospital, he said.

Among the victims, seven are undergoing treatment at Intensive Care unit while eight others in High Dependency Unit, whom, we treating as critical one, he added.

Md Bacchu, a cargo helper, was among those victims who was undergoing treatment in the hospital having six per cent burn injuries in his body.

The condition of Bacchu, a resident of Razapur of Jhalokathi, considered to be critical as his inhalation system was affected badly, doctors said.

Bacchu used to live in Chittagong with his three sisters. After the death of his father, he is now the only earning member of his family.

He came under the attack by pickets in Lalpur area of Feni around 4.00am on Friday last.

A total of 36 people died after receiving burn injuries being attacked by petrol bombs across the country during blockade. l

An arson victim poses for a freelance photographer who sets up a makeshift studio at the DMCH burn unit yesterday while hundreds writhe in pain and more patients with burn injuries are brought in every day RAJIB DHAR

Sheikh Hasina reaffirms: No surrender to militancy n UNB Describing the recent activities of the BNP-Jamaat alliance as militancy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday categorically said her government will in no way give in to this menace.

“We will never surrender to militancy,” she said addressing the inaugural ceremony of the International Rotary Peace Conference 2015 at city’s Radisson Hotel.

The prime minister also said the whole nation would resist the terrorist activities of these ferocious hyenas.

“We’ll restore peace in the country defeating these bad elements and that’s our promise…Inshallah we’ll be successful,” she reiterated.

Referring to the Bangali nation’s historical uncompromising nature, the prime minister said history says that Bangalis never bow down to troublemakers.

“Bangalis are always invincible, we never bow down to injustice and we’ll never bow down. This time we won’t bow down our head to this injustice,” she said.

In this connection, the prime minister said the Bangalis protected the dignity of their mother tongue through shedding blood in 1952, ousted the autocrat regime in 1969, and earned the country’s independence in 1971 sacrificing 3 million lives.

She said the people of the country

never saw killing people by hurling petrol bombs in the name of politics.

Hasina mentioned that the country is now passing through an unbearable situation where more than 50 people have been killed and over a hundred injured in petrol bombs hurled by anarchists.

‘When the economy was recouping the past losses, the BNP-Jamaat nexus are now waging war against the people, getting engaged against in a killing spree’ The air of the burn units of the hospitals turned heavy with the foul smell of the burnt people, she said. “You know who are committing such inhumane acts…the country’s people know it very well.”

She compared these killings with what the Pakistani occupational forces did back in 1971. “Again it seems that they have unleashed killings like in 1971,” she added.

“When the country’s economy was marching ahead recouping the losses of destructive acts by the BNP-Jamaat nexus, they are now again a waging war

against people and are again engaged in killing spree,” she said.

They turned crazy to protect war criminals, plunderer national wealth by grabbing power through widespread killings, she said.

Recalling the destructive activities carried out by the BNP-Jamaat alliance before the January-5 election, Hasina said, they committed similar misdeeds at that time leaving over 100 people, including 20 members of police, BGB and army. “Even, mosques, temples and pagodas were vandalised and torched.”

Besides, she said, hundreds of copies of the Quran were burned to ashes in front of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque while railway compartments and locomotives were destroyed or damaged by uprooting fishplates and tracks.

Mentioning Bangladesh’s stance against terrorism, the Prime Minister said, her government is showing zero tolerance to all forms of terrorism and is committed not to sheltering anybody or any organisation to carry out subversive acts against any country using Bangladesh’s soil.

The prime minister reiterated that the BNP’s election boycott was a political mistake and why the country’s people should pay the price for their political wrong decision. “They’re trying to create a horrible situation in the country by killing innocent people,” she said. l

ETHICS LESSON

Freelance photographer asks burn victims to pose for shoot n Tribune Report A freelance photographer yesterday caused uproar in the burn and plastic surgery institute of Dhaka Medical College Hospital as he, literally, attempted to direct a photoshoot of victims of recent arson attacks, and that too without their permission.

Saiful Huq Omi, a freelance photojournalist, entered the high dependency unit (HDU) of DMCH’s burn unit around 1pm, when relatives were just preparing to feed the victims their lunch. He entered the ward which hosted the most sensitive victims undergoing treatment, especially those with inhalation injury.

At that time, there was no doctor present at the ward.

Without much regard to the surroundings, Omi reportedly asked his assistant to hold backdrop and light sets, without even seeking permission of the victims. Furthermore, he asked the patients, most of whom were in critical condition, to stand on the floor in front of the backdrop by putting up their hands together.

These patients were under doctors’ orders to be under full bed rest.

Such insensitive behaviour caused some other photojournalists, who

were present there, to protest against him. They called the hospital staff and asked Omi to leave the ward.

Burn victim Md Khokon, 30, a service holder, is currently undergoing treatment at the HDU with 20% burn injury and was asked to pose for Omi’s photoshoot.

‘You journalists come and ask us to perform such acts and we are just cooperating with you people’ He told the Dhaka Tribune: “What would I do? You journalists come and ask us to perform such acts and we are just cooperating with you people. But it is your humanity to understand our problems.”

Omi, however, appeared remorseless when accused of and asked about his “photography” which caused inconvenience to the patients.

He told the Dhaka Tribune: “I would not create any problem to the victims.

I am just doing my professional activities and have not created any problem.” l

BNP blames government for sabotage n Tribune Report

Disowning the heinous attack on a police-escorted bus in Gaibandha on Friday night, the BNP has rather accused the government of carrying out sabotages during their ongoing blockade and hartal programmes.

“The [BNP-led 20-party] alliance leaders and activists were not involved in such heinous act,” said a statement issued by BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday.

Asking party leaders and activists to continue the non-stop agitations, the BNP leader said ouster of the Awami League-led government was now a matter of time.

The statement came a day after the arson attack in Gaibandha that claimed six lives and causing burn injuries to around 40.

“The government is blaming the BNP to divert the people’s attention,” the party says urging the law enforcers not to stand against the people, rather serve them.

The BNP also claimed that the Awami League had made a mistake by holding a “farcical” election on January 5 last year.

“The BNP-led 20-party alliance and other democratic parties’ decision of boycotting the election was historically correct. The political problem was created by [Prime Minister] Sheikh Hasina through the 15th amendment to the constitution. She has to resolve the crisis by scrapping the amendment,” the statement added.

The BNP-led 20-party combine has been enforcing countrywide blockade since January 6 and announced hartals amid the strike.

The alliance on Friday called 72hour nationwide hartal from 6am today until 6am Wednesday to materialise the demand of election under a non-partisan government.

Salahuddin alleged that the government wanted to save itself from public wreath by repressing the opposition leaders and activists.

He also said the country turned into a “dreadful police state” and that there was no alternative to non-stop movement. “The government has compelled the people to wage non-stop movement on the street through closing all the doors of constitutional, democratic and systematic movements.” l

Dhaka gets back some of its usual look yesterday because of a weekend relapse on the back of five days of hartal. The photo was taken at the Shyamoli area in the capital SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

JU Zubair murder trial verdict today n Tribune Report A Dhaka court is set to deliver verdict in Jahangirnagar University student Zubair Ahmed murder case today, amid blockade and hartal, with only seven out of the 13 accused in jail custody.

The date was rescheduled as the police on the previous date, February 4, had not produced the accused from Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road citing security reasons.

Judge ABM Nizamul Haque of the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 then deferred the verdict and ordered the prosecution to ensure presence of the accused. All the 13 accused are batchmates (200708 session) of Zubair and activists of Chhatra League, the student wing of ruling Awami League.

Acting special public prosecutor of the tribunal Taslima Yasmin Dipa yesterday said they had taken preparation for the case.

Nazmus Sakib Tanu, Md Mazharul Islam, Md Mahmudul Hasan Masud, Md Kamruzzaman Shohag, Shafiul Alam Shetu, Abhinandan Kundu and Md Nazmul Hussain Plabon are now in jail. Four accused – Khandaker Ashikul Islam, Khan Mohammad Rois, Ishtiaque Mehboob Aroop and Mahabub Akram – fled the court on February 23 last year.

Two others – Rashedul Islam Raju and Md Zahid Hasan – have been on the run since January 23 the same year.

English final year student Zubair, a former Chhatra League activist, succumbed to his injuries on January 9, 2012 at a city hospital. He was beaten and stabbed indiscriminately the previous afternoon on the campus by the 13 accused and their aides after coming out of the new Arts Faculty building. It was his last exam.

Following the incident, the university authorities filed a murder case with Ashulia police against Ashik, Raju and Rois.

On January 30 the same year, seven of them were expelled from the university for life, while six others for two years after the authorities found their direct involvement in the murder.

They were also declared unwanted on the campus. The names of 10 other accused were added after the expulsion order.

Even though one year has passed, police have no clue about the six fugitive accused.

However, some of them reportedly visit the campus regularly despite having been expelled.

Family members of the victim demand justice for the brutal political murder terming it pre-planned. Current and former students of the university under the banner of “Shontrasher Biruddhe Jahangirnagar” have also been staging demonstrations since the murder demanding exemplary punishment to stop recurrence of violence on the campus. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Release of five more GM brinjal varieties expected this year Government allegedly ignores poor-yield controversy surrounding previous releases to demonstrate in the farmers level. We n Abu Bakar Siddique will go for getting approval of National The government plans to release five more genetically modified (GM) brinjal varieties at farmers level this year, ignoring the controversies and the poor yield that resulted from releases of earlier varieties.

Rafiqul Islam Mondol, director general of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), told the Dhaka Tribune they would apply to the government agencies concerned soon to get the approval of releasing the GM brinjal varieties, popularly known as Bt brinjal.

Mahyco, in which Monsanto has 26% stake, developed the varieties with the financial support of the USAID According to BARI, it has so far developed Bt Uttara, Bt Kajla, Bt Noyontara, Bt ISD 006, Bt Singnath, Bt Dohajari, Bt Chyaga, Bt Khotkhotia and Bt Islampuri – from local varieties by inserting the Bt gene – developed

by US-based agro company Monsanto – into them after a seven-year experiment which started in 2006, with the technical support of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co (Mahyco).

On October 30, 2013, the stateowned research institute released four GM varieties – Bt Uttara, Bt Kajla, Bt Noyontara and Bt ISD 006 – without giving any satisfactory explanation on issues related to environmental and health hazards raised by campaigners. The move was even challenged in court, but rejected.

“We are trying to release the rest of the five invented GM brinjal varieties

School exams project event held n Tribune Report “School Exams Project 2015” for the country’s English medium schools has been held in Westin Hotel recently in the capital, says a press release.

British Council Bangladesh organised the event followed by a session on “British Council Experience on Child Safeguarding” The project involves various initiatives to support the school management, teachers and students.

Principals and senior management representatives from English Medium schools and Country Representatives of UK exam boards were present at the event.

Senior management of BC – Deep Adhikari, Director Examinations Bangladesh; Steve Adams, Regional Director, Examinations and Tim Chadwick, Schools Project Manager spoke at the event, among others.

Bio-safety Committee soon,” Rafiqul told the Dhaka Tribune.

In February 2014, the government distributed Bt brinjal saplings among 20 farmers in Gazipur, Jamalpur, Rangpur and Ishwardi, but most of them yielded poor results.

Later in October last year, Bari distributed saplings of the GM brinjal to 108 farmers in 17 different districts including Manikganj, Tangail, Pabna, Kushtia, Comilla, Jessore and Dinajpur.

Regarding the latest batch of cultivation, the BARI DG expressed hopes that the farmers would get good production, which is expected to come in the market by mid-February.

According to a condition imposed by the National Committee on Bio-safety, no GM crop can be sold without labels.

On labelling GM brinjals before marketing them, Rafiqul told the Dhaka Tribune that it would not be possible to maintain labelling in the retail level, but when the crops are shifted from the farmers to the market, “Poison-free GM brinjal” would be labelled on the sacks.

With an aim to make the GM crop popular among farmers, BARI plans to provide Bt Brinjal seeds to Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) from the current season so that they can distribute the seeds directly to more farmers by producing more seed.

From the next year, the BADC would handle the seed distribution and marketing among the farmers, the BARI chief added.

Mahyco, in which Monsanto has 26% stake, developed the varieties with the financial support of the USAID. Mahyco’s Bt brinjal was banned in India in 2010 after its harmful effects were exposed.

The same group earlier developed GM brinjal varieties in the Philippines. But the move was stalled by a court order, considering the health hazards. l

The month of love is once again here and as always Nando’s, the South African Restaurant Chain brought to Bangladesh by MGH Group, is setting a romantic stage for all the lovers to make a memorable mark in their love stories.

In celebration of this year’s Valentine’s Day, Nando’s has launched their two-week-long campaign from February 1-14. In addition to that, they have also introduced a Valentine’s Meal based around the Butterfly Chicken Steak.

The Valentine’s Meals at Nando’s is

MP’s office comes under bomb attack Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj

Unidentified miscreants have launched a hand-bomb attack at the personal office of Abdul Odud, lawmaker from Chapainawabganj-3 (Sadar)constituency on Saturday morning.

The police said locals heard a big sound of explosion around 6:45am and later found that a room of the Pathan Para office of MP Odud caught fire.

Being informed, the fire fighters rushed in and doused the blaze before before the fire spread.

No report of injury or arrest has been filed till filing the report at 11am.

While contacted, MP Odud told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have no idea who

launched the attack. But, I am suspecting that it has been carried out in order to hinder the peaceful atmosphere of the area.”

Now-a-days launching attacks at the houses and offices of renowned citizens of the district has become a common practice.

Earlier in January, miscreants hurled a number of crude bombs at the houses of a magistrate and a judge in the district.

However, no report of injuries or damage had been filed in this incidents.

So far, more than 60 people have died and scores have been injured in different parts of the country in violence, which mostly involved arson and bomb attacks.

The BNP led 20-party alliance has

been enforcing a non-stop nationwide blockade since January 5 in protest against the “confinement” of the party chief Khaleda Zia. Khaleda Zia had been kept confined to her Gulshan party office since January 3 ahead of a party rally, marking “Democracy Killing Day.” On January 12, the security was relaxed.

But Khaleda never came out; instead she said in a press conference that she was going to stay there and the blockade would continue unless the government took the first steps towards solution.

The relaxed blockade is underway across the country amid sporadic incidents of violence, arson attacks, vandalism and arrests of BNP members. l

B Chy wants Hasina to quit Day labourers demonstrate n UNB President of Bikolpo Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit for the sake of peace in the country.

“The country is on the brink of a civil war… Where will we go if a civil war breaks out? You (Hasina) will have to remove disorder as you’re holding the chair of the Prime Minister. We want peace in the country. You please quit for ensuring peace for people,” he said.

The BDB chief made the call while addressing a rally in front of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League’s central office at Motijheel, marking the party’s 16th founding anniversary.

Mentioning that dialogue is the only way to overcome the current political crisis in the country, he said, “You must sit in talks to restore peace. No problem was

Nando’s celebrates the month of love n Tribune Report

Noted lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain speaks at a roundtable on national dialogue to mitigate the ongoing political crisis yesterday. Jatiyo Okkoiyo Prokkria hosted the event at the Engineers’ Institution auditorium in the capital DHAKA TRIBUNE

solved in the past without dialogue and it won’t be possible to overcome the current crisis without discussion this time as well.”

B Chowdhury, a former President, termed a blunder BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s refusal to the dialogue offer of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before the January-5 election.

He questioned if the Prime Minister could have given a dialogue proposal before January-5 election why she is unwilling to do the same now when people are burned alive every day.

He warned the government that it will be held responsible if any undemocratic force grabs power taking the opportunity of the country’s conflicting situation.

The BDB chief urged the government to form a probe body headed by the Chief Justice to look into the petrol bomb attack incidents as people are confused about the perpetrates of the atrocious incidents. l

in front of Khaleda’s office n UNB

A group of day labourers yesterday staged demonstrations in front of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office demanding withdrawal of the ongoing nonstop transport blockade and hartal enforced by her party-led 20-party alliance.

The day labourers, under the banner of Trinamool Hawker Samity and Trinamool Dinmajur Samity, gathered in front of the BNP chief’s office at roadno 86 in Gulshan-2 around 11:45am.

Later, they staged the demonstration there with spades and baskets, and stayed there for nearly an hour. They shouted various slogans against hartal and blockade and street violence.

Talking to reporters, Zohirul Haq Mintoo who led the Trinamool Dinma-

jur Samity during the demonstration said they are going through a tough time for lack of work because of the transport blockade and hartal.

“The blockade and hartal are taking their toll on us. We’ve come here to register our protest against it,” he added.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia called the indefinite transport blockade from January 6 as the government did not allow her party and its allies to hold protest rallies in the capital on January 5.

The blockade still remains in force for 33 consecutive days on Saturday.

Earlier, teachers, students and different groups of transport workers also staged demonstrations and formed human chains near Khaleda’s Gulshan, where she has been staying since January 3, demanding withdrawal of the blockade and hartal. l

F-commerce summit launched in the capital

Tk2,015 and it is for a couple.

Yesterday, Nando’s organised a press event to introduce this campaign to it’s customers where their high officials were present.

Two lucky couples will win diamond rings in the Valentine’s celebration. Besides, 50 lucky couples will get a Peri-fic pair of matching T-shirts.

Winners can enjoy a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” everytime they come to any Nando’s this month if they come wearing their matching T-shirts. There will also be Tk1,000 vouchers as a consolation prizes to a total of 100 lucky couples and customers. l

n Tribune Report

Model and actress Mehjabin at the launching ceremony of the special month-long Valentine’s meal of Nando’s in the capital yesterday COURTESY

The two-day “National F-commerce Summit 2015”, organised by country’s only social media marketing agency named Geeky Social with the objective of celebrating the digital future of Bangladesh, was held in EMK centre of Dhanmondi yesterday.

The summit mainly focuses on popularising the term F-commerce amongst the entrepreneurs of our country who are conducting their busi-

ness through social media, particularly Facebook, says a media release.

Muhammad Saimum Hossain, co-founder of Geeky Social, inaugurated the programme which followed by a very brief introduction of the guests and the activities run by the agency.

Geeky Social’s CEO Mahadi Hasan Shagor showed the reasons for choosing Facebook for their business purposes.

Then after stating some facts of F-commerce, MK Aaref, director of EMK Centre, took the floor and repre-

sented himself as a learner and part of the session over there as well.

Leading technology-based companies such as BASIS is the strategic advisor to the summit. AjkerDeal.com is the gold sponsor, EMK Centre is the silver sponsor and News Cred and Bangladesh Startup Cup are bronze sponsors of this mega event. The prime objectives of this event are to recognise 5 successful F-commerce entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and to understand the hurdles faced by F-commerce businesses. l

Chhatra Dal enforces non-stop strike at DU today n UNB Pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) yesterday called an indefinite strike at Dhaka University from Sunday demanding resignation of its Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique for what it said his failure to ensure political coexistence on the campus.

JCD president Rajib Ahsan and general secretary Akramul Hasan announced the strike through a press release.

The release said, “The (culture of) coexistence on the DU campus has now been deported. No student body, except the ruling party student wing, can enjoy all facilities, though an ultimatum had been given to resolve the problem in this regard.”

The JCD leaders also alleged that they had submitted memorandums on various occasions to the university authorities demanding political coexistence for hundreds of students, but it went unheeded.

They said their strike will continue until the democratic rights of all general students are established on the DU campus.

Earlier on Wednesday and Thursday, the BNP’s student body observed a two-day strike on the DU campus with a threat for enforcing an indefinite student strike at the premier public university if the authorities fail to meet their demand for ensuring a congenial atmosphere for political coexistence on the campus. l

NRBs urged to invest more in the country n Tribune Report State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan has urged the Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRB) to come forward with their investments to ensure further economic development in the country.

He made the call in a conference on “Global Public Private Partnership Initiatives in Post 2015: Opportunities for US-Bangladesh Businesses” held in Ismaili Centre of Bashundhara on Friday evening, says a press release.

Mannan said the government is sincere to remove all the barriers of trade and investment.

The conference was a preparatory conference for an international conference which supposed to held in the United Nations Headquarters on April 14 and 15 on “Global PPP in Post 2015: Financing for Developments” jointly organised by Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Global NRB USA Inc and FICS USA Inc. FBCCI President Akram Uddin Ahmed who was present opined that time has come to use the PPP fund allocated by the present government in the budget.

The event was also addressed by Sulaiman Ajanee, President of the Aga Khan Council in Bangladesh, and Brad Stilewell, Deputy Political and Economic Officer of the US Embassy in Dhaka.

Chairman, managing directors, chief executive officers of banks, insurance companies, leading businesses, and corporate houses, professionals were also present in the conference. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Number of foreign students in decline at DU Political instability, lengthy admission process among major reasons

n Arif Ahmed Dhaka University has been witnessing a decline in the number of foreign student enrolment in the recent years, fuelled by political instability and declining academic quality.

According to sources at the DU, only six foreign students enrolled at the university in the past five annual student intakes. Among them, two students took admission in the 2014-15 intake, their admission process still under way.

Besides, foreigners interested in pursuing a DU degree are mostly from a few Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and China.

Several education experts said this decline of foreign student population in the country’s premier institute for higher education is most likely caused

by Bangla being a major medium of instruction, as well as the rise of quality of higher eduction in those students’ own countries.

Syed Manzoorul Islam, professor at DU’s English department, agreed: “Political instability here indeed causes the lack of interest among foreign students in choosing DU for higher education; so does the degrading

quality of education.”

An unimpressive position of the DU on the latest world university rankings does not help the matter either, as the experts opined.

The lengthy and difficult admission process for the foreign students is another major reason why foreigners feel discouraged to apply at the DU In the 2014-15 QS World University Rankings, there were no Bangladeshi universities among the top 200 universities in the world. The DU ranked 701st, same as 2013 and dropping from 601 in 2012 and 527 in 2007. Even on the QS list of top 150 Asian universities, no Bangladeshi universities were found.

Similarly, in 2014 Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as Shanghai Rankings, no Bangladeshi universities made it to the list of the

top 500 universities.

Prof Mazoor told the Dhaka Tribune: “Once upon a time, Dhaka University had a good reputation among the Asian universities, but in recent years it has lost its standing. Meanwhile, universities in our neighbouring countries have developed to provide better education than us, achieving good positions on the world rankings and convincing the foreign students to choose those institutions instead.” He also mentioned inadequate housing facilities as a possible demotivating factor.

Tedious admission process

The lengthy and difficult admission process for the foreign students is another major reason why foreigners feel discouraged to apply at the DU, experts said.

Under the current system, a foreigner at first has to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Bangladesh embassy, and then to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Upon receiving their approvals, the student then has to contact the DU for admission, which is done online and takes at least two or three months to get processed.

In addition, the admission seekers

5

Sunday, February 8, 2015

cannot get sufficient information at the DU website as it is not regularly updated. The university does not have a separate office for international students either.

Hamidur Rahman, assistant registrar at the DU scholarship department, said the university authorities had decided to open a separate section for international admission. “When that section is open and functional, we will get more foreign students,” he said.

Mansa Shah, a Nepali student who is a resident at Sir PJ Hartog International Hall, said the foreign students faced several problems while studying at the DU, namely high tuition fees, lack of part-time job opportunities, political instability, and the language barrier.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Prof Shahid Akhter Hossain, pro vice-chancellor (administration) at the DU, admitted that the international students faced several problems here.

He also acknowledged the lack of vital information on the university website: “Our website is not up-to-date, but we are trying to include more information for the foreign students.”

Regarding the low number of enrolment, he said: “The standard of educa-

tion in the countries of those students have improved, which is why students from those countries, especially the Asian ones, are not coming here as much as before.”

Assuring that an international student office would be opened soon, Prof Shahid said: “We plan to open a separate office to oversee the admission process of international students so that they can directly take admission at the DU from the next academic session.”

However, DU Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune that the foreign student population at the DU was decreasing, but a large number of them were still taking admission at the Institute of Modern Languages and the medical colleges under the university.

“The countries from which students came to Bangladesh for higher education now provide better education themselves, which is why the number of students from those countries coming to the DU has fallen,” he said.

But the VC refuted the claim that the education quality at the DU was on the decline, terming the international ranking process faulty. l

No dialogue with terrorists, says NHRC boss n UNB Condemning the ongoing violence unleashed across the country, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Mizanur Rahman yesterday said no dialogue can be held with terrorists who have been burning people to death.

“They (opposition parties) have been challenging the monopoly of power of the state through carrying out terrorist acts in the name of a movement. They have been challenging the foundation of the state which is tantamount to sedition and a criminal offence,” said the NHRC boss in a seminar at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Federation of Bangladesh Human Right Organisation (FBHRO) organised the seminar.

“The state will have to play its due role in getting rid of this terrorism. The government is responsible for ensuring safety and security of its citizens,” Mizanur said.

Urging the government to ensure the basic rights of the citizens, he said it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the common people do not face harassment in its attempt to ensure safety for people. l

Continue efforts to establish peace, PM urges Rotarians n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the Rotarians to continue their efforts for establishing peace closing the gap between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless and the capable and the incapable.

She made the call while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the International Rotary Peace Conference 2015 at city’s Radisson Hotel.

The prime minister said Rotarians have been working for over a century with the motto of “Service beyond Self” for the development of communities and establishing peace in the world.

Hasina mentioned that the activities of Rotarians in the areas of water supply and sanitation, preventing major diseases, maternal and child health, education and literacy, and economic development are worth mentionable.

Stressing the importance of establishing peace and development in a society, she said: “We have to remember that development or peace cannot be achieved leaving a major section of society disadvantageous condition.”

Hasina said the wealthy and enlightened section of society can play an important role in establishing peace through eradicating poverty, illiteracy, and superstition.

Reiterating Bangladesh’s commitment to international peace, she mentioned that it has been manifested through the proposal of “Culture of

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8 DHAKA

TODAY SUN SETS 5:49PM

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:36AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 28 28 28 26 29 29 28 28

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

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33.8ºC Teknaf

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PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

5:20am 6:37am 12:13am 4:12pm 5:48pm 7:05pm

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Peace and Non-violence” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its 68th session.

The prime minister said Bangladesh’s commitment and contribution to global peace is further reaffirmed through its support to the UN as a top troop- and police-contributing country in its peacekeeping missions.

“Bangladesh contributed the highest number of women police to UN peacekeeping, commensurate with our credentials of empowerment of women,” she said.

Highlighting her government’s stunning success in different fields, including agriculture, health, economy and poverty alleviation, the prime minister said the poverty rate has been reduced to 24 percent from 41.5% in the last six years.

“We have set a goal of reducing the poverty rate by 10 percent more in the next four years,” she said.

Rotary International President-elect KR Ravindran was present as the special guest at the conference organized

by Rotary Club Dhaka Mohanagar.

District Governor of Rotary International District 3281 Safina Rahman and District Governor of Rotary International District 3282 Engineer MA Latif spoke on the occasion, while Chairperson of the conference Aftabul Islam delivered the welcome address and President of Rotary Club Dhaka Mohanagar Niaz Rahim gave the vote of thanks.

Past District Governor MA Awal read out the Rotary Invocation. l

US business leaders keen to invest in Bangladesh

n UNB

Representatives from major US companies at a discussion in New York have expressed their keen interest to invest in Bangladesh, said a Foreign Ministry media release yesterday.

Bangladesh Ambassador to USA Mohammad Ziauddin, representatives from Citigroup, MasterCard International, Ellicott Dredgers, Coca-Cola Co, Fontheim International, American Eagle and Sikorsky Aircraft, among others, attended the luncheon discussion held on Friday.

Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), a prominent think tank founded by US President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955, arranged the event.

Narrating Bangladesh as strategically located and a regional hub, Ambassador Ziauddin spelled out the measures taken by the present government to attract foreign investment.

While sharing the strong economic indicators of Bangladesh, the Ambassador particularly drew attention to the thrust sectors for investments such as power, energy, shipbuilding, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, ICT and telecommunication.

He sought their support for dutyand quota-free access of Bangladesh’s RMG products to the US market.l

A rickshaw-van puller yesterday carries gas cylinders unprotected risking his life as he can be the target of arsonists anytime. The picture was taken from Rajshahi city's Talaimari area amid the ongoing countrywide blockade and intermittent shutdowns.

AZAHAR UDDIN

Saboteurs target KPIs, key establishments in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Saboteurs have mostly targetted key government as well as private establishments and Key Point Installations (KPIs) in Chittagong in the past few weeks during the indefinite blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

There have been acts of sabotage at different important institutions in the port city and security forces have also obtained information on sabotage plans after detaining some saboteurs, said sources.

Almost every day during the period, saboteurs hurled crude bombs or petrol bombs at least at one government structure or in nearby areas in the commercial hub of the country to damage it and also to create panic among locals.

In the last 14 days, bombs were blasted outside the office of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, the district police super’s office,

Chittagong Press Club, Power Development Board office, Awami League lawmakers’ residences and police stations.

On January 27, miscreants reduced important documents at Mirsharai upazila land office to ashes by setting those on fire.

BGB and police in separate operations on February 3 detained 13 people, including seven Chhatra Shibir activists, along with 24 petrol bombs, four crude bombs, lethal arms and bomb-making materials. The detainees were said to have made a plan to carry out a sabotage in the city and two power plants in Hathazari upazila.

Of the seven, Omar Faruk, president of Hathazari College unit of Shibir, gave his confessional statement before court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“Faruk admitted that 15 Shibir men divided the district into two parts and planned to carry out subversive acts

at important public and private offices one by one,” said Hathazari police station Sub-Inspector Shariful Islam.

Chittagong has an international airport, a sea port and 46 KPIs under A, B and C categories out of a total of 394 in the country.

Chief Executive Engineer (marketing) of the southern region of Power Development Board Nazrul Islam said security was ramped up at five power plants under the board while five to seven other private power stations in the district took their own security measures.

“We are alert to any untoward situation and have arranged the maximum protection for our infrastructures,” he added. Chittagong district’s Deputy Commissioner Mezbah Uddin said the authorities of the KPIs were asked to introduce CCTV cameras to monitor people’s activities in order to avert any subversion.

Police have beefed up security at bus terminals and railway stations, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Additional Deputy Commissioner (west) Tanvir Arafat.

“Considering the present situation, officials at bus terminals and rail stations have been instructed to keep fire extinguishers to tackle any subversion,” he said.

CMP Additional Commissioner (crime and operation) Banaz Kumar Majumder said about 2,000 additional policemen and six platoons of BGB were deployed in the port city.

“We have already made a list of saboteurs and are carrying out operations to capture them,” he said.

Chittagong district Police Super AKM Hafiz Akhter said intelligence surveillance at key points was tightened.

“Based on intelligence reports, police are also making plans to check sabotage,” he added. l

Murder accused hacked to death n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Activists of Adivasi Forum form a human chain in front of the National Museum in the capital's Shahbagh yesterday, protesting the repression of Adivasi people in the country SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

A murder accused was hacked to death by unknown miscreants at Karnaphuli area of Chittagong. Police found the dead body yesterday morning from a crop-land in the area.

The dead Mohammad Farid, 27, was accused of a murder case lodged with Karnaphuli police station. He was released from jail on bail three months ago, said police sources.

Receiving information from locals, police recovered Farid’s body from the area around 10am and sent it to Chittagong Medical College morgue for autopsy, said Karnaphuli police station Sub-Inspector Abul Kalam Azad.

He said the miscreants had hacked Farid indiscriminately on Friday night and left his body on the field. When asked, the SI said Farid might have been killed over previous enmity.

The victim’s mother Mowara Begum lodged a case with the station in this connection, the official added. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Bandarban hotels empty despite discount offers Hoteliers offer a 50% discount but struggling to secure bookings Those owning small businesses, esHoteliers said they experienced Ashish Dhar, manager of Greenhill n Our Correspondent, Bandarban Hotel, said the tourism sector would a similar slowdown in business dur- pecially transport and loom business Hotel owners in Cox’s Bazar have faced difficulties in attracting tourists even after offering discounts during the ongoing countrywide blockade.

Bandarban Hotel-Motel Owners Association sources said the number of tourists had dipped sharply since January 5, the day BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia imposed the blockade for an indefinite period.

Hoteliers have offered a 50% discount but are still struggling to secure bookings, said the association’s General Secretary Sirajul Islam.

face severe consequences if things did not improve.

Owners of 50 hotels under the association were said to have been facing a loss of Tk50 lakh every day. From January 5 to February 3, they incurred a total loss of Tk15 crore.

Bandarban Four Star Hotel Manager Ripon Chowdhury said the number of visitors had declined alarmingly.

Bandarban draws a host of tourists from different parts of the country every year, who come to visit the district’s popular attractions.

ing the 2013 political unrest and were hopeful about recouping the losses, but the non-stop blockade and frequent general strikes had again got in the way.

Shahadatur Rahman, owner of Fist Restaurant in the district town, said he would have to consider lay-offs if there was no change in the present situation.

Some hotel owners said they took out loans to recover the 2013 losses but had now run into troubles as political turbulence had diminished the number of tourists.

owners, are also bearing the brunt of the blockade.

Manager of Banaful Textile Sumon Dey said sales had plummeted because of the absence of visitors.

Bandarban Jeep-Microbus Owners Association sources said transport owners had been counting losses as tourist numbers had dwindled.

In Bandarban Sadar and Ruma upazilas, there are 215 tourist cars, locally known as chander gari, but the owners are suffering from the lack of visitors. l

Chhatra League attacks newspaper office n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League vandalised the office of a local newspaper the Daily Nabachitra at Kaliganj in Jhenaidah yesterday.

The employees of the newspaper said, a group of Chhatra League numbering 40 to 50 led by its Kaliganj unit president Israil Hossain had swooped on the office of the daily around 11:30am.

The attackers locked up the main gate of the newspaper office saying they would see the chief editor of the newspaper Shahidul Islam why enough story about the Chhatra League was not printed.

The attackers had vandalised furniture other equipment of the newspaper and left the scene issuing threats to kill its chief editor.

Nabachitra chief editor Shahidul Islam said the attackers were activists of the ruling party and supporters of local lawmaker Anwarul Azim Anar.

When contacted, Kaliganj unit Chhatra League president Israil Hossain denied involvement of any Chhatra League activists with the incident.

Kaliganj police station Officer-inCharge Anwar Hossain said the police was investigating into the incident.

Kaliganj upazila nirbahi officer Manwar Hossain Mollah said, he had visited the newspaper office immediate after the attack.

Legal steps would be taken against the persons involved, he said.

Jhenaidah press club in an emergency meeting in the afternoon condemned the attack on the newspaper office. The journalists demanded exemplary punishments to the attackers. l

2 children missing in trawler capsize n Tribune Report

Suspected criminal killed in shootout n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur

Two children are missing and eight passengers were injured when a trawler capsized in the River Shitalakshya yesterday morning.

The trawler sank following a collision with a sand carrying trawler near Madanganj Koyla Ghat area under Bandar police station.

The missing children were identified as Sumaiya 8, daughter of Tarek and Fahim 3 son of Dulal of Meghna police station area under Comilla district.

Narayanganj river police sources said, the accident took place when a passanger trawler carrying 40 to 50 passengers collided with a sand carrying trawler ‘Allahr Dan’ at Koyla Ghat area near Narayanganj around 10am, reports BSS. Most of the passengers swam ashore but two chidren were missing and eight passengers who were injured were treated locally.

River police seized the sand carrying trawler and traced out the sunken trawler. l

A suspected criminal was killed in a ‘gunfight’ with Rapid Action Battalion in Nasirabad upazila early yesterday.

Md Shah Abid Hossain, superintendent of police, said the deceased was Bacchu, 26, son of Abdul Jabbar.

Police arrested Bacchu on his suspicious movement around 11pm. Later, law enforcers conducted a drive with Bacchu at Sharupkati Pouro area around 2am to recover arms and bombs.

Sensing their presence, the associate of Bacchu opened fire at police.

In retaliation, police also fired back to control the situation which created the gunfight.

“Bacchu was caught in the line of fire,” police said.

Later, he was rushed to Nesarabad Upazila Health Complex where on-duty doctors declared him dead. l

Physicians and teachers of Comilla Medical College Hospital hold a human chain in front of the institution yesterday demanding an end to the ongoing blockade violence across the country DHAKA TRIBUNE

Water level falling by 3-4cm in Padma River everyday n

Tanjil Hasan, Munshiganj

The water level in the Padma river has declined drastically causing severe navigability problem on the Shimulia-Kawrakandi route which connects 21 northern districts of the country.

It is feared that if the dry season continues and no dredging is done, playing of vessels would be stopped in the route.

Sources at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Mawa said the water level in river is decreasing by some 3cm to 4cm everyday.

The depth of water was only six feet in

the Baglabazaar point on Tuesday.

The navigability at Loujang Turning Point, middle char area of Shimulia Ghat, Kathalbari, Banglabazaar, Chairmanbari area and Charjanajat has dramatically been reduced drastically by the change in water flow, they said.

The propellers of Ro-Ro ferries are getting damaged while plying very close to sandy river bed. The ferries are plying at a speed of around 3.5 nautical miles per hour, instead of their usual speed at around six nautical miles.

On Thursday, a Kawrakandi bound Ro-Ro ferry Keramat Ali carrying 13 trucks and nine small vehicles got stuck

for about an hour in the main channel of Banglabazaar due to low navigation.

Another Ro-Ro ferry Birsheshtra Ruhul Amin could not leave the Kawrakandi Ferry Ghat No-3 due to the same reason. Later, it had to reduce some weight by not carrying few trucks and then left the ghat for Shimulia Ghat.

The BIWTA in August last year dredged the channel by using their four dredgers including dredger-136, 139, 2014-02 and Delta-02. Three private dredgers, including Madhumati, Padma and Icelander, were also used to increase the navigation.

In August last year, the depth of water was 18 feet in the Mawa point. The level of water has fallen to 4.5, which is a decline of around 13.5 feet in the last seven moth, said officials at the BIWTA. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, drivers of several ferries said they need to become more cautious while the plying their vessels in the Loujang point, Banglabazaar point, middle char area, Charjanajat, Kathalbari and Charmanbari due poor navigability during the dry season.

BIWTC Marine Officer Md Shajahan said the plying of ferries are being ham-

A driver saved his bus and passengers from a possible arson attack as he drove his vehicle over a local Islami Chhatra Shibir leader who was about to hurl a petrol bomb at his vehicle at Bolaibari in Rajapur upazila on Friday night.

At a press briefing on Saturday, Superintendent of Police of the district M Majid Ali said M Tajuddin Uddin, 25, president of Rajapur upazila unit of Shibir, was preparing for hurling the petrol bomb at the Dhaka-bound ‘Eagle Paribahan’ bus escorted by a police team at Bolaibari around 10:30pm.

Sensing danger ahead, driver Mohammad Asad drove the bus over Tajuddin, leaving him injured. l

NEWS IN BRIEF

AL holds joint meeting to resist violence n Our Correspondent, Panchagarh

Schoolgirl killed after rape A schoolgirl was killed allegedly after rape at Jagannathpur village in Jessore Sadar upazila yesterday. The victim was identified as Suraiya Khatun, a student of Class V at local primary school. Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge Enamul Haque said the miscreants might have killed the girl after rape. On information ,police recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

– Our Correspondent, Jessore

A joint meeting of the district unit of Awami League and its associate organisations was held at AL office yesterday to resist blockade, hartal and violence in the name of political movements.

President of the district AL and Member of the Parliament from Panchagarh-2 constituency Advocate Nurul Islam Shujan presided over the meeting where the leaders and activists of AL and its all associate organisations participated.

The speakers strongly condemned the blockade, hartal, violence, killing of innocent people through hurling patrol bombs, uprooting rail lines, hindering SSC examinations and subversive activities of the BNP-Jamaat-led 20-party alliance. l

Outlaw party man killed in bomb blast An alleged extremist was killed in an explosion while making bomb in a fish hatchery at Pushpara in Ataikula on Friday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Mongol Hossain, 35, son of Malo Pramanik of Pushapara Dharmogram. SI Monir Hossain of Ataikula police station said the explosion occurred in a hatchery of one advocate Gora in the afternoon. Mondol was an active member of a banned extremists’ outfit and a listed criminal of the district, he added. Hearing the big bang, local people rushed to the scene and found injured Mondol lying on the ground. On information, police arrested injured Mondol and his associate Rashidul Islam along with bomb making materials.

– Our Correspondent, Pabna

JSD protests violence Panchagarh district unit of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) formed a human chain in the town yesterday protesting violence of the BNP led 20-party alliance. Leaders and activists of the district unit of JSD and its front organisations along with the common citizens participated in the human chain arranged near the Shere Bangla Park. JSD president Abdul Mazid, its General Secretary Abdus Sattar, President of district unit of JSD-backed Chhatra League Mafidar Rahman Manju and its General Secretary Sohag Basunia Sabuz, addressed among others. The speakers strongly condemned the terrorist and subversive activities and anarchies of the alliance across the country.

– Our Correspondent, Panchagarh

Slum dwellers get hygiene packages, blankets n BSS Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) yesterday distributed hygiene packages and blankets to the extremely poor dwellers of 210 households living at Jummapara slum at a ceremony arranged there in the city.

Rangpur unit of BDRCS) distributed the goods under the Tsunami Residual Fund (TRF) project of Urban Disaster Risk Reduction (UDRR) programme being implemented with financial assistance of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). l

pered at the ghat and several points of the channel now.

He, however, said the department concerned have been asked for dredging in the areas of the river.

BIWTA Deputy Assistant Engineer (dredging) Ikbal Hossen said they have begun dredging in some areas of the river.

“The dredger Delta-1 is in operation for dredging in the Kathalbari area,” he said.

“The removal of silt from the route is almost done. But, it is matter of fact that level of water in the Padma is much low now,” he added. l

Driver’s reflex saves bus from arson attack n Our Correspondent, Jhalakati

Four held with 8,000 yaba tablets in Cox’s Bazar Police in separate raids yesterday arrested four suspected drug peddlers including a physician along with 8,000 pieces of yaba tablets from different parts of Teknaf. The arrestees are: Physician Debasish Ranjon,40, an employee of a foreign firm ACF, Md Sohag,30, son of late Mufizur Rahman of Purbapankhali village under Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar, Md Zafor Iqbal,30, son of Nurul Islam of Alinagar area of Bhola district and Md Yusuf, 32, son of Rajob Ali of Chargaji village of Bhola, reports BSS. Acting on a tip off, police seized a covered van of a cement company and arrested three persons including its driver and seized 7,000 pieces of yaba tablets from their possession around 12 noon, officer-in-charge Ataur Rahman of Teknaf Police Station told BSS. – Tribune Report Bangladesh Coast Guard officials seize a huge amount of jatka fishes in Chandpur

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, February 8, 2015

The top 5 MBA programmes in the world Career intelligence and global education management firm GradConnect narrows down the best five MBA programmes in the world for today’s young professionals n Nakibul Hoq

world, and trains its graduates to be leaders with a highly global mindset.

Graduates of the programme become successful international corporate leaders and have an impact on thousands of lives at different parts of the world.

Traditional MBA programmes used to be based on one particular university campus with a predetermined focus on a pedagogy that combined experiential learning with classroom teaching.

But as globalisation reins its holds and businesses become more global than ever before, MBA programmes at the top universities of the world are also changing rapidly.

Instructors now focus on a global perspective while recruiters also prefer students from different parts of the globe with diverse work experiences.

Today’s top MBA programmes offer geographical flexibility to the candidates and allow students to have a broad, global perspective as part of their international MBA programme.

Not necessarily in any particular order, some of the top international MBA programmes are:

Nottingham Business School’s MBA

The Nottingham Business School (NBS) is said to be the most international British university right now.

With offshore campuses in Ningbo (China) and Semenyih (Malaysia), the MBA programme at NBS allows students to study abroad at any of its Asian and British campuses while immersing themselves into the work cultures and perspectives at different global locations. Graduates of the program find excellent job opportunities at their home countries with ease.

IE Business School’s International MBA

The Hult International MBA

With campuses in Boston, San Francisco, New York, London, Dubai and Shanghai, the Hult Business School offers a one-year-long award winning MBA programme during which candidates have to study and live in at three campus locations.

Ranked number 1 by The Economist and Bloomberg Businessweek for post-graduate salary increase, the Hult International MBA specialises in producing graduates who can work anywhere in the world, and thrive in any cultural context with ease. The programme prides itself on its global reach and its ability to produce corporate professionals, entrepreneurs and management consultants for all parts of the globe.

INSEAD MBA

Positioning itself as the “business school for the world”, INSEAD has three campuses in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Fontainebleau (France). One of the most highly sought after MBA programmes all over the world, the

BIGSTOCK

INSEAD MBA offers a curious blend of globalisation, multiculturalism and strong industry relations. It has faculties who have lived and worked in their fields in different corporate envi-

ronments, with most of them coming with a PhD in their relevant fields. The 10-month-long MBA programme offers study abroad opportunities across its campuses for all the students.

Thunderbird International MBA

Due its focus on international markets and management across the global sphere, US News & World Report ranked Thunderbird’s programme as

the top international full-time MBA in the United States.

The uniqueness of Thunderbird is the fact that it invests heavily in research of the international corporate

As one of the top business schools in Europe, the Madrid-based IE Business School has been ranked highly both by the Financial Times and Bloomberg Businessweek.

The IE International MBA offers students a unique opportunity to explore European businesses and the corporate scenario with a global context, while pushing candidates to pursue entrepreneurship and socially-responsible business ventures.

While the programme is in English, most of the students take a month of Spanish too. By the time the students graduate, they already have access to a lot of businesses and successful corporate leaders who recognize their achievements and real-life experiences.

Graduates of the program are also directly recruited by the top European and North American corporations and international organisations. l Nakibul Hoq is the Lead Manager, Content & Analytics at GradInsights, the research service of GradConnect. More articles from Nakib and the team can be found at www. grad-insights.com.

Analyse your competitors for the right edge Learning to say no entering markets. An ice cream vendor should be aware of imported ice creams entering the market and be prepared to compete with them.

Analyse strengths and weaknesses

After identifying your competitors it is time to analyse each of their respective strengths and weaknesses. Ask why customers will choose their product over yours? What is superior about their products; price, quality, brand value or service? Once you are done analysing draw a chart to list the names of your competitors and for each one, write its strengths and weaknesses in different colored boxes. This will help you select strategies to attract potential customers.

Consider opportunities and threats

BIGSTOCK

n Career Desk

Being ignorant about competitors can have devastating impacts on these businesses.

Some small businesses remain unaware about their competition until a new company sets up close by and starts eating into their profits

It is important to know as much about your competitors as your own company.

Small businesses may find it especially helpful to keep a sharp eye on their competitors. Because the market share captured by small businesses is small, it is absolutely necessary for them to be aware of every detail regarding their competitors; giving up even a small part of their market share amounts to a large chunk of their profits.

Being ignorant about competitors can have devastating impacts on these businesses. Some small businesses remain unaware about their competition until a new company sets up close by and starts eating into their profits.

An effective competitive analysis helps you identify competitors and their respective strengths and weaknesses. With knowledge of your competitors’ actions, you will be able to better understand what products or services you should offer; how you can sell your product more effectively; and how you can position your product.

Your competitive analysis should be performed in the following way:

Identify your competition

There are competitors in every busi-

ness and you need to find out who your customers can go to, if they want to procure the products that you sell. No matter how innovative your product is there is always some other product your customer can use as a substitute.

You should be aware of the businesses supplying such products. Competitors are grouped into three categories – primary, secondary and potential.

Your primary competitors are the market leaders in your industry, who currently dominate the market. For example if you own a departmental store, other such stores in the same area offering similar products as you are your primary competitors. You are competing with them directly.

Secondary competitors are the ones who are not in head-to-head competition with you, but are targeting the same general market. If there is a departmental store selling only frozen food whereas you sell a wider range of products then the former is a secondary competitor.

The final category of competitors you should look out for are your potential competitors. These are companies which might move into your market and who you may need to compete against. Globalisation has increased the number of potential competitors

Knowing your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses will help you identify what set of actions will help you beat them out. But strengths and weaknesses are under the control of firms. External forces existing outside the firms also have an implication on their actions; these are the opportunities and threats.

These are not controlled by the firms.

You need to examine how well your competitors are prepared to deal with these external forces. Technological changes, economic factors, rules and regulations or even the entry of new competitors are all types of threats and opportunities a company can face.

A garment manufacturing company should analyse how well its competitors can cope with compliance to rules and regulations regarding the safety of its workers. Here again, you may find it useful to list each of your competitor’s threats and opportunities in colored boxes.

Determine your position

As soon as you know the condition of your competitors, you should be able to evaluate your business using the same ranking as your competitors. Redo the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities evaluation for your own business, to know where you stand.

When you have identified your position in the game you will be better able to decide upon your actions. You will know the areas where your strengths lie and where you need improvement.

The strategy is simple; capitalise on the strengths of your company and the weaknesses of your competitors. l

n Ahsan Sajid Friendliness and approachability at work are two major assets for anybody – employee or employer. It helps you get along with your colleagues better, it makes you the go-to person, those subordinate to you or higher up in the command chain usually seek you out for any work-related issue and clients prefer dealing with you. However, for every nice person at work, there is someone, or a group of someones, waiting to take advantage of this amiability.

It is not always just the nice people being taken advantage of: the gullible, shy and the new employees are also frequent victims. If you have a colleague repeatedly taking advantage of you by having you do his or her work, or covering for them in front of the boss, it may be time to take a stand.

Are you covering for your colleague?

Identify ways in which you are covering for your colleague. There is a difference between being supportive and enabling laziness. Are you finishing projects that are not your responsibility so the team does not look bad? Are you doing additional work because someone else’s performance impacts your job in the long run? Are you making excuses for others? Are you lying to your supervisor or boss on someone else’s behalf?

Is it interfering with your work?

It is good to be good. However, constantly covering for someone else eventually takes its toll. You may be spending less time with family than you should, constantly feeling anxious given the extra stress, your own work may be suffering and even worse – your boss might notice your quality deteriorating.

Talk to your colleague

Next time your colleague brings in half-finished work and expects you to take it from there, or bails on an important meeting and expects you to take notes for them, take them away from the floor to have a frank and private talk. Mention how their tardiness is affecting your work, and how you want to find common ground and avoid such problems in the future.

Do not be afraid to hurt feelings

You are having a professional talk, so

despite your close relationship, do not be afraid to get right to the point.

Explain how you feel personally and professionally impacted, and how you want to help them deal with their issues whatever they may be, but that you will not do their work for them. Be sure to state you are no longer going to cover for anybody’s inefficiency or ineptitude.

Stick to the decision

Having the talk is easier than following through, for those who are too nice for their own good. The cycle will not stop till you actually make it stop. A lot of people will continue to slack of even after your talk. Do not entertain such behaviours. If they come to you for help, make sure you remain steadfast with your original decision.

There is a difference between being supportive and enabling laziness Accept failure

There may be some general failures involved, which you will have to learn to accept. Allow your colleague to fail; you do not have to take the additional stress.

Even if it is impacting your overall work, the higher ups will notice who is doing their job and who is not as long as you are not making excuses for others. The only way your bosses will find the weak link in the chain is by seeing it themselves.

Your job is not to make everyone happy

If you find yourself in a situation where you are reverting to your old ways, remind yourself of where the road leads.

If you are helping someone write their emails today, you will end up making their PowerPoint presentations and progress reports tomorrow. The next time another colleague comes to you for help because of his or her own laziness, remind yourself where this kind of relationship will eventually head and make sure you tactfully refuse. This is not to say that you should become a difficult person to help with, become rude and refuse everyone’s request for help, but remember that you were not hired to make everyone happy. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Shiite militia tightens grip on Yemen after ‘coup’ n AFP, Sanaa

A picture taken yesterday, shows a destroyed terminal at Donetsk’s Sergey Prokofiev international airport

Yemen’s Shiite Huthi militia yesterday formed a “security commission,” consolidating its grip on power after a takeover denounced by opponents as a “coup” and condemned by the international community.

The declaration was followed by a blast outside the Huthi-controlled presidential palace, and a protest by thousands of people on the streets of Sanaa, witnesses said.

Gunmen loyal to the Shiite Muslim militia, which is also known as Ansarullah, fired into the air to disperse the demonstrators in the capital and detained 17 of them.

It was a second successive day of anti-Huthi protests in Sanaa and other cities after the militia dissolved parliament and created a “presidential council” Friday in a move it said was to fill a power vacuum.

The Shiite militia overran Sanaa in September and seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last month, prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah to tender their resignations.

In its announcement yesterday, the Huthi movement said Hadi’s defence minister, General Mahmud al-Subaihi, would chair its newly formed security commission, which also included the outgoing interior minister.

The security commission “will lead the country’s affairs until the establishment of a presidential council,” the Huthis said in a statement published by official Saba news agency, which they seized in January.

But Subaihi’s entourage reacted to the appointment with mistrust, because the general is considered close to Hadi, and suggested he was forced into accepting the post.

“We lost contact with him and we are concerned for his life,” Abdel Aziz Mansour, an aide to the general, told AFP. The Huthis’ move on Friday to tighten its grip on power triggered angry condemnation from powerful Sunni Muslim tribes, which branded it a “coup.”

Huthi television channel Al-Massira said militia chief Abdel Malek al-Huthi would address supporters later yesterday during celebrations in Sanaa’s northern suburbs. l

AFP

Merkel leads ‘last chance’ Ukraine peace drive ‘109 Boko Haram fighters n AP, Munich German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday it’s uncertain whether a flurry of diplomacy aimed at calming the crisis in Ukraine will succeed, and warned that there are no guarantees any deal would stick.

Merkel, speaking after two days of hastily arranged meetings in Kiev and Moscow, also bluntly underlined her opposition to the idea of supplying lethal weapons to the Ukrainian government.

Merkel offered no details of the proposals that have been thrashed out over recent days, which she plans to discuss in a phone call Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande.

The urgent diplomacy comes as Western anxiety over the conflict

grows and sanctions bite ever harder on Russia’s economy. More than 5,300 people have been killed since fighting began in April, according to a UN tally, and the bloodshed has markedly increased over the past two weeks.

The resurgent fighting has prompted the US to consider giving lethal weapons to Ukraine, an option opposed by European nations.

Negotiators’ aim is to draw up a possible joint document on implementing the much-violated September peace deal concluded in Minsk, Belarus.

“This conflict cannot be resolved by military means,” Merkel said at the Munich Security Conference. “It is all the more important now to set out substantial steps that serve to fill with life the Minsk agreement.”

Merkel said of the talks that “it is uncertain whether they will be suc-

IS hostage’s family hopeful she’s still alive

cessful, but it is from my point of view and that of the French president in any case worth making this attempt.”

The German leader acknowledged that experience to date of agreements being violated on the ground has been “disillusioning.”

Asked whether there are any guarantees a new agreement won’t suffer the same fate, she replied that “there are no theoretical guarantees.”

“After such experiences, I am very cautious with guarantees,” she said.

“The guarantee can only be keeping to what has been agreed ... but the answer can’t be not to make any more agreements. Of course we have to try again and again, at least I think so.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he “sincerely” hopes the latest diplomatic drive “will produce results, and those results will be sup-

n AP, Prescott The parents of a 26-year-old American who Islamic State extremists say was killed in an airstrike in Syria said in a statement addressed to group leaders that the claim of their daughter’s death concerned them but they were still hopeful she was alive.

The Islamic State group said on Friday that Kayla Jean Mueller of Prescott, Arizona, died in a Jordanian airstrike, but the government of Jordan dismissed the statement as “criminal propaganda,” and the US said it had not seen any evidence to corroborate the report.

Mueller is the only known remaining US hostage held by the Islamic State group.

If the death is confirmed, she would be the fourth American to die while being held by Islamic State militants.

Three others — journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid worker Peter Kassig — were beheaded by the group.

“You told us that you treated Kayla as your guest, as your guest her safety and well-being remains your responsibility,” Mueller’s family said in a short statement released Friday.

Mueller is an aid worker who previously volunteered with organisations in India, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Her identity had not been disclosed until now out of fears for her safety. Her family said she was taken hostage by the Islamic State group on Aug. 4, 2013, while leaving a hospital in Syria.

dead’ after first attack n AFP, Niamey Boko Haram launched its first major attack in Niger on Friday, triggering a forceful response from regional troops who claimed to have killed more than a hundred of the Islamists.

The clashes in Bosso and Diffa, along the border with Nigeria, marked yet another expansion of violence attributed to Boko Haram, but it seemed to have come at a heavy cost.

Niger’s defence minister reported that 109 of the Islamists were killed, along with four soldiers and a civilian.

Seventeen other troops were wounded.

Chadian forces, who have taken a lead role in battling Boko Haram in recent days, fought alongside Niger’s troops on Friday. Chad’s commander

UN Security Council aims to dry up IS group financing United Nations n AFP, United States

Kayla Jean Mueller

ported by the parties to this conflict.”

As soon as Kiev and eastern Ukrainian separatists agree on practical details of implementing the Minsk deal, “I am sure that Russia will be among those parties that will guarantee the implementation of this agreement,” Lavrov told the conference.

“But you can only guarantee what has already been achieved.”

The United States and other Western countries contend Russia has supplied troops and equipment to the separatists in eastern Ukraine who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April. Russia denies the claims.

Merkel said she is “very doubtful” about the wisdom of supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, underlining fears in Europe that a move advocated by some in the US would merely make the situation worse. l

AP

“The common thread of Kayla’s life has been her quiet leadership and strong desire to serve others,” Mueller’s family said.

Jordan has been launching airstrikes against the extremist group in response to a video released this week that shows captive Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned to death in a cage.

Al-Kaseasbeh, whose F-16 came down in December while conducting airstrikes as part of a campaign against the militants by a US-led coalition, was believed to have been killed in early January.

The Islamic State group said in a statement Mueller was killed in the militants’ stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria during midday prayers in airstrikes that targeted “the same location for more than an hour.”

It published photos purportedly of the bombed site, showing a severely damaged three-story building, but offered no proof or images of Mueller.

The statement said no Islamic State militants were killed in the airstrikes, raising further questions about the veracity of the claim.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said it was investigating.

“But as a first reaction, we think it’s illogical and we are highly skeptical about it. How could they identify a Jordanian warplane ... in the sky? What was the American lady doing in a weapons warehouse?” al-Momani said. l

The UN Security Council plans to adopt a resolution next week aimed at halting funding to Islamic State militants from oil, antique trafficking and ransoms, diplomats said.

A draft text, drawn up by Russia, was distributed to the 15 member countries ahead of closed-door discussions.

The resolution was completed after dialogue with the United States and Europe. It draws largely on previous UN sanctions on organisations and individuals affiliated with Al-Qaeda, particularly the freezing of assets and an arms embargo.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, anticipating adoption of the res-

olution on Tuesday, spoke of a “very positive” response to the measure.

British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said no country had raised opposition to the resolution.

“I don’t think this is a fundamental shift but it is an additional legislative act by the council,” he said. “It demonstrates our determination to tackle ISIL.” The council in August adopted a resolution to cut off sources of financing and the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria, warning countries they could face sanctions if they trade in oil with the Islamists.

“These are already pretty robust, binding obligations and our goal was to expand and clarify and drill down what these obligations mean, how they

apply in the context of oil smuggling particularly,” a US official said on condition of anonymity.

The official added that the text should be adopted next week, but clarified that its enforcement would be difficult due to the multitude of intermediaries who deal with the jihadists.

“We hope these norms and provisions will have a real impact,” he said.

One of the resolution’s provisions specifically prohibits the trafficking of art and antiquities from Syria, where IS controls a substantial swath of territory. A similar ban already applies to Iraq.

It also reiterated that member states are obliged to refrain from direct trade of oil with IS. l

Can Greece’s new government keep its promises n AP, Athens Greece’s new prime minister came to power two weeks ago riding a wave of hope for change. But his pledge to rewrite the bailout agreement that has kept the country afloat for nearly five years doesn’t depend on him alone.

Agreement by the other European countries which contributed to the 240-billion-euro ($272-billion) bailout is essential. So far, it hasn’t been forthcoming.

The big question is how many, if

any, of his promises Alexis Tsipras can keep without risking a potentially disastrous Greek exit from Europe’s multinational currency, the euro.

A crucial indication of which direction the government intends to go in comes on Sunday, when Tsipras presents his government’s policy plan in parliament. A three-day debate culminates in a confidence vote late Tuesday.

“If the policy statements are as hard as the pre-election ones ... you understand that we’re heading to a

big clash, and I think the markets will move accordingly,” said Nick Kafkas, head of research and analysis at Merit Securities.

Tsipras and his finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, have crisscrossed Europe over the past week to drum up support for their plan to reach a new agreement with European countries.

Their argument is that after nearly five years, it’s obvious the current system of austerity-linked reforms is not working and the level of debt is so high it can never be repaid. l

in Niger, General Yaya Daoud, was also wounded with a gunshot to the stomach, a security source said.

Niger’s Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo said calm had been restored to both Bosso and Diffa.

The clashes in Niger came as regional efforts intensified to battle Boko Haram, which has waged a six-year insurgency centred in northeastern Nigeria, where the Islamists have seized swathes of territory.

The conflict has killed at least 13,000 people and forced more than a million from their homes since 2009.

Niger announced Thursday that on Monday it would ask its parliament to approve sending troops to Nigeria to fight the militants alongside Chadian and Cameroon soldiers. l

Iran warns West that pragmatist Rouhani at risk from talks failure n Reuters Iran’s foreign minister has warned the United States that failure to agree a nuclear deal would likely herald the political demise of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian officials said, raising the stakes as the decade-old stand-off nears its end-game.

Mohammad Javad Zarif pressed the concern with US Secretary of State John Kerry at several meetings in recent weeks, according to three senior Iranian officials, who said Iran had also raised the issue with other Western powers. Zarif’s warning has not been previously reported.

Western officials acknowledged that the move may be just a negotiating tactic to persuade them to give more ground, but said they shared the view that Rouhani’s political clout would be heavily damaged by the failure of talks.

The warning that a breakdown in talks would empower Iran’s conservative hardliners comes as the 12-year-old stand-off reaches a crucial phase, with a March deadline to reach a political agreement ahead of a final deal by June 30.

The agreement aims to end sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program, though hard-tobridge differences remain, particularly on the timing of the relief on economic sanctions and the duration of the deal.

Both US President Barack Obama and Rouhani, who Iranian officials say has staked his career on the deal, are facing stiff domestic opposition to an agreement, narrowing the scope for compromise. l

Rights group: Syria death toll now exceeds 210,000 n Reuters The death toll after nearly four years of civil war in Syria has risen to 210,060, nearly half of them civilians, but the real figure is probably much higher, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday.

The Observatory, which is based in Britain and has a network of activists across Syria, said that 10,664 chil-

dren and 6,783 women were among the dead.

Peaceful protests against four decades of rule by President Bashar al-Assad’s family in March 2011 degenerated into an armed insurgency following a fierce security crackdown, with the sectarian nature of the conflict echoing across the Middle East.

The Observatory’s toll could not be independently verified by Reuters.

The rights group said it had counted 35,827 Syrian rebels killed and 45,385 from Assad’s army.

But the group’s chief, Rami Abdul Rahman, said the true toll on both sides was likely to be much higher – perhaps by more than 85,000.

Abdul Rahman said all the cases included in its 210,000 death count were those it could verify with either name and identification documents,

or pictures or videos.

Groups on both sides try to hide their casualties, he said, making the fighter death toll very difficult to gauge.

Syria had a population of some 23 million before the outbreak of the war.

Beside the dead and injured, the United Nations says some 3.73 million Syrians have fled the country and officially registered as refugees abroad. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Sunday, February 8, 2015

North Korea testfires new anti-ship cruise missile n Reuters North Korea has test-fired a new anti-ship cruise missile, images released by state media yesterday showed, demonstrating the increased capability of the secretive state’s outdated navy.

The images were released in the lead-up to US-South Korean military exercises this spring. North Korea routinely seeks to raise tensions ahead of the annual drills, although this year Pyongyang has also offered to suspend nuclear testing if Washington calls off the exercises.

The images, which were shown on the front page of the ruling Workers’ Party Rodong Sinmun newspaper, showed leader Kim Jong Un observing the missile being fired from a small naval vessel.

State media described it as a “new type of cutting-edge anti-ship rocket” developed by North Korean scientists that will “bring a great change in the navy’s defense of territorial waters.”

The missile appeared identical in design to a Russian anti-ship missile, the KH-35, which is capable of flying at high speeds meters above the sea.

“It looks exactly like a KH-35,” said Jeffrey Lewis of the Califor-

nia-based Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Last June, Lewis was the first to spot what appeared to be an unconfirmed glimpse of the missile in a North Korean propaganda video.”It is a capable anti-ship cruise missile that puts some teeth in recent statements about developing anti-ship capabilities,” said Lewis, referring to North Korean naval exercises last month that state media said were designed to target US aircraft carriers.

North Korea has increased the number of air and naval military drills in recent weeks, ahead of the annual USSouth Korean military exercises on the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang regularly protests over the drills, which it says are a rehearsal for war. Officials from isolated North Korea, under increased pressure from international sanctions related to its nuclear and missile programs, have made frequent trips to Russia over the past year, where leader Kim Jong Un is scheduled to make his first official state visit this May. “The design raises a question about whether, when, and under what circumstances, Moscow might have assisted North Korea in the development of the system,” Lewis said. l

Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, leader Arvind Kejriwal displays the indelible ink mark on his finger after casting his vote in New Delhi, India yesterday. Voters cast ballots in the Indian capital yesterday in an election that is seen as a litmus test for the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Opinion polls ahead of the vote to choose New Delhi’s 70-member assembly suggest that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is either locked in a close contest with the upstart Common Man’s Party or will come in second AP

Bihar CM Manjhi may be IOM: Afghan families flee persecution in expelled from JD(U) Pakistan after school attack n Agencies

In a dramatic turn of events in Patna yesterday, the Janata Dal (United) expelled rebel Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi from the party and appointed Nitish Kumar as the chief of Bihar legislative party.

Earlier in the day, Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi appealed to governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to dissolve the state assembly in the wake of the political deadlock in the state.

State finance minister Bijendra Yadav said Jitan Ram Manjhi proposed dissolution of Bihar assembly at the Cabinet meeting, getting the support of 7 ministers, and opposed by 21 pro-Nitish Kumar ministers.

The Bihar governor accepted CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s recommendation to sack PK Shahi and Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lallan’.

Manjhi had sent a recommendation to Keshari Nath Tripathi to sack the two state cabinet ministers, who are reportedly close to Nitish Kumar and are also supporting the removal of Manjhi from his chief ministerial post.

Earlier, Manjhi, who has been defying the party leadership’s directive of resigning, drove to the residence of his mentor Nitish Kumar with whom he has been locked in tussle.

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, who has called a meeting of JD(U) legislature party later in the day, was also present.

Senior pro-Manjhi ministers Narendra Singh and Brishen Patel accompanied the chief minister in his car.

This meeting came at a time when speculations are rife that Manjhi will be sacked by the Janata Dal (United), with a view of reinstating Nitish Kumar to the top post. l

Japan to lower voting age to 18 n AFP, Tokyo

Divers may have found crashed AirAsia co-pilot’s body

The Japanese parliament is expected to lower the voting age to 18 from 20 currently, a report said yesterday, in the first such change to the law in seven decades.

Six ruling and opposition parties have agreed to submit the necessary legislation later this month, with the Diet (Japan’s legislature) due to approve the change by early May, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said. If approved, the proposed change would add some 2.4 million new voters to the electorate, granting them the right to participate in elections as soon as the summer of 2016, when a vote for the Diet’s upper house will be held. l

n AFP, Jakarta Indonesian divers have found a body believed to be the French co-pilot who was steering an AirAsia plane when it crashed in December with 162 people onboard, an official said yesterday.

Coordinator of the search and rescue effort S.B. Supriyadi said the body was retrieved from the front part of the fuselage during a search operation on Friday.

“It is likely the body of the French co-pilot, wearing uniform with three

n Reuters Thousands of Afghan families are fleeing Pakistan to escape harassment after a deadly Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar last December, the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Afghanistan said yesterday.

More than 22,000 undocumented Afghans flocked across the border at Torkham in January, more than twice the figure for the whole of 2014, said Richard Danziger, the IOM’s mission chief in Afghanistan.

Almost 1,500 others were deported in the same month, double the number of deportees in December.

“It all started with the attack on the school in Peshawar,” Danziger told Reuters. “When something horrible happens, people start taking it out on foreigners.”

stripes on (the) shoulder,” he told AFP, adding that the body is still being held onboard the Pacitan warship before being taken to land.

A formal confirmation will be given after the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team finish identifying the body, which is in poor condition, Supriyadi said.

Indonesian investigators last month said French co-pilot Remi Plesel was flying the plane before it crashed, rather than Captain Iriyanto, an experienced former fighter pilot.

Taliban militants attacked a school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar in December, killing more than 130 children and prompting Pakistan to step up operations against insurgent hideouts along the border with Afghanistan.

More than 22,000 undocumented Afghans flocked across the border at Torkham in January Cooperation between Afghan and Pakistani security forces has also improved since the attack and has led to the arrest of suspects in Afghanistan, where officials believe it was planned

Flight QZ8501 went down in stormy weather on December 28 in the Java sea during what was supposed to be a short trip from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Divers also found three bodies inside the main body of the plane on Friday and another three bodies near the fuselage today, bringing a total number of dead retrieved to 101, Supriyadi said.

Rescue services are still trying to lift the fuselage from the seabed using giant inflatable bags after earlier attempts failed. l

China seizes toilet paper bearing image of HK leader

n AP, Beijing

Authorities in southern China have seized about 8,000 rolls of toilet paper and another 20,000 packages of tissues containing unflattering images of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive, according to an official of the small political party that placed the order.

The items were to be sold at a market in Hong Kong during Lunar New Year celebrations later this month, said Lo Kin-hei, a vice chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party.

The seizure came after Hong Kong was shaken by a massive pro-democracy movement in which demonstrators demanded greater electoral freedom than Beijing is willing to grant.

During the demonstrations, protesters expressed anger at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, calling him a puppet of Beijing, and asked him to step down.

No reason was given for the seizure of the $12,900 worth of goods in the city of Shenzhen, outside of Hong Kong, Lo said. l

Rolls of toilet paper and packages of tissue paper printed with images of pro-Beijing Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying are shown by Hong Kong Democratic Party Vice Chairman Lo Kin-hei at his office in Hong Kong yesterday AP

by the Pakistani Taliban.

However, Afghans living in Pakistan are reporting incidents of harassment such as raids on their homes and police coercion, the IOM and other officials said.

Most of the Afghan families settled in Pakistan decades earlier and have nowhere to go once they return, Danziger said.

“Their lives are in Pakistan,” he said, adding it was unclear how long they would remain in Afghanistan.

The flow of undocumented returnees increased steadily in January, from around 350 in the first week to 1,400 in the final week of the month.

Danziger said it was difficult to predict when the numbers of refugees would ease.

The unexpected arrival of thousands of people is pressuring Afghan-

istan’s limited resources and only the most vulnerable are receiving assistance.

“We are down to helping the most desperate there,” Danziger said, adding that resources had been diverted from the Iranian border.

Families lucky enough to qualify for help receive medical care, food and temporary shelter, but the IOM says it needs another $1.6m to cope with an additional 17,000 vulnerable returnees this year.

Most refugees are moving to nearby provinces including Kunar, the IOM said, where fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants has recently intensified.

Others are heading for Kabul, where resources for thousands of internally displaced people settled there are already seriously strained. l

Woman’s stool transplant leads to ‘tremendous weight gain’ n BBC A woman has dramatically gained weight after a stool transplant from her daughter, doctors report.

It is a genuine medical procedure to transplant healthy bacteria into a diseased gut, but US doctors think it may have affected her waistline.

She quickly gained 36lb (16kg) and is now classed as obese, the case report in Open Forum Infectious Diseases says.

A UK expert said the link between gut bugs and obesity was still unclear.

A faecal microbiota transplant - also referred to by some as a “transpoosion” - is like an extreme version of a probiotic yogurt.

The aim is to introduce good bacteria into the gut and it was officially backed by the UK health service last year.

New treatment It is used when people have stubborn Clostridium difficile infection in their bowels.

This can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain and cannot always be treated with antibiotics.

The 32-year old woman, who has not been indentified, had an infection that could not be treated with even the most powerful antibiotics.

Dr Colleen Kelly, from the Medical School at Brown University, said the option of a faecal transplant was discussed and the woman wanted to use a relative - her daughter.

The daughter was overweight at the time and was on her way to becoming obese.

The procedure did clear the woman’s infection.

But Dr Kelly told the BBC News website: “She came back about a year later

and complained of tremendous weight gain.

“She felt like a switch flipped in her body - to this day she continues to have problems.”

She started with a Body Mass Index of 26. Sixteen months after the procedure she had a BMI of 33 and three years after it, a BMI of 34.5.

Caution Previous research has shown that transplanting gut bacteria from obese people into mice led to the animals gaining weight.

Dr Kelly said limited conclusions could be drawn from a single patient, but called the case a warning as “there’s not a lot on safety evidence out there.”

Dr Kelly has now changed her practices and “as a result I’m very careful with all our donors don’t use obese people.”

Dr Andreas Karatzas, from Reading University, said: “You have to bear in mind that this person was saved.

She quickly gained 36lb (16kg) and is now classed as obese “If you run the risk of losing a patient, you don’t bother about what could happen 20 years later.”

However, he said the evidence that gut bacteria affected human waistlines was still inconclusive.

“There is some evidence in animals, but we have to be careful - it is a different organism. Just because it happens in animals doesn’t mean it happens in humans as well.” l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, February 8, 2015

CODE-CRACKER

Sanity must be restored

P

olitical leaders must heed the call being made today by members of the FBCCI for the government and BNP to peacefully resolve their differences.

The past month has caused huge carnage and injury to innocent members of the public. The FBCCI’s demonstration today is a reminder that blockades and strikes have also needlessly caused massive economic damage.

For the sake of the nation’s future, the mindless political impasse has to end.

Both the government and BNP must step back from actions which prolong their deadly stand off.

It makes no sense for the BNP to continually call hartals and say they are only intended as peaceful protests, when it is clear that calls for blockades and strikes are giving license to senseless individuals willing to carry out sickening acts of violence.

Calling a further hartal at this time shows a deep lack of concern for public safety and gives the government a further excuse to stand firm.

It would be better advised to keep its civil disobedience strategy purely peaceful.

This does not mean however that the government does not also share responsibility.

By not allowing meaningful political space to the BNP and permitting it to hold peaceful rallies in the capital last month, the government’s very high-handedness has helped bring this situation about.

It is not sufficient for the prime minister to ask for more public support against violence, if the government does not itself work to calm the situation through its actions.

If the government is to gain public support in the long term, it cannot both lock up BNP leaders and blame them for violence.

It must use its authority to calm the situation through peaceful dialogue. The public needs all politicians to behave more responsibly.

For the sake of the nation’s future, the impasse has to end

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

Dhaka is no Rome Fuadalee Yet its leaders fiddle while the people burn ...

January 24 Do the images of suffering people not affect the minds of the government or the opposition?

Ignis Fatuus Sadly “street” is still the mercury of political thermometer in the outer layer of BD politics. The source of abnormality, often intentionally avoided, and the resultant catastrophe plays in the minds of people who are ultimately the sufferers … this should be stopped by the forces concerned. rose For how long will the existing blockade continue?

Big screen celebrities protest Hindi film release, call off productions January 23

Faruq Hasan The only thing destroying our film industry are our own films. Start making better movies.

Shahtab Rahman They should stop making third grade movies then.

That might attract some crowd.

Tanvir Ullah Well then, make better movies!

The press is watching

I

t is outrageous no public apology has been made by authorities to Nazmul Huda Suman, the correspondent for New Age, who was beaten up by police officers at Ramna last Sunday evening.

There is never any excuse for police brutality. For a journalist to be assaulted in such a way during the course of their duties amounts to an attack on press freedom.

Dhaka University Journalists Association is right to express concern that the assault on Suman is an affront to free speech and an attack on the rights of all citizens.

It is clear from the record of serious head injuries received by the journalist and a fellow victim, that he was badly beaten up while in police custody.

It is deeply troubling the assault continued long after the initial altercation, which arouse outside over an argument about pillion riding, and was carried on further by a group of officers both inside a police van and at the police station.

This case is a test of how seriously the government and authorities take the rights of the press.

The police are servants of the public with a duty to uphold the law.

It is vital for the public interest that all police officers responsible for unlawful actions are brought to book.

We note the Metropolitan Magistrate has ordered a joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of police to investigate the incident and submit a report by March 10.

We will be watching, and await the report with anticipation.

This case is a test of how seriously authorities take the rights of the press

Saqif Nayeem Khan Shows that they have doubts on the quality of their own work and are reluctant to change it. How pathetic.

Sajeed Sarwar Farab If it was not for Hindi movies then we would still be stuck in the 80s or 90s. Rather than banning the imports, our local directors should be encouraged to come up with better storylines rather than those cheap “Chowdhury shaheb” plots. Competition is good for them, as it leads to change.

Adnan Qader I don’t get it. The industry has no A-grade productions except a few which are all war-related.

And trust me, those films will not lose any audience.

Second: The films are either third-grade cinemas or pornos. Yes, I count “Put Koira Dimu” as porn, as it objectifies women. Quality of films?

The rest are either copies of Hindi films and Hollywood films. Oh the irony! We really don’t need to see the Bengali cinemas.

The plot is simple. Get a rich girl … take a poor guy. Take an angry villain. Good always wins. The mother dies. “Dhushumai” fight scenes, and voila: They get married. Come up with decent films.

Seriously, Ananta Jalil was unique, and we loved him for that. And yes you saw the support he got. I am not pro-hindi. None of us are. But guys, if I have to choose between “Put Koira Dimu” and PK, I will choose PK. Mula Ram Until the last decade, our industry was still churning out such idiotic movies.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 23 represents H so fill H every time the figure 23 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

Karl Hungus Very well written. The piece has (possibly inadvertently) opened a different can of worms by pointing at the country’s baffling centralisation in Dhaka. sattar Brilliant piece from Ziauddin Choudhury. Rational and non-partisan as always. We want to read more from him!

Governing (for) the people January 25

George Good piece and a timely reminder on what is causing so much political apathy and disillusionment here. Refreshing to see this being discussed in what is (for me) a foreign paper.

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.

Zero-Agenda At least the UK parliament (or even the parliament of virtually any other country, for that matter) have the decency to not devolve into mindless ranting and thuggery like the messy institution we have here in Bangladesh.

Shabnaz Zero-Agenda: It’s a sad world where we have to consider whether it is better for parties to be inept but open about said ineptitude or selfish but supposedly interested in the electorate.

Bangladesh burning January 26

acitizenabroad Read it and wept.

MS People are starting to wake up. That is a good sign.

Do not get afraid by seeing the clouds, the sun is shining behind them after all.

The biggest patriots of all

January 26 rose Actions speak louder than words. It seems that neither the government nor the opposition party care much about the development of this country. What exactly is the solution to this predicament?

Abellard the Greek-lover Love the bits of sarcasm in this article!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Members of a play (4) 5 Added clause (5) 9 Shrewd (6) 10 Respectful fear (3) 11 Avoid (4) 12 Ship of the desert (5) 14 Charge with a debt (5) 16 Article (4) 19 Wicked giant (4) 21 Cosy retreats (5) 24 Bulky in figure (5) 27 Trick (4) 29 Sorrowful (3) 30 Essay on a theme (6) 31 Musical drama (5) 32 English county (4)

DOWN 1 Ready money (4) 2 Tree (3) 3 Atelier (6) 4 Melody (4) 5 Repeats from memory (7) 6 Water storage (3) 7 Female sheep (3) 8 Becomes less tense (5) 13 Consumed (3) 15 Priest’s stiff square cap (7) 17 Misapplication (6) 18 Mustering rope (5) 20 Wildebeest (3) 22 Difficult overland journey (4) 23 Keen relish (4) 25 Faucet (3) 26 Lyric poem (3) 28 Wrongdoing (3)

Dreampie I nearly lost bowel control at “queen of blockades”!

Tk1 lakh bounty for aids in arresting anarchists January 22

Iftekhar Sikder Is this under the ministry of industries?

Private grief, public moment

January 26 Karl Hungus A poignant homage to a troubled individual and an even more troubled family. An excellent read.

Sylhet polytechnic principal’s house attacked

January 26 M Sirajullah Very good. Institutes should not spend its fund for religious purposes. The students can organise religious functions of their own. We did this even during the British rule.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

7 suspected robbers lynched in Narsingdi PEANUTS

January 26 M Sirajullah Congratulations! This is the beginning of true independence. We need to take care of ourselves like this.

Moncho to hold candlelight vigil protesting killings

January 23 BS Let’s not allow the government, I repeat, “the government,” to act and behave like the opposition party. The government, ruling party, and the opposition party are three distinct entities. Let’s all work to make our politicians behave differently when in the government, something that has not been done yet in Bangladesh.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, February 8, 2015

The long-term price tag n Aaqib Md Shatil

H

BIGSTOCK

Epic fail

W n Abak Hussain

hat a poor game the BNP has been playing. While the ruling party gets closer and closer to achieving its dream of a single-party government, the BNP is content to cheerfully take the rope it is being offered so that it can hang itself.

The latest in the long line of dishonorable moves committed by the party is its refusal to budge even for the sake of the children, specifically their education. Because of the sudden 72-hour hartal called by the BNP, which was later extended by another 36 hours, the SSC examination start date had to be pushed back twice, before finally kicking off on Friday.

If these students go to the exam hall and don’t perform their best, can you really blame them? Doing well in an exam is as much about being ready on that particular day as it is about learning the syllabus material. It is possible to ace a test one day, and not do so well another day, depending on how you feel.

How do the kids feel about all this? Can they be expected to wake up bright and early on exam day, brimming with optimism about their future? It’s hard to think of one good reason why they should put any faith in their education system, when all they get in return for their months of

preparation is having it all yanked out from underneath their feet. Our two parties just can’t do politics without stepping on a few million dreams.

The education minister had made an appeal not to enforce a hartal during the SSC exams. The BNP’s response was a threat to enforce an even tougher hartal from Sunday onwards.

The message from the party is loud and clear: We couldn’t care less about the wellbeing of children and whether or not they get to earn those silly certificates. The hartals must go on as long as they have to.

bombs hurled at them.

And then, refrain from causing any trouble on those days. Let there be peace and quiet in the streets so that kids can go take their exams on the day they had marked on their calendar many months ago. Khaleda has severe beef with the Awami League, and wants a fresh election under a non-partisan government – fair enough. She could have gained some favour for her party by letting her countrymen know that in spite of these grievances, the BNP is at least principled enough to not cause dam-

Why not, for a while, just pretend to care about the future of young people? Let them go take their exams in peace

Here’s a different sort of idea for the BNP: Why not, for a while, just pretend to care about the future of young people? Let them go take their exams in peace – whether SSC, HSC, O levels, A levels, whatever. Declare to the public that you don’t want children to be harmed; not by having their schooling disrupted, and certainly not by having

age to the tenderest of minds.

Many candidates for O and A level exams in Dhaka and Khulna had their exams cancelled because of the state of things. The British Council simply did not feel they could go ahead with it. These students will have to wait till the next session, which is either six months or a year away.

Even then, there’s no guarantee that the political situation will stabilise. This is more than enough time for the students to forget everything they have studied, and lose all motivation to continue trying to do better.

Going to school shouldn’t have to be like this. We shouldn’t need police, RAB, and BGB deployed all over to ensure that national exams can indeed take place and that students are not attacked. But still, it’s better than nothing, and the fact that the exams did kick off – whether they will finish on schedule is too soon to tell – is a positive note in an overwhelmingly dreary state of affairs. This is a stressful time, not just for exam candidates, but also for the parents and guardians who feel that their children deserved a better deal.

Sadly, it does not seem likely that either party chief will come around to caring about school-children. Their selfish brand of politics makes them unable to see beyond their own wants, and neither of them happens to be young. Sheikh Hasina is 67 years old, and Khaleda Zia is 69 (her date of birth varies depending on who you ask). It has been a long time since either of them went to school.

As for Khaleda, it has been a very long time since she learnt anything, and it is doubtful whether she will learn anything ever again. l Abak Hussain is Op-Ed Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

Fishermen as cannon fodder n Garga Chatterjee

I

n this world of breaking news and constant updates, we sometimes need some distance in time to digest the full implications of an event.

A good example is the recent “terrorboat” incident off the Porbandar coast of the Gujarat state of the Indian Union, where a boat caught fire (still unclear how) and sank without any known survivors.

The coastguard and the government at Delhi declared those on board as terrorists, and hence claimed to have foiled a major terror attack. This is especially significant given the maritime route taken by the Mumbai gunmen from Pakistan who had carried out major massacres a few years ago.

Most of the media (with a few but important exceptions) dutifully parroted the official version of things without serious analysis or factchecking. The incident revealed the state of our media. Beyond hysteria, this event will only go on to affect fishermen who earn their livelihood from those waters.

The media’s duty is first to truth and not to any other agency like the government or army or judiciary. That is why it is considered a separate pillar of democracy. That is why government

claims in cases of natural disaster casualties, riots, and many other such things are not taken at face value.

It is understood that the government has an agenda and that, like any other entity in the world, is self-interest. The media is answerable partly to its owners but more importantly, to the people at large.

The interest of the government and that of the people often do not coincide. This basic understanding of the lay of the land is lacking when information from various sources of the government or press releases of the armed forces or the coast guard or any other state agency is taken at face value.

All states and entities of power want to manufacture consent of the kind that helps themselves the most.

And the only way to resist that is to consistently doubt the versions of the powerful, and follow that up with intelligent investigations and analysis.

When such doubting is semicriminalised in public discourse, those are signs of dangerous times. One has reason to be very worried about the prevalent scenario in the Indian Union when senior journalist Praveen Swami is threatened and his effigies were by militant crowds for his reporting of certain loopholes and inconsistencies

in the government’s version of things in the Gujarat “terror-boat” incident.

During the 1970s, the Indira Congress government imposed media censorship to control the message. It turns out that now, by media ownership and public threats, the same kind of pressure can be exerted on those who might want to doubt the official version of things and probe deeper.

When gung-ho posturing happens, the pit-poor daily wage earners like fishermen ultimately pay for it

We do not even need an official declaration of emergency to produce a similar silence. The emerging media culture of blindly believing the government or the army or the police or for that matter anyone on certain sensitive matters without probing the substance of the claim gravely

undermines democracy, civil liberties, and people’s sovereignty.

Now that the media and the government have moved on to other hot pursuits, let’s turn to what has happened with other boats in the vicinity of the India-Pakistan coast. About three days after the “terror-boat” incident, Pakistan Marine Security Agency captured two fishing boats manned by Indian citizens.

When gung-ho posturing happens from security headquarters of India and Pakistan, the pit-poor daily wage earners like fishermen ultimately pay for it. The chattering-class and the elite, who are never at the receiving end of anything, do help in creating the atmosphere of animosity for which poor people have to pay, often with their lives.

We do not know when these poor fishermen will be released. Like perverted stamp-collectors, India and Pakistan collect alien fishermen in their jails and exchange them with each other during their periodic confidence-building measures for peace.

In this costly charade, fishermen are the cannon fodders of goodwill. This cruelty must end. l Garga Chatterjee is a freelance contributor.

He can be followed on twitter @gargac.

uman Rights Watch, the US-based international rights body, in its 656-page world report, spilled the beans about the rise of ISIS. While discussing the recent developments of Iraq, it remarked: “In Iraq, ISIS owes much of its emergence to the abusive sectarian rule of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the resulting radicalisation of the Sunni community.”

The human rights group pointed out that the rise of violent groups such as the ISIS is the product of governments’ tendencies to ignore rights abuses in their country. “Human rights violations played a major role in spawning or aggravating many of today’s crises,” Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said in the introduction to the World Report 2015.

It is too early to compare the situation of Iraq with Bangladesh. But the analysis of recent deaths and the rights abuses by all the groups do not rule out the possibilities of an extremist uprising in Bangladesh.

To analyse the recent turmoil in Bangladesh, one should go to the third week of November, 2013. When the then premier, Sheikh Hasina, decided to form a poll-time government to oversee the January 5 poll, one of the prominent Bangladesh dailies in their November 18 edition wrote: “BNP left with agitation only.” BNP, who decided to boycott the January 5 election, was left with no option but to take to the streets and resist the election that day.

From that day, the spate of deaths escalated in Bangladesh. Rampant deaths, either in the hand of law enforcement agencies, or by the lethal bomb attacks by miscreants backed by the opposition party, became an everyday matter in Bangladesh for three months.

But after the election took place on January 5, which was termed as a farce

by The Economist, the opposition men apparently went to ground. The largest opposition alliance refrained from further agitation and pleaded for a fresh election as soon as possible.

The opposition alliance’s decision of not disturbing the government was largely appreciated, and it was expected that a fresh midterm election would take place within a year as the Awami League publicly termed the last election a constitutional requirement.

But the situation worsened in 2014, especially for the opposition men amid their pulling themselves out from violent protests. From December 25 to January 27, in almost one month, 65 opposition activists were either killed or had disappeared.

At the year end, according to Ain O Salish Kendra, 128 crossfires took place in Bangladesh, which was 80% higher than in the last year. Along with a total of 88 incidents of disappearances and 147 deaths due to 664 incidents of political violence, more than 200 opposition activists lost their lives in 2014.

The root of the recent turmoil is not merely the banned protest and the confinement of the former prime minister of the country. The frequent rights abuses and the tendencies to ignore them by the government in Bangladesh played its role and paved the way for violence.

Apart from the incidents of last year, on the anniversary of the January 5 election, four were killed across the country. Another two died on

The toll of the violence keeps rising

the second day of the blockade in Noakhali. All of them were opposition activists who tried to rally in their area and were gunned down either by law enforcers or by the ruling party men.

The government held no one responsible for these killings and totally overlooked the deaths.

The deaths in the initial days of the blockade were like a message given by the government to the opposition camp which was clear as bell. They decoded it as a signal that they are left with no option but to stage ambush attacks to make their blockade a “success.”

The 20-party alliance cannot be crushed right now. Rather, any attempt will escalate the violence

As we see, the first death caused from petrol bomb attacks was reported on January 11, five days after the blockade began. The attacks on the vehicles turned extensive from the second week of the blockade, after a good number of futile attempts from opposition men to hold rallies on the streets.

In addition, after the deadly petrol bomb attack on a bus in Rangpur, the joint forces cracked down on the opposition men. In most of the cases, it was reported that houses of opposition activists were ransacked and many of them were picked up.

The government and the law enforcement agencies’ bosses gave a “shoot on sight” order, compelling the opposition activists to choose a “gypsy life” that escalated the violence further. Scores of people have been killed so far in the petrol bomb attacks and another many more in “gunfights” with law enforcers.

Jasmin Lorch, a research fellow at the Germany-based GIGA Institute of Asian Studies, opined that the AL has politicised the security apparatus of the country.

The fact that should be understood is, the 20-party alliance cannot be crushed right now. Rather, any attempt to put their existence in danger will escalate the violence and deaths.

There are at least 70 constituencies where BNP had never lost, except in the 2008 national election. At least 20 districts of the country are known as their bastions.

The formidable public support they have in those areas will never let the government put an end to the ongoing violence by killing BNP men extra-judicially. Moreover, such rights abuses will create a wider support base for them.

Therefore, the problem will have to be resolved politically, because, as HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth said: “The short-term gains of undermining those core values (of human rights) and the fundamental wisdom that they reflect are rarely worth the long-term price that must inevitably be paid.” l Aaqib Md Shatil is a blogger and member of Dhaka University Model United Nations Association.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, February 8, 2015

IN MEMORY OF THE MARTYRS We have kept our promise of qualifying for the semifinal and the final. We will now play for the martyrs of this nation.

This tournament last took place 15 years ago.

We will make history if we can win the title as we belong to the new generation. Every player in the team is ready and fit. They are also mentally ok. We will try to play compact and as a team. The fans’ support will help us in the final.

Mamunul Islam, Bangladesh football captain

AYS 6D O GO T

Sport

Did you know?

Harry Kane has now scored 11 goals in his last 14 competitive appearances for Tottenham

De Kruif’s time to shine n Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh booters enjoy their time beside the swimming pool in their team hotel yesterday

Tk10m cash reward awaits Mamunul and Co n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin declared a monetary award of Tk10m for the national football team, provided they win the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup against Malaysia Under-23 tomorrow at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Salahuddin held a meeting with the national side at the team hotel yesterday and motivated the players to perform to the best of their abilities for the sake of the country’s football. “The momentum is with you. You can present the nation a football title that has been alluring us for a long time. A title will also help us to develop the game. I hope you will rise to the occasion,” said Salahuddin to the players.

Prior to the start of the tournament, Salahuddin announced an incentive of Tk5m for the national team in the event

of them securing a semifinal berth.

Salahuddin said he has already fulfilled his promise. “It is our commitment to the national team. Tk5m has already been awarded. Another 5m will be added to the previous amount for being the champions,” added the BFF boss.

The third edition of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup has been a huge success with the crowds of Dhaka and Sylhet - the two venues hosting the international tournament. Every time the hosts played, the stadium was packed to the rafters. Even when the home side were not involved, the two stadiums – BNS and Sylhet District Stadium – were nearly full.

The interest shown by the football-loving people was not lost on Salahuddin.

“I enjoyed the scenario. Football is on the up again. We have to continue the trend,” Salahuddin concluded. l

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Bangladesh spinner Sohag Gazi breathed a huge sigh of relief after the International Cricket Council yesterday declared his bowling action legal and cleared the 23-year-old to resume his international career.

“It feels like a 500kg weight has been lifted from my body,” were the first words that came out of the offspinner, who has been instrumental behind Bangladesh’s successes in the past two years, upon hearing the news.

“I am very happy. I cannot even explain to you. I can console my parents as much as I can, but the fear within me was always there. If I had failed the test, I would have been set back by a year. I could not even imagine that.

You should remember I requested the board to give me this re-test so it was always challenging to me,” he added.

Gazi’s bowling action was first reported during Bangladesh’s second one-day international in the threematch away series to the West Indies last August. He was later suspended from bowling on October 8 last year before Gazi was allowed to bowl in domestic cricket last November

PROBABLE LINE-UPS Bangladesh (4-3-3) Shahidul Alam Sohel, Rayhan Hasan, Nasir Uddin, Yeasin Khan, Yeamin Munna, Jamal Bhuiyan, Mamunul Islam, Hemanta Vincent Biswas, Zahid Hossain, Sohel Rana, Jahid Hasan Emily Malaysia Under-23 (4-4-2) Mohammad Farhan, Ariff Farhan, Mohamad Syawal, Nazirul Naim, Annas, Amirul Hisyam, Mohammad Ridzuan, Muhammad Syazwan, Muhammad Faizat, Kumaahran, Adam Nor Before the third edition of the international tournament got underway, De Kruif, for the second time, was appointed the head coach of Bangladesh.

However, this time, he was only assigned for the Bangabandhu Gold Cup. Bangladesh’s progress to the final has left everyone wondering. In the event of a title win, what would the future hold for the Dutch coach? This is an answer that everyone must wait to find out. l

PLAYERS TO WATCH BANGLADESH

MALAYSIA

Hemanta Vincent Biswas

Muhammad Syazwan

Following his spectacular winner against Sri Lanka in the group stage last Monday in Dhaka, Hemanta attracted Thailand highest attention in the second semifinal in Dhaka two days ago. The young and talented midfielder was also one of Bangladesh’s brightest performers against Malaysia in the group stage. Despite being the youngest member of the squad, the former 18-year old Mohammedan midfielder has power, energy and goal-scoring ability.

The left winger of the Malaysian side is one of the most impressive performers of the tournament with a goal and two assists. His solitary goal against Bangladesh in the group stage earned his side their first victory in the tournament. He also played key roles in two of Malaysia’s other victories by providing an assist each against Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The winger, boasting silky individual skills, was often seen switching his position to the middle before drifting into the penalty area.

Zahid Hossain

Adam Nor

The pacy winger has been surprisingly consistent throughout the tournament. He was adjudged the man-of-the-match in the semis and was also Bangladesh’s top performer against Malaysia in the group stage. His quick movements and swiftness on the ball makes the opposition defenders’ sweat. So far, he has created the most goal-scoring chances for Bangladesh in this tournament. His link-up play with Hemanta will be pivotal if the hosts are to be successful.

The striker’s co-ordination with other players, onetouch football with Syazwan, work-rate and fast movement separates him from the rest of the side.

He looked dangerous in the opponents’ terrain for the entirety of the tournament. Adam was unlucky not to have a goal to his name as he hit the woodwork twice throughout the tournament. Capable of providing defence-splitting through passes and creating goal-scoring chances.

500kgs have been lifted from my body: Gazi n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh were not at their best when they faced Malaysia Under-23 in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup opener in Sylhet a while ago. As a result, the home side suffered a morale-shattering 1-0 defeat.

The scenario though has drastically changed since then. Following the opening match defeat, the hosts improved considerably, getting the better of Sri Lanka and Thailand U-23 on their way to the final.

Even though the hosts initially targeted a semifinal spot, the men in Red and Green now find themselves in the final. And they have the golden opportunity to avenge their defeat against the Malaysians earlier in the tournament.

Many believes that Bangladesh are perhaps playing their best football in recent times. As much as the footballers, Dutch head coach Lodewijk de Kruif also deserves some of the praise for changing around the fortunes of the national side – all in the matter of a few days.

De Kruif has experienced a rollercoaster ride as Bangladesh coach. The 45year old Dutchman though has learned to mix the good times with the bad.

Very few, however, will begrudge his place in the dugout when the Bangabandhu Gold Cup final kicks off at 5pm today at the big bowl. Many will remember his outpouring of emotions prior to

their semifinal clash against Thailand.

“The match is very important for the people of Bangladesh. A lot depends on this match. But, it is also important for a guy from Holland.”

Following an impressive 1-0 win over the Thais, De Kruif is just a step away from claiming the six-nation Bangabandhu Gold Cup. The title win will be significant for him for a lot of reasons.

following remedial work on his action.

The right-arm spinner, who has a total of 64 international wickets, worked on his action with national spin bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage and Bangladesh Cricket Board computer analyst Salahuddin before appearing for the re-test on January 24 in Chennai.

“It was always about my footing.

I am now bowling sideways, I should have done that earlier. Now I am bowling better, and with this modified action I have taken 17 wickets in the Dhaka Premier League and the eight-wicket haul in the NCL match I played last week. I am the same bowler,” he added.

However, the damage has already been done as Gazi, in the meantime, lost his central contract with the cricket board while he was also kept away from the 30-man World Cup preliminary squad.

The hard-working cricketer, who hails from Barisal, is looking beyond his missed chances as his biggest goal now is to retain his place in the Tigers line-up. He also said, “I hope to continue bowling well in the domestic competitions. Now I will bowl happily.” l

Tigers reach Sydney on eve of warm-up

Dominating Dhaka take on Ctg in NCL 4th round today n Minhaz Uddin Khan n Tribune Desk The third round of the 16th National Cricket League will get underway today across four venues in the country.

Table-toppers Dhaka division will take on second-bottom side Chittagong at BKSP 3 while second-placed Khulna will take on a spirited Rangpur in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

In the other matches of the third round, Dhaka Metro will encounter bottom-side Barisal in Fatullah while Rajshahi will lock horns with Sylhet at BKSP 2.

All the four-day matches will begin at 9:30am.

Dhaka and Khulna share the same number of points – 32 – but Dhaka lead the eight-team standings by virtue of a better net run rate.

Rangpur, Rajshahi and Dhaka Metro all have one win each from two matches while Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal are yet to open their account. l

The Bangladesh cricket team reached Sydney yesterday ahead of their first official warm-up match against Pakistan tomorrow at Blacktown Olympic Park Oval. The match will start at 9:30am.

Before reaching Sydney, the Tigers completed a two-week conditioning camp in Brisbane where they also played two unofficial practice matches against Australia XI at Allan Border

Field, losing both by five and six wickets respectively.

In their second official warm-up match this Thursday, Bangladesh will face Ireland at the same venue.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal will be looking to be fit for the clash against Pakistan as he missed both the unofficial practice matches. With the exception of Tamim, all the other members of the Tigers’ squad availed some much-needed match practice in the two unofficial matches. l

NCL RD 3 FIXTURES Barisal Dhaka Khulna Rajshahi

v v v v

Dhaka Metro, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet,

Fatullah BKSP 3 Mirpur BKSP 2

Bangladesh players pose for a selfie during their flight to Sydney from Birsbane, Australia yesterday COURTESY

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

13

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Injured Ishant out of World Cup n Cricinfo

QUICK BYTES

I’m no ego-centric show-off, says Australia’s Maxwell

India pacer Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the 2015 World Cup due to a knee injury and will return to India early next week*. Mohit Sharma, who is travelling in Australia with the team, is likely to take his place in the side, subject to the approval of the ICC’s event technical committee.

The injury had kept Ishant away from competitive cricket for more than a month. He last bowled in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in December before he was picked for the Australia Day ODI in Sydney which was abandoned due to rain. However, that was the only game he was picked for in the tri-series, as he injured his knee again before the ODI against England in Perth.

Mohit and Dhawal Kulkarni, who were part of the squad for the tri-series, have stayed back in Australia and trained with the full World Cup squad in Adelaide on Saturday. Ishant, however, did not bowl during the training session.

“I will be playing the warm-ups and am good to go,” Rohit said. “I had issues with my hamstring but over the past few days I have been working on it and recovered well thanks to the medical staff.” l

Allrounder Glenn Maxwell has admitted to being upset by the frequent criticism directed at him but most of all by the implication that he is not a team man dedicated to helping Australia win the World Cup. The enigmatic 26-year-old was saddled with the nickname “The Big Show” after receiving a million dollar Indian Premier League contract in 2013 just a few months after his international debut. That and his flamboyant batting have attracted the ire of some in Australia, including former test skipper Kim Hughes who branded his test performance against Pakistan last year as “diabolical”. “Sometimes it hits pretty close to home and you sometimes think it’s a personal attack,” Maxwell told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday.

“People are saying that I’m an egocentric show-off who doesn’t care for the team sometimes that hurts. “And I don’t really understand that. Every time I have ever played for whatever team, I have always tried to win the game for my team and have the team’s best interest at heart.”

–Reuters

Morocco banned from next two AFCONs Morocco have been banned from the next two African Nations Cup tournaments as punishment for withdrawing from hosting the 2015 finals over fears of the spread of the Ebola virus, CAF said on Friday. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has also been fined $1 million and ordered to pay 8.05 million euros ($9.12 million) in damages to the Confederation of African Football and their partners, CAF said in a statement. CAF’s executive committee rejected claims of force majeure from the FRMF and found the soccer governing body financially liable for the decision to withdraw from hosting the finals.

Morocco had asked for the continental tournament be postponed by a year to allow the Ebola outbreak in west Africa to be contained.

–Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 9:15 AM ICC Cricket WC Warm Up Match Australia v India 1: 40 AM Italian Serei A Inter Milan v Palermo

Star Sports 2 9:50 AM Ranji Trophy Odisha v Saurashtra 5:30 PM Hockey India League Ranchi Rays v Uttar Pradesh Wizards 7:30 PM Dabang Mumbai v Kalinga Lancers 10:00 PM Spanish La Liga Getafe CF v Sevilla FC 11:55 PM RCD Espanyol v Valencia CF

Star Sports 4 5:50 PM Barclays Premier League Burnley v West Brom 7:55 PM Newcastle United v Stoke City 10:05 PM West Ham v Manchester United 1:55 AM Spanish La Liga Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona

Neo Prime 8:30 PM Bundesliga Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen 10:30 PM Augsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt

Neo Sports 5:00 PM Fed Cup 2015: World Group Round Poland v Russia Singles & Doubles

Sony Six 12:45 AM Orange African Cup of Nations Final Cote De Ivore v Ghane

Ten Action 12:00 PM A League Western Sydney v Wellington Phoenix 10:00PM French Ligue 1 Nice v Nantes 2:00 AM Olympique Lyon v PSG

Ten HD 7:00 PM French Ligue 1 Guingamp v Monaco

Ivory Coastís players take part in a training session at Bikuy stadium in Bata on Friday ahead of their AFCON final against Ghana today

AFP

Ivory Coast face Ghana in ‘dream’ final n AFP, Bata Ivory Coast face what is likely to be their sternest test of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations when they tackle Ghana Sunday in what has been dubbed the ‘dream’ final.

Two of Africa’s football powerhouses are in dire need of a continental trophy after long, frustrating waits.

Ghana have won the Cup of Nations four times but their last conquest was 33 years ago, while the Ivorians only tri-

umph was in 1992 and, ironically, it was at the expense of Ghana.

Ivory Coast beat their west African neighbours 11-10 on penalties after 120 minutes of action did not produce any goals in Dakar.

In the absence of defending champions Nigeria and record seven-time winners Egypt, two of the continent’s most consistent teams will clash for African football’s biggest prize.

Both started this tournament slowly – the Ivorians needed to win their last group game against Cameroon to reach the knockout stage, while Ghana fought back from an opening-day loss to Senegal to make the final.

Former Nigeria skipper Sunday

Oliseh, who won the Cup of Nations in 1994 and came close to another title in 2000, has tipped Ivory Coast to win, but also warned Ghana are capable of causing an upset.

“Ivory Coast is clear favourite to win the final,” said Oliseh on his website.

“Player for player, Ivory Coast has better individuals than Ghana and they are playing better as a team now, especially when not in possession.

“Ghana are quite impressive and, with (Christian) Atsu and the Ayew brothers (Andre and Jordan), are becoming unpredictable and champion material.

“They go into this final as underdogs but with less pressure, unlike Ivo-

ry Coast, due to the fact that not many would have bet on them coming this far when the tournament kicked off.”

The “new generation” Black Stars have flourished under former Chelsea manager Avram Grant and displayed strong character throughout this campaign.

“The boys do not give up, they have fought till the end of every match,” remarked skipper Asamoah Gyan, who remains an injury doubt after sustaining an abdominal injury in the quarter-final against Guinea.

Ivory Coast, on the other hand, have been tactically shrewd and well organised when they do not have the ball.

They have been able to combine tal-

ented stars like Yaya Toure and Gervinho with hard-working team-mates.

Gervinho said they are gunning for history against Ghana.

Tallo Gadji Celi was born in 1992, the year his uncle Gadji Celi led the Elephants to Cup of Nations glory and now hopes he can write his own name into history.

The Bastia striker said victory in the final will be dedicated to Ivorian legend Didier Drogba, who retired from international football last year.

“Didier Drogba, our model, our strength, we love you. It will also be for you if we make it,” said the player who wears the No.11 shirt worn with distinction by Drogba. l

Bat restrictions ‘ridiculous’: Morgan

Pakistan’s Ajmal cleared to bowl a week before World Cup

n Reuters, Sydney

n Reuters

England skipper Eoin Morgan has slammed as “ridiculous” plans to restrict the size of cricket bats to try and stem the flow of runs in the one-day game.

International Cricket Council chief David Richardson said last week the global governing body would consider restricting the depth of bats, saying a larger “sweet spot” was making run-scoring easier.

England batsman Morgan could not have been clearer in his opposition and posited the view that recent rule changes had, if anything, shifted the balance towards the bowling team.

“I think it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” Morgan told a pre-World Cup news conference on Saturday.

“The fact that you can concentrate on the bat size, where the rule changes have been made so that you bowl with two new balls.

“The ball is never any older than 25

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been cleared to bowl after passing biomechanic tests on his remodelled action, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Saturday.

“At the retests, it was revealed that the amount of elbow extensions in both the off-spinners’ bowling actions for all their deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance...” the world governing body said.

“The umpires are still at liberty to report Saeed Ajmal in the future if they believe they are displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal actions from the retests.”

Spin spearhead Ajmal pulled out of Pakistan’s World Cup preliminary squad in December with the board ruling out any chance for the 37-year-old to get his remodelled action cleared before the Feb. 14-March 29 tournament.

But he has not given up hope of playing in the showpiece competition.

overs and you have an extra man in the circle. That’s a point in itself. I’ve not come across a bat yet where I’ve said ‘this is ridiculous’.”

South Africa captain AB de Villiers hit a one-day century off just 31 balls against West Indies last month, pummelling 16 sixes in his 44-ball innings of 149.

England meet co-hosts Australia in their opening match of the World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) next Saturday. l

Dhoni sees open World Cup, pressure on hosts

Hawkeye, Realtime Snicko for WC n Cricinfo Real-time Snicko and Hawkeye ball-tracking will be used, while Hot Spot will be absent from DRS deliberations at the World Cup in what looms as the final ICC event for the review system in its current form.

The ICC’s cricket operations manager Geoff Allardice confirmed the entire DRS system was to be reviewed and perhaps re-imagined between now and the next major event - the 2017 Champions Trophy to be hosted by England. A review of the entire DRS system, in use in various forms since 2008, is set to land on Allardice’s desk at the ICC headquarters in Dubai in the second half of 2015.

When combined with India’s longtime intransigence, that report may mark significant changes to the system, meaning the 2015 World Cup may come to be seen as 1987’s was - the last event to be played in whites and without any day/night matches scheduled. For now, Allardice confirmed the format of the DRS for the next six weeks, explaining that Hot Spot was largely ruled out due to the cost and difficulty of getting the required equipment to all venues. l

“Obviously if an emergency arises I am available for the World Cup even with my modified action although I would like to do more work on my modified action and new deliveries,” he told reporters in Lahore.

“I am really delighted today at my action being cleared but I want to return to top cricket when totally comfortable I can repeat my old performances,” Ajmal said. “It has been a hard time for me and it is not easy to have had my World Cup plans disrupted. But the bad times are now over and it is the start of a new phase of cricket for me,” he added.

Ajmal, who has taken 178 test, 183 one-day international and 85 Twenty20 wickets is likely to return to the national side against Bangladesh in April.

“I don’t have any plans to retire and want to play for another three to four years,” he said.

Pakistan, World Cup winners in 1992, begin their campaign against arch-rivals and defending champions India in Adelaide on Feb. 15. l

n Reuters

Brand ambassador of the ICC World Cup 2015 Sachin Tendulkar poses for a photograph with the 2011 trophy during a promotional event in Mumbai yesterday AFP

The cricket World Cup could be won by any one of the “balanced” six or seven teams in the fray, according to India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

South Africa and Australia are seen as the favourites for the Feb. 14-March 29 tournament, while co-hosts New Zealand also loom as most people’s third pick given a strong run of form at home against fellow contenders Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“I feel this World Cup, most of the teams, they are quite balanced, and most of the teams are looking good,” Dhoni said in a pre-World Cup media conference on Saturday.

“When I say most, it’s in excess of six or seven teams that I’m talking about. So I feel it will be a very special World Cup for all the teams.

“It’s a matter of which team is more consistent during the World Cup, what kind of momentum they take with them into the knockout stages and all of that will be crucial.”

Dhoni was unconcerned about

his own side’s lack of positive results heading into the World Cup after they lost their test series to Australia then all three of their one-day matches in a triangular tournament that also included England.

The wicketkeeper, however, said they had been written off previously only to come right when they needed to.

“When we went and played the Champions Trophy (in 2013) we were in a similar situation like this and the guys stepped up, that’s what I feel is important,” he added.

“What we have seen is how you rise to an occasion like this and how you take the confidence forward to something that’s more important.”

“It is slightly tough. It’s not something that a lot of home teams have won,” said Dhoni. “The expectation of the people, it’s very high.

“I think the same will apply to the Australians and the New Zealand side, but at the same time, their culture is slightly different, so what’s a kind of expectation level that we’ll have to wait and watch.” l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Atletico thrash woeful Real in Madrid derby n AFP, Madrid Atletico Madrid blew the La Liga title race wide open by extending their unbeaten run over Real Madrid to six games this season with a 4-0 thrashing of the European champions on Saturday.

First-half goals from Tiago and Saul Niguez put Atletico in command before Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic sealed a first home league win over Real since 1999 just after the hour mark.

Atletico have now beaten their city rivals twice in La Liga and over two-legs in the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey this season to bounce back in fine style from their heartbreaking loss in the Champions League final last season.

Real still lead Los Rojiblancos by four points, but Barcelona can move to within a point of the leaders should they beat Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo returned from a two-game ban, but the visitors were otherwise depleted without the injured Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and suspended Marcelo.

Atletico suffered an injury blow of their own after just 10 minutes when Spanish international Koke limped off, but that curse turned into a blessing as he was replaced by Saul.

The hosts went in front on 13 minutes when Mandzukic laid Juanfran’s cross from the right into the path of Tiago on the edge of the area and the Portuguese’s low effort had too much power for Iker Casillas, who will feel he should have kept it out.

Four minutes later Atletico doubled

their lead with a move of real quality as Guilherme Siqueira hurtled down the left and his cross was acrobatically turned home by Saul with an overhead kick.

RESULT Atletico Madrid

4-0

Real Madrid

Tiago 14, Saul 18, Griezmann 66, Mandzukic 89

Atletico’s advantage at the break could have been even greater as Griezmann had a goal marginally ruled out for offside and strong claims for a penalty against Sami Khedira were waved away after he blocked Diego Godin’s effort with his hand.

Real offered barely anything as an attacking threat in the first period and coach Carlo Ancelotti responded by introducing Jese Rodriguez for Khedira at the break.

However, it made little impact as Real failed to muster a single shot on target during the 90 minutes.

Griezmann came close twice more with a powerful shot that Casillas parried before also trying his luck with an overhead kick that flew inches over.

The Frenchman did get the goal his performance deserved 24 minutes from time when Saul headed Arda Turan’s cross back across goal and he outmuscled international teammate Raphael Varane to prod home from a yard out.

And Real’s embarrassment was complete a minute from time when substitute Fernando Torres crossed for Mandzukic to power home a header into the far corner. l

Atletico Madrid forward Mario Mandzukic (R) celebrates scoring with teammates during their Spanish league match against Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadium yesterday

Man City slip lets Chelsea go seven clear n AFP, London

Zidane could be future Real coach: Ancelotti n AFP, Madrid Zinedine Zidane is shaping up as a future coach of Real Madrid, present incumbent Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.

Zidane, who is currently coaching the Real reserve side Castilla, “has all the qualities” required to take the helm of the club, Ancelotti told a news conference.

“I enjoy Zidane’s work, he’s doing very well,” Ancelotti said.

After a difficult start of the season, Castilla are top of Spain’s third tier league.

“He’s doing very well in his first year in charge. He’s taken Castilla to first place and he needs to keep up the good work. It’s pretty clear to me he has all the qualities to coach a big team. And that includes Real Madrid,” said the Italian manager, who appointed the French legend last season. l

Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at home to Hull City allowed Chelsea to establish a seven-point lead in the Premier League by winning 2-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday.

City had kept Chelsea within their sights by holding Jose Mourinho’s side to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge last weekend, but after slipping up against Hull, the champions’ grip on the title is weakening.

James Milner earned City a share of the points with an injury-time free-kick after David Meyler had put Hull ahead in the first half, but they have now won only once in six league games.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini fielded Edin Dzeko up front alongside Sergio Aguero, but it was Hull, who began the game in the bottom three, who showed the greater enterprise.

Ahmed Elmohamady hit the crossbar with a header from a Robbie Brady cross before Meyler broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, sweeping home after Gaston Ramirez’s low shot hit the right-hand post.

After Aguero had hit the bar in the second half, Milner bent in a 25-yard free-kick in the 92nd minute, but Hull held out to condemn City to a fifth game without a win in all competitions.

Chelsea took full advantage as Mourinho claimed his first victory at Villa Park at the sixth attempt.

Eden Hazard broke the deadlock in the eighth minute, finishing from

Willian’s incisive pass after Oscar had found space on the right.

The unmarked Jores Okore headed in a 48th-minute equaliser -- ending an 11-hour goal drought for Villa -- but Branislav Ivanovic restored Chelsea’s lead with a powerful left-foot shot in the 66th minute.

EPL RESULTS

Aston Villa

1-2

Okore 48

Leicester

Chelsea

Hazard 8, Ivanovic 66

0-1

Crystal Palace Ledley 55

Manchester City

1-1

Milner 90

QPR

Hull Meyler 35

0-1

Southampton Mane 90

Swansea

1-1

Ki 66

Tottenham Kane 56, 86

Sunderland Defoe 42

2-1

Arsenal Ozil 11

Earlier, local favourite Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur leapfrogged Champions League qualification rivals Arsenal by coming from behind to win a pulsating north London derby 2-1.

Mesut Ozil volleyed Arsenal in front at White Hart Lane, but a ferocious Tottenham onslaught saw Kane net a 56th-minute equaliser before heading in a sensational winner four minutes from time.

The home-grown striker’s double, his 21st and 22nd goals of the campaign,

took Mauricio Pochettino’s side up to fifth place, a point above Arsenal, who fell to sixth.

Ozil converted Olivier Giroud’s mishit shot in the 11th minute, but it provoked a wave of Spurs attacks that culminated in Kane tucking in an equaliser after David Ospina parried Mousa Dembele’s header.

Kane then settled it at the death, meeting Nabil Bentaleb’s left-wing cross with a textbook header to condemn Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to defeat in his 700th Premier League game.

Spurs briefly crept into the top four, but they slipped to fifth after Southampton claimed a lastgasp 1-0 win at second-bottom Queens Park Rangers, who are without a manager after Harry Redknapp’s resignation.

Senegalese forward Sadio Mane struck in the 93rd minute to take Ronald Koeman’s side above Manchester United and into third place, ahead of United’s trip to West Ham United on Sunday.

Bottom club Leicester City remain three points adrift of safety after losing 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace, who prevailed via a 55th-minute Joe Ledley header.

Meanwhile, Swansea City rescued a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland after Jermain Defoe’s first-half opener was cancelled out by a 66th-minute header from Ki Sungyueng. l

Anowara lifts indoor corporate cricket title n Tribune Desk

Players and officials of Anowara Group celebrate with the trophy of the Olympic Milk Plus Indoor Corporate Cricket at Mirpur Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium yesterday COURTESY

Anowara Group emerged as the champions of the Olympic Milk Plus Indoor Corporate Cricket 2015 yesterday.

Anowara defeated Knit Concern Ltd by 71 runs in the final of the five-day tournament held at Mirpur Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium.

The winners batted first and piled up a huge 178 on the back of Suman Khan’s 52 before they restricted Knit to just 103 runs. Sohel Rana of Anowara was named the man of the series.

Chief guest for the finale, Law Minster Advocate Anisul Haque handed over the champions trophy to the winning side while Olympic Group of Industries Limited managing director Mubarak Ali was present as special guest. The champions were awarded Tk 500,000 while the runners-up received Tk 200,000. l

AFP

Man United close to full strength for Hammers trip

n Reuters, London

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is their only absentee for this weekend’s visit to West Ham United, manager Louis van Gaal said on Friday in a rare positive update in a season dominated by injury troubles.

United are returning to full strength after being hampered for most of the campaign, with Van Gaal chopping and changing his team as he has made do without the likes of Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Ashley Young for long spells.

Carrick is now the only United player left on the sidelines after rupturing his calf muscle in the run-up to last week’s Premier League win over Leicester City.

Despite a mixed start to the campaign in which United’s results have frequently been better than their performances, they are third in the table and into the fifth round of the FA Cup. “I said that at the beginning of the week before the game against Leicester City, that this is an important week and we have to win all three matches,” he said. Van Gaal has faced criticism that his side have struggled for attacking fluency, with some suggesting their three-man defensive system sacrifices flair in favour of possession. l

FIXTURES Harry Kane of Tottenham celebrates scoring against Arsenal during their EPL match at White Hart Lane yesterday REUTERS

Burnley v West Brom Newcastle v Stoke City West Ham v Man Utd

Dortmund down Freiburg to climb off bottom n AFP, Berlin

Borussia Dortmund climbed off the bottom of the Bundesliga on Saturday with their first win in seven matches as Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang scored twice in their 3-0 win at Freiburg.

Germany star Marco Reus gave Dortmund an early lead before Gabon winger Aubemayang added two second-half goals in Borussia’s first win since the start of December.

Dortmund now face mid-table Mainz and strugglers Stuttgart in the league before Italian league leaders Juventus away in the last 16 of the Champions League on February 24.

The result lifted Dortmund to 16th, while Freiburg drop to 17th, still leaving both teams in the relegation places.

Leaders Bayern Munich continued their march to a third straight title with a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart, which saw Huub Stevens’ side take Dortmund’s

place at the bottom of the table.

Arjen Robben scored his second goal in as many games when he fired home from 13 metres out just before the halftime break to give Pep Guardiola’s Bayern the lead.

Left-back David Alaba then drilled home a superb free-kick from 30 metres out to make it 2-0 with 50 minutes gone. l

BUNDESLIGA

Wolfsburg

3-0

Hoffenheim

Dost 3, De Bruyne 28, 84

Mainz 05

0-2

Hertha Berlin Hegeler 35-pen, Beerens 43

Freiburg

0-3

Dortmund

Reus 9, Aubemayang 56, 72

Stuttgart

0-2

Bayern Munich Robben 41, Alaba 50

Cologne

0-0

Paderborn

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

15

Sunday, February 8, 2015

LIGHT, DARK, SPACE: Expressive colourworks by Md Tokon

WHAT TO WATCH TELEVISION

GRAVITY HBO, 11:30pm Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after a catastrophe.

THE BLING RING

HBO Defined, 5:40pm Cast: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities’.

Artist shows his artworks to distinguished guests at the gallery

n Nadira Sultana Ava

Farhana Mili’s back-toback TV plays n Shadma Malik Monpura star Farhana Mili will appear in four TV plays soon.

For the first time, she is going to work in a play adapted from a novel titled “Akjon Mayaboti” by Humayun Ahmed. In the play, she share the screen with Mahfuz Ahmed.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Mili said: “I have seen the television plays

by Humayun sir. But I did not get a chance to work with him.”

“There was always a fear in me that how Humayun sir would have worked.

In the first day of shooting, Shaon came and the cast and crew discussed about the way he worked and I listened and try to do things the way he liked,” she said.

“It is our effort that the TV play would do proper justice to the novel,” she added.

The plot of the story revolves around a small town struggling girl who seeks for a job. Her boss appoints her as she is in need of money. Out of gratefulness, she cares for her boss and the story takes different manner. “‘Shunno Theke Shuru’” is another

Exhibition

Taste of Light and Darkness Time: 6pm – 9pm Alliance Française de Dhaka Dhanmondi Light, Dark, Space By MD Tokon Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge The Paradoxical Now Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts

TV play where the audience would get to see the actress in a different getup.

“Here I am a rebellious character, having a straight forward personality. I am playing the role of a university girl where me and my friends get involved in a drug addicted gang,” Mili said.

About another TV play “Dohon,” the actress said: “I am playing in the role of a sex worker in Dohon.

“I spend ample amount of time with a man I love. At the end the man wishes to marry me by purchasing from my boss.“ Mili is also taking part in the shooting for “Ujan Ganger Naiyaa-season 2.”and “Tini Ashen.”

After working for “Monpura” Mili did not work for any silver screen. She is looking for such script that the audience can replace Moni and see Mili in another character.

“To work in films much preparations are needed,” she said.

The actress said she misses acting on stage as it gives her a platform to develop her acting skills.

Audience will see Mili in a TV play titled Anonter Pakhi on Independence day. l

Road No.16, Dhanmondi

Theatre

No Man’s Land Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm National Theatre Hall Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Ja Nei Bharote Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm Experimental Theatre Hall Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Segunbagicha

DIA MIRZA to direct a film n Entertainment Desk As the year gears up, Dia Mirza is all set to don yet another hat. If sources are to be believed, there is a strong confirmation of Dia turning her attention to direction in 2015.

According to sources, the movie will be a romantic comedy set in urban India. While not much is known of the story line, the idea to become a director isn’t something new for Dia. A few years ago, Dia had already made up her mind that after becoming a producer she would want to direct. While no timeline was set by her, when Dia read the script in question, she couldn’t resist and suggested to take the role of a director.

The film will have two young actors from Bollywood. She’s currently working to achieve a stronger draft of the script. The film will go on floors somewhere around June 2015. l

Some excellent art works of wellknown contemporary artist Md Tokon are being exhibited under the title of “Light, Dark, Space” at the Bengal Art Lounge in the capital.

Paintings of Tokon are pure abstractions of nature, emotion and passion. Figurative element is completely absent in his creations.

The works are the portrayal of artist’s personal experience and his sense of nature through the striking features of multidimensional layers, effects of light, colour emphasis and tonal schisms.

Drawing influences from past artistic endeavors such as romanticism, impressionism or abstract expressionism, the artist has brushed layers of translucent colors depicting human craving and emotions. Universal culture of east and west receives a praise-worthy execution in his artworks.

Tokon’s brilliant compositions are images of life and its changes with the passage of time.

Standing in front of his paintings with active engagement one will find him/herself in a moment of nature which are successfully titled, “I touch the green, green grass of home”,

“The morning fantasy”, “Walk into the light” or “After the rain”.

Beholding the paintings, “Don’t let the sun go down” or “Take my hand and walk the red land”, we meet with our urges to nature and reflection of our longings. Md Tokon studied at The Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University and moved to New York in 2001. He obtained his B.A. in Art and Communication Design at The City University of New York.

Now the artist lives in the US and works with the prestigious Art Students League of New York.

The exhibition will be on display till February 21. l

SHOSHEE, NILOY paired for a TV series n Entertainment Desk Popular small screen actor Shoshee and model-actor Niloy has been paired in a TV series titled Khorkuto. The duo has been paired for the first time in a TV work directed by famed Salauddin Lavlu.

Written by Kazi Shahedul Islam, the series portrayed a story in rural milieu. The story revolves around a jovial young Rafique, played by Niloy, who playfully spends his most days with the village youngsters despite being quite an adult. On the other hand, Toiyaba-- played by Shoshee, a girl from the same village likes him for his frankness and integrity though her father shows quite opposite feeling to Rafique.

Fazlur Rahaman Babu, AKhM Hasan and Nadia also cast in the TV series which recently wrapped few episodes of it’s shooting. The TV series will be aired shortly on a channel. l

Mila Kunis joined dating apps on Ashton Kutcher’s behest n Entertainment Desk Mila Kunis says that it was on her beau Ashton Kutcher’s behest that she joined dating apps.

During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” earlier this week, the mother of four-month-old daughter Wyatt told the host that Kutcher encouraged her to get downloading applications, reports dailymail.co.uk.

“Listen, when we started dating — this is an awesome story and this is fact! — Tinder hadn’t really been out yet.

And he was like, “So, babe, I got this thing that I’ve been thinking about. You need to do me a favour and down-

load this app.

“I was like, ‘No problem’. I download Tinder, okay, and I was like, ‘What is this?’ Like, swiping things left and right. I was like, ‘This is amazing! This is stuff that I do at home.’ He makes me go on all of these websites. Everything,” she said.

Tinder is a dating app for the Android and iPhone in which users swipe left or right depending on whether or not they are attracted to a person’s profile. l

Ed Sheeran ‘not too fussed’ about Grammy n Entertainment Desk Ed Sheeran is ‘’not too fussed’’ about the Grammy Awards.

The “Thinking Out Loud” hitmaker has been nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media categories, but isn’t getting his hopes up when it comes to winning any of the coveted titles at the ceremony on Sunday February 8.

He said: “‘Just being nominated for a Grammy - all the artists say this I know - but honestly I’m not too fussed about winning, just because I probably won’t! I never win anything.”

The 23-year-old musician - who has picked up two BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello Award, an MTV VMA, and a BBC Music Award amongst others - went on to play down his previous wins saying he was presented with them because of a dearth of talent.

He continued: “I won the year of the Brits because I was a male and not Adele - she won everything else! And I got the VMA because Pharrell didn’t turn up [and] I did. They said, ‘He’s not here, do you want it?’” l

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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

Blockade likely to affect Boro irrigation

Disruption in fuel supply a major cause n Aminur Rahman Rasel Boro paddy irrigation across the country may be affected this season as the supply of petroleum fuel, such as diesel and kerosene, has dropped significantly since the ongoing blockade began on January 6.

In addition, owners of fuelling stations and tank-lorries are facing serious financial losses due to the blockade.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, leaders of Bangladesh Petrol Pump and Tank-Lorry Owners and Workers’ Association said drivers and workers are reluctant to carry the highly flammable fuels on the roads and highways, fearing attacks.

They also said fuel supply has dropped by 70% on average as they fear arson attacks during transporting the oils from depots to the fuelling stations.

There are around 9,000 fuelling stations in the country, most of which have been shut down because of the blockade, said Mohammad Nazmul Haque, president of the association.

Supply of fuel to 16 northern districts has been disrupted more than others during the blockade, he added.

But it is the farmers around the country who are bearing the brunt of the blockade-induced crisis, especially those in the northern region.

“The farmers cannot get fuel to operate their machines to irrigate the crop fields, nor can they take their produce to the markets due to lack of transportation. They are now fearing that they may not be able to reach the target of Boro cultivation this year,” Nazmul said.

“Most of the fuelling stations in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions now remain closed during day time for fear of bomb attacks or vandalism by the blockaders,” he said.

A total of 90% petroleum fuel is usually transported across the country through waterways, while 8% is supplied through rail wagons and 2% via roads.

Currently, petrol is being sold at Tk125 per litre at some places, while diesel is being sold at Tk90 per litre.

However, the retail price of petrol

was officially fixed at Tk96 per litre, for diesel at Tk68 per litre.

Seeking anonymity, a farmer in Dinajpur who has been preparing for Boro cultivation, told to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday that some dishonest fuel traders have increased the retail price of diesel by Tk15 per litre, taking advantage of the short supply.

He said the retailers have also raised the price of kerosene by Tk5 per litre at some places.

No problem in fuel supply, says BPC

On the other hand, officials at Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said they were delivering fuels to the lorries as usual, because they are escorted by law enforcers on the road.

“There is no crisis of fuel. We are supplying the oils to different points with the escort of law enforcers,” BPC Chairman A M Badrudduja told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.

However, the security measure is not enough to maintain the regular supply as the fuelling station and tank-lorry owners are still reluctant to transport fuel oils during this political turmoil.

The country’s lone oil importer and distributor, the BPC sells oil to fuelling stations through oil companies such as Padma, Meghna and Jamuna.

According to the BPC, A total of 1,865,024 irrigation machines will be used for boro irrigation this year. Of them, 2,979 are deep tube-wells and 1,307,351 shallow tube-wells. Around one million tonnes of diesel will be used in this regard.

“Fuel stocks in most of the fuelling stations along the highways have been depleted as the tank-lorries failed to transport the fuels to the stations,” said Nazmul, the president of fuelling station and tank-lorry owners association, to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.

Around 12,000 tonnes of diesel, petrol and octane are sold across the country every day. “Now we are selling around 1,500 tonnes every day.

We have incurred a loss of Tk250 crore over the past 22 days, and sales have dropped by almost 70%,” he said. l

Back Page

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Boi Mela sees fewer visitors ahead of hartal n Nure Alam Durjoy Sales of books at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela suddenly fell short yesterday following a noAMAR EKUSHEY table absence BOOK FAIR 2015 of visitors in the build-up to today’s BNP-led 20 party alliance-enforced hartal.

The alliance made the declaration on Friday about the 72-hour hartal set to begin from today.

On Saturday evening, as the fear of pre-hartal violence rose, many visitors, especially those who came from far, began to leave the fair early.

Vendors had been expecting weekends to draw more visitors than any other days, but were disappointed to see a drop in numbers during the latter half of the weekend.

This large number of newly-published books within seven days of the fair’s opening has broken records of previous years. Last year, this figure was at 463 Anup Dutt, a representative of Maola Brothers, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Sales is good on the weekends in afternoon. There will be more books in the fair than any other time because the writers and the publishers had the preparation earlier.”

Although the book fair was abuzz with visitors on Friday, the scenario changed by Saturday. Visitors said they had to go home earlier as there was no security on the roads.

Robin Ahsan, owner of Srabon Prokashoni, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We had a good preparation this time as it initially seemed like there could be no violence on the streets. Now the scene is different.”

However, the sales of children’s books rose, and was actually up to the vendors’ expectation, they said yesterday. There was a special hour for children’s book and the fair had many children visiting since the morning.

Yesterday morning, many children were seen with their guardians, browsing through the stalls and trying

Young readers spend a happy few hours at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair yesterday thanks to a much-awaited relapse on the back of five days of hartal MEHEDI HASAN to requesting their guardians to buy them story books, especially of ghost stories and cartoons, as was seen at different stalls.

With the new arrivals of at least 198 books, the total number of newly-published books is 880 on the sev-

The Economist: Army may be compelled to act n Tribune Report An analysis of The Economist, a London-based English-language weekly newspaper, has read that with the BNP’s transport blockade, and violence and repression worsening, the army may sooner or later feel compelled to act.

The article published under Asia section of the magazine’s February 7 print edition, also said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia now “seems to want to bring the country to such a pass that the army will feel obliged to intervene.”

According to the analysis, however it will be loth to do so.

“It is mindful of its reputation and of lucrative UN peacekeeping duties that might be jeopardised if the West took

14-party’s human chain today n Tribune Report The Awami League-led 14-party alliance is going to form a countrywide human chain to protest against the ongoing violence centring the BNP and its partners’ political programmes.

The one-hour human chains would be formed from 3pm to 4pm all over the country, said a press release issued from Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office in the capital.

The alliance’s central leaders and lawmakers will join the chains standing at different points and intersections.

The human chains will be formed from Gabtoli to Sayedabad via Technical, Shyamoli, College Gate, Asad Gate, Russel Square, Green Road, Bashundhara City, Sonargaon Hotel, Banglamotor, Shahbagh, Matsya Bhaban, Kadam Foara, National Press Club, Purana Paltan, Nur Hossain Square, Gulistan, Bangabandhu Avenue, Mahanagar Natyamancha, Ittefaq Intersection, Rajdhani Super Market and Jatrabari. l

exception to its actions,” it added.

Calling the two top leaders ““battling begums”, the article said: “Bangladesh suffers a dysfunctional two-party system in which the two leaders, wage mutual vendettas at the country’s expense.”

“The personal animus between the two top leaders of Bangladesh has fostered a winner-takes-all politics in which the futility of habitually rigged elections forces the opposition on to the streets.”

“Now the government claims to be combating acts of vandalism and terrorism by the BNP. The opposition accuses the government of trying to create a one-party state. Both sides have a point.”

“BNP leaders are mostly in jail, in exile or in hiding. This week the government temporarily cut the electricity and internet cables to Khaleda’s redoubt, presumably to put pressure on her to call off the blockade. But she seems determined to see this through to the end,” it added.

So far, more than 60 people have died and scores have been injured in different parts of the country in violence, which mostly involved arson attacks.

Of those, a Large number of arson attacks are being conducted on highways. Hundreds of vehicles, including those belonging to law-enforcers, were burnt and attacked.

The BNP led 20-party alliance has been enforcing a non-stop nationwide

blockade since January 5 in protest against the “confinement” of the party chief Khaleda Zia. Khaleda Zia had been kept confined to her Gulshan party office since January 3 ahead of a party rally, marking “Democracy Killing Day.” On January 12, the security was relaxed.

But Khaleda never came out; instead she said in a press conference that she was going to stay there and the blockade would continue unless the government took the first steps towards solution.

The relaxed blockade is underway across the country amid sporadic incidents of violence, arson attacks, vandalism and arrests of BNP members. l

HRW: End deadly cycle of crimes n Tribune Report

With no end in sight to politically motivated violence and other abuses in Bangladesh, the state authorities need to ensure their response respects the rights of all, and to avoid arbitrary use of force, arrests, and disappearances, said Human Rights Watch yesterday.

In a press statement, the New Yorkbased rights body said about 60 people have been killed, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested across the country over the past month.

All political leaders should give clear statements that their supporters would not use unlawful violence, it said.

“All parties should cooperate to stop the cycle of violent crimes and ensure those responsible for all crimes are arrested and prosecuted,” the press release quoted Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, as saying.

“The violent crimes being committed by some members of the opposition cannot justify killings, injuries, and wrongful arrests by the government,”

the press release said quoting Brad Adams as saying.

The press statement said the violence and clampdown by the government security forces began in early

‘The political leadership needs to hear strongly that unless this bloodletting stops, it will impact their standing with other countries’ January 2015, with protests to mark one year since the January 5 general elections in, which saw the ruling Awami League win a landslide victory.

“The government’s tactics to contain the violence echo previous violations including arbitrary arrests and killings, and enforced disappearances.

The current cycle of opposition violence, including deadly arson attacks, follows the same pattern as document-

ed by Human Rights Watch a year ago, when more than 500 people were killed in the 2014 election-related violence,” according to the HRW press statement.

The HRW noted that one of the most horrific aspects of the violence in Bangladesh are petrol bomb attacks, often hurled indiscriminately at private vehicles attempting to pass through strikes and transport blockades called by the opposition.

“The government has the responsibility to enforce law and order and protect citizens but security forces should know that they will be held accountable for violating human rights,” the HRW press statement quoted Adams as saying.

“Bangladesh has a long history of permitting security forces to commit excesses in order to control crime, and it is leading to the collapse of rule of law and blood on the streets,” it said Adams as saying.

“The political leadership needs to hear strongly that unless this blood-letting stops, it will impact their standing with other countries,” it added. l

enth day of the fair.

Among these, collections of poetry and of short stories are higher in number.

This large number of newly-published books within seven days of the fair’s opening has broken records of

previous years. Last year, this figure was at 463.

But the sales of the elders’ book in most stalls was not high as they expected. Anyway, some renowned stalls made their selling as per expectation. l

‘Anarchist’ bids to halt Modi juggernaut n AFP, New Delhi Voters flocked to the polls in India’s capital Saturday where Narendra Modi could suffer the first major setback of his premiership at the hands of firebrand former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Less than a year on from his resignation as head of Delhi’s state government after just 49 days, most polls say Kejriwal’s anti-corruption party is set to push Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into second place when results of the state assembly election are announced Tuesday.

While polls have been wide of the mark in the past, victory would be particularly sweet for the former taxman, trounced by Modi when they both contested the constituency of Varanasi in May’s general election.

Most pundits had written off Kejriwal, especially after his Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party won just four seats in parliament.

But after apologising for leaving voters without an elected government for a year, Kejriwal has been the star of the campaign, outshining former policewoman Kiran Bedi who is the BJP’s candidate for chief minister.

A steady stream of voters could be seen outside polling booths throughout the day. The electoral commission put the turnout at 51 percent by 3:00 pm (0930 GMT) and predicted the final

figure would be near 70 percent when voting ends at 6:00 pm.

“People want a corruption free and bribery free Delhi and I’m hopeful they will vote accordingly,” Kejriwal told reporters as he went to vote.

“I am confident the people will win and that the truth will win.”

Rattled by Kejriwal’s popularity, Modi himself has taken to the campaign trail, portraying his rival as a “backstabber” who betrayed voters last time round by quitting so early.

Having invested an unusually large amount of political capital in a state election, observers say a defeat will be a significant personal setback for a prime minister who has enjoyed an extended honeymoon with voters since his landslide general election victory.

“It (Aam Aadmi) appears to be a credible challenger to the Modi juggernaut,” said an editorial in The Hindu newspaper Saturday.

“The party’s impressive revival after its rout in the parliamentary elections of May 2014 has put the BJP on the back foot and made Delhi the first real contest for Prime Minister Modi.”

Bedi is hoping Modi’s strong support will be decisive.

“By voting for the BJP in Delhi, you also voting for Narendra Modi,” she said after casting her ballot.

“If people choose the BJP as the winning party then they’ll be getting two leaders instead of one.” l

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B3 Top 2014 hedge fund triples investor cash betting on India

B4 Canada: World can’t rely on US to carry economy forever

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Most fortunate borrowers owe banks Tk53,000cr

Loan restructuring policy to encourage defaulters and discourage good borrowers curities, Navana Real Estate, Bashunloans or non-performing loans, offi- good borrowers. n Jebun Nesa Alo Among some of the policies, a big dhara Industrial Complex, Abul Khair cials say.

As many as top 61 big borrowers collectively owe commercial banks a whooping Tk53,000 crore, and each of them borrow more than Tk500 crore from different lenders, as per a list the central bank prepared.

These borrowers account for 25% of total large loan of Tk2,15,000 crore, which also accounts for 34% of the total loans and advances of Tk6,34,000 crore as of September last year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

Of them, 21 are loan defaulters, making up 25% of entire default loan valued Tk20,000 crore, it revealed.

Bangladesh Bank estimated the loan amount borrowed by individual large borrowers with over Tk500 crore each, but it has not any actual statement about the exposure of groups, according to a central bank source.

Beximco Limited, the country’s industrial conglomerate Beximco Group’s flagship company, is the biggest borrowers and loan defaulters as well, borrowing around Tk3,300 crore from a consortium of 10 lenders, the data said.

S Alam Group came second taking loan of around Tk6,000 crore in the name of its seven companies having loan exposure of over Tk500 crore each.

The global recession that affected many of large borrowers, political instability and misuse of banking system with developing cozy relationship, leading to thousands of crores of bad

The steep rise in bad loans in the past few years has forced the central bank to come up recently with strong measures to ensure banks do not sweep bad loans under the carpet giving facilities to restructure loan both for the defaulters and non-defaulters.

On January 27, the central bank had approved a restructuring bad loan policy under which a big borrower would get a maximum of 12 years to repay loans above Tk500 crore.

“We have seen that globally reputed banks across the world had to close shops due to bad debts because of a few individuals. But now with increasing bad loans by some willful defaulters, the threat looms large over banking sector. It needs to be addressed before it is too late,” said a banker.

He said those who were willful defaulters and took illegal means should be brought to book.

NCC Bank Managing Director Hafiz Ahmed said big loan restructuring for long term is a mismatch between assets and liabilities, as maximum deposits are of short term.

“Repayment failure of large loan is a serious threat for the banking sector, reducing banks’ capability to provide fresh loan for long term in future,” he said.

The veteran banker criticised the big loan restructuring policy and said the central bank’s move will encourage loan defaulters and discourage the

borrower can have the facility only once but has to apply for it by June 30 this year and if a borrower fails to repay two instalments consecutively, he will forfeit the facility, and his fate will be decided as per the bankruptcy law.

Though interest rate on the restructured loan would be fixed by the bank, it has to be more than the aggregate amount of the bank’s cost of funds and 1% interest rate, according to policy.

The other large borrowers having exposure over Tk500 crore to multiple banks and non-bank financial institutions are – BRAC, Nitol Motors, Grameen Phone, S Alam Edible Oil, Shah Cement Industries, Ananda Shipyard, C.P Bangladesh, Abul Khair Steel, KSRM Steel, S Alam Vegetable Oil, Abdul Monem Sugar Refinery, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, Abdul Monem, Grameen Shakti, Anwer Khan Modern Hospital, Marrine Vegetable Oils, Mohammed Elias Brothers, IFAD Autos, Zaber and Zubair Fabrics, S Alam Refined Sugar Industries, Rupayan Housing, Best Holdings, Powerpac Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant, S A Oil Refinery, Western Marine Shipyard, Bashundhara Paper Mills, Rising Steel, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Jamuna Builders, BSRM Steel, The ACME Laboratories, Airtel Bangladesh, Samannaz Super Oil, Mother Textile, BURO Bangladesh, BARAKA Patenga Power, Nurjahan Super Oil, KYCR Coil Industries, PFI Se-

Tobacco, Abul Khair Limited, Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, Yasmin Spinning Mills, GPH Ispat, Zubair Spinning Mills, Siddique Traders, S Alam Trading Company, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, Zaber Spinning, NBL Securities, Max Spining Mills, S Alam and Company, Noman Composite Textile, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills, Banglalink Digital Communication, Dhaka Trading House, Project Builders.

A central bank official said to recover the bad loans through restructuring is important as many countries like India have adopted such policy.

To defend the loan restructuring policy for defaulters, BB Governor Atiur Rahman earlier said it was formulated for the sake of country’s economy and employment. “The defaulters, though, get preference from the central bank repeatedly on excuse of the political unrest but so far good borrowers, who maintain their loan repayment regular even after facing the same difficulties, did not get any favour.”

In its latest monetary policy statement, the BB said the central bank firmly discouraged the abetting of habitual and willful loan repayment defaulter.

It also created room for helping out recovery of genuine businesses distressed by circumstances beyond their control with realistic debt restructuring in line with international best practices, the monetary policy said. l

Tofail: Service waiver offer under WTO to boost economy n Tribune Report

Leaders of the country’s apex trade body distribute leaflets and national flags to the people yesterday in the city’s Motijheel area as the businesspeople hold rallies today across the country against the political unrest DHAKA TRIBUNE

FBCCI to hold anti-violence demonstration today n Tribune Report The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) along with other trade bodies will hold its scheduled countrywide demonstration today to press home its demand for the restoration of a business-friendly atmosphere, resolving the ongoing political deadlock.

The apex trade body, associations and all the businessmen across the country will form human chains in front of their respective organisations for 15 minutes from 12.00 noon to 12:15pm today, carrying the national flags.

Earlier, on February 1 the apex trade body in an emergency board meeting had decided to stage the countrywide demonstration on February 8, in protest against the ongoing political violence that disrupted supply chain system.

To join the demonstration, FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed distributed leaflets to the businessmen in the capital’s Motijheel area yesterday.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said: “Business activities

at the district-level are not functioning due to the ongoing blockade and hartals enforced by the BNP-led alliance.”

The minister came up with the statement while addressing a press conference at his secretariat office in the capital yesterday.

‘Business activities at the district-level are not functioning due to the ongoing blockade and hartals enforced by the BNP-led alliance’ “There is no disruption in regular and business activities in Dhaka during the blockade,” he, however, claimed.

According to an estimate conducted

by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the country’s businesses incurred economic losses of Tk

36,445 crore during the first 16 days of the countrywide blockade and hartal programme enforced by BNP and its allies.

On the other hand, BGMEA estimate showed that 23 factories suffered losses of Tk139 crore due to the political unrest since January 6.

On December 15, 2013, the apex trade body held a white-flag demonstration with other trade chambers and associations across the country, demanding a peaceful solution to the then ongoing political deadlock for the sake of ensuring a business friendly environment in the country.

On January 28, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) held human chain, urging both the government and the opposition to ensure peaceful environment for the businesses, shunning the path of violence.

The leaders of BGMEA also submitted separate memorandums to both Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia with a request to end the ongoing political crises. l

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said the service waiver offer is very important for the economic development of Bangladesh.

He made the comment while addressing at a high level meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the operationalisation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) held on February 5-6 in Geneva to implement the service waiver offer, which the developed countries already agreed to provide to the LDCs. Preferential market access facilities under the service waiver offer would boost the economic development of Bangladesh and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs), said Tofail said, reports BSS. The LDCs, who have been waiting for long to get the waiver, are pushing for quick implementation of the decision.

The service sector is extremely important for Bangladesh becoming a middle income country by 2021, he added.

Bangladesh under the waiver would get benefit to expand the businesses in information technology enabled services (ITES), business operations processing service, auditing, accounting, financial service, hotel, tourism, independent professionals and computer related services.

The main purpose of the meeting is to provide the opportunities to the WTO members to indicate their offer for granting preference to LDCs to operationalise the LDC services waiver in response to the “Collective Request”, which prioritised the LDCs core demand on getting commercially meaningful preferential market access of services and services suppliers in the world market.

In an open discussion, most of the delegates recognised the contribution and active engagement of Bangladesh Commerce Minister as a leader of LDCs in the previous WTO Ministerial Conferences and WTO process and appreciated his presence in the meeting.

Permanent Representatives from USA, EU, Mexico, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, India, China, Korea, Jamaica, Brazil Australia, New Zealand, and Qatar indicated their willingness to provide preferential treatment to LDCs for ensuring meaningful and effective implementation of services waiver. l

A handicraft vendor sees how much he has earned from sales yesterday in the non-stop blockade as he has seen a few customers. The photo was taken in the city’s Shahbagh area SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Stock investors pass gloomy days during political unrest n Kayes Sohel As dragging political unrest and uncertainty costs stock investors dearly, investors, mostly retail ones, are now looking for exit doors while big players remain cautious.

Since the start of non-stop blockade from January 5, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, suffered a loss of around 250 points or 5% to 4685, plunging nearly fivemonth low.

Analysts say stock market underlines a major risk and is facing heavy sell-off transactions by jittery individual investors, despite the fact that some corporate earnings results, pouring into the market, appear positive.

Ruling Awami League party and major opposition BNP seem to have waged a war against each other over the national elections, putting everything from business to life into the tailspin, analysts observed.

Demanding a fresh election under a caretaker government system, the BNPled 20-party alliance has enforced a nationwide non-stop transports blockade, which rolls into 34 days today—the longest ever political programme seen

by Independent Bangladesh.

Over the last one month, the volume of trade was hovering around more than Tk200 crore.

It is considered poor taking into account the present market depth and market capitalisation which has eroded more than 5% to Tk3,17,721.7 crore at the DSE. On January 25, the index witnessed the biggest one-day decline in last one year with plummeting nearly 2%.

“It is the political unrest which pushes down investor confidence to the brink,” said VIPB Asset Management Company chief executive officer Shahidul Islam.

Investment and business are much more sensitive to political uncertainty, whether on the upside or the

downside, he said adding that the prolonged political turmoil might affect the profitability of individual firms.

“Unless the dust of political unrest settles down, the market will not get back its pulse.”

Retail investors are on selling mood fearing further fall of the market while big players and institutional investors have become almost day traders, market sources said.

But some big players hold back their investments expecting sudden political settlement, they said.

“Situation is very bad, as everyone is jittery about the market that moves one-step forward and two steps backward,” Abul Kahem, an investor at DSE. He added: “We fail to gauge the market direction. So, it is better to keep myself on the sidelines to save my investment.”

He, however, said some investors opt for buying in dips on expectation of sudden political negotiation, making the market move flat in several sessions.

An analyst said: “There are some companies that corrected well and it’s a good opportunity to dip your toes in – with the perception that if things get worse, it’s a chance to buy even more at lower prices.”

When asked about his expectations for the market, he said, “This is very a hard question to answer as the current political crisis is deepening day by day.”

He advised investors not to be hasty in making decision, adding that it is the perfect timing for institution to buy stocks.

According to recent survey of LankaBangla Securities, 50% respondents held political instability responsible for poor market performance in 2015. l

B2

POLITICAL CHAOS CONTINUES TO HIT STOCKS

DSEX sheds 260 points in four straight weeks n

The stock market passed yet another lacklustre week as most investors worried over prolonged political upheaval were on selling spree, despite some better-than-expected positive earnings results poured in the market.

With experiencing volatile trading sessions in the past week that ended Thursday, the benchmark index DSEX lost 105.7 points in the first two trading sessions but recovered 66.6 points in the final three sessions of the week.

Compared to the previous week, the DSEX ended at 4,684, losing 39 points or 0.9%, extending losing streak for the fourth consecutive sessions. The comprising blue chips DS30 index moved down 4.6 points or 0.9% to 1,733. The DSE Sharia Index, DSES, was down over 5 points or 0.5% to 1,110.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, lost almost 29 points or over 0.4% to settle at 8,707. Cautious sentiment among investors, mostly retailers, looked for exit door, leading to fall in turnover.

The week’s daily average turnover stood at Tk214 crore, registering a drop of 1.3% over the previous week’s average of Tk217 crore – the figure was considered very poor compared to the market depth.

Engineering sector emerged as the most attractive sector in the past week, driven by IFAD Autos that

DSE LOSERS

ICB -A Shahjibazar Power-N GeminiSeaFood-B Northern Jute -Z C & A Textile -N National Feed-N Samata LeatheR -Z Khan Brothers-N Shampur Sugar -Z Modern Dyeing -Z

Closing (% change) -89.77 -20.99 -14.54 -14.09 -13.55 -13.06 -11.00 -10.68 -10.00 -9.79

CSE LOSERS Company ICB -A Shahjibazar Power-N C & A Textile -N National Feed-N Nitol Insurance -A Rahima Food -Z Khan Brothers-N Pragati Gen. I -A Progressive Life-A SummitAlliancePort.-A

Closing (% change) -89.74 -20.80 -13.94 -12.46 -12.31 -10.53 -10.28 -10.05 -9.96 -8.92

4685.03912

(-) 0.83%

1733.22289

(-) 0.83%

14362.0232

(-) 0.45%

11731.8620

(-) 0.10%

8713.7995

(-) 0.25%

Average (% change) -89.73 -25.15 -16.18 -13.19 -14.63 -14.81 -11.05 -12.18 -9.88 -7.40 Average (% change) -89.88 -9.34 -15.08 -15.07 -12.17 -4.36 -12.55 -10.05 -9.96 -9.44

ANALYST

Closing average 139.51 163.29 203.13 215.89 21.53 27.20 17.79 24.81 7.21 87.50

Closing average 139.31 458.74 21.45 27.17 22.80 34.00 24.81 34.00 70.50 57.59

Weekly closing 138.10 169.00 203.40 216.40 21.70 27.30 17.80 25.10 7.20 85.70

Weekly closing 138.70 172.10 21.60 27.40 22.80 34.00 25.30 34.00 70.50 57.20

Sector 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

Turnover (Million Taka)

Intl. Leasing-B ACI Formulations-A AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A AMCL 2nd MF-A Libra Infusions-A BD. Thai Alum -B IFIL Islamic M.F.1-A Kay & Que (BD) -Z

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Weekly high 1365.00 217.90 235.00 252.00 25.10 31.40 20.00 28.00 7.80 96.00

Weekly high 1,350.00 202.10 25.10 30.90 25.00 35.00 27.90 37.00 70.50 62.10

Company

10,713.08 282,070,013 352,050

Traded Issues

319

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

87

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

225 7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,530.42

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.67

CSE key features February 01-05, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

995.55

Turnover (Volume)

31,833,426

Number of Contract

64,003

Traded Issues

269

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

67

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

194

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,458.36

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.80

Turnover in million

136.50 157.20 199.90 212.00 21.20 26.70 17.80 24.30 7.00 80.00

Weekly low

105.533 170.508 6.767 1.078 319.767 121.210 0.342 60.422 0.115 0.182

Turnover in million

138.10 157.10 21.00 26.70 22.80 32.00 24.50 34.00 70.50 56.00

Closing (% change) 11.20 9.77 8.51 8.02 6.67 6.28 5.43 5.26 5.07

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Latest EPS 6.08 8.68 -6.36 0.96 1.46 1.37 -0.46 1.18 -52.72 -0.50

Latest EPS

3.721 11.709 70.756 34.416 0.042 0.184 9.542 0.003 0.000 14.681

6.08 8.68 1.46 1.37 2.79 -0.42 1.18 2.47 2.30 0.88

Latest PE 22.9 18.8 -ve 224.9 14.7 19.9 -ve 21.0 -ve -ve

Latest PE

Company Kay & Que (BD) -Z National Life I -A Imam Button -Z Bata Shoe Ltd. -A ACI Formulations-A Intl. Leasing-B ACI ZERO Bond-A Berger Paints-A Aziz PipesZ AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A

Closing (% change) 25.83 14.52 12.66 10.38 9.44 7.94 7.78 7.41 7.21 6.25

Average (% change) 10.22 10.28 8.30 7.46 3.02 2.35 4.21 4.36 3.40

Average (% change) 25.58 9.51 11.28 8.91 9.70 6.57 7.78 7.41 7.42 24.27

Closing average 13.70 128.72 5.09 1,319.32 4.77 363.64 40.35 5.99 14.29

Closing average 15.07 221.75 8.78 1306.96 128.39 13.30 970.00 1450.00 22.30 5.94

Weekly closing 13.90 129.20 5.10 1,330.20 4.80 377.60 40.80 6.00 14.50

Weekly closing 15.10 231.90 8.90 1324.60 128.70 13.60 970.00 1450.00 22.30 5.10

Weekly high 14.10 129.90 5.90 1,332.20 4.90 404.50 41.20 6.10 16.00

Weekly high 15.40 234.50 9.10 1324.60 130.00 13.90 970.00 1450.00 22.30 6.00

Weekly low 12.20 113.30 4.60 1,190.00 4.40 350.10 37.40 5.60 13.10

Weekly low 11.60 210.00 7.70 1200.00 112.50 12.10 900.00 1400.00 19.10 4.60

Turnover in million 28.528 135.902 31.012 85.782 1.744 0.292 91.270 5.064 0.397

Turnover in million 0.024 0.405 0.605 2.170 10.472 2.462 0.006 0.006 0.042 3.704

Latest EPS -0.09 3.27 0.11 52.96 0.84 3.38 1.09 1.04 -1.41

Latest EPS -1.41 12.46 -1.48 52.96 3.27 -0.09 0.00 49.25 -0.37 0.11

Latest PE -ve 39.4 46.3 24.9 5.7 107.6 37.0 5.8 -ve

Latest PE -ve 17.8 -ve 24.7 39.3 -ve 29.4 -ve 54.0

News, analysis and recent disclosures AGM/Dividend RAKCERAMIC: The Board of Directors has recommended 25% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. The Company has further informed the following:1. The entire shareholding i.e. 1,92,500 number of ordinary shares of BDT 100/each of RAK-MOSFLY (Bangladesh) Pvt. Ltd. held by RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited [Associate of RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited be sold to Dr. M.A. Malek [ existing shareholder of RAK-MOSFLY (Bangladesh) Pvt. Ltd. BDT 100/- per share totaling to BDT 1,92,50,000/- only subject to approval by the concerned authorities. 2. The Board has also decided that amendment /alteration of Article -90 of the Article of Association of the company regarding the Board meeting attendance fee of the Directors subject to the approval by the shareholders in the EGM. 3. Addition a new Article, Article-106A after the Article -106 of the Article of Association of the Company for holding of the meeting of the Board of Directors and/ or committee of Directors meeting by using modern communication means such as telephonic conference calls or video conferencing subject to the approval by the shareholders in the EGM. Date of EGM and AGM: 25.03.2015, Time of EGM and AGM: 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM respectively, Venue: International Convention City, Bashundhara (Pushpoguscho), Joarshahara, Purbachal Link Road, Khilkhet, Dhaka-1229. Record

date: 17.02.2015. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 562.79 million, EPS of Tk. 1.67, NAV per share of Tk. 17.57 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.84 for the year ended on December 31, 2014 as against Tk. 682.41 million, Tk. 2.03 (restated), Tk. 18.99 and Tk. 2.66 (restated) respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: 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 inability to approve the rights issue of Argon Denims Limited as per Commissions Directive No. BSEC/Enforcement/2137/2014/20 dated January 27, 2015.

SALVOCHEM: BSEC NEWS: In exercise of the power conferred by section 20A of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 (XVII of 1969), the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission hereby directs the Salvo Chemical Industry Ltd. that: The company shall not be entitled to apply to the Commission for raising of capital

for next 3 (three) years. This shall have immediate effect. (Ref.: BSEC Directive No. BSEC/Enforcement/2077/2014/32 dated February 01, 2015).

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: Unaudited Financials: ICB1STNRB: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 14.28 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 1.43 as against Tk. 23.65 million and Tk. 2.37 respectively.

PRIME1ICBA: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 37.63 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.38 as against Tk. 30.99 million and Tk. 0.31 respectively.

ICBAMCL2ND: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT=Tk. 20.76 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.42 as against Tk. 21.89 million and Tk. 0.44.

ICBEPMF1S1: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT=Tk. 22.24 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.30 as against Tk. 19.45 million and Tk. 0.26 respectively.

ICB2NDNRB: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 48.13 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.48 as against Tk. 73.36 million and Tk. 0.73 respectively.

ICB3RDNRB: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 23.25 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.23 as against Tk. 21.09 million and Tk. 0.21 respectively.

ICBSONALI1: (H/Y Un-audited): NPAT= Tk. 49.16 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.49 as against Tk. 79.67 million and Tk. 0.80 respectively.

22.9 52.9 14.7 19.8 8.2 -ve 21.0 13.8 30.7 65.4

The down trend extended to another week of correction amid slow activities

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE Million Taka 1193.65 651.70 195.87 1699.66 516.80 1423.78 3.55 1115.15 1148.23 41.74 327.84 109.21 151.94 454.71 510.66 70.99 93.14 565.92 92.90 344.14 0.13

DSE GAINERS

Number of Contract

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

DSE key features February 01-05, 2015

Turnover (Volume)

made debut in the final session of the week, making up more than 16% of the week’s total turnover.

Power, engineering and textiles together accounted for around 45% of the week’s total volume of trade.

In the past week, only large cap sectors managed to close positive while small cap declined.

Cement suffered most plunging 3.5%, followed by power that also went down steeply by more than 2%. Food & allied and banks closed marginally higher.

Telecommunication was the week’s highest gainer rising 2.8%.

Pharmaceuticals and non-banking financial institutions ended flat.

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), pharmaceuticals, IT and fuel & power companies reported extraordinary earnings growth during the quarter which allured some investors from sidelines despite turbulence in the political front.

IDLC Investments said the down trend extended to another week of correction amid slow activities.

Though, the market faced a few positive sessions due to actions by the bargain hunters, it was insufficient recovery, it said.

It said continuous blockade with political uncertainty reached one month, affecting investors’ sentiment seriously.

“Quarterly earnings declarations of some companies during October 14 to December 14 sent mixed signals to investors.” l

Tribune Report

Company

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

% change 11.14 6.08 1.83 15.87 4.82 13.29 0.03 10.41 10.72 0.39 3.06 1.02 1.42 4.24 4.77 0.66 0.87 5.28 0.87 3.21 0.00

Million Taka 68.07 40.67 22.54 263.89 32.83 76.03 0.00 176.53 73.61 32.37 28.24 31.37 13.24 36.26 36.45 2.04 3.45 43.66 20.19 77.37 0.08

CSE

% change 6.31 3.77 2.09 24.46 3.04 7.05 0.00 16.36 6.82 3.00 2.62 2.91 1.23 3.36 3.38 0.19 0.32 4.05 1.87 7.17 0.01

Million Taka 1261.72 692.38 218.42 1963.55 549.62 1499.82 3.55 1291.68 1221.84 74.11 356.08 140.59 165.18 490.97 547.12 73.04 96.58 609.58 113.08 421.51 0.21

Total

% change 10.70 5.87 1.85 16.65 4.66 12.72 0.03 10.96 10.36 0.63 3.02 1.19 1.40 4.16 4.64 0.62 0.82 5.17 0.96 3.57 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 Ifad Autos -N Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z C & A Textile -N aamra technologies-A Square Pharma -A Titas Gas TDCLA MJL BD Ltd.-A Brac Bank -A CVO PetroChem RL-A

Agni Systems -A

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Ifad Autos -N C & A Textile -N National Feed-N LafargeS Cement-Z WesternMarine -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A aamra technologies-A Grameenphone-A Alltex Industries -Z Square Pharma -A

BD Submarine Cable-A

Volume shares 11,697,078 1,454,636 2,911,801 13,729,571 8,046,669 931,012 2,877,249 1,961,778 5,310,369 429,214

5,825,836

Volume shares 2,869,157 3,042,953 1,225,783 266,328 658,203 947,754 631,796 72,645 779,140 86,026

191,312

Value in million 740.09 478.99 346.42 319.77 309.34 236.13 220.07 218.57 206.47 200.54

178.81

Value in million 177.95 70.76 34.42 31.70 30.73 27.49 24.38 24.04 22.21 21.68

19.63

% of total turnover 6.91 4.47 3.23 2.98 2.89 2.20 2.05 2.04 1.93 1.87

1.67

% of total turnover 18.13 7.21 3.51 3.23 3.13 2.80 2.48 2.45 2.26 2.21

2.00

Weekly closing 67.70 339.40 118.60 21.70 39.10 255.90 76.50 115.90 38.60 458.60

30.70

Weekly closing 66.90 21.60 27.40 119.50 46.00 28.60 39.00 339.30 28.50 255.60

103.20

Price change 0.00 3.07 -4.74 -13.55 3.44 0.63 2.00 2.29 -2.28 -8.44

Weekly opening 0.00 329.30 124.50 25.10 37.80 254.30 75.00 113.30 39.50 500.90

Weekly high 69.00 340.80 123.90 25.10 39.80 256.80 78.70 117.50 40.00 498.00

Weekly low 40.00 319.20 116.60 21.20 36.60 250.00 74.90 105.50 37.90 448.00

Weekly average 63.27 336.33 117.42 21.53 38.97 255.70 76.47 114.14 38.39 457.56

Price change 0.00 -13.94 -12.46 -4.02 -5.15 -7.14 3.45 2.94 -1.72 1.15

Weekly opening 0.00 25.10 31.30 124.50 48.50 30.80 37.70 329.60 29.00 252.70

Weekly high 68.50 25.10 30.90 123.20 49.00 31.40 39.90 340.00 30.00 256.00

Weekly low 47.00 21.00 26.70 116.00 45.00 28.30 36.80 301.00 27.40 240.00

Weekly average 62.02 21.45 27.17 117.31 45.90 28.57 38.97 337.90 28.43 255.11

-1.92

-5.15

31.30

108.80

31.60

108.00

29.50

100.00

30.66

103.39

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Top 2014 hedge fund triples investor cash betting on India n Reuters, London A little known Mauritius-based hedge fund more than tripled its investors’ cash in 2014 through bets on small and mid-cap stocks in India, becoming the top global performer in a year when its average peer produced single-digit returns.

Last year’s bull market in India, fuelled by the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, lifted the Sensex by 27% in dollar terms.

The $25m Passage to India Opportunity Fund, managed by Ralph Kruger, gained 225 percent, three times more than the second-best performing hedge fund in the world, research firm Preqin said in a report on Thursday based on analysis of over 17,200 hedge funds managing more than $3tn in all.

By comparison, hedge funds on average gained 4% last year, while Indiafocused funds returned 39%, data from industry tracker Eurekahedge showed.

Kruger, an American who started the fund in 2008, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that his concentrated stock picks among India’s thousands of small and mid-cap companies paid off as investors turned their focus on them

after a strong rally in large-cap stocks last year.

India’s 30-stock Sensex index reclaimed its pre-crisis high in October 2013, when the S&P BSE Small Cap Index and Mid Cap Index traded nearly 60% and 40% below their peaks. Kruger said the anomaly was not justified as the smaller companies were increasing revenues and earnings.

“Sure enough, it closed,” he said.

After reclaiming fresh highs in 2013, the Sensex index rose 32% by the end of 2014. The small-cap index rallied 93%, while the mid-caps gained 76%.

While Kruger would not disclose all of his top bets, he said a speciality chemical company which he still owns was the biggest contributor to returns.

Plastic packaging products manufacturer Mold-Tek Packaging Ltd, which rose more than 500% last year, and which he has held for more than three years, was also still in his portfolio, he added.

Another top-performing stock in 2014, but one which he had sold out of after holding it for more than six years, was plumbing system manufacturer Astral Poly Technik Ltd, which rose nearly 140% last year. l

A customer walks past an advertisement for a foreign currency exchange facility at a bank in Mumbai

Oil climbs, Brent posts best two weeks since 1998

US economy creates 1 million jobs in 3 months

n Reuters, New York

n AFP, Washington

Oil rallied again on Friday, with benchmark Brent crude having its largest two-week gain in 17 years, as falling oil rig counts and violence in producer Libya helped further stall a selloff that began in June.

Crude prices have risen nearly 20% over the past six sessions, but remain about 50% below their peak from the middle of last year due to worries of a global oil glut.

Brent futures posted a 9% gain on the week, their biggest since 2011, and 19% over two weeks, the largest since 1998.

Still, the price rebound has been accompanied by sharp market volatility.

U.S. crude oil futures have seen daily price swings of up to 9% since

last week as bulls and bears squared off positions on mixed signals about crude supplies. Many analysts think the market will remain oversupplied through the first half while falling rig counts and reduced exploration budgets at oil firms suggest to some that the glut may be overcome faster.

The worldwide count for oil drilling rigs fell by 261 in January, oil services firm Baker Hughes said. The average number of US oil rigs fell by 199 in January. This week, another 83 US oil rigs went offline, Baker Hughes said.

“People have only started paying attention to the oil rig count in the past week despite the fact they have been falling for weeks,” said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “I think the people really benefiting from these market gy-

An oil well is seen near Denver, Colorado

rations are the high frequency traders as volumes are really up.”

The two-week volume in Brent was at a record high of about 3 million contracts, Reuters data showed.

Brent settled up $1.23, or 2.2%, on the day at $57.80 a barrel. US crude closed up $1.21, or 2.4%, at $51.69.

Aside from the rig count data, the market was bolstered by fighting across Libya.

Stronger-than-expected US jobs growth in January helped as well, though the data also raised expectations that a US rate hike may happen as soon as mid-year.

“There are as many positive factors now in the market as negative, and everyone’s waiting for the next shoe to drop,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. l

REUTERS

US employers kept their doors wide open for new hires in January, capping a three-month surge that saw a stunning one million jobs created across the country.

A better-than-expected January total of 257,000 net new jobs made for the best hiring over three months since 1997, with a broad range of industries expanding payrolls despite the midwinter economic slowdown.

The Labor Department’s January employment report released Friday also showed a modest gain in wages, and while the unemployment rate edged up to 5.7% from 5.6%, analysts said that related more to a jump in returnees to the labor force - a positive sign.

With the economy marking the 11th straight month of 200,000-plus jobs added, “This was another incredibly strong employment report for the US,” said Harm Bandholz of UniCredit.

Most economists said the fresh data showed real signs of the economy gaining traction after a bumpy 2014 during which it grew a modest 2.4%.

US markets took the report as good news at first, but a bout of profit taking at the end of Friday’s session left the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both down by 0.34%.

The dollar surged more than one percent to $1.1322 per euro and to 118.97 yen, and US Treasury bond yields rose sharply.

There were weaknesses in the numbers, to be sure: Most of the new jobs were still low-wage positions and the number of long-term unemployed rose.

Meanwhile an increase in wages - a data point watched as a crucial sign of labor-market tightening - was still only slightly above the inflation trend.

After falling in December, hourly wages gained 12 cents, or 0.5%, to $24.75. Year-on-year the increase was 2.2%.

While the rise was encouraging, economists said the wage movements

over the past year were still too inconsistent to declare that American workers’ paychecks are firmly on the rise.

“The labor market is not yet tight enough to produce substantial wage growth, which means that future consumption growth will be limited,” said Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

‘No signs of cooling’

Even so, said Chris Williamson of Markit, the Labor Department report was mostly good news.

“The US labor market showed no signs of cooling at the start of the year, despite recent evidence to suggest the economy moved down a gear during the winter months,” he said in a client note.

“Wage growth remains a major disappointment but is at least showing signs of picking up.”

The surge in job creation in the past year has sharply cut the US unemployment rate. The 5.7% rate at the end of January compared with 6.6% a year ago, and 8% at the start of 2013.

Analysts believe it will fall close to 5% by the end of this year, finally putting the deep damage of the 2008-2009 Great Recession behind.

Combined with the benefits of sharply lower fuel prices, “the gains in average hourly earnings will translate into significant buying power among consumers,” said Doug Handler, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight.

The January jobs market report was seen as strong enough to confirm the Federal Reserve’s march toward raising its near-zero interest rates in the middle of this year, if not earlier.

With inflation tame, Fed policy makers have been keeping their eyes on employment gains and especially wages in recent months to see if the economy is growing strongly enough to weather a tightening of monetary policy.

“With three-month average job growth of 336,000, the Fed may start thinking about liftoff before June,” said Chris Low of FTN Financial. l

REUTERS

CSE organises training program for TREC holders n Tribun Report The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday organised a day-long training program to train Trading Right Entitlement Certificate (TREC) holders about money laundering and combating financing of terrorism, good governance and compliance awareness.

“The training program is very useful and we hope the participants got clear ideas about the topic,” said Muhammad Abdul Mazid.

Mazid also said: “This will benefit both the organisations and employees.

Similar awareness and training program will be arranged in future for CSE members.” CSE Managing Director Wali-UlMaroof Matin inagurated the program at its DHaka office yesterday. CSE Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid was also present during the inauguration.

The training program had three sessions titled Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism, Good Governance and Compliance Awareness. The sessions were conducted by Habibur Rahman Talukder, Joint Director- BFIU, Bangladesh Bank, M. Hasan Mahmud, Executive Director, BSEC and Saifur Rahman, Executive Director of BSEC. l

S&P downgrades Greece, warns time limited for a deal with creditors

n Reuters, Athens Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s longterm sovereign credit rating to B- from B on Friday, warning that liquidity restraints on Greek banks would limit the time the new government has to clinch a deal with its creditors.

Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was elected barely two weeks ago on a promise to scrap unpopular austerity measures imposed under a 240bn euro ($270bn) international bailout and write off a chunk of the country’s debt. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Samsung Mobile Bangladesh has recently unveiled first of its kind, Tizen powered smartphone named Samsung Z1 in Bangladesh. General manager of Samsung Bangladesh Young-Woo Lee, CEO of Robi Axiata Supun Weerasinghe, MD of Samsung Bangladesh Choon Soo Moon were present on the occasion among others

NCC Bank Limited has recently donated Tk12 lakh Chattagram Kidney Foundation as part of its corporate social responsibility. The bank’s director and former chairperson, Yakub Ali Montu handed over the cheque to M Aminuzzaman Bhuiyan, president of Chattagram Kidney Foundation in Chittagong

The 34th annual sports competition of BJMC has recently been held. Member of parliament, Alhaj Mohammad Habibir Hossain Mollah inaugurated the competition as chief guest

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Canada: World can’t rely on US to carry economy forever n Reuters, Ontario The United States is carrying the world economy at the moment but that is not sustainable, and other major nations must shoulder more of the load, Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Friday.

Oliver said in a speech that the world economy is off to a rough start in 2015 and that “kick-starting global growth will be front and center” at a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Turkey next week.

“Though America is carrying the world economy at the moment, that is simply not sustainable. We need key pillars of global growth to reassert themselves,” Oliver told a meeting of mayors from the Toronto region.

The G20 came into its own during the 2007-09 financial crisis when it put together a global stimulus package, but it is now facing the more delicate challenge of arriving at joint action when economies are running at different speeds.

“The euro area is confronting flat growth and deflation. Beyond Europe, the growth rates of key emerging economies – China and India – are losing steam,” Oliver said.

“Geopolitical crises – in Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria – pose serious risks, complicating the recovery.” l

Google free mapping service adds local guides

n AFP, San Francisco An update to Google’s free online map service on Friday let users become local guides who post reviews of businesses and venues in a challenge to Yelp.

Local Guides was described by Google as a global community of the top reviewers who reap benefits based on how much they post about businesses they visit. Perks promised Local Guides ranged from access to a monthly news letter to being featured on the Internet titan’s Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages along with being sent an annual gift for “high-quality contributions” to Google Maps.

The move came as a challenge to “Yelp’s Elite” program that rewards people for getting into the upper echelon of voices at the crowd-sourced reviews service. Facebook last month launched a new feature that automatically provides tips about places where members of the social network might be, potentially challenging Yelp and other review websites. l

Canada's Finance Minister Joe Oliver speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Daimler: Google can disrupt car industry but is no automaker n Reuters, Frankfurt

Technology companies such as Google are unlikely to become mass car manufacturers, even if they have the potential to disrupt an industry increasingly focused on software and automated driving, the head of German carmaker Daimler said on Friday.

In recent years, automakers and Silicon Valley companies have grown increasingly inter-dependent because next-generation cars need advanced software and sensors, shaking up the traditional pecking order among carmakers and their suppliers.

While Google unveiled an advanced self-driving car last year, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche said the US company’s objective was probably to better understand how cars are used, rather than to become a manufacturer in its own right.

“Google and the likes want to get involved, I don’t think in the first place to build vehicles,” Zetsche told analysts, adding that Google was studying the home, the office and the car as places where people spend time.

“We have to understand that, and then to find our roles, to which extent they are complementary, to which extent we become dependent, to which extent we are competitors,” he added.

Daimler, which owns the MercedesBenz brand, will put great emphasis on controlling data from self-driving and other cars.

“When we talk about high safety with Mercedes, it does not apply specifically for protection from accidents, but this means safety of their personal data as well. To be able to provide that, we have to keep control, and we can’t do that when it is collected by Google,” Zetsche said. l

REUTERS

Sunday, February 8, 2015

IMF urges G20 to take action to unstick global growth n AFP, Washington International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Friday urged the Group of 20 major economies to fulfill their pledges to revive the faltering global economy.

Ahead of next week’s G20 finance chiefs meeting in Istanbul, the IMF managing director said they needed to implement the G20 leaders’ commitments made at the November summit in Brisbane to boost growth, adding more than $2tn to the global economy and millions of jobs over the next four years.

“Without action, we could see the global economic supertanker continuing to be stuck in the shallow waters of sub-par growth and meager job creation,” Lagarde said in a blog on the IMF website.

The G20 industrialized countries, which account for more than 80% of the global economy, tasked the IMF to monitor the implementation of its growth strategy. Turkey took over the rotating G20 presidency in December.

According to Lagarde, the G20 finance chiefs meeting tomorrow and Tuesday should work urgently on structural reforms in the midst of global risks ranging from divergent central bank policies, with the US Federal Reserve on a tightening path while others are increasing stimulus; a stronger dollar; and weak growth and inflation in the eurozone and Japan.

“We need a decisive push for structural reforms in areas such as trade, education, health, social safety nets,

and labor and product markets, as well as efficient infrastructure,” she said.

Though the global economy may get a further lift from falling oil prices and relatively stronger US growth, Lagarde said, the Fed’s ongoing exit of exceptional support for the US recovery, even if well-managed, could result in “excessive volatility” in financial markets.

Without action, we could see the global economic supertanker continuing to be stuck in the shallow waters of sub-par growth and meager job creation, Lagarde said the strengthening dollar poses a special risk for emergingmarket economies where banks and companies have increased their borrowing in the greenback over the past five years.

And a further risk to the global economy was the possibility that the eurozone and Japan “could remain trapped in a twilight zone of low growth and low inflation for a prolonged period.

“These ‘low-low conditions’ would raise the risk of recession and deflation, because they would make it even harder for many countries to reduce high unemployment and high debt,” Lagarde said. l

Reuters poll: Yuan to reverse weakening trend n Reuters, Bengaluru The Chinese yuan will reverse its recent weakening trend and appreciate over the next year due to the country’s large trade surplus, despite expectations that its central bank will ease policy further, a Reuters poll showed.

The yuan has lost about 2% against the dollar since November when it broke an appreciating trend after the People’s Bank of China unexpectedly cut interest rates.

On Friday, it was trading at 6.241.

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 24 years in 2014 and will likely cool further to around 7% this year, even with additional stimulus, weighed down by a cooling property market, industrial overcapacity and slowing investment.

The PBOC on Thursday cut the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points to increase liquidity in commercial banks, its first system-wide cut in over 2 years, in an effort to offset capital outflows.

However, the poll of around 20 curren-

cy strategists taken this week showed the yuan will soon shrug off those losses and climb to 6.23 per US dollar in three months, 6.20 in six months and 6.15 in a year.

“China’s economy will probably stabilise this year owing to a very gradual export recovery, which will keep the trade surplus fairly large,” said economist Vishnu Varathan at Mizuho. “That means at some time this year policymakers will be under pressure to allow the currency to appreciate.”

China’s December trade data beat expectations and exports grew faster while imports shrank. But whether that can be sustained is doubtful, especially if the recovery in the United States falters.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to increase interest rates for the first time in over half a decade in June despite low inflation, and will likely push Treasury bond yields higher, offering better returns to investors.

That is expected to propel the dollar and pressure Asian currencies as growing expectations of monetary policy easing

across the region counter a tightening cycle in the world’s largest economy.

A Reuters poll of traders on Thursday showed investors raised short positions on the yuan over the past two weeks to the highest in nearly 10 months, while sentiment was largely optimistic on the Indian rupee and long positions fell only slightly.

The rupee is among the best performing Asian currencies so far this year, with a gain of around 2%, supported by capital inflows and expectations the Reserve Bank of India will ease policy to encourage growth.

The RBI cut interest rates in a surprise move last month to take advantage of cooling inflation and support an economic recovery. Analysts expect it to follow with 25 basis point cuts in the repo rate in each quarter from April.

The latest currency poll showed the rupee will likely trade near Friday’s rate of 61.73 through the end of February before falling to 63.00 around July on expectations that a dollar rally will limit the currency in the second half of 2015. l

China’s reserve ratio cut more help to banks than borrowers Bank of England holds interest rates at record low So what?

Hinese yuan banknotes are seen inside a counter of the Suining City Commercial Bank in Suining, Sichuan province

n Reuters, Shanghai Chinese bankers welcomed Beijing’s decision to cut the level of reserves they must hold, hoping they can put the freed-up cash to profitable use, but struggling Chinese companies hoping it will mean more and cheaper loans are likely to be disappointed.

After a slew of gloomy economic data, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) by 50 basis points on Wednesday, freeing up an estimated 600bn yuan ($96bn) into the money supply.

New lending in December was lower than expected, and that was followed by a surprise shrinking in the factory sector in January and weakening data for the services industry, once a lonely bright spot in the world’s second largest economy.

However, economists who spoke to Reuters viewed the RRR cut as a defensive attempt to offset the impact of capital flowing out of yuan assets as the currency slides against the dollar, not stimulative.

Government economists have publicly made similar statements.

REUTERS

“Foreign exchange management is not an effective long-term liquidity tool, so you must use other delivery channels,” said Ma Jun, central bank chief economist, in a commentary published by the official China Securities Journal Wednesday.

Lu Lei, head of the PBOC’s research department, also played down the significance of the move, saying it was not a strong stimulus measure or a policy shift but an ordinary operation based on liquidity conditions, including a spike in demand for cash for the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays.

Bankers who spoke to Reuters said the move was not enough to encourage them to lend more, or lend more cheaply, given the dearth of demand from creditworthy borrowers, an assertion supported by independent surveys of Chinese executives.

“There are too few good clients if your bank is prioritising risk; indeed there are times when you have money, but you can’t find ways to lend it out,” said a loan officer from one of China’s top five banks, who added that his bank frequently found itself with cash in hand and nobody worth lending to.

The move will mean more funds available for investment in higheryielding money market products, analysts say, and some bankers said they might steer more credit to the safer state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Chinese state-owned banks are often criticised for preferring to lend to SOEs regardless of their business prospects, because they are guaranteed by the government, which starves the more efficient private sector of capital.

The problem facing banks’ loan officers is that smaller companies - both private and local-level SOEs - tend to be lighter on assets that can serve as collateral and their financial statements are less reliable.

Still restricted

Also, for many lenders, especially smaller banks, the relaxation of the reserve requirement doesn’t free up capital for loans because they still have to maintain a loan-to-deposit ratio of 75%.

And in China’s tightly controlled financial system, lending quotas set by the central bank are more significant determinants of loan volumes. l

n AFP, London The Bank of England voted Thursday to keep interest rates at a record-low 0.50 percent, where they have stood for nearly six years, amid fears of deflation and slowing growth.

Policymakers also decided to maintain the level of quantitative easing cash stimulus at £375bn ($571bn, 500bn euros), the BoE said in a statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting.

“The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting today voted to maintain bank rate at 0.5%,” the statement read.

“The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £375bn.”

The decisions were in line with expectations, while economists said the MPC would have been mindful of weak inflation and the eurozone crisis centred on Greece. Official data showed earlier this month that British inflation dived in December to an all-time low 0.50% on the back of collapsing oil prices, fanning fears of deflation.

The tumbling rate, which compared with 1% in November, also sparked forecasts that borrowing costs would

DILBERT

remain on hold for the rest of the year.

Minutes showed last month that the MPC panel had voted unanimously in January for the first time since July to hold interest rates at 0.5%.

“Presumably today’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged was again unanimous after deflation concerns prompted Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty to drop their call for a rate hike last month,” said economist Samuel Tombs at research consultancy Capital Economics.

“An interest rate rise in the immediate future still looks very unlikely, but could well come back on the agenda later this year once the risk of a prolonged period of falling prices has diminished.”

That would leave interest rates on hold until after Britain’s general election in May. The BoE’s main task is to use monetary policy as a tool to keep 12-month consumer price inflation inflation close to a government-set target of 2%.

Economists must now wait until February 18 for publication of minutes from this month’s MPC gathering.

Tumbling oil prices translate into lower inflation because they pull down energy, manufacturing and transport costs. l