13 Feb, 2015

Falgun 1, 1421 Rabius Sani 23, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 309

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages plus 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk12

WEEKEND

7 | LONG FORM

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

WELCOME TO THE LAND OF STORIES

A PRESCRIPTION FOR GROWTH

GEORGE W HASINA

‘IF WE CAN’T SETTLE DOWN MENTALLY, WE WILL SUFFER BADLY’

Non-stop hartal after Feb 14 if demands not met BNP-led alliance to hold demos across the country on that day n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The BNP-led 20-party alliance yesterday issued a fresh ultimatum, asking the government to either accept the mid-term polls demand by February 14 or face a countrywide nonstop strike in addition to the ongoing blockade.

In a statement, BNP Joint Secretary Salahuddin Ahmed said the 20-party combine would hold peaceful demonstrations in all upazilas, municipalities, district headquarters and cities across the country on February 14.

P16 ARSON IN CAPITAL The alliance’s demands include an election under a non-partisan interim government, end to extra-judicial killings and repression of its leaders and activists, and release of those behind bars.

“If the government does not accept these demands, tougher programmes will be put in place from February 15 alongside the ongoing blockade,” Salahuddin said in the statement, which was emailed to the media yesterday.

The threat comes at a time when as the situation in the country appears to

be returning to normality despite the blockade and hartals.

The BNP-led alliance enforced the nationwide transport blockade on January 6. Around 70 lives have so far been claimed by the violence that has since been following. Most of those people killed belong to the low income groups.

Salahuddin Ahmed has been in hiding for around a month. He took over the charge of the party’s spokesperson after another Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi got arrested last month.

Salahuddin, on behalf of party chief Khaleda Zia, urged law enforcers not to turn the country into a “dreadful place” just for the government to stay in power longer and claimed that their action programmes have been “peaceful.”

However, senior ministers and ruling Awami League leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have been repeatedly saying that no dialogue could take place with “criminals who are killing innocent people.”

Western diplomats, the United Nations and rights bodies have expressed concerns over the violence and loss of  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

A giant puppet of a batsman, controlled by stage hands, waves a bat during the opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday

Cricket World Cup officially under way n Cricket Australia The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup opened on a whimsical note on a golden evening in Christchurch yesterday.

An estimated crowd of 10,000 gathered at North Hagley Oval in the heart of the city to soak up

Moody’s predicts Bangladesh economy to weaken for first time in five years n Kayes Sohel The prolonged political unrest is weighing on the export growth and hindering the country’s investment environment, says a global credit rating agency.

“Export growth, which had been immune to political turmoil in the past, has begun to weaken,” said Moody’s in its latest forecast released yesterday.

This for the first time in five years the agency forecast about the sorry state of the country’s economy.

Over the last five years, it had given Bangladesh a stable sovereign outlook of Ba3 for the fifth consecutive year.

The continuation of the rating by the agency had showed optimism about the country’s macroeconomic stability and growth prospects.

Between July 2014 and January this year, the first seven months of the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2015, exports grew by just 2.1% year on year, according to data from the Export Promotion

Bureau, compared with 15.1% a year earlier, with manufacturing commodities, including specialised textiles, contracting.

“This is due in part to a process of consolidation within the textile, knitwear and garment industry, which comprises 84% of Bangladesh’s total exports,” the rating agency said.

Export growth, which had been immune to political turmoil in the past, has begun to weaken It said labor and safety standards in the industry have been under scrutiny by global textile purchasers since 2012, and efforts to comply with more stringent standards have likely contributed to a decline in orders.

“Protracted political tensions also risk distracting the government from its

US President Barack Obama sent Congress his long-awaited formal request to authorise military force against Islamic State yesterday, meeting swift resistance from Republicans as well as his fellow Democrats wary of another war in the Middle East.

Republicans, who control Congress and say Obama’s foreign policy is too passive, want stronger measures against the militants than outlined in the plan, which bars any large-scale  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

economic reform programme,” it said.

The Moody’s said last Saturday, opposition activists in Bangladesh violently attacked a bus and truck, tragically killing several people and ratcheting up already mounting political tension, it said.

“This intensifying political unrest, which is manifesting itself in increasingly frequent strikes, violent outbreaks and a nationwide transport blockade, is credit negative for Bangladesh because it is weighing on the sovereign export performance, investment activity and headline growth.”

Moreover, these political tensions risk undermining the reform progress made under an ongoing program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Since April 2012, Bangladesh has worked closely with the IMF under a $900m extended credit facility, it said adding that although it has cleared four program reviews so far and secured  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

INSIDE

Obama asks Congress to authorise IS war n Reuters B1 | Business

Global competitors are not the threat for Bangladesh’s garment sector, but the country’s persistent political unrest appears as a real hurdle to having expected growth.

4 | News

The ACC approved charge sheet in a case against 14 people, including MD of Bismillah Towel Limited Khaja Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, filed for swindling about Tk58 crore out of five commercial banks.

8 | World

Former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani has said that Pakistan had ‘most likely’ revealed the position of former al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden to the US, a report published on the al-Jazeera website said.

15 | Entertainment

5 | News

About 75% RU students are yet to come back to campus although authorities have decided to hold classes and examinations amid the hartals and blockades.

6 | Nation

Constant incurrence of losses are pushing the cinema theatre business in Narshingdi towards extinction, with two-thirds of the cinemas in the district already out of business.

AFP

A new telefilm titled ‘Monkey Buziness’ will be premiered today on NTV at 11:30pm. The cast includes a string of fresh new faces as well as renowned senior artists such as Tariq Anam Khan, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Iresh Zaker, Sabila, Tamim, Sabnam Faria and Sifat Tahsin.

an irreverent mix of music, dance and cricket two days out from the action getting under way.

A similar crowd gathered at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl for the tran-Tasman ceremony.

Cricket Australia Chairman Wally Edwards unveiled the cup, declaring “may the best team win.”

“Australia and New Zealand are keen

on-field cricket rivals, but there has been a strong trans-Tasman spirit in their joint venture helping to organise this Cricket World Cup over the last 10 years,” he said.

The first game of the tournament is between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, nearby to the Christchurch party, closely followed by the Australia and England clash in front

of an expected 90,000 at the MCG. Matches will be played in 14 host cities across the two countries over the next six weeks.

The free ceremonies yesterday concluded with stage entertainment featuring some of New Zealand and Australia’s best-known music acts – including Daryl Braithwaite – celebrities and fireworks.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, February 13, 2015

Food for Khaleda’s staff stopped n Tribune Report The police yesterday reportedly twice barred a van, carrying food for the BNP chief’s staff and party leaders who had been accompanying Khaleda Zia since January 3, from entering the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office.

However, law enforcers did not stop Khaleda’s relatives, who brought food for the three-time prime minister, from sending the nourishments inside.

Shamsuddin Didar, an official of Khaleda’s press wing, said when the food-carrying van arrived in front of the Gulshan office, the police did not allow it to enter the office; similarly the lunch was also turned away from the gate.

“Food is being barred from entering the office since Wednesday night.

I could not understand why the police did not allow food inside. Is there any law which prohibits food from being sent to anyone’s office?” Didar said.

A member of Chairperson’s Security Force said considering the existing situation, food had been cooked for some people on Wednesday night and

yesterday noon.

The party’s Vice-Chairman Selima Rahman, Khaleda’s Adviser Abdul Kayum, Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan, the BNP chief’s Special Assistant Shamshur Rahman Shimul Biswas and some 40 staffs of Khaleda have been accompyaning the BNP chief since January 3.

The party’s Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed issued a press release yesterday, alleging that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was hatching a conspiracy to kill Khaleda by disconnecting power, telephone, fax and internet to the BNP chief’s office.

Meanwhile, police detained family members of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Nuruzzaman Jony who was killed in ‘crossfire’ in Khilgaon area as they came to meet Khaleda at her office last night, reports UNB. Jony’s father Yakub Ali, mother Mariam Begum, wife Munira Parven, mother-in-law Sumi Haq and his younger sister Fatematuz Zohra Tuli along with JCD joint general secretary Selina Sultana Nishita had been in front of the office around 7:30pm to meet her. l

Members of the Bangladesh Awami Trinamool League pose as victims of the ongoing arson and petrol bomb attacks in an exhibition arranged in front of the National Press Club yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

B Chowdhury: Dialogue the only way n UNB

Five students of Jahangirnagar University expelled for assaulting assistant proctor

Observing that dialogue is the only way to resolve the current political crisis, President of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday said it is the government’s duty to take an initiative in this regard.

“We want to get rid of the present situation. There’s only one way to come out of it and that’s dialogue. It’s the government’s duty to hold dialogue. If the opposition doesn’t respond, they’ll be held responsible, too,” he said.

Badruddoza Chowdhury, also a former President, said this while addressing a discussion organised by Sommilito Peshajibi Parishad at Supreme Court Ainjibi Samity Auditorium in the city.

He also noted that it is wrong when the leaders of the ruling party say that there will be no dialogue with ‘killers’.

“You (PM Sheikh Hasina) held talks with the leader who led the BDR carnage that killed 57 army officers. Why not now? It’s your wrong decision,” he said.

“There’s no reason to think that the PM is not aware about the national crisis. If she wishes, she can solve the problems in three months. But the question is whether she really wants a solution, observed Badruddoza Chowdhury.

Mentioning that the people of the country are conscious about their rights, he said that people should realise their right to vote.

About petrol bomb attacks, he said, “I’m against petrol bomb attacks. But we have to identify the attackers. We want to know who are hurling the bombs.” l

The Jahangirnagar University (JU) authorities have temporarily expelled five students of marketing for their involvement in assaulting the assistant proctor of the university.

The five - Faisal Rabbi Riyad, Anik Shovon Bala, Aminur Rahman Toki, Md Sumon and Arif Ahmed Mafi - were in their third year of study.

The decision to expel them was taken at an emergency meeting of the university syndicate held at the residence of the vice-chancellor yesterday night.

A five-member committee led by Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Abul Hossain was formed to investigate the assault on Sikder Md Zulkernine, also an assistant professor of archaeology, on Wednesday when he went to the De-

n JU Correspondent

partment of Marketing for questioning Faisal over a recent crude bomb blast in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence.

Faisal and Anik were later handed over to Ashulia police.

Md Hanif Ali, a syndicate member and a professor of computer science and engineering, told the Dhaka Tribune the five students were expelled in light of the disciplinary board’s recommendation.

Unidentified miscreants set off a crude bomb in front of the residence of the vice-chancellor, Professor Dr Farzana Islam, on January 19.

Chhatra Dal leader of the university Wasim Ahmed Anik was detained after the explosion.

But the proctorial body suspected Faisal’s involvement in the blast which

is why Zulkernine and some other teachers went to the department on Wednesday to grill him.

A five-member committee led by Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Abul Hossain was formed to investigate the assault The students who were expelled tried to resist the teachers while Anik assaulted Zulkernine, source said.

Meanwhile, the university unit of Chhatra League demonstrated on the campus yesterday protesting the coun-

trywide general strike and blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

Over a hundred Chhatra League activists marched at the transport area of the university at midday and chanted slogans against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. They said the BNP chief had killed innocent people and destroyed the country’s wealth.

The march, joined by JU Chhatra League President Mahmudur Rahman Jony, General Secretary Rajib Ahmed Rasel, Vice-president Rasel Miah Swadhin, Office Secretary Shahidul Islam Saif, Joint Secretary Mithun Kundu and Organising Secretary Murshedur Rahman among others, ended at Amar Ekushey sculpture in front of Social Science Faculty building. l

Quamrul: Civil Society instigates Khaleda to burn people n UNB Describing it as a “cancer of society,” Food Minister Quamrul Islam yesterday said civil society members are now instigating BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to burn people.

“Civil Society members inspire Khaleda Zia to kill people. I feel ashamed of speaking about them. Fie! Are they conscience of the nation?

They’re a cancer of society. They instigate Khaleda Zia in burning people,” he said while addressing a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city.

Bangladesh Swadhinata Parishad, a pro-Awami League platform, arranged the human chain protesting hartal and blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The food minister said the Dr Kamal Hossain and Mahmud Rahman Manna conspirators and masterminds of the 1/11 political changeover.

“We’ve noticed that the masterminds of the 1/11 political changeover have launched a banner of civil society…there’s no ground under their feet.

There is no democracy in their own parties, but they’re advocating for dia-

logue. They always wait for such a situation.”

The fire triggered by Khaleda Zia will burn Khaleda herself and her party BNP to death, the minister warned.

“The day is not far away when the BNP leaders having good sense will besiege Khaleda Zia. The party leaders will exert pressure on her from inside (to come out from violence),” Quamrul said.

Branding BNP-Jamaat as “beast”, the food minister said there could be no dialogue between humans and beast.

“They’ve turned into beast. No dialogue can be held with them. Stern

actions are needed to uproot the beast.

What the law enforcement agencies are doing is appropriate,” he added.

The ongoing violence and arson attacks will be over within a few days, the minister said asking people to have patience for a few days. “Everything will be fine... everything has its end.”

AL leaders Shahe Alam Murad, MA Karim, Zakir Ahmed, Hedayetul Islam and Hasibur Rahman Manik, and President of the Parishad Zinnat Ali Khan Zinnah and its general secretary Fazlul Haque, among others, spoke at the programme. l

War crimes suspects Mohibur, Mujibur land in jail n UNB The International Crime Tribunal 2 yesterday sent detained war crimes-suspects Mohibur Rahman Bara Mia and his younger brother Mujibur Rahman Angur Mia to jail.

Passing the order, the tribunal asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the SP of Habiganj district to explain as to how the duo-detainees were not produced before it within 24 hours of their arrest, defying the prescribed rules.

Besides, the three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, asked the prosecution to submit on February 28 a follow-up report on investigation into the war crimes allegations against the siblings of Baniachong, Habiganj.

Habiganj Detective Branch of Police in compliance with the tribunal order following a prosecution plea arrested the duo from Nabiganj Imambari area on February 10.

According to the prosecution, Mohibur, now 70, also former chairman of Khagaura Union Parishad, and Mujibur, now 65, incumbent chairman of Khagaura UP, had established Razakar, an auxiliary force of the Pakistan occupation army, in Nabiganj thana.

During the Liberation War, the two brothers had perpetrated the crimes against humanity like killing, ransacking and torching the houses and shops in collaboration with the Pakistan army, said the prosecution, referring to the ongoing investigation.

Prosecutor Sultan Mahmud Simon appeared for the prosecution. l

Obama asks Congress to authorise IS war

Non-stop hartal after Feb 14 if demands

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invasion by US ground troops and covers the next three years.

Obama acknowledged that the military campaign is difficult and will remain so. “But our coalition is on the offensive. ISIL is on the defensive, and ISIL is going to lose,” he said in a televised statement from the White House.

With many of Obama’s fellow Democrats insisting the plan is too broad because it includes no blanket ban on ground troops, it could be difficult for the authorisation to pass, even though six months have passed since the campaign began.

Obama consulted with Republicans and Democrats in writing the resolution, and said he would continue to do so. He said the time frame was intended to let Congress revisit the issue when the next president takes office in 2017.

The proposal says Islamic State “has committed despicable acts of violence and mass execution.” Its militants have killed thousands of civilians while seizing territory in Iraq and Syria in an attempt to establish a hub of jihadism in the heart of the Arab world.

They have also generated international outrage by beheading western aid workers and journalists and burning to death a Jordanian pilot.

Obama sent his request to Congress a day after his administration confirmed the death of Kayla Mueller, a 26-year-old aid worker who was the last known American hostage held by the group.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives must approve Obama’s plan.

Lawmakers said they would begin hearings quickly as Republicans made clear they thought the plan fell short.

The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, told reporters he was sure the plan would change as it moved though Congress. “I’m not sure the strategy that has been outlined will accomplish the mission the president says he wants to accomplish,” he added.

Obama has defended his authority to lead an international coalition against Islamic State since August 8 when US fighter jets began attacks in Iraq.

The formal request eased criticism of Obama’s failure to seek the backing of Congress, where some accused him of breaching his constitutional authority.

Seeking a united front With Republicans in control of Congress after routing Obama’s Democrats in November elections, the president also wants lawmakers to share responsibility for the campaign against Islamic State and present a united front.

The plan does not authorise “longterm, large-scale ground combat operations” such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama said those operations would be left to local forces, but lawmakers worried they would not step up. “What is the role, really, that regional partners are playing in this battle against ISIL?” asked Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.

The draft allows for certain ground combat operations including hostage rescues and the use of special forces. It permits the use of US forces for intelligence collection, targeting operations

for drone strikes and planning and giving other assistance to local forces.

Many Democrats, especially liberals in the House, said Obama’s proposal was too broad. They want any authorisation to place stricter limits on the use of ground troops and expressed concerns Obama set no geographic limits on the campaign.

“The language ... is very broad, very ambiguous,” said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff. “None of us really know what ‘enduring offensive combat operations’ means.”

It was the first formal request for authority to conduct a military operation of Obama’s six years in office. If passed, it would be Congress’ first war authorisation since then-President George W Bush’s 2002 authority to wage the Iraq War. Obama’s objection as a US senator to that authority helped fuel his successful 2008 campaign for the White House.

Obama’s text includes a repeal of the 2002 Authorisation for the Use of Military Force. But it leaves in place an open-ended authorisation, passed days after the 9/11 attacks, for a campaign against al Qaeda and affiliates.

Rights groups and many lawmakers said they want the new AUMF to set an end date for the 2001 authorisation, which the White House has invoked to carry out drone and missile strikes against suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen and Somalia.

Obama said he remained committed to working with Congress to “refine, and ultimately repeal” it. l

lives and asked all parties to refrain from destructive activities.

On Wednesday, following a onehour meeting with Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office where she had been holed up for more than a month, British High Commissioner Robert Gibson called upon all parties to ful-

ly consider the effects of their actions and refrain from damaging to nation’s interests.

Because of the political programmes, the schedule of several papers of the ongoing SSC examinations, one of the biggest public examinations in the country, had to be shifted.

Meanwhile, a citizens’ platform

named “Nagorik Samaj” sent separate letters to President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Seikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, urging them to hold talks to resolve the crisis.

The ruling Awami League ruled out the proposal, saying the masterminds of 1/11 have been hatching a conspiracy once again. l

Moody’s predicts

Cricket World Cup

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$644m in financial assistance by implementing several important reforms, the successful completion of the program involves the passage of further structural measures, including the introduction of a new value-added tax and steps to improve the state-owned banking system.

“Such measures become more challenging to achieve in a factious political environment,” said Moody’s.

It, however, said despite rising political tensions casting a shadow on Bangladesh’s economy, the country’s external payments position has not yet been significantly affected.

Foreign-exchange reserves as of early February had risen to $22.2bn from $18.1bn a year ago. External debt is relatively low at 20.7% of GDP, and is primarily concessional, which also limits vulnerability to volatility in external capital flows.

According to Moody’s, renewed political tensions in Bangladesh began when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League party confined Khaleda Zia, the leader of the main

opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), to her party office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, just before the one-year anniversary of parliamentary elections held in January 2014.

The BNP responded by imposing a nationwide transport blockade, which has been in place since 5 January, and simultaneously calling for general strikes.

Relations between the Awami League and the BNP have been highly polarized, rooted in a deep personal rivalry.

Political tensions have historically flared up in the run-up to elections, marked by frequent street protests that receded thereafter and thus had a limited effect on economic activity.

This time, however, protests have been marred by violent outbreaks, and have persisted for a prolonged time.

The last election, held in 2014, was the first since the Awami League in 2011 abolished the system of appointing a caretaker government.

The BNP refused to participate on procedural grounds, which resulted in an uncontested victory for the Awami League. l

Before that, there was a family-friendly feel to the event in Christchurch which appeared to unfold with no problems catering for the large crowd.

Christchurch student Sam Toomey, 12, enjoyed playing in one of the games of “backyard cricket” in front of a Sri Lankan dancing troop.

He was looking forward to the tournament and appreciated organisers designating Christchurch as host of both the opening ceremony and the first game.

It is one of the city’s first major events since the devastating earthquake that struck three years ago and resulted in Christchurch losing its hosting rights for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. “I remember the day they announced we weren’t getting the rugby, it seemed like the worst thing that could happen,” Toomey told NZ Newswire.

“Getting some cricket here meant a lot to me and my friends.”

The Melbourne ceremony kicked off with a dance and music element from the competing nations. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Friday, February 13, 2015

Poor revenue may delay public servants’ pay hike Review committee faces difficulties accommodating commission’s proposals

n Asif Showkat Kallol The government is going to extend the tenure of a secretarial committee tasked with submitting a report on ways to execute the recommendations of the pay commission.

The committee was supposed to submit its report to Finance Minister AMA Muhith on February 15 at the end of the six-week time given to it for the task.

“We have already sought the finance minister’s consent for giving a four-week extension to the secretarial committee,” a Finance Division official associated with the committees work told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“There is a huge difference between the recommendations of the National Pay and Services Commission [NPSC] and the secretarial review committee.”

‘There is a huge difference between the recommendations of the pay commission and the review committee’ Sources in the Finance Division said the government wants to execute the pay commission’s recommendations from within the resource constraint in the budget which may arise because of low revenue collection and the elongated political turmoil.

If the government follows the NPSC’s salaries and allowances revision proposals, then expenditure in this head would go up by 63.7% which means an additional Tk22,953 crore will be needed.

Of this, Tk17,464 crore will be needed for paying the government employees, Tk3,790 crore for pensioners, Tk1,688 crore for the teachers of MPO-enlisted schools and colleges, and Tk10 crore for the employees of autonomous bodies.

NPSC Chairman Mohamand Farashuddin had earlier said financing the additional amount would not be a problem if only 1% revenue growth can be ensured.

From July to December – the first half

of the ongoing 2014-15 fiscal year – the National Board of Revenue managed to mobilise only a little over Tk48,000 crore or around 39% of the aggregate collection target of Tk1,49,000 crore.

In the wake of the prevailing political turmoil, the target was recently slashed by around 16%. Now the revenue target stands at Tk1,25,000 crore which the NBR will have to collect another Tk77,000 crore in the last half of the fiscal year.

Senior Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed, also a member of the secretarial review committee, told Dhaka Tribune that they need four more meetings to finalise recommendations.

“The secretarial committee is now preparing final recommendations, but we are having some difficulties in incorporating all of the pay commission’s recommendations,” he said The six-member secretarial committee, led by Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, was formed a month ago.

The five other members of the committee are the finance secretary, secretary to the prime minister, public administration secretary, defence secretary and housing and public works secretary.

In addition to reviewing the pay hike proposals for government employees, the committee is also looking after the recommended pay hikes for the armed forces.

Sources said the secretarial committee is mainly dealing with the controversial issues such as deputation, contractual jobs, time scale and selection grades.

The NPSC submitted it proposals to the finance minister on December 21 last year, recommending doubling the salaries, plots for group housing and introducing bank loan for single-digit interest rates for public servants.

The highest salary of Tk 1 lakh was recommended for the cabinet secretary and principal secretary to the prime minister; currently their basic monthly pay is Tk45,000.

The government plans to implement the hikes from July this year. The 8th National Pay and Services Commission was formed in November 2013.

Currently, there are over 832,000 government employees and around

Ignoring the barbed wires, overseas job seekers yesterday try to get into the capital’s Probashi Kalyan Bhaban, which houses the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, in a bid to register for jobs in Saudi Arabia MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Santu Larma slams government directives on CHT n Abid Azad The government is trying to tighten grip on the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts through the recent directives of restricting communication by any local or foreign person or an organisation with the adivasis, PCJSS President Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma has said.

Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) and the Awami League government struck the accord in 1997 to end a decade-long armed struggle.

The government sent its 11-point decisions regarding the CHT to different administrative bodies and law enforcement agencies on January 22 for implementation. The decisions were made at a joint meeting on January 7 at the Home Ministry held to analyse the postpeace accord situation of the region.

At the meeting, CHT Affairs Ministry Secretary Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura claimed that Santu Larma refused to acknowledge that most of the 72 sections of the accord had already been executed.

On this, Santu, also the chief of CHT Regional Council, said: “Such a statement has been made only to serve political purpose. Among the 72 sections, only 25 have been implemented. However, the government is practising falsehood by claiming execution of 48 sections.”

PCJSS Information and Publicity Secretary Mangal Kumar Chakma termed the directives “expression of racism and communalism.”

He also criticised Naba Bikram’s statement that the indigenous leaders had been obstructing in holding the polls to three hill district councils for the last 22 years. “How an election can be held when there is no voter list or regulation?

“The secretary made such statement to cover up failure of the government in implementing the peace accord.”

Mangal ruled out possessing huge cache of arms by the PCJSS as mentioned by the secretary at the meeting.

“We do not understand why the Home Ministry included PCJSS along with the United People Democratic Front

(UPDF), an anti-peace accord indigenous group, to claim that we have huge amount of arms.

“We surrendered our arms to the government when the accord was signed in 1997. Such observation has been made to create distraction and spoil our reputation among the indigenous people,” he alleged.

Mangal observed that asking the law enforcement agencies to work in collaboration with the 24 Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army was contrary to the accord and violation of human rights.

“When the government is supposed to withdraw army camps from the CHT area in line with the accord, it has taken a U-turn from establishing peace.

The law enforcement agencies were supposed to be handed over to the district councils which is yet to be done,” he added.

When contacted for comments over the remarks he had made at the meeting, Secretary Naba Bikram refused to make any comment immediately terming the matter “sensitive.” l

PM: People won’t be defeated by monsters Tk6.5cr compensation for n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Hinting at the BNP-led alliance, the prime minister yesterday said the government will not spare the monsters who have been burning people for no reason.

The BNP-Jamaat alliance had been creating anarchy at a time when the country was moving forward, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, adding that the people will not lose out to these fiends.

She made the remarks while addressing the 35th national parade of the Ansar and VDP forces at the Ansar-VDP Academy at Shafipur in Gazipur’s Kaliakair upazila.

Terming the activities of the 20-party alliance acts of terror and crime, Hasina said the monsters would be defeated to restore peace in the country.

The lives of the hard-working people falling victims to the recent violence had no worth to BNP Chairperson

Khaleda Zia, she further claimed.

The prime minister also pointed out that the BNP-Jamaat alliance had called its blockade programme during a religious event like the Biswa Ijtema, even though it frequently advocated in favour of religion.

She also slammed the opposition alliance for pushing the country towards darkness and jeopardising the lives of 15 lakh SSC candidates by calling hartals during their exams.

Thanking the Ansar forces for their contributions to the country, Hasina said the deployment of Ansar personnel to protect the railways and roads ahead of the 2014 national poll – had brought down incidents of sabotage significantly.

She also showcased the benefits and facilities introduced by her government for the betterment of Ansar and VDP forces.

On a separate note, the premier pointed out that the country was re-

opening avenues of manpower export as Saudi Arabia had resumed accepting new workforce from Bangladesh after seven years, while Malaysia also continued importing manpower from the country.

She reminded everyone that it was every citizen’s duty to protect each other’s lives and properties to their best abilities.

At the event, the prime minister also recognised the contributions of different Ansar personnel by awarding the Bangladesh Ansar Medal (bravery) to two members, the President’s Ansar Medal (bravery) to 15 members, and the President’s VDP Medal (bravery) to two members. She also gave the Bangladesh Ansar Medal (service) to seven members, the President’s Ansar Medal (service) to 38 members, the Bangladesh VDP Medal (service) to eight members, and the President’s VDP Medal (service) to 25 members. l

transport sector pledged n Tribune Report The government has decided to pay Tk6.5 crore to 674 transport owners who suffered losses due to the non-stop blockade and hartal enforced in the country by the BNP-led 20 party alliance.

“The prime minister has decided to initially pay Tk6.5 crore to the affected transport owners, which has been sanctioned already and will be disbursed soon,” said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader during a press briefing at the Secretariat yesterday.

With the promise of compensation, the government aims to encourage transport owners and workers to bring out their vehicles on the road, ministry sources said.

A review committee was formed, comprising both representatives of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry

and the transport sector, to scrutinise the applications submitted for compensation.

“We received more than 700 applications from affected transport owners, asking for around Tk18 crore in compensation. Going through the applications, we picked the ones that had most justifiable reasons, and fixed the amount at Tk7 crore. Later, the government decided to pay Tk6.5 crore,” said Khandakar Anayetullah, general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners’ Association, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.

Since the nationwide blockade started on January 6, scores of vehicles have been damaged by vandalism and arson attacks around the country.

Quader claimed that the number of affected vehicles was at least 1,200, including Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses. l

10 new additional judges sworn-in n Tribune Report Ten newly appointed additional judges of the High Court were sworn-in yesterday.

Chief Justice SK Sinha administered the oath at the Supreme Court Auditorium at 10:30am.

The judges are Advocate Khijir Ahmed, Advocate Jyotirmoy Narayan Deb Chowdhury and Advocate Iqbal Kabir Liton, SC Deputy Attorney General Bhishmadeb Chakrabarti, Deputy Attorney General Md Selim, Deputy Attorney General Md Suhrawardy, Deputy Attorney General Rajik Al Jalil, SC Registrar Farid Ahmed Shibli, Gazipur District Judge Amir Hossain and Chittagong Metropolitan District and Sessions Judge (retd) SM Majibur Rahman.

Judges of the Appellate Division and High Court Division were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

President Abdul Hamid made the appointment for two years as per Article 98 of the constitution, raising the number of HC judges to 97. l

HC verdict on 5% quota for FF wards in MBBS admission upheld n UNB The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the High Court judgement that had declared 5% mandatory quota for the offspring of freedom fighters in MBBS admission every year to medical colleges as prescribed by the Liberation War Affairs Ministry.

A four-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the order, dismissing the application for a leave-to-appeal filed by the government against the HC’s March 6 last year judgement.

The order says the existing stay on the operation of the HC judgment stands vacated.

Liberation War hero Delwar Hossain, a deprived father, filed the petition as the medical colleges did not duly comply with the circular of the ministry.

Sikder Moqbul Huq appeared for the petitioner. l

Young man detained for selling ‘leaked’ question papers n Tribune Report

Students of Shahjahanpur Railway Government High School bring out a rally in the capital’s Motijheel area yesterday calling to end the ongoing blockade and hartals enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance to ensure safe journey to schools. Students of Ideal School and College and Motijheel Model School and College also formed human chains in the area with similar demands DHAKA TRIBUNE

The Detective Branch of Police on Wednesday night detained an honours student on charge of selling question papers of different public examinations, including the SSC, from Dakkhin Khan in the capital.

Asaduzzaman Noor Shakil alias Reazul Islam Liton, 22, is a first year student of physics at Government Titumir College and a supporter of Islami Chhatra Shibir, DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam told reporters at DMP Media Centre yesterday.

Shakil was arrested in a drive from Puraton Mollartek area of Dakkhin by

a DB team led by its Assistant Commissioner Mohorom Ali, on a tip-off.

A laptop, two mobile sets, a pen drive and a modem was seized from his possession.

Monirul claimed Shakil used to prepare questions from suggestions of renowned schools and colleges and then sell those online claiming to be leaked question papers.

He used to deliver the questions on Facebook, messaging the buyer – students or guardians – upon receiving payment through bKash, he added.

Shakil has earned nearly Tk10 lakh by only supplying question papers for the medical admission tests in 2014.

Monirul claimed that they got some questions for the ongoing SSC examinations in his laptop, which are fake.

“Shakil used a fake Facebook account named as Reazul Islam to operate his business,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner of DB Sheikh Nazmul Alam said there were some more Shibir men involved with this gang and they have two goals – making money and tarnishing the image of the government.

“We will take him into remand to know who else are involved with him or any staffs of the Dhaka Education Board are involved with this racket,” he added. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, February 13, 2015

ACC approves charge sheet against eight Bismillah Group officials n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved the charge sheet in a case against 14 people, including Managing Director of Bismillah Towel Limited Khaja Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, filed on charges of swindling about Tk58 crore out of five commercial banks.

The anti-graft watchdog at its regular meeting yesterday approved the charge sheet, said ACC Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.

The other accused are Bismillah Group Chairman and Solaiman’s wife Nowrin Hasib, Director Safiqul Anwar Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director Akbar Aziz Muttaki, General Manger Abul Hasan Chowdhury, Manager Riazuddin Ahmad, Chairman of Network Framework System Limited (an authorised entity of Bismillah Group) M Akter Hossain, owner of Bay Yarn Limited Ghulam Moinuddin Ahmed, and six Premier bank officials - former manager of the bank’s Motijheel branch Shahinur Rahman, former deputy manager Shahadat Hossain, First Assistant Vice Presidents MA Rahim and Tajibul Alam, Vice President Shahabuddin

Sarker and former executive officer Abu Saleh Arifur Rahman.

On November 3, 2013, the ACC filed 12 cases against 53 people, including 13 Bismillah Group officials, accusing them of swindling about Tk1,175 crore out of five banks.

But Bismillah Towel Limited directors Abida Hasib, Nahid Anwar Khan, Khandakar M Moinuddin Ashraf and Sarwar Jahan, and TW Express owner M Moin Uddin were not named in the charge sheet approved yesterday.

The remaining 40 accused are officials of Janata Bank, Prime Bank, Jamuna Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank and Premier Bank.

According to the first information reports, Bismillah Group officials, with the help of bank officials, swindled Tk526.96 crore out of three branches of Janata Bank, Tk326.51 crore out of Motijheel branch of Prime Bank, Tk154.66 crore out of Motijheel branch of Jamuna Bank, Tk104.04 crore out of Eskaton branch of Shahjalal Islami Bank and Tk62.53 crore out of Motijheel branch of Premier Bank.

Bismillah Group is a terry towel producer. l

University students visit the two-day Education UK Exhibition 2015 arranged by the British Council Bangladesh that started at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

6 bombs recovered from CU dorm

BSF returns bodies of 2 cattle traders n CU Correspondent, Chittagong n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah Police recovered six petrol bombs from The BSF of India returned the bodies of two cattle traders after a flag meeting yesterday night.

Commander of Jessore Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 26 battalion Jahangir Hossain led the meeting on behalf of Bangladesh while Krishnanagar BSF sector commander DIG DK Pramanik represented India.

The meeting was held around 7pm at Lebutala frontier in Moheshpur.

In the meantime, the bodies underwent post-mortem at Bongaon hospital under the custody of Indian police before being handed over to the relatives around 8pm.

The two, Aminur Rahman of Jululi village and Fayez Ahmed Faisal of Lebutala village, were shot dead by BSF on February 11. l

a locked room of a Chittagong University dormitory yesterday.

Some staff spotted the bombs while cleaning up room 122 of Suhrawardy Hall around 11am, said CU Proctor Siraj Ud Dowla.

The university authorities had

closed several rooms of the hall for an indefinite period after a gun fight between Chhatra League and Islami Chhatra Shibir on August 24 last year.

Professor Anwar Sayeed, provost of the hall, told the Dhaka Tribune that they opened the locked room to allot it for newly admitted students.

Salaudddin, officer in-charge (investigation) of Hathazari police station,

said Shibir men might have amassed the bombs during the clash last year.

Shibir men used rooms 121 and 122 for their organisational purposes and they forced the boarders to leave, according to source on the CU campus.

Soon after the August 24 clash, police had recovered 25 crude bombs and some sharp weapons from different rooms of the dormitory. l

Dudu sent to jail rejecting fresh remand plea n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sent Md Shamsuzzaman Dudu, an adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, to jail rejecting the remand plea in a case filed on charge of torching and vandalising vehicles in the capital.

Metropolitan Magistrate Tarique Moinul Islam Bhuiyan passed the order when Rupnagar police produced him before the court seeking remand anew after ending a four-day remand granted earlier to him in the case.

On January 11, police detained the BNP leader from Hotel Rabbani in Mir-

pur 10 while he along with others were allegedly planning to commit sabotage during the ongoing blockade.

He was first remanded for five days in a case filed with Mirpur police station and then for another six days in two other vandalism and arson cases lodged with the police station. l

Education UK Exhibition 2015 begins in capital n DU Correspondent A two-day Education UK Exhibition 2015 began at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.

The British Council has arranged the 17th annual event to help Bangladeshi students who are interested to get higher education in the United Kingdom.

With entry fee of Tk50, students could get the opportunity to make direct contact with representatives of 38 renowned educational institutions of the UK at the exhibition, which will remain open for all from 12 noon to 6pm till today.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid inaugurated the exhibition.

Addressing the programme, Nahid said ensuring quality education is a big challenge for Bangladesh due to various reasons that include political unrest

and financial constraints in the country.

He also thanked the British Council and British High Commission for arranging the exhibition which could give a good opportunity for Bangladeshi students who want to study in universities in the UK. Robert Gibson, the British high commissioner to Bangladesh, said: “Students studying in the UK receive an education that enables them to become creative and independent thinkers, they learn what it takes to be a global citizen and how to adapt to a fast changing world.”

On the opening day, many students and their parents crowded the exhibition and collected necessary information on undergraduate and post-graduate courses, scholarship and others facilities offered by different British public and private universities. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Students unwilling to return to RU Political crisis, police harassment discourage students from attending classes n Nazim Mridha, Rajshahi About 75% Rajshahi University (RU) students are yet to come back to campus although authorities have decided to hold classes and examinations amid the hartals and blockades which have been ongoing for over a month now.

The attendance of students in class remain low due to tensed situation on campus as a result of frequent cocktail explosions. Consequentially, exams of about 30 departments at the university continue to be rescheduled.

Earlier, on January 12, RU resumed its schedule following 11 days of winter vacation. However, no classes or exams were held until February 12 due to the continuous blockades enforced by BNP-led 20-party alliance.

On February 2, RU authorities decided in a meeting, attended by department heads and faculty chiefs and chaired by vice chancellor (VC) Professor Muhammad Mizanuddin, that the exams and classes would be held despite the hartal and blockade in order to avoid session jam.

However, despite this decision, departments have been unable to run classes smoothly due to poor attendance of students. Students and teachers say, as security measures were reduced in the university and nearby areas, about 75% students are yet to come back to the university.

Professor Amzad Hossain, dean of the business faculty, tells us: “It is not possible to run classes and examinations amid such insecurity of students and teachers.”

He adds that he is not satisfied with the security provided on university premises.

RU pro-VC Professor Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan has urged the students to return to university to avoid session jam.

Frequent crude bomb blasts

Moreover, explosion of crude bombs on the campus also discourages student to restrained themselves from taking part in classes.

About six cocktails exploded on Wednesday at different points on the campus, including one inside one of

the science buildings, confirmed Alamgir Hossain, officer in-charge of Motihar police station.

On the same day, police recovered a fresh bomb from in front of Ismail Hossain Sirajee building, although they failed to arrest the miscreants in this connection.

As of yesterday, about 15 crude bombs have exploded on campus, three of them being inside dormitories of students, who remain haunted by these incidents.

Police harassment discourage students

Police harassment is also reportedly discouraging students from returning to campus, students have said.

On January 12, police detained 14 students in a raid at Shaheed Shasuzzoha Hall and Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall.

However, police sources say, they were released the next day as no allegations were found.

Police also detained six non-residentials students after conducting a raid at Shaheed Hobibur Rahman Hall and Sha-

heed Ziaur Rahman Hall on January 15.

They were also released the following day as no allegations were found.

On January 16, police held five students from Nowab Abdul Latif and Syed Amir Ali Hall and later released on next day. On January 17 police also conducted raid at Shah Makhdum Hall and harassed the general students.

On February 3, Motihar police detained five freshmen who came to campus for the first time to attend orientation.

This sparked off a procession brought out by Shibir activists on the campus on February 3. why Several students allege, on condition of anonymity, that police harass general students, raiding university halls, in the name of searching culprits.

They also often harass non-resident students who live at different private messes near the campus, alleged several non-resident students.

“Students dare not return to campus due to the insecurity in the university as police fail to nab those who make the university campus a tensed place for students,” said Alamgir Sujon, general secre-

tary of Somajtantrik Chhatra Front of RU. “Police are merely harassing innocent students in the name of security but they have failed to do their job,” he said.

Pro-BNP, Jamaat teachers boycotting classwa, examinations Meanwhile, about 400 pro-BNP and Jamaat teachers under “White Panel” have boycotted classes and exams since February 4. Shamsul Alam Sarker, convener of White Panel said this decision was taken for the security of teachers and students.

“We’ve also called on the university VC to not hold classes and exams in this situation,” he said.

“We ourselves will resume classes and exams once the current crisis is resolved,” Shamsul said, adding that it is also in their in their interest to complete the students’ education.

An indefinite strike sponsored by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) RU unit is underway in the university since February 7 in protest at the arrest of its general secretary Kamrul Hasan and demanding his unconditional release. l

Gazipur mayor placed on 2-day remand n Our Correspondent, Gazipur A court here yesterday placed Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) mayor and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s adviser MA Mannan on a two-day remand in an arson attack case filed with Joydevpur police xtation.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Monwara Begum passed the order after police produced MA Mannan before the court seeking a 10-day remand.

He was picked up from his Baridhara residence in the capital on Wednesday evening and was taken to the office of Gazipur’s Superintendent of Police (SP) for questioning.

SP Mohammad Harun-ur-Rashid, at a press conference at his office at about 7pm, said there were three cases of violence, vandalism and arson with Joydebpur police station against the BNP leader.

“There are specific allegations against him of instigating, planning and financing violence,” the SP said.

On February 4, a Dhaka-bound bus was torched by miscreants during the BNP-enforced non-stop blockade and hartal on Dhaka-Joydebpur highway.

Six people, including a child, was seriously burnt in the attack.

On the following day, police filed a case mentioning MA Mannan as the main accused in the incident. Citing names of 39 BNP-Jamaat men, 20 other unidentified people were sued in the case as well.

Assistant Sub-Inspector of Gazipur police station Rezaul Karim lodged the case.

There are already two more cases of vandalism and arson against MA Mannan.

In the press conference, SP Harun-ur-Rashid said MA Mannan often tried to provoke the garments workers in Gazipur in a bid to destabilise the sector. l

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:52PM SUN RISES 6:33AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 28 27 26 26 26 28 27 27

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

16 16 12 12 12 15 13 17

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

29.4ºC Cox's Bazar

08.5ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

5:17am 6:33am 12:13am 4:16pm 5:52pm 7:09pm

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

5

Friday, February 13, 2015

BGB officials take position in Rajshahi’s Lakhsmipur area where Jatiya Sramik League holds a human chain yesterday terming BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia a ‘murderer’ and demanding immediate action against the ongoing widespread petrol bomb attacks AZAHAR UDDIN

Burn unit at SBMCH to start functioning next week n Our Correspondent, Barisal

As burn patients are increasing day by day for the political unrest, the authorities of Barisal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital has decided to start functioning of a burn unit following an order of the higher authority.

Hospital sources said a 16-bed burn unit is ready to start operation next week, almost 45 years after the establishment of the hospital.

Dr Kamrul Hasan Selim, director of the hospital, said of the 16 beds, eight beds would be reserved for men while rest of the beds will be for women burn patients.

The burn unit has been set up on the ground floor of hospital where a total of five doctors and 10 nurses will take care of patients.

The 300-bed SBMCH as the only specialised public hospital under the college started functioning on November 2, 1970 The unit would be equipped with all necessary facilities to ease the sufferings of the burn patients, the director said.

Hospital sources said the SBMCH surgery unit currently has eight trained doctors, including one professor, two associate professors, two registrars and three assistant registrars, for treatment of burn injured and plastic surgery.

In the last one month, a total of 16 people have become victims of arson attacks.

Of the victims, six died on the spot while the injured 10 others had received treatment at the SBMCH surgery unit, hospital sources said.

Dr Habibur Rahman of SBMCH surgery unit 2 said people of the Barisal region would be benefited from burn unit as earlier serous burn patients were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital which was painful and costlier for them.

The hospital was established in Band road area of Barisal city in 1968.

The 300-bed SBMCH as the only specialised public hospital under the college started functioning on November 2, 1970.

Later, the numbers of beds were increased to 500. However, around 1,500 patients receive treatment from the hospital everyday.

Hospital sources said every year around 1,000 burn injury patients treated and 250 admitted to the hospital. But doctors giving only emergency treatment referred them to Dhaka as there was no dedicated burn unit in the hospital. l

Political unrest a blow 1 killed, 15 hurt as train hits bus in Ctg to Moulvibazar tourism n FM Mizanur Rahaman

n

Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

Like many other sectors hit by the ongoing political unrest, a massive blow has also been dealt to the tourism businesses in Moulvibazar, popular to vacationers for its tea gardens and protected forests.

As the indefinite blockade continues to limit movement on highways and railways across the country, the hotels and resorts in Moulvibazar – especially in Sreemangal upazila – are seeing almost no clients check in for the past month.

Talking to many individuals involved in the tourism business in the district, the Dhaka Tribune learned that many of the tourist establishments have had to temporarily let go of their employees as a consequence of the indefinite blockade.

The Grand Sultan Tea Resort and Golf – a high-end tourist destination in Sreemangal which reportedly has a monthly maintenance cost of Tk1.8 crore – was not even able to earn enough to meet its costs last month, said authorities concerned. Many of the bookings by corporate organisations and tourists were cancelled because of the political situation, they added.

Palash Chowdhury, public relations officer for the resort, told the Dhaka Tribune that only a handful of clients have been checking in since the blockade began. Business was in a devastated state, he said, adding that the near-empty resort was now only being kept open for maintenance.

The number of guests at DuSai Resort and Spa – a boutique tourist establishment in the district’s Nitteshwar – stood at zero on February 10, with all 65 of its rooms staying empty.

Al-Amin, a receptionist at the re-

sort, told the Dhaka Tribune that their expected guests had to cancel their bookings as they could not come to Moulvibazar because of the uncertainty on the roads during the hartals and blockade.

Other hotels in the district have also been facing a grim situation since the 20-party alliance’s countrywide blockade began on January 6.

The owner of Hermitage Guest House, Sultana Foyzunnahar, said she had to send three of her employees on leave during the past month, as no money had been coming in for the establishment that has an average monthly maintenance cost of Tk1.5 lakh.

Authorities at Rain Forest Resort, a tourist establishment on Sreemongol’s Habiganj Road, said they were running their operations at a rented house.

Manager of the resort, Ejaj Hossain Chowdhury, said many of the housebased hotels in the popular tourist area were suffering the tough consequences of the non-stop blockade.

Kazi Shamsul Haque – owner of Radhanagar’s Lichu Bari Resort – said he had to send his head chef, a manager, and two security guards on unpaid leaves as the resort could not attract any tourists even when rooms of Tk2,000 charge were offered for only Tk500.

Shamsul added that foreigners – who are the main client base for the resort – were unable to travel to Moulvibazar during the ongoing blockade. As a result, the booking money had to be returned.

Shyamol Deb Verma, a tourist guide, said a large number of tourists came to the national park during January-February. But this year, the numbers had gone down drastically, he said, adding that the reduced number has put the livelihoods of the guides at risk. l

One person was killed and 15 others were injured when a train rammed a minibus at Ispahani rail crossing gate in AK Khan area of Chittagong city yesterday.

The deceased could not be identified when the body was sent to Chittagong Medical College morgue for autopsy, said Officer-in-Charge of Chittagong railway station police outpost Himangshu Das Rana.

He said it could not be known whether the dead was a passenger of the train or the minibus.

Of the injured, Md Abul Hashem, 60, and Mahbubul Alam, 50, were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Nayek of the hospital’s

police outpost Jahangir Alam. Two others were admitted to a local clinic.

OC Himangshu said the accident took place when Chittagong-bound Meghna Express travelling from Chandpur ploughed into a minibus around 11:15am.

Md Sabuj, who was on the minibus, said the driver was crossing the rail tracks when the vehicle suddenly stopped.

“There were 15-20 passengers on the bus. When the train whistled, the driver jumped out of the window while the passengers also tried to get off,” said Sabuj, who sustained critical injuries in his left leg and was admitted to Al Amin Hospital.

Gateman of the level crossing Md Kawsar said officials at Pahartali station informed him of only Dhaka-bound Kar-

naphuli Express and he closed only one gate while the other remained open.

“Meghna Express was on the down line after the departure of Karnaphuli Express, and hit the minibus which was standing on the track,” he said.

A five-member committee headed by Bangladesh Railway (east) Divisional Traffic Officer Firoz Iftekhar was formed to probe the accident and it was asked to submit a report within three days.

Firoz said an investigation into what caused the accident was underway while a case was also filed in this connection.

On March 11 last year, four female garment workers were killed and seven others were injured when a train rammed a human haulier in Chandgaon of the city. l

Police gather round the bus that was hit by a train at AK Khan level crossing in Chittagong yesterday. The accident left one dead and a few others injured DHAKA TRIBUNE

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Friday, February 13, 2015

charges students Loss-incurring cinema business School for free textbooks faces extinction in Narsingdi n Our Correspondent, Faridpur

n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi Constant incurrence of losses are pushing the cinema theatre business in Narshingdi towards extinction, with two-thirds of the cinemas in the district already out of business.

The business used to be thriving in Narsingdi – there were 18 cinema theatres running successfully in the district’s six upazilas, said sources at the district information office. But a fall in the quality of films beginning in the 90s started repelling cinema-goers from visiting the theatres. Piracy made it worse.

The increasing absence of audience eventually caused a blow to the busi-

ness which the cinemas are now finding impossible to survive, staff and owners of the existing cinemas told the Dhaka Tribune.

Twelve cinemas have already gone out of business, the establishments now being used for commercial and other purposes.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Nazmul Alam Bhuiyan Mitul, owner of Pipasha Cinema in Monohardi upazila, one of the cinemas that were closed, said: “My back was on the wall. It was incurring loss for a long time, because no one comes to watch films at cinemas any more. People get their hands on the films before their release, thanks to piracy.”

Sanaul Haque Bindu, owner of Surobhi Cinema in Narshingdi town – one of the six cinemas still in existence – said: “I have incurred a huge debt because of my struggling business. I am thinking about finding an alternative venture; the cinema has to be shut down.”

Faruq Hossain Manik, owner of Runa Cinema in Narshingdi’s Chalakchar area, shared Sanaul’s sentiment.

“I had to suffer a loss of Tk200,000 last month. The business is doomed. I am thinking about renting the building out as a garage,” he said.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted Sanjida Amin, district information officer in Narshingdi, who confirmed the dire

Defying the existing ban on sand lifting and transportation, a vested interested group is still continuing sand lifting from the Padma River in Rajshahi. The photo taken from Satbaria area under Motihar police station shows labourers are engaged in uploading sand on trucks AZAHAR UDDIN

Four killed in road accidents in 3 districts

Jubo Legue leader hacked to death in Gaibandha n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha n Tribune Report A Jubo League activist was hacked to death by some unidentified miscreants at Sapmara village in Gobindaganj upazila early yesterday.

Tauhidul Islam Rocket, Sadar upazila unit president of Jubo League, the youth front of the ruling party Awami Legue, said Abdul Hamid Prodhan Hiru Mia, was an activist of the party. Hiru Mia is the son of Hafiz Rahman, a resident of Krishnapur village of the same upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Gobindaganj police station ABM Jahidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that Hiru Mia started for home from Sadar upazila around 1:30am, but he had not returned home.

Later, local people found his body in a mustard field of Sapmara village.

Later, police recovered the body and sent it to Gaibandha Adhunik Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

The OC said his body bore several injury marks. Police said he had been hacked to death over previous enmity.

A case was filed in this connection. l

At least four people were killed in road accidents in Magura, Gopalganj and Gazipur districts yesterday.

Our Magura correspondent reports: An SSC examinee was killed as his motorbike plunged into a roadside ditch in Thakurerhat area on the Mahammadpur-Babukhali Road in Mahammadpur upazila.

Mahammadpur police station Officer-in-Charge Ataur Rahman said Iqbal Hossain,15, son of Abul Hossain Molla, of Jhama village fell into road side ditch as he lost control over the steering of his motorbike while giving side to a human hauler. He became critically injured.

Later, he died on the way to local hospital.

Goplaganj Correspondent said at least two students were killed in separate road accidents in the district.

Police sources said Saikat Khan, 25,son of Rezaul Haque Khan of Nagra village in Kotalipara upazila died on the spot as a truck ran over him while he

DR SHAMARUKH MAHJABIN’S DEATH

Human chain in Jessore demands justice over murder n Our Correspondent, Jessore A human chain was formed before the Jessore Circuit House yesterday demanding justice over the “murder” of Dr Shamarukh Mahjabin.

Dr Shamarukh‘s family memers, well-wishers, employees of a NGO named RRF and members of Mohila Parishad took part in the event on Mujib Road from 11:00am to 11:30am.

Dr Shamarukh, wife of Humayun Sultan, son of ex-MP from Jessore-5 constituency Khan Tipu Sultan, was found hanging in the bathroom of her in-laws’ Dhanmondi residence in the capital on November 13 last year.

Her father Nurul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the human chain was formed to bring the issue to notice of ruling Awami League leaders.

During the human chain programme, several hundred leaders and activists of AL were attending a conference of Jessore district unit of AL at the Circuit House. Some senior leaders of AL and cabinet ministers were also attending conference.

After the death of Dr Shamarukh, Humayun and his parents claimed that she committed suicide by hanging with a scarf tied to the iron bars of bathroom’s ventilator.

But Dr Shamarukh’s father Nurul Islam, an assistant PDB engineer in Jessore, filed a murder case against Humayun alleging that she was murdered by her husband and in-laws.

An autopsy report of Dhaka Medical College Hospital mentioned that Dr Shamarukh committed suicide.

Rejecting the report, Nurul Islam appealed to the court for a fair probe into the incident. Later, a Dhaka court ordered to probe the incident after exhuming the body from the grave.

The second autopsy report, however, mentioned that “the reason behind the death could not be known”.

Nurul Islam alleged that doctors could not give a fair report over the death as Tipu Sultan is an influential person.

Since the death of Shamarukh, several human rights organisation has been demanding fair trial of the murder. l

was crossing the Gopalganj-Paisharhat Road riding motorcycle. He was a student of Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Adarsha Degree College.

Agitated locals set fire to the truck.

On the other hand, Masud Mian, Class III student of Gopalganj Government Primary School became critically injured as a truck coming from opposition direction hit him in front of Sadar Hospital while he was crossing the road.

Later, he was sent to the hospital where on duty doctor declared him dead.

Sadar police station Offficer-inCharge Zakir Hossain confirmed the incident.

Gazipur Correspondent said a motorcyclist was killed in an accident at Kapasia uaazila in the district.

Police and local sources said Al Amin,26, son of Mujibur Rahman of Dakshin Gaour Village died on the spot as a passenger bus ran over him while he was crossing the road riding motorcycle. l

Two held with drug in Jessore n Our Correspondent, Jessore Rapid Action Battalion arrested two youths with drug in Muruli Mor area under the district yesterday.

According to RAB sources, on a tipoff, a team of law enforcers raided a shop in the area and arrested Akkas Ali and Potol with 20 bottles of phensidyl and 10 bottles of wine.

They were handed over to police, said Major Ashrafuddin, commander of RAB Jessore camp. l

One lakh yaba tablets worth Tk3 crore seized n Our Correspondent, Comilla Border Guard Bangladesh seized 1,00000 pieces of the banned narcotic yaba tablets worth around Tk3 crore from Surjanagar frontier area in the district yesterday.

BGB-10 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Zakir Hossain said on a tipoff, a team of law enforcers raided the area recovered the contraband in abandoned state.

The smugglers escaped the scene sensing the presence of the BGB members, said the commander. l

condition of the district’s cinema theatre business.

“I went to the existing cinemas for inspection. Talking to the audience there, I learnt that scarcity of good-quality films and vulgar contents in most of them is the main reasons why film lovers are turning away from the cinemas. Screening of better-quality films and ensuring good environment is essential to draw people towards this business,” she said.

The cinema owners said: “The government has to step in to help us. If they do not take the necessary initiatives soon, it won’t be long until the cinema theatre business in Narshingdi dies out.” l

Principal of Rupapat Bamanchandra High School in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur district has allegedly discontinued distributing text books among students those who failed to pay the session charges.

Md Quamrul Miya, member of the school management committee, submitted a written allegation to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Shahiduzzaman in this connection yesterday.

On January 1, government issued directives to schools across the country to distribute text books among students for the session, however, violating the order, the authorities of Rupapat Bamanchandra High School have been reportedly collecting Tk500 from each student in the secondary section in exchange of the books.

Those who could not pay the charges were denied from the right of receiving text books.

When contacted, Principal Md Shahjahan Sheikh acknowledged to the Dhaka Tribune that 300 students of different grades of the school were yet to receive text books. He claimed that the students were charged with session fees following the government order.

President of the school management committee Lutfur Rahman Khalashi said the allegation was a nothing but a rumour spread by people who had differences in their political ideologies.

UNO Md Shahiduzzaman said the matter was informed to the Upazila Secondary Education Officer Md Jalaluddin for immediate investigation.

The allegation will be considered seriously and legal steps will follow, added the education officer. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Friday, February 13, 2015

7

A prescription for growth Prospects and challenges for the Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry

T

n Shawkat Haider he pharmaceuticals industry (pharma in short) in Bangladesh has progressed well over the last three decades and the country is nearly self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals with 97% of its demand being met by domestic manufacturers.

At present, this is one of the most technologically advanced sectors in the country employing probably the highest number of white collar professionals. Since the promulgation of Drug Policy in 1982, the sector has grown from Tk173 crore to more than Tk12,000 crore (or $1.5 billion) today.

Thanks to the private sector for its significant investment in building capabilities – both infrastructure and people – to bring this industry to compete in the global marketplace.

Bangladeshi medicines are also being exported to many countries in the world and leading players are making forays into the most regulated markets of Europe, US and Australia which are known for strict regulation and highest quality standards.

In view of its export potential, pharma has been declared as the thrust sector in Bangladesh with an aim to diversify the country’s export portfolio and lower its dependency on RMG (ready-made garments).

The country is still heavily dependent on RMG for its export earnings and there is still no vibrant sector next to it which could make it to the billion dollar club. The export data of Bangladesh shows that in 1980 RMG export was just $3mn, contributing to less than 1% of the country’s total export which sharply rose to $1bn in 1992.

Today this accounts for 82% with value in excess of $25bn.

Pharma has received a lot of attention in recent times for its huge potential to become a major export oriented sector. However, we need to keep in mind that pharma as a sector is fundamentally different from RMG. RMG is highly labour intensive and the competitive cost of labour plays a major role in developing this sector.

Pharma, on the other hand, is largely a knowledge-driven and technology-intensive industry and this requires significant investment in R&D compared to other industries. A pharma company’s success mostly depends on

and there is increasing pressure from even semi-regulated markets for such compliance.

A central bioequivalence facility in the country can largely benefit the industry by saving foreign currency.

At the same time this will significantly improve the quality of our medicines.

Bangladesh is always publicised for having the advantage under TRIPS waiver which allows the LDC country to produce any patented drugs and

Bangladesh is the only country among all LDC countries which has a well-developed pharmaceutical industry that, over the time, could successfully make the transition from being an import dependent to an exporting one

its intellectual capital where special skill-set is required to deal with every stage of its operations.

Fortunately for Bangladesh, Drug Policy of 1982 created an opportunity for the local industry to flourish and make it self-reliant whereby local companies increased their share of production from 30% in 1970 to almost 90% today, which translates to a tremendous amount of foreign currency savings for the country every year.

Bangladesh is the only country among all LDC countries which has a well-developed pharma industry that, over the time, could successfully make the transition from being an import dependent to an exporting one.

Although medicine export from BD constitutes only a small percentage of total production, the sector has, over the last few years, attracted overseas buyers and it has earned good reputation as a quality drug manufacturer.

Leading pharma companies have already secured accreditations from major drug regulatory agencies like UKMHRA, TGA, ANVISA, Health Canada etc. while two of them, Beximco and Square, have successfully completed US FDA audit (remarkably, without any major observations) in January 2015 and are awaiting approval.

The country certainly has huge potential in pharmaceutical export.

But we need to seriously evaluate how far we have progressed in terms of infrastructure development and achieving competitiveness.

The industry is yet to have any accredited bioequivalence testing facility which is mandatory for product registration in developed markets,

even export to other LDC countries till December 2015, but in reality this waiver period is almost over without any real benefit to the industry.

This is because we could not utilise the benefits due to lack of proper infrastructure such as API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) technology park for producing bulk drugs, central bioequivalence testing lab, collaboration between industry and university etc.

It’s unfortunate that the industry has in fact gained nothing out of this TRIPS flexibility since Doha declaration in 2003. India and China are two major hubs for generic drugs. India has more than 150 US FDA-approved pharma plants, the highest number outside the US; and they are increasingly focused on R&D. India’s export sales is currently valued at $15bn, about the same as its domestic sales; almost 40% of its export goes to US alone. How did they make it? It’s interesting to note that India took export initiatives for pharma in the late 80s; within the next few years Bangladesh also began exporting medicines to overseas markets.

Since then India has worked throughout the entire pharma value chain with tremendous backward integration into API and today established itself as a major generic drug hub whereas we are still struggling with issues of infrastructural development.

Lack of sufficient backward linkage remains a major challenge for our pharma industry. Although we are producing some of the old and conventional APIs on a commercial scale, we are far from synthesising the new and patented drugs, and meeting the growing demand.

API constitutes a significant percentage of the total cost in medicine production which can run up to 3040% and, in many cases, even more.

We must emphasize on improving our process and synthetic chemistry skill in order to be more competitive in global market.

To build up the capabilities we must start from the university, we must improve our education system with practice-oriented advanced courses having adequate laboratory facilities.

There should be more industry-university alliance and collaborative research between universities at home and abroad to promote research in the fields of generic drugs, reverse engineering, and also new drug development.

If we cannot have the competence developed in the university level, we cannot take this industry to the next level to compete in the global marketplace.

Although highly successful in developing the domestic market, the pharma sector of Bangladesh is faced with several long standing challenges which need to be addressed to realise its actual export potential: Backward integration into API: The proposed API technology Park in Munshiganj, which was scheduled to be completed by July 2012, is delayed with the cost of the project now increasing by 55%. This delay has been a major hurdle for the pharma industry to gain better control over the inputs and improve operational efficiencies.

India, the major generic drug player, has more than 3500 Drug Master File (DMF) approval for APIs whereas we have none. We must strengthen our synthetic chemistry skills for improving API capabilities.

Central bioequivalence and drug testing laboratory: Bioequivalence testing is conducted to see if the generic version is identical to originator brand and this is mandatory for product registration in any developed market.

This testing is very expensive if done in US or Europe.

The government should support in setting up such a centre which would help the industry in a big way. The country also lacks a state of the art drug testing lab to routinely and accurately monitor quality of drugs produced locally.

Strengthening of Drug Regulatory Authority: The industry needs a highly credible drug regulatory authority similar to US FDA to regulate drugs as well as food products. Continuous training and exchange programmes with global regulatory bodies would help them equip with the skills and knowledge to perform their duties responsibly.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Pharma: The government should formulate a policy for setting up pharma

SEZ with the intention of providing an internationally competitive and hassle-free environment. This should offer to the manufacturers tax and other benefits to encourage export.

Both China and India have successfully created numerous SEZs for boosting pharma export.

Export incentives from government: Bangladesh has the opportunity to excel in high quality generic drug manufacture for export. Government incentives in various forms can help the pharma companies to focus more on export and improve sectoral performance. These can be in the form of excise duty exemptions, income tax holidays, investment subsidy (on capital investment) and interest subsidies. India has created Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce to promote export of pharmaceuticals.

Capacity building in IP/regulatory and legal affairs: To be able to operate in regulated markets such as USA, EU or Australia, any aspiring generic drug company must have the sufficient knowledge and expertise to deal with increasingly important legal and regulatory issues including patent litigations.

This is a critical area for a knowledge based industry like pharma where our industry is still in its early stage. Government grants/assistance can help establish IP Centres and the government

Lack of sufficient backward linkage remains a major challenge for our pharmaceutical industry should also emphasise on strengthening its Patent Office in order to keep pace with WTO/TRIPS agreements and changing landscape of global trade.

Building biosimilar capabilities: Valued at nearly $200 billion, Biologic drugs have been a major segment in global pharma market today with seven of them occupying the top 10 positions. Biosimilar or generic version of these biologic drugs are increasingly becoming a major focus for pharmaceutical companies across the globe.

As the number of patent expiry is rising every year in this category, which offers greater opportunities for generic manufacturers, we should also enhance biosimilar capabilities with

appropriate regulatory guidelines in place.

Industry and academia collaboration: To build and strengthen pharma capabilities in different areas namely developing specialised drug delivery systems, biosimilars and vaccines, drug research, patent due diligence, etc, there must be strong collaboration between industry and university.

Specialised pharmaceutical research institutes can be established to promote research and develop human resources for the industry. The government of India has established the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER). There are seven such institutes and ten more are being established at a cost of $500 million. These provide post graduate and PhD level education and contribute to thousands of Masters and PhDs per year.

Incentive for promoting R&D activities: Reverse engineering is the key to success for any generic drug company and it requires significant investment in building capabilities to create strong differentiation. This is a continuous process and to encourage R&D there should be incentives from the government. For example Indian pharma industry enjoys increased weighted deduction of up to 200% on in-house research and development (R&D) expenses.

Export promotion scheme: A government scheme may support activities for the pharma sector by promoting seminars, conferences, exhibitions, sending delegations to and from the country for promotion of exports as well as investments, conducting studies/consultancies.

Venture capital fund: The idea of the VC fund will be to offer financial incentives to companies focussing on research, for example, in the areas of biosimilar, NDDS or early-stage drug development. This would promote entrepreneurship in the sector and support the development of a self-sustaining environment for R&D in the country. India has set up a venture capital fund of $370mn to promote R&D in the pharma sector.

Infrastructure for exporting high-end pharmaceuticals: Creating a dedicated cargo storage and handling zone exclusively for sensitive pharmaceutical products such as biologics, insulins, vaccines, etc which require cold chain system. India already has Pharma Zone for such products.

Contract manufacturing: The industry also needs to find new opportunities of growth in contract manufacturing and research, clinical research and custom synthesis. Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing is already a 55-60 billion dollar business and increasing number of MNCs are looking for outsourcing their production from cost effective destinations like India or China.

BIGSTOCK

The pharmaceutical industry At a glance • Pharmaceutical remains one of the most technologically advanced sectors in the country.

• Availability of skilled manpower at a competitive cost helps produce quality medicines which are affordable • Leading companies have been already accredited by major global regulatory authorities • As an increasing number of originator brand products goes off patent every year, this creates opportunities for Bangladeshi generic drug companies to supply generic versions of those drugs to the developed and regulated markets.

• Pharma is the 3rd largest tax paying industry in the country employing over 100000 people • The sector has maintained a steady double digit growth over the last few years and currently domestic market is valued at $1.5 billion while export sales stands at only $70 million.

• According to industry experts the country can achieve exponential growth in medicine export fetching billions of dollars in export within a short span of time, if adequate support in infrastructure development and other areas are provided without any more delay Having considerable cost advantages in manufacturing, Bangladesh is in a position to offer this service to global clients as the country has a sound track record of partnerships with a number of major multinational companies.

The opportunities in generic drugs are increasing day by day with increasing government pressure around the world to cut healthcare costs. The country has tremendous opportunities for pharma export, particularly for value added generics in regulated markets.

In 2015 alone, patented drugs worth $60bn are going off patent which opens up opportunities for generic manufacturers around the world. Bangladesh could be ideally positioned to gain from generic drug opportunities with its cost advantages and skilled manpower, but we need to address those key challenges faced by the industry in order to gain further competitive advantages and build presence in the global generics. l Shawkat Haider, PhD is an industry expert and general manager at Beximco Pharmaceuticals.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Friday, February 13, 2015

Ceasefire agreed for eastern Ukraine

Greece bailout talks: No agreement in Brussels n BBC Greek and eurozone officials have failed to reach an agreement over Greece’s debt crisis, though both sides said there was still hope for a deal.

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said seven hours of talks in Brussels had been “constructive.”

But they ended without a joint statement to outline procedural steps ahead of further talks next Monday.

Greece says its bailout deal with the EU is punitive and must end.

The EU has warned Greece to abide by the deal.

Greece’s government, led by the radical left-wing Syriza party, says the conditions of the €240bn (£182bn; $272bn) bailout have impoverished Greece.

It was elected on a promise to end the bailout and ease the austerity measures that have accompanied it.

The government has proposed to overhaul 30% of its bailout obligations, replacing them with a 10-point plan of reforms.

However, Greece’s creditors in the EU, led by Germany, have insisted

France’s President Francois Hollande, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hug each other during a press conference after a summit aimed at ending 10 months of fighting in Ukraine in Minsk yesterday AFP

n Reuters The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine have agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, participants at the summit talks said yesterday.

The deal reached after all-night negotiations in the Belarussian capital Minsk included a ceasefire that would come into effect on Feb. 15, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons.

The news came as Ukraine was offered a $40-billion lifeline by the International Monetary Fund to stave off financial collapse.

The Minsk summit agreement offered hope for eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said.

“After 17 hours, negotiations in Minsk have finished: ceasefire from Feb. 15 at zero hours, then withdrawal of heavy weapons. Therein lies hope,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter.

“We have managed to agree on the

main issues,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The four leaders had committed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a joint declaration distributed by the Kremlin.

“The main thing which has been achieved is that from Saturday into Sunday there should be declared without any conditions at all, a general ceasefire,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told journalists.

French President Francois Hollande said there was still much work to be done on the Ukraine crisis, but the agreement was a real chance to ameliorate the situation.

He said pro-Russian separatists, who had at one point appeared to reject the deal, had signed up to it.

Merkel and Hollande joined Poroshenko and Putin for a marathon negotiating session that began early on Wednesday evening and continued into yesterday morning.

The summit discussions came as pro-Moscow separatists tightened the

pressure on Kiev by launching some of the war’s worst fighting on Wednesday, killing 19 Ukrainian soldiers in assaults near the railway town of Debaltseve.

As the fighting escalated, Washington has begun openly talking of arming Ukraine to defend itself from “Russian aggression,” raising the prospect of a proxy war in the heart of Europe between Cold War foes.

The outcome of the Minsk talks is expected to influence discussions at an EU summit in Brussels yesterday, when sanctions against Moscow will be on the agenda. A deal would likely mean a softer line toward Moscow.

Merkel and Hollande were expected to arrive late for the Brussels meeting but would urge the European Union to support the Minsk deal.

The talks took place as an International Monetary Fund mission agreed a bailout to save Ukraine from bankruptcy.

The Fund provisionally agreed a $17.5bn facility with Ukraine, part of a $40bn funding package, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said.

Kiev and Nato accuse Russia of supplying separatists with men and weapons. Moscow denies it is involved in fighting for territory Putin calls “New Russia.”

As the French and German leaders peace initiative was announced, pro-Russian rebels appeared determined to drive home their advantage ahead of a deal.

Armored columns of Russian-speaking soldiers with no insignia have been advancing for days around Debaltseve, which has seen heavy fighting in recent days.

On the Russian side of the border, Moscow has begun military exercises in 12 regions involving more than 30 missile regiments, RIA news agency reported yesterday, citing a Defense Ministry official.

The United States has been openly discussing arming the Ukrainian government, a move that is opposed by European allies who say it would escalate the conflict while falling far short of giving Kiev the firepower needed to win. l

Spain: Toxic cloud spreads over 5 towns after chemical blast n

AP, Madrid

Spanish authorities ordered the residents of five northeastern towns to stay indoors for some two hours yesterday after a chemical explosion at a warehouse spread a large, orange toxic cloud over the area.

A spokeswoman for Catalonia’s regional firefighting department said the blast occurred when products being delivered to a warehouse in the city of Igualada became mixed, exploded and set a truck on fire. She

said two people were slightly injured.

Firefighters said the chemicals were nitric acid and ferric chloride.

The region’s Civil Protection department ordered some 65,000 residents of Igualada and four nearby towns to stay indoors until the cloud dissipated.

The order was lifted two hours later but maintained for pregnant women, children, elderly people and those with respiratory problems. l

that the terms of the bailout cannot be altered.

All are aware that the clock is ticking. If there is not an agreement within two weeks to extend the current bailout then Greece will not be eligible for a €7bn loan and shortly after will run out of money.

At the moment there is deadlock.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cannot go back to the Greek people if the existing deal is extended.

He will be accused of having misled the the voters.

The Germans, the Dutch, the Spanish and others are not prepared to tell their voters that the Greeks are getting a new deal.

Officials from the two sides have been locked in negotiations aimed at reaching a deal on Greece’s debt repayments that would stave off the prospect of its exit from the eurozone - a prospect viewed with fear by the markets.

Mr Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup eurozone finance ministers, said after the meeting on Wednesday that there had been no discussion of detailed proposals. l

UN urges Europe to rescue migrants rescue mission in Mediterranean n Reuters The European Union (EU) must establish a full-scale search-and-rescue operation to avoid more tragedies involving migrants in the Mediterranean, the United Nations’ chief refugee official said yesterday.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was speaking after more than 300 people died trying to cross the sea from Africa to Italy this week, adding pressure on Europe to expand a border operation that lacks a clear mandate to save lives.

“There can be no doubt left after this week’s events that Europe’s Operation Triton is a woefully inadequate replacement for Italy’s Mare Nostrum,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Italian operation was abandoned after criticism that its aggressive search-and-rescue patrols encouraged migrants. Triton is more focused on protecting borders.

“The focus has to be about saving lives. We need a robust search-and-rescue operation in the Central Mediterranean, not only a border patrol,” he said.

Migrants and asylum-seekers from Syria and sub-Saharan Africa have been crossing the Mediterranean, often departing from Libya, aboard rubber dinghies in severe winter conditions, marking a deadly early start to the migration season, aid agencies say.

If Europe does not implement a wider operation “it is inevitable that many more people will die trying to reach safety in Europe,” Guterres said. l

No, a Russian military occupation of Ukraine isn’t on the table n Reuters Post-revolutionary Ukraine wants a stable flow of Western military support, including lethal weapons. Many in Ukraine believe this is only this way to save the country from total occupation

by Russia.

But let’s get real. Nuclear Russia spends 50 times more on its army annually than Ukraine does, and it has about four times more soldiers and six times as many military aircraft. It could take over Ukraine in a matter of days. Kiev is just 120 miles from the Russian border. And although nobody knows for sure what’s inside Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mind, the occupation of Ukraine is not on the table, at least not yet.

Instead, it looks like a covert invasion of east Ukraine suits Russia much more: it keeps Ukraine on the verge of collapsing, robbing the country and its potential investors of any sense of stability, without using the military might required for a full invasion.

Arming Ukraine will not fix the country’s huge military imbalance with Russia.

Unless, of course, Western allies are ready to shell out $70bn per year. That’s what it would take to match Russia’s military. Finding that kind of cash is unlikely.

Ukraine is having a hard time getting the estimated $15bn it needs to avoid default this year. Importantly, a war-fatigued United States, which is preparing for presidential elections in 2016, would scarcely seem to be open to military involvement in yet another country.

At the same time, solving the problem is a lot more complex that simply providing Ukraine with weapons.

The country is ravaged by corruption, and its political system and economy is in shambles. Any military support would have to be conditional upon effective reforms. Without that, arming Ukraine would be irresponsible — it would be no different to giving a gun to a crook.

There are only two ways to stop Russia’s attempt to control Ukraine by stealth The Ukrainian army, too, is widely considered to be plagued by corruption and incompetence. It is also reportedly infiltrated by Russian intelligence. This might be why, despite a strong patriotic rally for the push against Russia, there have been reports of rising numbers of Ukrainians avoiding the draft. Ukraine’s leaders have acknowledged the problem and have pledged to clean up the nation’s military.

We can give the Ukrainian government credit for that.

Still, after almost 25 years of a near kleptocracy, this could take years. War isn’t helping.

So far, there are no indications that there is any timetable for a potential US arms drop to Ukraine, let alone that the United States in indeed serious about doing so.

The State Department could just be testing the waters or trying to scare Russia off from advancing further.

If that’s the case, it’s unlikely that will work either.

Have you checked the Russian media lately? The most popular story making the rounds right now (and also the most hilarious example of Russian propaganda) is about Putin being “able to finish Nato with just one phonecall.” Indeed, harsher rhetoric will only help Putin in rallying more domestic support for his agenda, as it will strengthen his claim that the West is interfering in Ukraine.

The Russian leader will undoubtedly use military threats from the West to support his position that Nato countries are aggressors, trying to suffocate Russia by expanding militarily on its border.

There are only two ways to stop Russia’s attempt to control Ukraine by stealth.

Strengthen Ukraine by pressuring the government to introduce much-needed reforms. Effective anti-corruption measures need to be introduced now that will make obsolete the remnants of Ukraine’s kleptocracy. General distrust and frustration with crooks on every level of the Ukrainian bureaucracy was one of the main sources of secessionist sentiments in eastern Ukrainian provinces.

Russia has exploited this all too well. At the same time, the West should continue bringing pressure to bear on Russia through its economic sanctions — if it wants to get tougher on Russia, it can always ramp these up.

There are plenty of sensible, and effective, measures the West could support to help the situation. Providing more guns and ammunition in this volatile part of the world is not one of them. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Kejriwal meets Modi, invites him for swearing-in n Agencies Delhi Chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal yesterday met PM Narendra Modi and invited him for the swearing-in ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan on February 14.

However, the Prime Minister expressed his inability as he would be out of the city on that day.

Arvind Kejriwal was accompanied

by Manish Sisodia for his meeting with the Prime Minister.

Talking to reporters after Arvind Kerjiwal’s meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Manish Sisodia said that they had a good talk with the PM. It was a “chai pe charcha” on full statehood for Delhi, Sisodia said about Kejriwal-Modi meeting.

The PM assured us that he would think over AAP’s demand to grant Delhi full statehood, Sisodia added.

Earlier, in an audio message released yesterday morning, Arvind Kerjiwal also invited Delhiites to come to Ramlila Maidan and attend his oath-taking ceremony.

Kejriwal and his close aide Manish Sisodia had raised the issue of full statehood for Delhi at their first meeting with Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday.

Kejriwal had also met President Pranab Mukherjee and Union urban development minister

Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday.

Sources said the party has already started working on its vision for Delhi though it would officially take charge only after the swearing-in on Saturday.

At a meeting with the chief secretary, DM Spolia, Kejriwal asked him to get all departments to make presentations on the status of projects, schemes and policies on February 19.

Sisodia, Patparganj MLA and a former minister, told TOI that the CS has also been asked to present an action plan to prevent any kind of shortage of power, water and vegetables during the summer months. “There is usually a crisis over power, water and vegetables during summer. We have asked the CS to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place,” he said.

After the swearing-in on Saturday, the government will be seen on course to deliver the promises made in the party manifesto. A citizen’s charter, an anti-corruption regime under Jan Lokpal and conversion of the MLA funds to Citizens Local Area Development Funds are likely to be on the priority list.

The AAP government is expected to give relief to Delhiites on power and water bills. Last time, a subsidy of 50% per unit was given to power consumers in the 0-400 units bracket and 20 kilolitres of water per month was supplied for free. l

World

T H E W O R L D’ S L AT E S T D E I T Y

An idol of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pictured yesterday at a temple erected in his honour at Kotharia village near Rajkot, some 225 kms from Ahmedabad. Fans of Narendra Modi on February 12 scrapped plans to open a temple in his honour after the Indian premier said he was ‘appalled’ by the idea. Modi supporters had invested thousands of dollars in the temple in his home state of Gujarat, which houses a large statue of the charismatic leader – a famously natty dresser – and was due to open on Saturday. Fans of Narendra Modi yesterday scrapped plans to open a temple in his honour after the Indian premier said he was ‘appalled’ by the idea. But they decided to rededicate the temple to ‘Mother India’ after the prime minister strongly criticised the plan, saying it went against the country’s traditions. ‘We had built the temple to express our love and faith in Modiji,’ project organiser Ramesh Udhad told AFP, using an Indian honorific to describe the prime minister. ‘But if he is unhappy or hurt by our gesture, we will remove his statue.’ Udhad said Sunday’s opening ceremony had been cancelled and the statue of Modi, who appears dressed in his trademark collarless jacket and a saffron sash, covered with a tarpaulin. ‘Building such temples is not what our culture teaches us,’ Modi tweeted earlier yesterday. ‘I was appalled. This is shocking and against India’s great traditions,’ he said, urging supporters instead to focus their energies on his flagship campaign to clean up India AFP

Suu Kyi not likely to have a shot at presidency n Reuters A new law that enables Myanmar to hold a referendum on amending the constitution is unlikely to bring changes that would allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become president after this year’s general election, a ruling party MP said yesterday.

President Thein Sein has signed off on a constitutional referendum law, lawmakers said on Wednesday. The move comes after domestic and international pressure to reform Myanmar’s political system, which is stacked

in favor of the military.

Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party have been pushing for changes to the constitution, which the military drafted.

One clause bars anyone whose children or spouse are foreigners from becoming president, which is seen aimed at Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, whose two sons are British citizens.

Shwe Maung, an MP from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said the clause is unlikely to be included if a referendum is held this year.

Bringing that section to ref-

erendum would require support from 76% of parliamentarians, but such a move would be opposed by unelected military MPs who hold 25% of the seats and many in the USDP, which holds most seats and is made up largely of former military officers, he said.

“I don’t expect a rapid change,” he said. “If it’s not possible this time, maybe in a future referendum.”

Myanmar’s president is chosen by parliamentarians after the general election.

It’s unclear whether the referendum would be held at all this year. l

Little noticed, new Saudi king shapes contours of power n Reuters By rapidly appointing two heirs, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has pressed pause on “succession Sudoku,” as one leading local journalist calls speculation over whose star is rising and whose waning in the large and secretive Al Saud ruling family.

The choice of 69-year-old Muqrin for crown prince and 55-year-old Mohammed bin Nayef for deputy crown prince resolved the most important dilemma in the dynasty’s recent history - how to jump from sons of its founder, King Abdulaziz, to his grandsons.

Yet while much attention has focused on the naming of Muqrin and bin Nayef, less noticed moves have indicated broader changes in the contours of how the Al Saud manage their power and which young princes might rule the world’s top oil exporter and key Western ally in future.

After decades during which top jobs were held by the same handful of people, these appointments appear to set in place a new ruling team to dominate Saudi politics at a time of unprecedented regional turmoil and long-term challenges.

The most important change appears to be the creation of two new super-committees that give Mohammed bin Nayef and the king’s own son Mohammed bin Salman extensive control over most aspects of Saudi policy making.

Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also Interior Minister, now heads a committee on politics and security that will develop Saudi strategy on how to tackle Iran, Islamic State, wars in Iraq and Syria, the crisis in Yemen and treatment of domestic dissidents.

Mohammed bin Salman, who at age 35 has also been named Defense Minister and head of the Royal Court, heads a committee on economic and development policy that makes his voice the most important on big long term issues confronting the kingdom.

“Aside from those who are close to the

9

Friday, February 13, 2015

prince, people don’t know that much about Mohammed bin Salman, but he is coming very strong. He is in effect the prime minister because he has so much power in his hands,” said Saudi political scientist Khaled al-Dakhil.

To some Western analysts, Salman’s moves also appeared to stress a pendulum swing to the so-called Sudairi block of the Al Saud, the seven brothers born to Abdulaziz by his favorite wife, from a group of princes long led by the late Abdullah.

The new king is one of those brothers, and Mohammed bin Nayef is the son of another. By concentrating power in the hands of himself, his own son, and the son of a Sudairi brother, Salman was seen by some as advancing his branch of the family.

That analysis appeared to be bolstered by the fact that unlike his predecessors, Crown Prince Muqrin, seen as loyal to Abdullah, was not given a large ministerial role of his own to cement an independent powerbase before eventually becoming king.

Salman’s rapid dismissal of two of Abdullah’s sons as governors of Riyadh and Mecca, two of the three most important Saudi provinces, was seen in the same way.

However, decades on from their 1980s heyday, it is far from clear that the Sudairis still constitute a coherent faction, say informed Saudis and diplomats.

The blood tie that set seven full brothers apart from their dozens of half siblings are less relevant between cousins who are widely spread out in age and who lack the bonds their fathers and uncles forged during a 1960s family power struggle.

Saudi analysts say alliances and rivalries among the leading Al Saud now have more to do with their own personal histories.

Questions over power blocs in the Al Saud are all too relevant in a kingdom where succession does not pass directly from father to eldest son, but by an idiosyncratic process of royal decree, seniority, experience and family acquiescence. l

Convict gets one-year jail term in ‘nut rage’ case n Reuters A South Korean court sentenced the daughter of Korean Air Lines’ chairman to one year in prison, after finding her guilty over an on-board incident in New York concerning the way she was served nuts in first class.

Heather Cho, the airline’s former head of in-flight service, violated the law by ordering the plane to return to the gate after it started to taxi on Dec. 5, the court ruled yesterday.

Cho had demanded the flight crew chief be expelled from the flight after she was served macadamia nuts in a bag, and not on a dish. The South Korea-bound plane, which had started to move away from the gate, had to return.

The so-called “nut rage” episode

triggered scorn and outrage in a country whose economy is dominated by family-run conglomerates known as chaebol, and where many are fed up with the rich and powerful escaping punishment for bad behavior.

“This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh Sungwoo said.

The court said it took into account that Cho was the mother of 20-monthold twins and had already suffered, but added that her conduct had seriously harmed the victims. Cho, 40, has been in custody since Dec. 30.

“It’s my understanding that she is repenting,” said her lawyer, Suh Changhee, adding that he would discuss whether to appeal against the ruling.

Korean Air declined to comment. l

North Korea fights for ‘people’s dreams’ n Reuters “Let the strong wind of fish farming blow across the country!”

“Let the wives of officers become dependable assistants to their husbands!”

“Let us turn the whole country into a socialist fairyland by the joint operation of the army and people!”

North Korea released a list of more than 300 new political slogans yesterday to mark 70 years since the foundation of the isolated state and its ruling Workers’ Party.

The slogans, which ran to more than 7,000 words in translation and spanned two pages of the party’s broadsheet newspaper, called for a wide range of improvements including “more stylish school uniforms” and “organic farming on an extensive scale.” North Korea is a highly centralised state where government policy is often dictated via vague party-level directives which are distributed as slogans to regional officials to be memorised and carried out.

The new slogans included some of the belligerent rhetoric North Korea frequently directs at its foes the United States and South Korea: “Should the enemy dare to invade our country, annihilate them to the last man so that none of them will survive to sign the instrument of surrender!”

Some of the slogans, which were jointly released by party political and military committees, gave industry-specific instructions such as “Let us turn ours into a country of mushrooms by making mushroom cultivation scientific, intensive and industrialised!” l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Friday, February 13, 2015

CODE-CRACKER

A giant step backwards

Be heard

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e denounce in the strongest terms the government’s decision to bar communications between local and foreign persons or organisations, and the indigenous population of the Chittagong Hill Tracts area. At a time when we should be moving forward by eliminating discriminatory policies, we have taken a massive a step backwards by introducing a policy of separation.

These directives – which have already been sent out by the Home Ministry – mandate the presence of a local administration, military, or BGB official if a local or foreign individual wishes to meet with an indigenous person in the area.

That mandate is retrograde and patently absurd.

There can be no justification for barriers to interaction between the indigenous, Bengali, and foreign communities.

We side with the widespread condemnation the move has already been met with, and believe the move is a racist and communalistic one, that will do nothing to resolve tensions in the CHT region. Rather, it is a great shame that a nation with a secular constitution has begun to enforce institutionalised apartheid.

These policies would indeed be a violation of the basic constitutional freedoms of the citizens of the country. Enforcing separation is not the way to bring about peace in the CHT, and the present move will clamp down on indigenous rights even further, instead of forwarding them.

We urge the government to scrap this disgraceful measure, and work towards a policy of greater openness.

There can be no justification for barriers between communities

No free passes for state-owned banks

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

How and why are hartals legal?

January 29 the general principles of democratic and human VoiceIntheWilderness rights, as well as with the constitutional rights of The best translation I know for “hartal” is “hostage Bangladeshi citizens for political, economic, or situation,” in which the population of the country social protest. are held hostage to the will of the violent, non-flexIt appears that the right of hartal upheld by the ible rulers who make street warriors kill innocent highest court of the country is to be understood mothers and fathers, burn children, and terrorise as the right to non-violent hartals in this original the population through fear, lost wages, damage to sense. Any exercise of violence, arson, or killing property, assault, and murders – in short, carnage. I by anyone falls under the existing general criminal have been through five years of hartals and cannot laws and the state is evidently entitled to, and in remember a single time it had improved anything. fact, required to prosecute, punish, and, prevent It has only resulted in more scars, more graves, and any such instigator/perpetrator of violent acts more murderers roaming the country. during a hartal as well.

Murder and violence are not “civil rights,” part It should be recalled too in this context that no of a civil discussion, nor a democratic debate. If individual citizen, party, or voluntary organisation insanity is doing something again and again and has the right to use violent methods in general, expecting a different result, then hartals in Banglaand/or to administer justice and punishment – that desh are mass insanity. is the prerogative, and duty, of the state and its institutions, as sanctioned by the law. Therefore, Farhad Faisal what appears at this juncture of history to be of It was Mahatma Gandhi who called, probably for greater relevance, than formulating a problematic the first time, a “hartal” or a day to close all shops new law prohibiting “violent hartals,” is to enhance and businesses as a protest against the Rowlatt the actual ability and capacity of the state to preAct of 1919. At the same time, he required that a vent violence and secure the safety of its citizens hartal be non-violent, and indeed, urged the peowithout thereby overstepping the boundary of ple to observe the day “in prayer and fasting.” Such the law. a non-violent hartal is clearly commensurate with

Passengers suffer during indefinite blockade January 28

The cost of loans issued by banks is eventually borne by the people.

We should stop footing this bill

January 27

Vivien Shoesmith Way to go Dhaka!

PM to police: Do whatever necessary to stop violence January 28

Shakir Adnan “Do whatever necessary to stop violence,” but that is wrong, seeing how law still exists. The police can’t go against the rules ...

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.

January 28

First tender for Metro rail on Jan 31

Nizam Ahmad People pay the price for politicians’ lust for power. We are cowards and idiots.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

MRPs for 9 million expats a big challenge Nizam Ahmad Bangladesh government should leave manpower export to manpower entrepreneurs, but the govt functionaries and politicians in power want control over everything – it gives them power and miraculous amounts of wealth in a short time. Strengthen laws to nab the manpower cheats, bringing in the govt doesn’t nab cheats.

I

t is highly disconcerting to see the state-owned Sonali Bank write off a very large loan embezzled by the scam-hit Hallmark group. The executive committee of Sonali Bank recently approved a Tk2,086cr loan write-off proposal in favour of a total of 23 clients, of which Tk1,700cr is attributed to the scam-hit Hallmark group alone.

Sonali Bank has, in the past, proven itself a white elephant for the government. This is a fact that still holds true for the majority of our state-owned banks. That Sonali is being allowed to write off loans for a dubious organisation such as Hallmark should be raising red flags in the concerned sectors.

It is imperative that proper investigations be made into the conduct of Sonali Bank and the writing off of bad loans, and action be taken accordingly.

The cost of loans issued by banks is eventually borne by the people.

We should stop footing this bill.

Around a quarter of all loans issued by state-owned commercial banks are classified as NPLs, while state-run banks are even worse, at nearly a third. The state-owned Sonali Bank, Rupali Bank, Janata Bank, and Agrani Bank have witnessed drastic rises in default loan rates, which badly affected each bank’s capital adequacy ratio, with some of them having very little to show for in terms of cash recovery as well.

Though its prospects at profitability may have improved somewhat, with this newest disaster, Sonali Bank has once again made the case for the prompt shutdown or absorption into the private sector of stateowned banks.

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

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

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

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

Innocent civilians doubly victimised January 27

Sharif Ahmed Destination of BD: Mass people at risk of being seized!

Should security be private?

January 29

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Rodents (4) 3 Snakes (4) 7 Period of time (3) 8 Supreme delight (5) 11 Branch offshoot (4) 12 Flower (5) 13 Disdain (5) 15 Hasty (4) 18 Season (4) 19 Beat with a stick (5) 20 Naming words (5) 21 Decline in power (4) 23 Short remnant (5) 24 Fuss (3) 25 Daybreak (4) 26 Curve (4)

DOWN 1 Strong and healthy (6) 2 Three-legged stand (6) 4 Ply the needle (3) 5 Minister (6) 6 Droop (3) 9 Calm (6) 10 Offspring (3) 11 Oppressive ruler (6) 14 Shrill-sounding insect (6) 16 Take for granted (6) 17 Assisted (6) 19 Public transport (3) 21 Small lump (3) 22 Today (3)

Michelle Obama navigates limits on women in Saudi January 28

Mokaddim Farhan It’s important to mention that ban on women driving vehicles is solely a KSA thing. Islamic sharia has nothing to do with that.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Karl Hungus Given the current state of affairs, Bangladesh (Dhaka, more than any place else) needs PMCs more than PSCs methinks.

Shibir calls 48-hour hartal in Rajshahi division January 27

public Very good. They are burning trucks and innocent people. These terrorists should be killed on the spot by our law enforcement agents or elite commandos.

ACC moves to revive Gatco case against Khaleda

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

January 28

Dr Ahsan Habib ACC is a spineless puppet of the ruling party.

Shame on them.

PEANUTS

Police demand logistic and manpower support to ensure highway security rose The problems of the police should be highlighted more and solved as soon as possible.

Experts: Price hike hearings ‘violated the law’ January 28

Sheikh Rahman Why not allow the private sector or electricity producers to import oil/diesel directly. Let BPC worry about how to pay for their past follies and mismanagement without burdening the average consumer.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Friday, February 13, 2015

The choice n Nadeem Qadir

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Has Hasina imported Bush’s brand of warfare?

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REUTERS

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George W Hasina

W n Zafar Sobhan

e’ve heard it all before.

The rhetoric being peddled by the government and its boosters in the pro-government media is now more or less indistinguishable from that put out by the Bush administration and parroted on Fox News in the aftermath of 9/11.

We see the same chest-thumping and bellicose posturing that used to be a staple of US political discourse, the same moral preening, the same bullying line of argument, as each ruling party leader vies to outdo the others in appearing tough on terror and uncompromising in the face of terrorist atrocities.

We see the same denigration of anyone who offers any but the most simplistic of good versus evil, black and white narratives of the current crisis, or suggests any kind of introspection on the part of the government, or counsels any form of compromise or dialog.

They are just as bad as the terrorists, we are told.

Indeed, let me hasten to make clear at this point that I completely, utterly, and unequivocally condemn terrorism and the targeting of innocent civilians, and let me reaffirm that there can never be any justification for such atrocities.

Just so there is no confusion, you understand?

You see, if I do not preface anything I wish to say about the current political situation with a pithy denunciation of terrorism, then I run the risk of being seen as a terrorist sympathiser, if not

an abettor, if not an instigator.

To repeat: I am against torching buses and burning people to death.

Please make no mistake on this point.

Unfortunately for the government, this kind of George W Bush: “You are either with us or you are with the terrorists” argument is finding few takers in Bangladesh. The truth is that when Bush originally tried to stake out such a position, it found few takers here then, either, and in a sense inoculated Bangladeshis against such an argument.

The government should not be surprised when trotting out warmedover War on Terror rhetoric is met with indifference

The problem that the AL government faces is that the War on Terror, as articulated by George W Bush in 2001, never gained any rhetorical traction in the Muslim world, and that to try and apply its logic in a country like Bangladesh is bound to run into skepticism if not outright mockery.

In the first place, we are far too aware of how the fear of terrorism can be whipped up into an excuse to conduct witch-hunts against one’s enemies, both real and imaginary, and to justify the most appallingly

repressive measures in the name of counter-terrorism.

We are also aware that the moral difference between those who commit acts of terror and the state terrorism that arises in response to it is not as wide and clear-cut as the authorities would like us to believe, and that there exists a murky under-belly to every anti-terror agenda that is in many ways almost as sinister as the force it professes to counter.

We are also well aware that while nothing can justify the targeting of innocents, that it is nonetheless foolish not to try to comprehend the root cause of such atrocities or to try to pretend that past and present injustice is in no way connected to terror.

No one justifies flying planes into buildings and killing 3,000 innocent people, but by the same token, the argument that US foreign policy was a contributory factor to the atrocity of 9/11 is something that is acknowledged by the more thoughtful commentators in the West and by virtually everyone in Bangladesh.

No one justifies the human rights abuses of the so-called Islamic State or believes that anyone is ultimately responsible for their reprehensible actions other than those who commit them, but by the same token, it is also true to state that had there been no second Gulf War, the world would have likely been spared the horrors of IS. In short, the existence of the Islamic State is the fault of George W Bush, and everybody knows it.

If he hadn’t invaded Iraq, they wouldn’t be there today. Recognising this does not in any way minimise Islamic State culpability and

responsibility for their atrocities, but it does provide necessary context and suggest that it is fair to be blamed for the foreseeable consequences of your actions and policies.

There is such a thing as blowback.

We understand this very well when we look at the War on Terror in a global context. Actions have consequences. It is a basic and universal moral principle that we can and must hold parties responsible for the consequences of their actions.

This does not mean that George W Bush is as guilty as Abu Bakr alBaghdadi for Islamic State crimes against humanity. Not even close. But it does mean that he is not entirely guiltless, either.

Now that the War on Terror has been imported to our door-step, the government should not be surprised when trotting out warmed-over War on Terror rhetoric is met with indifference and cynicism by the Bangladeshi public. Nor is it right for the government to take such skepticism to suggest that the population is on the side of the terrorists.

Berating the public for insufficient moral fortitude in the face of the ongoing carnage, or suggesting that those who are not convinced, either by the government’s rhetoric or its tactics, are part of the problem, is simply not a winning argument in the Bangladeshi political context.

You are not going to win the hearts and minds of the people by identifying with a mind-set and spouting rhetoric that has long ago been discredited in the eyes of the Bangladeshi public. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

eing neutral is essential for a journalist while reporting.

But these days it has become a fashion for many people who play an important role in Bangladesh’s sociopolitical arena. Even during a crisis, it appears, in the name of neutrality, greater issues or national interests are ignored.

Professor M Shahiduzzaman, my learned teacher in Dhaka University, said in a TV talk show that the opposition BNP is now resorting to terrorism as it has no choice due to government repression. Is terrorism the only answer to alleged repression?

He also agreed in some way that BNP is politically bankrupt.

Khaleda Zia sits unaffected in her office waiting for the miracle to happen – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation by hook or by crook. It is clear that she is desperately trying to bring in the armed forces into the political impasse or foreign pressure at the cost of innocent lives by resorting to terror acts like firebombings.

She has, after harming the national economy, chosen to target education with no mercy for children appearing for the school-leaving SSC examinations. A politician who cares little for the national economy or the fate of education of children cannot be the flag-bearer of a country.

Unfortunately, after more than 60 deaths in firebombings so far, the so-called civil society came out with a plan that totally ignored Khaleda Zia’s crime, but in some ways appeared to be rewarding her in the name of neutrality.

When Dr Akbar Ali Khan tells a TV channel that the courts will decide who the bombers are, and before that, it would be improper to point fingers at any group or individual, is that being neutral? That came as a shock to me from a man of his stature.

A choice has to be made also about the possible future leaders of these alliances

This faction of civil society only looked at problems that could be solved by the government giving in to all the demands of the opposition, but miserably failed to say a word against the terror tactics being used by the BNP-Jamaat alliance. It has been proved who are behind the terror attacks. So, it is a choice they made in the name of neutrality and democracy.

Also, the civil society needed to acknowledge that Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina offered important cabinet posts during the interim period to the BNP-led alliance, and she had personally telephoned Khaleda Zia, and we all know the fate of the telephone call. Sheikh Hasina also went to console Khaleda on her son’s premature death, but the gates were locked. The latest is Education Minister Nahid’s appeal for some concession on the SSC tests.

The strikes are fizzling out, and the blockade will follow suit soon.

Then it would be time to punish the killers

Prof Shahiduzzaman has agreed that the BNP made a mistake by opting to stay out of the 2014 elections.

Has the civil society ever questioned why the national exchequer should suffer from another poll within one year due to a tactical mistake by a political leader, and if it will solve all the problems? A return of the AL in a fresh election is very likely, and then, will this faction of the civil society ask for another poll? They have to make a choice, and a prudent one too.

A choice has to be made also about who are the possible future leaders of these alliances since in a few years, both the premier and Khaleda will decide on their choice of successors.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy is visible, but he has so far not given any clear signs of taking on the leadership of his grandfather’s AL. And even if he did, I personally feel an educated and decent man may make a good leader. On the other hand, Tarqiue Rahman, who is calling the shots from London, is clearly the new BNP-alliance leader. With all his ill-repute, I would not hesitate to say that not only myself, but many within his alliance will think twice before accepting his leadership.

The strikes are fizzling out, and the blockade will follow suit soon. Then it would be time to punish the killers in the firebombings and put an end to such bizarre actions in the name of politics.

It is also about the choice between patronising war criminals or terrorists versus punishing war criminals and progressive forces.

People have made one choice very clear. Leave us out of your political fight. We do not support forced actions by politicians, neither do we want the authorities to do anything to hamper citizens’ lives. Peace is the winner, and that is the choice of our golden Bengal. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism.

Climate negotiations on the road to Paris n Achala C Abeysinghe

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he year 2015 is a critical year for global climate negotiations.

The agreement adopted at the climate summit in Paris in December (COP21) will test the willingness of countries to act collectively to ensure an ambitious and effective global agreement that secures a sustainable future for all. As negotiators gather in Geneva, the pressure is on to deliver a final negotiating text for the 2015 agreement.

The Geneva expectations

The reason for this pressure is that Geneva is the only session planned before the May 2015 deadline when, according to the UN’s six-month rule, the negotiating text for a potential protocol under the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must be put on the table.

The aim of this new climate agreement was established at COP17 in Durban, South Africa, in 2011 with the adoption of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (Durban Platform), where countries agreed on the need for an ambitious agreement that has “legal force” and is “applicable to all.”

In Geneva, negotiators will be resuming work on the 37-page “elements of the negotiating text” adopted as an annex to the Lima call for climate action in December last year, with much work to be done to streamline the language and further

clarify positions of the negotiating parties.

Ambition set in Durban

The Durban Platform calls on all parties to take ambitious climate action under a mutually-agreed, global, rule-based system and to cooperate to further implement the convention (ie, by acting to stabilise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions).

While the 1997 Kyoto Protocol addressed emissions from only 38 of the parties, the new agreement covers emissions from them all. It will also address other issues, including adaptation, means of implementation for developing countries, and transparency of action and support.

In Geneva, talks are expected to focus on text on all these themes. As a concession to the heavy workload, negotiation sessions in Geneva will continue until 8pm, rather than stopping at 6pm.

The road ahead

The journey to Paris is currently following two separate tracks.

On one track, progress depends on the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCSs) delivered by parties. INDCs will set out how individual countries will contribute to the 2015 agreement.

In Lima, countries decided that each INDC will include a mitigation component; that each party’s INDC must go beyond existing

commitments; and that countries can include their own assessments of how their contributions are fair and ambitious.

Parties that are ready to do so are requested to communicate their INDCs by the end of March.

Others, such as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States, may communicate information on strategies, plans, and actions for low GHG emission development reflecting their special circumstances.

Parties may also provide voluntary information about the INDC, such as the baseline for GHG emission reductions, the time-frames and/or periods for implementation, scope and coverage, and planning processes to facilitate clarity, transparency, and understanding.

However, it is not mandatory for countries to provide this information.

Yet, without such information, there can be little real transparency about countries’ commitments and, crucially, comparisons between them will be very difficult.

Under the Lima call for climate action, the UNFCCC secretariat is asked to publish countries’ INDCs online and to prepare a synthesis report on the aggregated contributions

by October 1. This is intended to demonstrate the extent to which countries have collectively contributed to achieving the ultimate objective of the convention.

However, none of these arrangements currently ensures that the bottom-up INDCs will generate an ambitious and rigorous enough joint global effort to secure a low-carbon, climate-resilient, and safe future for the planet. In Geneva, parties have an opportunity to informally discuss and exchange ideas on generating ambition through their INDCs. They also have a chance to exchange views on the support available for developing countries in preparing their INDCs.

will deliver the negotiating text for this track to complete its work by the end the year with a framework that facilitates such a meaningful agreement.

Obstacles on the road

There are also major sticking points.

There is currently no consensus among parties whether to include an international review mechanism in order to ratchet up ambition over time, or on how to apply the principle

Geneva is the most important step this year for delivering a new global climate agreement in Paris

At the same time, progress on the second track is being made through the negotiating process for the main agreement. The growing momentum towards Paris seems to be encouraging broad participation, even if the initial ambition of INDCs might be low.

However, this means that the structure of the 2015 agreement needs to allow countries to ratchet up their ambition over time, ensuring that the future international climate agreement is truly meaningful. Hopefully, Geneva

of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities between developed and developing countries.

Other areas of disagreement are over the long-term temperature goal, commitments to finance needed for climate action in developing countries, commitments to enhancing adaptation actions and encouraging climate resilience development, addressing loss and damage due to climate impacts, addressing barriers to

technology transfer and agreeing on an international compliance mechanism.

All of these will require lengthy negotiations and hard compromises.

The “Geneva streamlined text” will allow parties to more effectively negotiate on these issues in the coming sessions.

Parties will seek to hold three more negotiating sessions before Paris, including the June session held in Bonn and two additional sessions towards the end of this year.

If Geneva delivers the streamlined final negotiating text for the 2015 agreement, it will be translated into six UN official languages ready for the real negotiations for the final agreement starting with the session in June.

As such, Geneva is the most important step this year for delivering a new global climate agreement in Paris. It will help further clarify how the current pragmatic hybrid architecture, combining the bottomup INDCs and top-down international rules, to ensure that ambition will be applied in the new agreement.

We hope that the parties will use time in Geneva constructively for this purpose, rather than succumbing to lengthy procedural discussions. l Achala C Abeysinghe is Principal Researcher at the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED). This article first appeared on www.iied.org and is reprinted with permission from the International Institute of Environment and Development.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, February 13, 2015

14 McCullum wins

13 Barcelona ease

Sportsman of Year award

towards Copa del Rey final

BANvIRE Bangladesh Tamim c Porterfield b Mooney Anamul c Porterfield b McBrine Mominul c Stirling b Sorensen Soumya run out (Dockrell) Shakib c Wilson b Sorensen Mushfiqur c Joyce b Dockrell Sabbir c McBrine b Kevin O’Brien Nasir b Mooney Mashrafe c Mooney b Sorensen Taijul c Wilson b Mooney Taskin not out Extras: (lb 4, w 21)

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4 25 8 45 8 26 20 6 22 0 0 25

11 72 19 51 12 34 33 14 35 2 7

Total: (all out; 48.2 overs)

189

Fall of wickets 1-12 (Tamim), 2-30 (Mominul), 3-88 (Anamul), 4-104 (Shakib), 5-110 (Soumya), 6-154 (Mushfiq), 7-158 (Sabbir), 8-177 (Nasir), 9-182 (Taijul), 10-189 (Mashrafe) Bowling Mooney 10-0-32-3, Sorensen 9.2-0-31-3, Kevin O’Brien 10-0-39-1, Young 1-0-13-0, Stirling 6-0-35-0, Dockrell 8-1-24-1, McBrine 4-0-11-1 Ireland Porterfield cMushfiq b Al-Amin Stirling c Al-Amin b Shakib Joyce c Anamul b Taijul N O’Brien c Anamul b Nasir Wilson b Taijul Balbirnie not out K O’Brien c Mushfiq b Taskin Mooney not out Extras: (b 1, lb 3, w 8)

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24 5 47 5 9 63 23 2 12

41 10 87 18 26 79 16 5

Total: (6 wickets; 46.5 overs)

190

Fall of wickets 1-21 (Stirling), 2-47 (Porterfield), 3-64 (Niall O’Brien), 4-78 (Wilson), 5-137 (Joyce), 6-178 (Kevin O’Brien) Bowling Al-Amin 7.5-1-40-1, Taskin 9-1-48-1, Shakib 6-0-27-1, Mashrafe 8-3-13-0, Nasir 4-0-13-1, Taijul 8-0-29-2, Sabbir 4-0-16-0 Ireland won by four wickets

Y 1 DA GO

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Sport

Did you know?

Australia’s Adam Gilchrist is the only cricketer in history to score three fifties in three World Cup finals

‘If we can’t settle down mentally, we will suffer badly’ n Tribune Desk The woeful result in the warm-up games, especially the four-wicket defeat to ICC Associates Ireland yesterday, have shaken the Bangladesh contingent pretty badly and it was clear in the voice of Mashrafe bin Mortaza. The veteran Tigers skipper repeatedly questioned the development that they have assured of all these days and urged his troop to be “mentally” strong for the upcoming hurdles.

“If we talk about the result, we got a zero. We were practising to get acclimatised here but we haven’t been able to show our level of preparation.

We couldn’t win despite playing well against Pakistan. We did very badly against Ireland. We are very inconsistent. I felt that we trained very carefully and everyone got enough information about the sort of wicket they will face. But we haven’t executed properly,” said Mashrafe after the Irish defeat

at Blacktown Olympic Park Oval, Sydney. “I can’t sit here and say that our morale isn’t shaken,” he added.

Mashrafe emphasised on the squad that consists few freshers while he also informed of testing the players handing new roles in the two games against Pakistan and Ireland, but the 31-year-old

I can’t sit here and say that our morale isn’t shaken. Who amongst us took these two practice matches seriously is my real concern was purely disappointed with their effort yesterday.

“Who amongst us took these two practice matches seriously is my real concern. Even if they took it seriously, they couldn’t execute the plans. If we perform in this vein, it will definitely have an impact in the important matches up ahead. We have 5-6 days ahead of us. We can’t change our skills

during this short time but we have to be mentally and physically ready,” he expressed.

He further said, “It would have been much better had we won any one of the practice matches. It is not a good sign for our team, but I believe that we can turn around. I hope these defeats have hurt everyone in the team, it should. In which case, good results are a matter of time.”

The Narail Express, however, assured of sticking to the basics and not shuffling with the batting or bowling choices during the main event as he said the playing members will their original position in the XI adding, “Right combination is important to know which playing XI will take the field in a certain match. But we can’t say anything without seeing the wicket. We heard that it will be flat in Canberra. We are seeing different wickets.

I was personally quite happy that we had made 240-odd against Pakistan’s bowling attack.”

“We have the ability, no doubt about it. But we haven’t been able to prepare mentally. If we can’t settle down mentally, we will suffer badly,” warned the experienced Bangladesh captain. l

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza looks on during the opening ceremony of the ICC 2015 World Cup at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday AFP

WORLD CUP WARM-UP

Ireland shock toothless Tigers n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Sk Jamal DC meet Feni on opening day n Raihan Mahmood Defending champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will meet Feni Soccer Club in the inaugural match of the 27th Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium this Monday at 4pm. The draw of the curtain raiser tournament

Hawk Eye

was held yesterday at the BFF House.

12 teams have been divided into four groups with the top two sides from each group going through to the quarterfinals.

Also on the opening day, Mohammedan will take on Rahmatganj at the same venue at 6:15pm.

Group A - Sheikh Jamal DC, Team BJMC, Feni Soccer Club Group B - Muktijoddha, Sheikh Russel, Uttar Baridhara Group C - Abahani, Chittagong Abahani, Farashganj Group D - Mohammedan, Brothers Union, Rahmatganj l

Bangladesh completed their 2015 ICC World Cup preparations in a disappointing fashion, suffering a humbling four-wicket defeat at the hands of Associates Ireland in a warm-up game of the event yesterday.

While Ireland will enter the mega event in a confident mood, Bangladesh will begin their fifth World Cup campaign somberly, having tasted four losses in as many practice games.

After losing both their practice games against Cricket Australia XI, Bangladesh lost their previous warmup against Pakistan. And at the Blacktown Olympic Park Oval in Sydney yesterday, the Tigers’ fortunes refused to improve.

The defeat against the Irish once again chronicled Bangladesh’s deficiencies in their batting department

Down Under as the Tigers were bundled out inside 50 overs – the fourth time in as many practice games.

Invited to bat first, Bangladesh posted 189 allout in 48.2 overs. Tamim Iqbal (4) and Mominul Haque (8) departed early but Anamul Haque and Soumya Sarkar somewhat recovered their side from the early damage with a 58-run stand for the third wicket.

Anamul played a painstaking knock, garnering his 25 runs off 72 deliveries, but Soumya appeared confident, striking 45 from 51 balls.

Bangladesh though were unable to register a competitive total as Mushfiqur Rahim (26), Sabbir Rahman (20) and skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza (22) were all dismissed after getting starts.

Ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s dreadful run with the bat in Australia continued as he made just eight off 12 balls. Ireland pacemen John Mooney

and Max Sorensen scalped three wickets apiece.

In reply, an unbeaten 79-ball 63 from middle-order batsman Andrew Balbirnie guided the Irish home with 19 balls remaining.

Despite the early departures of Paul Stirling (5), Niall O’Brien (5) and Gary Wilson (9), Balbirnie ensured the victory alongside Ed Joyce (47) adding 59 runs for the fifth wicket. Prior to that, Ireland were tottering at 78/4.

A quickfire 16-ball 23 from Kevin O’Brien at the end dashed any hopes Bangladesh were harbouring of a comefrom-behind victory.

Taijul Islam picked up two wickets while Al Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shakib and Nasir Hossain all picked up a wicket each. A luckless Bangladesh side will now begin their World Cup mission against Afghanistan this Wednesday in Canberra. l

The Opening Bell - Can England use Ian to bell the Kangaroos?

Lord’s cricket ground, the Mecca of cricket - on a sunny morning of June 9, 1979, I was sitting in the stands with Jock Livingtston, ex-Au s t r a l i a n cricketer, wickYOUSUF RAHMAN (BABU) et-keeper and opening batsman who played alongside the legendary Don Bradman for New South Wales in the late 1940s. Jock, as he was affectionately called, was the Director of Gray-Nicolls - one of the leading cricket bat manufacturers in the world. He came to the shores of England when he was signed by Northampton in the English county circuit. I will write a bit more about Jock when it is appropriate to do so as we became good friends over the years.

It was one of the opening matches of the Prudential (as it was called then) World Cup that saw two legendary cricketing rivals confront each other. While England was at full strength, the Australians were a completely new outfit severely depleted of its strength due to the players ban, a consequence of the Kerry Packer Series. Led by a young, curly haired Kim

Hughes, Australia came to the World Cup with its 2nd XI. That Australian team also provided to the world Allan Border, who eventually became a name for the record books as a leading batsman. A pugnacious left hander, Border led Australia to a World Cup title. In 1979, the cricketing world also saw, for the first time, a young, slim curly haired left hander debut for England. David Gower also hit the headlines and soon enough established his place as a world class batsman over the years to come.

Head to head, England and Australia have met each other 6 times on the World Cup stage with England winning only once, which was in 1992.

While Australia has won the title 4 times, England came close to winning it in 3 times. In 1979, they were comprehensively beaten by the West Indies, in 1987 they fought gallantly but lost to Australia by 7 runs and, in 1992 they shockingly lost to Imran Khan and his Pakistani unit. While England, being one of the top sides on a consistent basis, failed to have its name carved on the Trophy, Australia somehow managed to come up with the right combination to win the title more than any other nation.

Once again, for the 7th time in World Cup history and for the second time in

an opener, these two rivals meet. Will England manage to turn things around?

On paper and on their recent performances the match is tilted in Australia’s favour. However, like any professional team, Eoin Morgan and his band will erase the memories of the recent past including those of the recently concluded Tri-Nation series and show up with a different mind frame. The Australian strength lies in a monster of an opening batting pair with David Warner and Aaron Finch, followed by some creative players like Steve Smith, Michael Clarke, who now seems certain to play, and Glenn Maxwell. Some of the lesser power players like Shane Watson and Brad Haddin will be added bonus if they come good. Then there is no stopping this Australian team from marching on.

If we compare head to head with the team’s batting strength, Australia definitely has the edge over England, whose batting has to be heavily reliant on Ian Bell and to some extent on Morgan, who so far has been having a miserable time in the warm up matches. If the supporting cast of Gary Ballance, James Taylor, Moeen Ali and Joe Root don’t keep the fire burning, then England will not only crumble in the opener but will also fizzle out in their matches against the others. We saw how they struggled against Pakistan in the warm up game,

especially against the leg spin of Yasir Shah. The loss to Pakistan, after their one-sided win against the West Indies, will not go well in their dressing room.

They will need to mentally overcome this loss immediately.

While Australia will have the luxury to pick from a pool of exceptional fast bowlers, England will have to be careful in its selection. Between Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins

and Josh Hazlewood they have a lethal arsenal and with Maxwell providing some spin, the Aussies have an extremely potent force. England has a nice variety but again if you compare player to player, England falls behind to some extent. Other than James Anderson and Steven Finn, and perhaps Chris Woakes I don’t see the Australian batting line up getting shaken by the English bowling.

Nevertheless, the cricket world should be prepared for an exciting encounter. If England does show up in their uniform with some degree of pride, they will not only make the Aussies sweat but may even romp home with a win. Otherwise, the “Barmy Army” will try their luck in fostering goodwill by going further “Down Under” with plenty of “Foster” to keep them company. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

13

Friday, February 13, 2015

QUICK BYTES

Siddikur tees off in Thailand Classic at 19th Premier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman probably made his best start in a tournament this year as he was tied for 19th position alongside 18 others after the opening round of the Thailand Classic at Black Mountain Golf Club yesterday.

Siddikur hit a birdie on the second hole and followed it up with three more birdies in the first round of the $2m tournament. The 30-year-old carded only one bogey in a near perfect exhibition of golf and finished the opening day with a score of three-under-par 69. Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey is leading the standings with an incredible eight-underpar 64.

–Tribune Desk

Diarra, Carroll blows for West Ham West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce revealed on Wednesday that his side’s mooted move for former Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Lassana Diarra had fallen through.

France international Diarra, 29, had been training with West Ham after leaving Lokomotiv Moscow in August, but his hopes of joining the club were dashed by an administrative issue. “I have to say we have waited and we have negotiated for weeks to get the right deal and now we’ve got it, we find we can’t get the right paperwork and the right clearance, so we have wasted his time and our time,” Allardyce said after his side’s 0-0 draw at Southampton in the Premier League. “On the basis of the situation we’re in right now, he would have been a very crucial player for us between now and the end of the season.” In a further blow to the east London club, striker Andy Carroll left St Mary’s on crutches after hurting himself on his return from an injury sustained against former club Liverpool last month. “The sad thing for us is the injury to Andy Carroll, which we can ill-afford to take with our injury problems,” Allardyce added.

–AFP

Angry Sporting cut official ties with rivals Benfica

Sporting have suspended official relations with arch-rivals Benfica mainly due to an unsavoury incident in a recent futsal game. Sunday’s 1-1 Lisbon soccer derby draw was disrupted when fans of both teams threw flares. Police had to act to quell trouble during and after the game but the root of the problems between the two clubs could be traced back further. On Saturday they met at the Estadio da Luz for a futsal derby and Sporting officials were taken aback by the unfurling of a banner by opposition fans that read “very light 96”. That was a provocative reference to the 1996 Portuguese Cup final when a Sporting supporter was killed after being struck by a flare (very light). Benfica fans could be heard chanting “tomorrow there will be more” during the futsal game. “In defence of the most elementary human values and the dignity of Sporting we are left with no alternative than to cut diplomatic relations with Benfica and take the matter to the competent authorities,” Sporting said in a news release on Wednesday. The club also deplored the fact Benfica directors who were present on Saturday, including president Luís Filipe Vieira, did not take action to have the banner removed.

–Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2 4:00AM (Saturday) ICC Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka v New Zealand

Ten Action 2:45PM Australian-League Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar 7:30PM Indian-League Mumbai vs Salgaocar 1:30AM French Ligue 1 Olympique De Marseille v Stade De Reims 7:00PM AMRO Tennis Tournament Quarter Finals Session 1

Sony Six 7:00AM NBA Season Chicago v Cleveland Super Rugby 12:30PM Crussaders v Rebels 2:30PM Brumbies v Reds 1:30AM Scottish Premiership Rangers v Hibernian

Chelsea goalkeeper Cech saves a shot from Everton striker Romelu Lukaku during their English Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London on Wednesday

REUTERS

Willian strike keeps Chelsea seven clear n Reuters, London Willian’s late strike snatched a 1-0 home win for Chelsea over a stubborn Everton side to maintain their seven-point lead over Manchester City who crushed Stoke City 4-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Chelsea were frustrated before Brazilian Willian struck from 20 metres in the 89th minute to break the resistance of Everton whose midfielder Gareth Barry had been sent off just before the goal.

“It’s beautiful to win in the last minute, and it’s so sad (for Everton) to lose,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told BT Sport.

“They have to be very disappointed, they gave us a very difficult match. We are very, very happy and we think we deserve it. We risked a lot to try to win.”

City kept pace with the leaders as

striker Sergio Aguero scored twice, his first goals in over two months, to help the champions to their first league win in five matches at mid-table Stoke, who briefly made it 1-1 through Peter Crouch.

England midfielder James Milner and Frenchman Samir Nasri also struck for City.

An unlikely brace from substitute defender Chris Smalling and a late Robin van Persie penalty lifted Manchester United to an unconvincing 3-1 home win over struggling Burnley who had equalised through Danny Ings.

United leapfrogged Arsenal and Southampton into third in the table after the latter drew 0-0 at home to West Ham United, who had goalkeeper Adrian sent off.

West Bromwich Albion continued their resurgence under new manager Tony Pulis as Brown Ideye and Saido

Berahino struck in a 2-0 home win over Swansea City to lift their team away from the relegation zone.

A second-half Frazier Campbell goal earned Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United as manager Alan Pardew hosted his former club who had taken a first-half lead through a Papiss Cisse header.

Chelsea struggled without the presence of top goalscorer Diego Costa, who was serving the last game of a three-match suspension for stamping, in the face of a stout Everton defence.

Former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku should have given Everton the lead against his old club but Petr Cech saved with his legs from close range.

The close shave gave the hosts greater impetus to attack and with time running out they looked to have taken the lead when defender Nemanja Matic struck but he was ruled offside.

A melee between both sides followed and Everton midfielder Barry was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card before Willian struck the winner a minute later. Argentina striker Aguero moved within one goal of the league’s top goalscorer Costa after striking his 15th and 16th goals of the campaign in City’s rout.

“We returned to our normal performance, especially in the second half.

We scored three goals in the second half and had more chances,” Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini told BBC Sport.

“The most important thing was to win and in the way we did today.”

Smalling, who had previously scored only three league goals in his career, headed in a corner to give United the lead after six minutes with his first touch of the match, just 22 seconds after coming on for the injured Phil

Jones, and he scored again just before the interval. But the 3-1 win flattered Louis van Gaal’s side, who were second best against 19th-placed Burnley for much of the match. l

EPL RESULTS

Chelsea

1-0

Everton

1-1

Newcastle

Willian 89

Crystal Palace Campbell 71

Cisse 42)

3-1

Man United

Burnley

Smalling 6, 45, Van Persie 82-P

Southampton

Ings 12

0-0

Stoke

West Ham

1-4

Crouch 38

Man City Aguero 33, 70-P, Milner 55, Nasri 76

2-0

West Brom

Swansea

Ideye 60, Berahino 74

Booters rise to 157th in Fifa rankings n Tribune Desk

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (2L) kicks the ball, next to teammate Luis Suarez (2R), against Villarreal’s Mateo Musacchio (L) and goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo during their King’s Cup semi-final first leg match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Wednesday REUTERS

A strong display in the recently concluded Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament elevated Bangladesh eight places to 157th in the latest world rankings released by Fifa.

Prior to the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, Bangladesh were 165th but the second-place finish in the third edition of the international tournament helped them jump eight places.

Among the 46 Asian nations, Bangladesh are now 30th whereas before the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, they were 34th.

World Cup champions Germany are still at the summit followed by runners up Argentina and Colombia at second and third respectively.

Equatorial Guinea were the best

movers according to the latest rankings. The central African country escalated 69 places to 49th following their third-place showing in the recently concluded African Cup of Nations. l

RANKINGS Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 157

Countries Germany Argentina Colombia Belgium Netherlands Brazil Portugal France (-1) Uruguay (+1) Bangladesh (+8)

Points 1729 1534 1456 1430 1385 1333 1189 1168 1146 129

Barcelona ease towards Pele says too much focus on racism n Copa del Rey final AFP, Sao Paulo

n AFP, Madrid Barcelona took a huge step towards a fifth Copa del Rey final in seven years with a 3-1 win over Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring from Luis Suarez’s cutback four minutes before the break, but Villarreal levelled shortly after half-time when Marc-Andre Ter Stegen failed to keep out Manu Trigueros’s drive.

However, Barca were back in front within a minute through Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique’s header 26 minutes from time made it 3-1. The Catalans could have had an even healthier advantage to take into the second leg on March 4, but Neymar had his penalty saved by Sergio Asenjo.

“I think it was a very good performance on our part against an opponent that was more defensive than we expected, but against a very good team.

It is a good result, although it isn’t definitive,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

“It could have been even better with the penalty we missed, but it is a good result and deserved based on what we

saw on the pitch.”

Villarreal coach Marcelino meanwhile described his side’s evening like a “horror film” having not only lost the match but captain Bruno and former Barca midfielder Jonathan dos Santos to injury. This game seemed lke a horror film. Barcelona took advantage of our mistakes and scored the type of goals we didn’t expect.

COPA DEL REY Barcelona

3-1

Messi 41, Iniesta 49, Pique 64

Athletic Bilbao Aduriz 11

Villarreal Trigueros 48

1-1

Espanyol Victor Sanchez 35

“We have two injuries. I am sad for all these combined circumstances that mean we are much further away from reaching the final.”

All of Villarreal’s good defensive work in the opening 45 minutes was undone four minutes before half-time when Mateo Musacchio slipped to allow Suarez to rob possession and he squared for Messi to slot home his 11th goal.l

Brazilian legend Pele insisted Wednesday he feels racist incidents in football are blown out of proportion and that if there were less column inches given over to those responsible the problem would likely go away.

“If everyone did as (Brazil star) Daniel (Alves), when they threw a banana at him as he took a corner, if they ate it and did nothing then nobody would

do anything again,” Pele told UOL web news portal, referring to last year’s incident during a Barcelona game.

On that occasion Alves was praised for coolly picking up the banana and eating it. But Pele said his point was that racist fans thrived on the attention accorded to their actions.

“The big problem is focusing the attention on these idiots who go to games, who are not fans but delinquents,” insisted three-time world champion

Pele. In contrast, fellow Brazilian world champion Ronaldo had blasted his compatriot for expressing similar sentiments in an interview last September.

Pele insisted that shrugging off racism and carrying on playing was the way to react. “If I’d started fighting every time they used the N-word in the United States, Latin America and Brazil I’d still be embroiled in legal cases the world over,” said the 74-year-old nicknamed O Rei (the king). l

Lambert sacked as Cavani gives PSG Cup win Villa manager Blanc had said needed to be helped to n AFP, Paris get him back on form again, headed AFP, London n Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani’s home after he ran on to David Luiz’

Paul Lambert has been sacked as manager of Aston Villa after a run of 10 games without a win took them into the Premier League relegation zone, the club announced on Wednesday.

“Aston Villa Football Club has parted company this evening with manager Paul Lambert,” Villa announced. “Firstteam coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall will continue to prepare the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Leicester City at Villa Park.” l

first goal in five games helped Paris Saint Germain to a 2-0 win over Nantes on Wednesday and a place in the French Cup quarter-finals.

Cavani, criticised for a poor performance in front of goal for the two-time defending champions against league leaders Lyon in Sunday’s 1-1 draw, struck in the 19th minute with French international midfielder Yohan Cabaye adding a second in the 34th minute.

Cavani, who PSG coach Laurent

freekick.l

RESULTS Yzeure

1-3

Ngoye 62

Monaco

3-1

A. Toure 10, Wallace 11, Martial 67-P

PSG Cavani 19, Cabaye 34

Guingamp Mandanne 90+4, 97, Pied 100

2-0

Rennes P Henrique 34

Nantes

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Friday, February 13, 2015

THE CRICKET FESTIVAL BEGINS

A combination of photos of the opening ceremony acrross Melbourne and Christchurch yesterday. UAE captain Mohammad Tauqeer, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, India captain MS Dhoni and Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq can also be seen in the photo

Pakistan threaten stars with expulsion, Clarke stays sidelined n AFP, Sydney

boasting an impressive 7,762 runs in his 238 ODIs with an average nudging 45.

Meanwhile, both Melbourne and Christchurch - who will host Saturday’s opening games - staged opening ceremonies on Thursday.

In Melbourne, home grown star Tina Arena headlined the lengthy show, ably supported by R and B star Jessica Mauboy, singer Daryl Braithwaite as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The programme was designed, said organisers, to “reflect the diversity and excitement of the 14 competing nations and include some icons in Australian entertainment”.

Over in New Zealand, meanwhile, about 30,000 people gathered in Christchurch’s Hagley Park for a ceremony that included performances ranging from Bollywood dance to Scottish bagpipes.

Tattooed Maori warriors in grass skirts performed a traditional welcome in front of a neon-lit marae, or meeting house, as the flags of the 14 participating nations were brought out.

Prime Minister John Key said hosting the event was a major boost for the city as it continues to rebuild after a devastating earthquake in 2011 that killed 185 people.

“The earthquakes robbed this city of a chance to be part of the Rugby World Cup, so it’s only fitting that the Cricket World Cup would have its official opening and its first match here in Christchurch,” he said.

“It’s our way of showing the world that Christchurch is back in business.”

The 11th World Cup features 14 teams and will be played at seven venues in Australia and seven in New Zealand.

Saturday marks the first day with Australia tackling England at Melbourne while co-hosts New Zealand face Sri Lanka on what should be an emotional afternoon at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval.

In all, there will be 49 matches with the final set for the MCG on March 29.

The 14 teams are split into two groups with the top four going into the quarter-finals. l

Pakistan on Thursday warned eight of their World Cup squad they face banishment from the tournament if they repeat a team curfew breach.

On a day when Australia admitted that hobbled captain Michael Clarke will miss Saturday’s opener against England and organisers found it necessary to stage two opening ceremonies, it was 1992 champions Pakistan who were fighting off the first mini-crisis of the six-week event.

“Eight Pakistan players, including former captain Shahid Afridi and opener Ahmed Shehzad, were fined 300 Australian dollars (US $230) after they came late to their Sydney hotel on Sunday,” sources in the team told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The team management, headed by manager Naveed Cheema, a former military man, claimed the players arrived 45 minutes late after a night out.

Meanwhile, Australia and England cranked up the mind games, 48 hours before they clash in their World Cup opener which will be watched by 90,000 fans inside the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

One of those looking on from the sidelines will be Clarke who has still to fully recover from his long-standing hamstring injury.

Not that England skipper Eoin Morgan had huge interest in the plight of his opposite number.

“Whatever team they put out doesn’t really bother us. It’s really important we focus on what we do,” Morgan said.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann confirmed that Clarke would not play at the MCG but should feature in Australia’s second game against Bangladesh in Brisbane on February 21.

Clarke was captaining Australia for the first time since his hamstring surgery almost two months ago.

Clarke will be key to Australia’s hopes of winning a fifth world title,

Windies survive Scots scare n AFP, Sydney

McCullum pumped up with Sportsman of Year award

West Indies narrowly avoided an embarrassing World Cup warm-up defeat at the hands of minnows Scotland on Thursday, just hanging on to claim a three-run win.

The West Indies were mauled by nine wickets by England in their last warm-up but looked on course for a comfortable afternoon against the Scots when they piled-up 313-9 in 50 overs. Despite losing Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels for one run between them, the Caribbean side then saw Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons put on 117 for the fifth wicket.l

n Reuters

Robot tips Aghanistan to win World Cup n AFP, Wellington

New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum hoped his winning the country’s Sportsman of the Year award on Wednesday would give his team mates a massive boost heading into their World Cup opener on Saturday.

The 33-year-old McCullum won the Sportsman of the Year and was a finalist for the supreme prize, the Halberg Award, but was beaten by Olympic and world rowing champions Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, who had also won the Sports Team of the Year on Wednesday.

“It’s really humbling but when you play a team sport individual accolades aren’t what you play for,” McCullum told reporters in Christchurch on Thursday, hours before the opening ceremony for the World Cup. “But at the same time I’m respectful of the whole awards and all those other recipients of awards This one is very much for the boys as well.”

A New Zealand robot has predicted minnows Afghanistan will win the upcoming Cricket World Cup, although even the machine’s programmer admits such a shock result is unlikely.

The University of Canterbury’s robot Ikram made the prediction using software developed by doctorate student Eduardo Sandoval.

When the flags of the 14 participating nations were placed in front of the robot it selected Afghanistan, who are playing their first World Cup and drawn in a tough pool including Australia, England and New Zealand.

“Of course this is unlikely, but with cricket the result can always be unexpected,” Sandoval said.

New Zealand bookmakers do not share the robot’s views and have Afghanistan as 1,000-1 outsiders to win the tournament, with Australia favourites at 3-1. l

BRIEF SCORE West Indies 313-9 in 50 overs (Denesh Ramdin 88, Lendl Simmons 55) Scotland 310-9 in 50 overs (Kyle Coetzer 96, Richie Berrington 66) West Indies won by 3 runs

McCullum was the first cricketer to win New Zealand’s Sportsman of the Year award since former captain Martin Crowe in 1991.

He was recognised for a superb 2014 when he became the first New Zealand player to score more than 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year and also notched the country’s first Test triple century. The 302 he scored against India at the Basin Reserve last February was also voted by the public as New Zealand’s Sports Moment of the Year.l

10 new things in World Cup 1. Fielding restrictions, Powerplays In 2012, the ICC made a number of alterations to the playing conditions for ODIs. The one that will likely have the most noticeable effect at this World Cup is the change from a maximum of five to four fielders outside the 30-yard circle for the majority of the innings. There will also be two blocks of Powerplay overs rather than three: the first covering the opening ten overs, when only two fielders are allowed outside the ring; the second, a five-over block to be taken by the batting side before the 40th over, restricting the number to three outside the ring.

2. Two new balls The move to a new ball being used from each end came about shortly after the previous World Cup. Previously the white ball, which is prone to degradation, was changed after 34 overs. Providing two new balls has made batting more challenging for openers in conditions that assist quick bowlers but also preserves the hardness throughout the innings.

3. Reduced role for part-timers The first two factors are likely to affect the balance of sides at this World Cup. Rahul Dravid has suggested there will be less leeway for part-time bowlers than four years ago, when India regularly got ten overs out of Yuvraj Singh, due to the lack of protection. The 1992 World Cup was the heyday of wobbly seam-up but even New Zealand are more focused on genuine pace these days.

4. The swing to seam Conditions as well as rule changes will contribute to a major shift from 2011, when spin bowling dominated. Australia is generally inhospitable to spinners and that gig has only got harder since the reduction in the number of fielders allowed outside the ring, making it more difficult for sides to defend the boundary. Assistance for seam and swing will be expected in New Zealand, with pace and bounce on the Australian menu.

5. The post-chucking environment The zeal with which the ICC has sought to eradicate illegal actions means even those who have not been called or have undergone remedial work will be wary. The No. 1-ranked ODI bowler, Saeed Ajmal, will be absent; Sunil Narine, currently No. 2, is included in West Indies’ squad despite not having played internationally since being called in the Champions League and

Sachithra Senanayake is being eased back in by Sri Lanka after a ban.

6. New kids on the block There will be a host of fresh faces in the vanguard. Since India’s players hoisted Sachin Tendulkar on to their shoulders and carried him around the Wankhede, several giants of the game have retired or been dispensed with. There will be no Jacques Kallis or Graeme Smith, no Virender Sehwag or Zaheer Khan, no Muttiah Muralitharan, no Ricky Ponting, no Kevin Pietersen.

7. The DRS The ICC only confirmed what tools would form part of the DRS a week before the start of the tournament. Real-Time Snickometer, which had not been developed in 2011, is available this time but again there will be no Hot Spot. One thing that will be clearer from the outset is the process for reviewing lbw decisions via ball-tracking technology.

8. Increased prize money The total pool of prize money on offer has been raised by 25% from US$8m to $10m for the 2015 tournament and the winning team could collect more than $4m, if they remain unbeaten. For the first time, the six nations who fail to make the quarter-finals will also be rewarded, to the tune of $35,000 each, with $45,000 also on offer for each group-stage win.

9. No Super Overs in knockouts In 2011, the ICC introduced the one-over eliminator - or Super Over - as the method of determining which team would progress in the event of a tie during the knockout stages. That replaced the Bowl Out from 2007. Now things have gone full circle, with Super Overs dropped for all knockouts, except the final.

10. Run rates The last World Cup was the first to have an average run rate of above five an over, going past the record of 4.95 set in 2007. Armed with two new balls, bowlers had prospered in Australia and New Zealand. However, since the start of 2014, the average runs per over has ballooned to 5.32 in Australia and 5.66 in New Zealand. The dawning possibility of how quickly teams can score at the back of the innings, as evidenced by AB de Villiers’ record-breaking hundred in Johannesburg, means this World Cup could be the most supercharged of all.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

MONKEY BIZNESS to be premiered today

n Entertainment Desk

FUAD’s Hit Factory to hit the stores soon n Shadma Malik Fans of pop, hip-hop, funky and electro music need no longer to wait as Fuad’s next album “Hit Factory” will soon be released. The music director-producer and singer shared with the Dhaka Tribune about his upcoming project.

“Hit Factory was the name of my first studio. I have been residing in Bangladesh for nine years now. The album reflects that time span where I met some great musicians and friends who came to visit my studio and we did some jamming together,” Fuad reflected on his journey so far when asked about the name of the album.

“This album is retrospective and sort of brings things into a full circle for me. I may not even stay in Bangladesh in near future, I am not really sure what is going to happen. It took five years to produce the album, but I didn’t go obsessive compulsive in regards to mixing and mastering.

There are tons of technical flaws, but if I was to recreate things and try to fix the issues the emotional element would be lost. So I kept it with all its imperfections. Oh man, I just had a passing thought, I should have called it Bongo Bazaar..u know where they

sell slightly imperfect garments,” added the composer.

The album has a mix of fresh and experienced singers who performed solo. Upol Islam, Mouri, Nazia, Shuvo, Sumi from band Lalon, Artist TJ, Anila and Arefin Rumey are some of the singers who lent their voices in the album.

“I sang two songs in this album.

One of my favourites is ‘Aktai Amar Tumi’, which was already aired on an FM radio as a promo. ‘Shunduri Furi’ is another highlight of the album.

This song is dedicated to my beautiful wife,” Fuad smiled.

There are around 13 songs in the album which has a very eclectic theme.

“I do not want to be restrained by any boundaries of genre or theme.

These songs have been done in an informal way. Some of them are even scratch demos.”

“Apart my professional work, I tried to do something very personal and ‘Hit Factory’ speaks for my taste,” Fuad said.

Under the label of Incursion music, the album will be launched in March. ‘Hit Factory’ will be available both in compact disc and digital formats. l

A new telefilm titled “Monkey Bizness” will be premiered today on NTV at 11:30pm.

Earlier, Airtel Bangladesh Limited has arranged a launching event of the telefilm at the Star Cineplex of Bashundhara City on the last Wednesday. The tenth project produced by Airtel is directed by Rahat

Rahman.

The cast includes a string of fresh new faces as well as renowned senior artists such as Tariq Anam Khan, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Iresh Zaker, Sabila, Tamim, Sabnam Faria and Sifat Tahsin.

The story revolves around the life of a private university student Rafi, and his haphazard family. The father is involved with another wom-

an while the mother is irritated at the daughter-in-law. The brother is a corrupt employee, the sister-inlaw dreams of a nuclear family and amidst all the chaos the story of Rafi’s life goes on. A turn of event makes the family come together and realise that family comes first.

Two original songs have also featured in the telefilm including a romantic number titled Jajabor Pakhna. l

Exhibition

Taste of Light and Darkness Time: 6pm – 9pm Alliance Française de Dhaka Road 3, Dhanmondi

Sonia Hossain and Asif are spotted together shooting for a TV series titled Dost Dushmon. Directed by Mostafa Kamal Raz, the TV series will be aired shortly on Maasranga TV KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

Theatre

Konjush

By Loko Natyadol Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm WhereNational Theatre Hall Shilpakala Academy, Shegun Bagicha

Music

Annual Folk Music Festival

By Chhayanaut Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Chhayanaut Auditorium, Dhanmondi

EVA MENDES launches her own beauty line

Kanye West stopped by Ryan Seacrest’s radio show and revealed plans to record with Taylor Swift.

Here’s what West said: “Yeah, she wants to get in the studio and we’re definitely going to go in. I don’t discriminate, I don’t have an elitism of music because of like how many Grammys or you know, the amount of ratings you get on an album. I think that everyone loves music whether they love hip-hop, alternative, country, and if I could be involved in giving people any type of energy, advice in the studio, whether you’re Beyonce, whether you’re Taylor Swift, whether you’re Jay Z, whether you’re Beck, whoever, and they can be reciprocal with that, I’d like to be involved with that.” l

n Entertainment Desk

TELEVISION

SWEET HOME ALABAMA Zee Studio, 7:15pm Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey A young woman with a Southern background runs away from her husband in Alabama and reinvents herself as a New York socialite.

CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE HBO Defined, 5:40pm Cast: Jason Statham, Amy Smart Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.

THEATRE

Sustainability Fair Time: 10am – 10pm Jatra, 60 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani

TAYLOR SWIFT wants KANYE WEST in the studio with her n Entertainment Desk

WHAT TO WATCH

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 3D I ZERO DEGREE I ROMEO V/S JULIET I SEVENTH SON 3D I JESSABELLE @ Star Cineplex

Light, Dark, Space

By MD Tokon Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge, 60 Avenue, Gulshan 1

The Paradoxical Now Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts Road 16, Dhanmondi

15

Friday, February 13, 2015

SEVENTH SON 3D I ROMEO V/S JULIET I EXODUS 3D I INTERSTELLAR I NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB I THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES I THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 3D I ZERO DEGREE @ Blockbuster Cinemas

First look of EMRAAN and VIDYA’s Hamari Adhuri Kahani revealed n Entertainment Desk First look of Mohit Suri’s “Hamari Adhuri Kahani” has been revealed by Mahesh Bhatt through a tweet. The producer has also revealed a confirmed release date of the movie.

“First Look- Hamari Adhuri Kahani. An illicit love so pure that it touches the heights of divinity. Releasing 12 June”, read the tweet by Mahesh Bhatt.

Previously seen in “Dirty Picture” and “Ghanchakkar,” the hit pair Emraan Hasmi and Vidya Balan are in the lead with Rajkummar Rao playing an important role. The film is said to be based on filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s life.

Produced by Vishesh Films and presented by Fox Star Studios, the movie has been shot in India, the US, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai which is scheduled to hit the screens on June 12, 2015. l

Eva Mendes has a lot on her plate. The actress recently welcomed her first child, Esmeralda, with Ryan Gosling, designed a bridesmaid collection and is set to debut a comprehensive cosmetics line called Circa at 3,000 Walgreens stores later this month.

She’s previously been a spokesmodel for Revlon and Pantene. The Old Hollywood glamour-inspired brand, which includes 133 richly pigmented skus — from foundation and lip and cheek stains to two-sided mascara, all in black and glass with antique gold packaging — is set to target the Hispanic market, with shades that, in Mendes’ words, “service all types of ethnicities.”

The Cuban-American star, who acts as both the creative director and face of Circa, told WWD, “Anything that I needed I got from a drugstore as far as beauty was concerned.” Indeed, according to Maesa’s chief marketing officer, by 2020 one in every five shoppers will be of Hispanic descent.

Her line, owned by Maesa Group, will join other celeb-fronted beauty brands like Salma Hayek’s Nuance, which retails at CVS. Expect to see the new mother doing in-store appearances as part of Circa’s promotion and launch. l

HOUSE OF CARDS season 3 leaked on Netflix, removed quickly n Entertainment Desk The highly anticipated third season of House of Cards has been leaked two weeks ahead of its scheduled release. For 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon America got a glimpse of life under the iron fist of Francis Underwood.

But as news spread the series was pulled almost as quickly as the show’s Machiavellian lead can destroy a political career. Netflix denies that the leak was a marketing ploy, telling Newsbeat it was down to a “technical glitch.”

On Wednesday night eagle eyed Netflix viewers in America could watch the series online for just under half an hour. Although the mistake was sorted out quickly, some fans on Twitter said they were able to keep streaming episodes they had begun watching before they were removed.

The series stars Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood, a ruthless politician on a power trip to get to the top of American politics.

House of Cards is a new version of a series by the same name originally screened by the BBC in 1990, based on the novel by Michael Dobbs. l

TOM CRUISE dinner date with PENELOPE CRUZ and SALMA HAYEK

n Entertainment Desk Tom Cruise recently reunion with former lover Penelope Cruz and co-star Salma Hayek sure went great as the actor was spotted leaving the dinner date with a lipstick stain kiss on his cheek.

The 52-year-old “Mission: Impossible” star had dined with the beauties at Scotts in London, and emerged with a bright red mark on his cheek, Us mag-

azine reported.

Though it is uncertain who gave him a peck as both Cruz, who’s now married to Javier Bardem, and Hayak, were wearing red lipstick. Cruise and Cruz had started dating in 2001 only to part ways in 2004. At the time, it was said that reason was the Church of Scientology not accepting Cruz, who was unwilling to give up her own Buddhist beliefs. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Smugglers and illegal migrants disguised as crew caught by Navy n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Thirteen illegal migrants about to be smuggled to Malaysia were picked up in the outer anchorage area of Chittagong Port by the Bangladesh Navy yesterday.

Two migrant smugglers were also nabbed from the small engine boat during the operation.

The would-be migrants told the Dhaka Tribune that they consciously boarded the boat headed for Malaysia because they were assured of reaching their destination safely by posing as crew members.

Migrant smuggling, in which adult illegal migrants consent to go to another country, and human trafficking, in which people are coerced, misled, misinformed or are compelled by their guardians to be exploited abroad, both occur between Bangladesh and its wealthier South-East Asian neighbours, sources said.

‘We paid Tk200,000 before the trip and were to pay another Tk200,000 upon arriving in Malaysia’ “We gathered in a hotel in Chittagong city’s Pathantuli area a week ago according to the instructions of the smugglers. Two of them, Mamun and Badal, took our belongings,” said Belal, one of the migrants.

“We were told not to come out of the room and were given a lungi and a shirt each to wear. We were provided with three meals a day,” he said.

Belal said he had heard that the smuggling racket had sent some 36 people to Malaysia already.

The Bangladesh Navy’s Anti-Smuggling Cell Officer-in-Charge Commander Atiqur Rahman said the small engine boat was intercepted around 3:30am because its movements raised suspicions.

The would-be migrants and their smugglers were handed over to Patenga police station and a case was lodged in this regard, he said.

The migrant smugglers – Moham-

mad Shahin, 26, and Rafiq Nur, 46, – are both from Anwara upazila of Chittagong district, police said.

The intercepted illegal migrants are Bahauddin, 34, Belal Hossain, 34, and Johir Imam, 25, from Feni district; Ataur Rahman, 28, Mamunur Rashid, 18, Rabiul Islam, 18, and Ansar Ali, 35, from Bogra district; Faruk Khan, 26, and Mithu Sardar, 22, from Rajbari district; Abdul Haq Mia, 23, from Narsingdi district; and Durud Alam, 24, Sabuj Mia, 23, and Lipon Mia, 19, from Sunamgonj district, police said.

Siblings Belal and Johir told the Dhaka Tribune that their brother, Delwar, has legally been resident in Malaysia for the last seven years.

“Recently he told us his colleague, Majibor, and four others, were able to take people from Bangladesh to Malaysia via the sea route. These smugglers assured us that we would be recruited as cooks and staff on their boat and that they would leave us in Malaysia,” the siblings said.

“We paid Tk200,000 before the trip and were to pay another Tk200,000 upon arriving in Malaysia,” they said with frustration in their voices.

Thwarted migrant Abdul Haq Mia said he was brought to the port city a week ago by another smuggler named Anwar. He said a man named Sajjad talked to him over the mobile phone and instructed told him what he had to do.

“I paid Tk240,000 to go to Malaysia,” he said.

The smugglers told their “crew” it would take 15-20 days to reach Malaysia.

Arrested smuggler Shahin said the boat was owned by one Nur Alam.

Some 3,793 people have picked up in the vicinity of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong city and district over the last five years.

Some 15,000-20,000 people have migrated illegally or have been trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia in the last decade, Police Headquarters Anti-Human Trafficking Special Committee said following an investigation in 2014.

The committee found the existence of 11 international and 230 Bangladeshi human traffickers and smugglers working under the command of a Thai-Malaysian expatriate woman named Manaking. l

Back Page

Friday, February 13, 2015

20 publication houses warned against pirated book sales, copyright issues

Members of a copyright task force under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs inspect stalls at Ekushey Boi Mela yesterday for violation of intellectual property law

n Nure Alam Durjoy At least 20 publication houses received warnings against sale of pirated books and AMAR EKUSHEY books pubBOOK FAIR 2015 lished by other publication houses, following a drive by the Fair Committee yesterday.

Manzurur Rahman, chief of the Copyright Task Force, led the drive along with some other concerned officials of Bangla Academy yesterday from 4.15pm till 5.30pm.

The committee says if the errant publication houses do not comply, their stalls could be closed down.

Although article 6.1 of the Fair Regulations 2015 allows participating institutions to sell books printed and published in Bangladesh, article 6.5 restricts participating institutions and bodies from selling books of other publishing houses.

Earlier at the fair, publishers and fair committee members said at least 50 stalls had been selling books pub-

lished by foreign publishers, especially Indian ones, and pirated books and titles that had been published by others.

On February 3, the fair committee paid a visit and warned over 25 other book stalls for breaching guidelines.

“The publishers met us and assured us that they would follow the

Publishers and fair committee members said at least 50 stalls had been selling books published by foreign guidelines,” Jalal Ahmed, fair committee member secretary, said.

Pen Internationals, Bartaman Sanglap, Bhakti Bedanta Book Stall, SD Multimedia Prakashani, Micros Digital, Chootoder Mela, PPMC, Nandini Prakash, Shabdo Shilpo, Shishughar, Phoolki, Ajmail Publications, Mou Prakashani, Brataman Samoy, Ilma Prakashani, and Ankur Prakashani were among others who

were warned yesterday.

However, the drive – and the consecutive warnings – proved fruitless almost immediately as some of the publication houses went back to selling pirated books as well as books by other publication houses.

The fair, yesterday on its 11th day, saw the new arrivals of 100 books yesterday, with the total number of new arrivals reaching 1,471.

Today, it will hold Shishur Prohor (Children’s Hour) from 11am to 2pm.

With today being the first day of Falgun, the fair is expected to be vibrant with many visitors, especially the youth, as the country will celebrate the welcoming of spring.

‘Bangladesh-India Water War’ unveils silence of politics

Bangladesh-India Water War, written by Dhaka-based journalist Altaf Parvez, was launched at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela yesterday.

The book unveils, through its six chapters, the silence of both the politics and administration of Bangladesh which has been resulting in the direst consequences of the fate of the people

MEHEDI HASAN

of Bangladesh at the lower Himalayan plains.

The book, which is a compilation of field observations by Altaf, holds that Bangladesh is deprived of the rights of its rivers as India has barred the natural flow of at least 57 rivers which travel through India and Bangladesh.

It also depicts the picture of aspects of the dangerously affected socio-economic, political and environmental area, the author has said.

T h e book, also has a depiction of the ‘Interlinking of Rivers Project’ in India under Modi government, and explores how it will affect the lives dependent on the rivers.

The book has been published by Tarafdar Prokashoni and is available at the fair. l

Apple bans ‘bonded servitude’ n BBC

Bus burnt in capital on day 5 of 120-hour hartal

Apple has banned the practice of bonded labour, where new recruits are charged a fee before they start working.

In its latest audit of factory conditions, the iPhone maker said that any recruitment fee must be paid by the supplier and not the employee.

Apple began the audits following criticism of the working conditions in some of its factories.

It comes as a report from labour rights group China Labor Watch questioned the low wages earned by some Apple workers.

Its 2015 Supplier Responsibility Progress report said it had told its suppliers in October that it was outlawing bonded servitude from this year.

“That fee needs to be paid by the supplier, and Apple ultimately bears that fee when we pay the supplier, and we’re OK doing that,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice-president of operations. l

n Tribune Report

Two Common Mynas (Shalik) sip honey from Palash, a flower that blossoms with the arrival of spring. The photo was taken near Central Shaheed Minar area in Dhaka yesterday, a day ahead of Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Empty well crushes oil hopes at Kailashtilla 7 n Aminur Rahman Rasel

Disappointment cast a shadow over state-run Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) after a two-year test drilling effort yielded an empty well, crushing the government’s hopes of striking oil.

Well 7 at Kailashtilla Gas Field, hyped as a hydrocarbon godsend, failed to redeem hopes of securing the country’s growing energy needs, said top officials of the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, widely known as Petrobangla.

The media hype in 2012 followed a three-dimensional seismic survey by Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex),

conducted over 190 square kilometres in Kailashtilla which suggested that Well 7 possessed large oil reserves.

Bapex, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, was tasked with drilling the well that was projected at the time to be able to produce 500 barrels of oil and 25 mmcfd gas per day.

The exploration firm dug some 3,504 metres but the analysed data showed no sign of oil in the well, an official of Bapex told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, asking not to be named.

“The drilling location was a distance of 300 metres from Kailashtilla Well 4. Analysing Well 4 data, they thought that drilling Well 7 would not be fruitful because they are close to each other,” he said.

“We completed 3,501 to 3,504 metres drilling stem test (DST). But there was no oil to be found,” SGFL Managing Director SAF Md Najmul Ahsan Haider told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“We completed 3,262 to 3,266 metres DST. After analysing the data we will comment,” he said.

SGFL is a Petrobangla company.

“After drilling, no oil was found at Kailashtila 7. It was nothing but waste of money,” Professor Ijaz Hossain of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

An upper zone DST at 3,125 to 3,150 metres, a level where gas might be found, will be done by Bapex, he said.

“Our survey virtually guaranteed the presence of oil in the well, but it seems unlikely to find oil even if we start digging wells,” Md Haronur Rashid Mullah, general manager of SGFL and project director for drilling Kailashtilla Well 7, said.

On October 17, 2014, the drilling of Kailashtilla Well 7 at Sylhet Gas Field in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet began at a cost of Tk220.5cr.

SGFL officials said Well 7 would have been the country’s second oil well after the Haripur well in Sylhet Gas Field in Jaintapur upazila of Sylhet in the 1980s.

Haripur field stopped producing oil in 1994. l

At least six people were severely burned in petrol and crude bomb attacks in Dhaka’s Banasree, Dhanmondi and Savar areas last night on the last day of the 120-hour hartal enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

However, the first half of the day passed relatively peacefully in and around the capital, with vehicles, trains and launches moving normally.

Outside the capital, there were a few arson attacks, arrests were made, and several bombs recovered.

In Savar near Dhaka, five passengers of a bus were injured with two severely burnt as miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a vehicle near Genda Bus Stand around 9pm. Two seriously burnt were admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital.

In Dhaka, pickets hurled petrol bombs at a bus at Banasree around 8:30pm, injuring bus helper Bappi, who was admitted to DMCH with 70% burns.

Shah Alam, who took Bappi to DMCH, said: “The miscreants exploded another bomb when fleeing the scene.”

In another attack, pickets hurled three crude bombs at a CNG autorickshaw, injuring Mosharraf Hossain Mohon, 30, his sister Farida Sultana Popy, 25, and his aunt Shahin Akhter, 40.

In the last 24 hours, law enforcers arrested 20 activists of the BNP, Jamaat

and Shibir for their connection in violence, the DMP said.

In a separate incident, four people were injured on Dhaka University campus in crude bomb blasts in the evening. Two more bombs were blasted in front of the Rokeya Hall, leaving a rickshaw-puller injured. A tea vendor named Sohel, 22, rickshaw-puller Minju Mia, 50, and rickshaw passenger Nurul Amin, 32, were injured when miscreants set off crude bombs in TSC area.

At Ashulia, police recovered six petrol bombs, 12 crude bombs, and 3kg of gun powder raiding Based Model Academy and arrested Jamaat leader Bashir Ahmed and activist Abdul Hamid.

In Chittagong, two autorickshaw passengers were injured at Shah Mirpur in crude bomb blasts Wednesday night.

In Fatullah of Narayanganj, police caught two Chhatra Dal leaders with petrol bombs at Lamapara on the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.

Fatullah OC Md Asaduzzaman said they signalled a motorbike to stop, but the two riders threw two bags at the roadside. The ASI, however, arrested the men named Rofiqul Islam and Gazi.

In Mymensingh, police fired shots at a group of activists who left two youths bullet-riddled at the Khakhdohor Bypass intersection. The police recovered two firebombs and three crude bombs from their possession. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 S&P lowers Saudi

B4 Euro zone in deflation

outlook on oil price slide

until Q4; 1-in-4 chance of Greek exit

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Govt cuts growth forecasts sharply for five years

Slower economic growth mainly due to political unrest led to the cut Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the n Kayes Sohel chair.

The government has drastically slashed economic growth outlooks for next five fiscal years in line with its perspective plan due largely to the frequent political unrest.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast in the next financial year 2015-16 has been cut down to 6.6% from 8.3%, according to the revised medium-term macro-economic framework revealed by the General Economics Division (GED) yesterday.

The GDP growth outlooks have been revised to 6.8%, 7.2%, 7.6% and 8% instead of 8.7%, 9.1%, 9.4% and 9.7% in the fiscals 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.

The slower than expected economic growth over the last couple of years mainly because of repeated political instability has prompted the government to cut down the growth, according to officials.

To achieve the projected growths, the GED also reduced investment to GDP ratio growth to 28.9%, 29.5%, 30.7%, 31.3% and 37.7% instead of 33.3%, 34.1%, 35%, 36.1% and 37% in next five fiscals beginning from FY2017.

The revised medium-term macro-economic framework policy was disclosed at a meeting of the “National steering committee on preparing the Seventh Five-Year Plan at the NEC conference room in the city with Planning

Earlier, finance ministry, however, in its preliminary macroeconomic-projection has set a 7.4% GDP growth for next fiscal.

It has also forecast to project 7.5% and 7.7% GDP growths in FY2017 and FY2018 respectively under the trimmed medium-term macro-economic framework.

After consulting with the finance ministry, the GED’s projection will be included in the 7th Five-Year Plan, said an official.

The GED is entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the technical framework and conducting background studies that form the basis of preparing the Plan.

Planning Commission has initiated the process of preparing the country’s 7th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) which is scheduled to be launched from July 2016.

The GED said given the world growth projections (slow recovery) with the developing countries and domestic shyness in policy reforms- a medium policy shift scenario or, the business as usual should be considered pragmatic and courageous.

If political and economic scenarios improve to achieve expected growth, the mid-term reviews of the Plan may propose upward adjustments in the macroeconomic framework including growth rates, it said. l

DCCI President Hossain Khaled presents a crest to NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman yesterday as a DCCI team met to submit pre-budget proposal at the NBR headquarters

Garment workers seen busy sewing clothes at a factory in Dhaka

RAJIB DHAR

Tofail: Not global competitors, political unrest major threat to local apparel industry n Tribune Report Global competitors are not the threat for Bangladesh’s garment sector, but the country’s persistent political unrest appears as a real hurdle to having expected growth, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

“India and Vietnam are not a challenge for Bangladesh. Violence, throwing petrol bombs in the name of politics is the hurdle,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the seminar held at the BGMEA office in Dhaka.

He said the government would try to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the countries like Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and some other Latin American countries not offering Bangladesh duty-free market access.

Tofail said Vietnam is politically stable country and has adequate lands for setting up industries, but Bangladesh lacks land and other utility services including power, gas and electricity.

“If India and Vietnam sign FTA with

the EU countries, Bangladesh’s RMG will not face problem,” he said.

But Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute, thinks FTA is not necessary right now for Bangladesh and what is necessary is investment.

The seminar’s title was “Possible Implication of EU-India FTA and EU-Vietnam FTA on Bangladesh’s Exports,” jointly orgainsed by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI).

Vietnam enjoys duty-free access into all countries across the world for it political relationship. Besides, the Vietnamese living in the US has an important role in creating market there.

“As the competition is rising, Bangladesh has to be competitive. For this problems like political unrest, lack of power, electricity and infrastructures need to be resolved,” said Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow at Bangladesh’s Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

FTA is expected to open more avenues for exports to the EU countries by Bangladesh, but focus should be given to finding solutions to unrest and infrastructural problems, she said.

“Trade agreements will not bring benefits to the country’s RMG and will remain meaningless if we do not have enough capacity for production,” Nazneen said.

Zillul Hye Razi, trade adviser of the EU delegation to Bangladesh, also thinks India and Vietnam are not a threat for Bangladesh’s RMG at the moment as the countries have given focus on other sectors.

“Domestic problems like lack of workplace safety and political unrest should be resolved,” he emphasised.

In Vietnam, the rules and regulations have been relaxed to do business and any one can do business there, he noted.

BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said if the problems are resolved, the country’s economy will become vibrant again.

“In 2014, Bangladesh’s RMG sector turned around, but the political unrest has taken a heavy toll on the sector once again,” he said.

Daniel Seidl, executive director of Bangladesh German Charmer of Commerce and Industry, laid emphasis on the productivity of workers and ensuring transparency in factories.

“Bangladesh is doing a good job and needs to change the factory structure in terms of safety and compliance,” he added.

Mujibur Rashman, former CEO of BFTI, said the Trans Pacific Partnership would be under threat by the Asian Free Trade Agreement.

But the market access is very important for Bangladesh, he added.

Nazma Akter, president of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation put stress on more efficient price negotiation.

She said the RMG people would have to concentrate more on the betterment of workers ensuring workplace safety and providing dormitory facility. l

DCCI seeks tax rebate in next budget HSBC denies involvement in to cover business losses money laundering n Tribune Report Leaders of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to provide them with the tax rebate facilities for recovering the losses businesses occurred during the ongoing countrywide blockade and hartal programmes enforced by BNP-led 20 party alliance.

A DCCI delegation-led by its President Hossain Khaled made the plea at a meeting with the officials of National Board of Revenue (NBR), held at NBR headquarters in the capital yesterday.

NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman presided over the meeting.

Claiming that they are experiencing a shortfall of around Tk7,883 crore from their earning target because of the ongoing blockade, DCCI President has requested the NBR chairman not to impose any further taxes on the businessmen in the next budget.

DCCI President urged the NBR for giving them tax rebate in the next budget as the businessmen could not run their businesses in the last one month. Besides, the businessmen are

We are experiencing a shortfall of around Tk7,883 crore from our earning target because of the ongoing blockade facing troubles in paying their bank interests due to the current political unrest, he claimed.

He explained that imported goods laden containers could not be released from Chittagong port due to the on-

going blockade and hartal, resulting in extra charges on businesses. He requested the NBR Chairman to consider up to 50% rebate on all charges at the port level.

DCCI also proposed to take measures for holding income tax fair at the upazila level alongside district level across the country to reduce tax burden on the businessmen.

In response, the NBR chairman assured the delegation of organising the income tax fair at the Upazila level, apart from the district level.

He, however, called upon the business community to do export and import business honestly, abiding the existing rules and regulations. He also stressed on expediting the tax net instead of increasing taxes.

NBR chairman informed the DCCI delegation that NBR would soon honour the top 10 tax payers from each of the five tax zones across the country. l

n Tribune Report HSBC, a London-based multinational bank, has outright denied its alleged involvement in helping any clients to siphon off money from Bangladesh through the bank to evade tax.

The bank official ruled out the allegation at a meeting with the Bangladesh Bank officials held at the central bank headquarters in the city yesterday.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) had earlier summoned officials of HSBC over recent reports in global media alleging the bank’s involvement in helping clients to evade taxes.

A four-member team-led by CAMLCO (chief anti money laundering compliance officer) of HSBC bank met the Bangladesh Bank officials to clarify its position over the recent money laundering issue reported in different global media.

“The team informed us that it has no information neither on tax evasion nor money laundering by any Bangladeshi nationals through any branch of HSBC,” said Mahfuzur Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Bank.

He also informed that the central bank would soon send a delegation to the HSBC office in Dhaka to inquire about the allegation.

He also clarified that the Swiss Leaks report did not mention that the alleged money was deposited in HSBC’s Swiss private Bank from Bangladesh.

“However, the report only mentioned about some Bangladeshi nationals who might be non-residential and deposited the money from any other countries,” he opined.

The British banking giant allegedly operated a giant tax evasion scheme via its Swiss subsidiary, HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), according to the Swiss Leaked report.

NGO’s allowed to open bank account for street children n Tribune Report

The NGOs (non-government organisations), who are interested to operate bank accounts in favor of the street children, are now allowed to open the account without any approval from Bangladesh Bank.

All the interested NGOs will have to apply for opening bank account to the respective scheduled banks.

In this regard, the central bank issued a circular yesterday with an immediate effect.

Earlier, they were instructed to be included in the list to the Green Banking and CSR Department of Bangladesh Bank through a scheduled bank for opening bank account of the street children.

Scheduled banks will execute the bank opening activities considering the NGO’s good will, credibility, experiences and infra-

structure facilities, said the circular.

In case of nominating applicant, banks will review the NGO’s registration documents, report of NGO’s activities on street children and decision of the organisation’s trustee board.

Banks will sign a bilateral agreement with the nominated NGO to open the bank account.

Earlier in March 2014, Bangladesh Bank has decided to allow the street children to

open a bank account with only Tk10 to help save their earnings.

The respective bank branches will have to submit necessary information, including the application of the NGOs, within 15 days of starting the banking activities. The submission should be made through the head offices of the respective banks to the Green Banking and Corporate Social Responsibility Department of Bangladesh Bank. l

Global media outlets including French newspaper Le Monde, Britain’s The Guardian and the BBC published reports about HSBC’s involvement in helping clients to dodge taxes and siphon out money. The Guardian, along with other news outlets, cited documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) from Le Monde.

The ICIJ documents say that until 2006, US$13m has been siphoned off from Bangladesh by 16 clients of HSBC, 31 percent of whom are bearing the Bangladeshi nationality or passports.

However, the report did not mention the name of the individuals who had the amount with the HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).

Media leaks on HSBC accounts held in Switzerland “are only the tip of the iceberg,” Herve Falciani, the former HSBC employee who supplied information. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks rise for 8th session amid jittery

DSE key features February 12, 2015

n Tribune Report

er, cement and food & allied closed marginally higher.

The market breadth remained positive as out of 308 issues traded, 218 closed positive, 58 declined and 32 remained unchanged.

IDLC Investments said investors’ preference to micro and mini-cap companies fostered significant volatility across the board with 65 out of 308 traded scrips changing more than 3% of their respective prices.

Like the previous day, participation was also prominent, settling turnover above Tk300 crore for the second consecutive day, it said.

“Overall, market sentiment improved significantly.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said it was another shining day for Motijheel Street as most of the large and mid-cap stocks extended gains.

Aamra Technologies Limited topped the liquidity chart with turnover worth Tk14 crore changing hands, followed by Beximco Limited, IFAD Autos, Grameenphone, Mobil Jamuna Bangladesh Limited, Beximco Pharma and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL).

SAFKO Spinning was the top gainer registering a rise of 9.9%, followed by EXIM First Mutual Fund, PLFSL, PF First Mutual Fund, BSCCL and Anlima Yarn.

Kay & Que, Libra Infusion, Gemini Seafood, AIBL First Mutual Fund and PF First Mutual were the biggest losers. l

Stocks gained for the eighth consecutive session amid jittery yesterday, shrugging off continued political turbulence.

The market swung between positive and negative throughout the session, but the last minute buying of mainly low cap companies helped the indices to close higher.

The benchmark index DSEX gained 31 points or 0.7% to 4,841.

With the gain, DSEX added 223 points in the last eight sessions.

The Shariah index DSES moved up marginally over 4 points or 0.4% to 1,149. The comprising blue chips DS30 settled at 1,812, rising 7 points or 0.5%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was up 55 points to 8,979.

Trading at the Dhaka Stock Exchange remained slightly dry compared to that of the previous session. Total turnover stood at Tk320 crore, which was 5.8% lower over the previous session.

Among the heavyweight sectors, telecommunication was the only sector which ended in red losing 0.8%.

Textile continued to shine gaining highest 1.5%, followed by non-banking financial institutions and non-life insurance that rallied more than 1%.

Pharmaceuticals, banks, pow-

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSER Company Kay & Que (BD) -Z Libra Infusions-A GeminiSeaFood-B AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Phoenix Fin. 1st MF-A Pioneer Insur -A Northern Jute -Z ACI ZERO Bond-A Monno Ceramic -B NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A

Closing (% Change) -6.08 -5.03 -4.08 -4.00 -3.77 -2.80 -2.78 -2.71 -2.04 -1.89

CSE LOSER Company

Closing (% Change)

Wata Chemicals -A Anwar Galvanizing-B LR Global BD MF1-A Continental Insur. -A Mozaffar H.Spinning-A Reliance Insur -A Prime Bank-A Reckitt Benckiser -A Eastern InsurA NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A

-4.72 -4.44 -4.44 -4.23 -3.63 -3.23 -3.16 -3.03 -2.33 -1.85

4841.72102

(+) 0.65%

1812.35018

(+) 0.41%

14824.54360

(+) 0.61%

12100.95420

(+) 0.51%

8983.87410

(+) 0.63%

Average (% Change) -3.81 -4.57 -1.62 -2.19 -2.86 -0.75 -2.43 -4.35 -3.30 -1.31 Average (% Change) -5.42 -4.36 -1.78 -4.65 -3.69 -3.23 -3.11 -2.28 -2.33 -0.74

ANALYST

ClosingAvg. 14.15 368.42 187.34 4.92 5.10 42.36 210.86 1000.00 28.70 5.27

ClosingAvg. 200.50 34.43 4.42 18.06 29.23 54.00 18.41 1,065.19 29.30 5.35

Closing 13.90 366.40 185.60 4.80 5.10 41.60 210.00 1005.50 28.80 5.20

Closing 202.00 34.40 4.30 18.10 29.20 54.00 18.40 1,057.00 29.30 5.30

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 278.41 252.63 68.94 431.31 149.33 421.06 2.69 275.42 395.03 14.65 98.74 24.42 49.26 64.26 229.89 41.86 66.23 157.78 48.80 189.04 0.06

DHIGH 13.90 370.00 196.50 5.30 5.20 43.30 215.10 1010.00 29.00 5.50

Company

3,259.80 94,523,353

Number of Contract

96,370

Traded Issues

310

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

226

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

78

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,599.75

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.51

CSE key features February 12, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

286.26

Turnover (Volume)

9,805,200

Number of Contract

16,733

Traded Issues

244

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

184

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

51

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,518.69

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.53

Turnover in Million

DLOW 13.80 366.00 181.00 4.50 5.00 40.90 210.00 1000.50 28.30 5.10

Latest EPS

0.015 0.035 1.385 0.803 0.589 2.344 0.691 0.011 0.100 25.269

-1.41 3.38 -6.36 0.11 0.66 4.83 0.96 0.00 0.20 0.43

Turnover in Million

DHIGH

DLOW

202.00 34.50 4.60 18.20 29.60 54.00 18.90 1,098.90 29.30 5.50

200.00 34.30 4.30 17.50 29.00 54.00 18.00 1,057.00 29.30 5.20

% change 8.54 7.75 2.11 13.23 4.58 12.92 0.08 8.45 12.12 0.45 3.03 0.75 1.51 1.97 7.05 1.28 2.03 4.84 1.50 5.80 0.00

Million Taka 12.38 25.00 2.60 36.64 11.38 20.38 36.18 22.05 3.14 8.09 0.82 5.87 6.99 20.17 1.05 1.81 27.86 11.22 32.60 0.02

CSE

% change 4.32 8.73 0.91 12.80 3.98 7.12 0.00 12.64 7.70 1.10 2.83 0.29 2.05 2.44 7.05 0.37 0.63 9.73 3.92 11.39 0.01

Latest EPS

0.008 0.034 0.032 0.031 1.030 0.000 0.038 0.022 0.000 0.752

Million Taka 290.79 277.63 71.54 467.95 160.71 441.44 2.69 311.60 417.08 17.79 106.83 25.24 55.13 71.25 250.06 42.91 68.04 185.63 60.02 221.64 0.08

Imam Button -Z Safko Spinning-A Meghna Con. Milk -B EXIM Bank 1 MF-A People`s Leasing-A Intl. Leasing-B Meghna PET Ind. -Z BD Submarine Cable-A Anlima Yarn -A FAS Fin. & Inv. Ltd-B

Closing (% Change) 10.00 9.82 9.46 8.47 8.42 7.69 7.14 6.93 6.63 5.95

CSE GAINER

5.37 0.64 0.08 2.27 2.82 3.79 1.87 42.33 2.31 0.43

Latest PE -ve 109.0 -ve 44.7 7.7 8.8 219.6 143.5 12.3

Total

Company Samata LeatheR -Z Rahima Food -Z Safko Spinning-A Imam Button -Z FAS Fin. & Inv. Ltd-B Intl. Leasing-B People`s Leasing-A Daffodil Computers -Z Midas Financing-Z Aziz PipesZ

Closing (% Change) 10.00 9.97 9.87 9.48 9.38 8.51 8.42 7.69 7.30 7.00

Average (% Change) 10.00 9.02 8.02 17.86 7.48 5.49 8.21 6.97 4.61 3.64 Average (% Change) 9.33 9.68 8.16 9.48 9.38 6.97 6.44 5.53 7.23 6.25

ClosingAvg. 12.10 24.17 8.08 6.40 21.27 14.99 6.06 118.67 20.67 17.39

ClosingAvg. 19.80 34.09 24.26 12.70 17.50 15.05 21.16 13.73 14.69 21.26

Closing 12.10 24.60 8.10 6.40 21.90 15.40 6.00 120.30 20.90 17.80

Closing 19.80 34.20 24.50 12.70 17.50 15.30 21.90 14.00 14.70 21.40

DHIGH 12.10 24.60 8.10 6.40 22.00 15.60 6.20 122.50 21.00 17.90

DHIGH 19.80 34.20 24.50 12.70 17.50 15.50 22.00 14.00 15.00 21.40

DLOW 12.10 22.50 8.00 6.40 20.20 14.10 6.00 113.50 20.00 16.60

DLOW 19.80 33.70 23.00 12.70 17.50 14.30 20.40 13.50 14.00 21.00

Turnover in Million 0.683 18.343 0.444 0.000 33.033 22.167 0.161 70.562 2.176 1.099

Turnover in Million 0.024 0.122 0.944 0.137 0.004 2.801 5.616 0.148 0.003 0.018

Latest EPS -1.48 1.24 -4.42 0.56 0.97 -0.09 -0.44 0.76 0.74 1.27

Latest EPS -0.46 -0.42 1.24 -1.48 1.27 -0.09 0.97 0.86 -3.24 -0.37

Latest PE -ve 19.5 -ve 11.4 21.9 -ve -ve 156.1 27.9 13.7

Latest PE -ve -ve 19.6 -ve 13.8 -ve 21.8 16.0 -ve -ve

News, analysis and recent disclosures FAREASTFIN: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 2.5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 25.03.2015, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Center-2, Block-C, Umme Kulsum Road, Bashundhara Residential Area, Baridhara, Dhaka-1219. Record date: 26.02.2015.

The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.93, NAV per share of Tk. 13.00 and NOCFPS of Tk. (1.22) for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

FAREASTFIN: The Company has further informed that, Record Date of the AGM of the company will be March 05, 2015 instead of February 26, 2015 in compliance with DSE Listing Regulation 36 (A) (4).

Other information will remain same.

AFCAGRO: The Company has informed that it will sign an agreement with Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka on February 12, 2015 at 12:00 noon at Conference Room of University of Dhaka for Commercial Production of Industrial Enzymes for which it will pay 4% Royalty to Dhaka University on the invoice price of

Industrial Enzymes.

NCCBLMF1: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Trustee of the Fund has informed that a meeting of the Trustees of the Fund will be held on February 12, 2015 at 4:00 noon to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Fund for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

IPO Subscription: Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited subscription date 01 to 05 Febuary 2015, NRB upto 14 Febuary 2015. @ taka 35, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Dividend/AGM GP: The Board of Directors has recommended 65% final cash dividend (i.e. total 160% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclusive of 95% Interim cash dividend which has already been paid) for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 21.04.2015, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Center-2, Block-C, Bashundhara R/A, Baridhara, Dhaka-1219. Record date: 18.02.2015. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 19,803.28 million, EPS of

Tk. 14.67, NAV per share of Tk. 23.23 and NOCFPS of Tk. 23.15 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

SAPORTL: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. The Board has also decided to issue Rights shares at the rate of 1R:5 (i.e. one Rights share for five shares held) at an issue price of Tk. 25.00 each including premium of Tk. 15.00 per share subject to approval of shareholders and regulatory authorities.

Date of AGM: 14.03.2015, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: Police Convention Hall, Eskaton Garden Road, Ramna, Dhaka-1000. Record Date: 18.02.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 0.82, NAV per share of Tk. 42.29 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.91 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC. CNATEX: 11% stock, AGM: 15.03.2015, Record Date: 18.02.2015.

RAKCERAMIC: 25% cash, EGM and AGM: 25.03.2015, Record date: 17.02.2015.

Latest PE 37.3 53.8 55.3 8.0 10.4 14.2 9.8 25.2 12.7 12.4

Investors’ preference to micro and mini-cap companies fostered significant volatility across the board with 65 out of 308 traded scrips changing more than 3% of their respective prices

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

DSE GAINER

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Friday, February 13, 2015

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company

% change 8.20 7.83 2.02 13.20 4.53 12.45 0.08 8.79 11.76 0.50 3.01 0.71 1.55 2.01 7.05 1.21 1.92 5.23 1.69 6.25 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

aamra technologies-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Ifad Autos -N Brac Bank -A Grameenphone-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Beximco Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A CVO PetroChem RL-A Fu-Wang Food A

Barakatullah E. D.-A Square Pharma -A Agni Systems -A DESCO Ltd. -A WesternMarine -N

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BD Submarine Cable-A Ifad Autos -N aamra technologies-A UNITED AIR-A Grameenphone-A C & A Textile -N Beximco Pharma -A Fareast Finance-Z National Feed-N

WesternMarine -N Agni Systems -A People`s Leasing-A LafargeS Cement-Z RAK Ceramics-A

VolumeShares 3,425,719 4,045,915 1,988,370 2,925,074 248,135 693,048 1,328,682 594,599 148,375 2,529,198

Value in Million 140.49 140.17 125.28 114.93 87.22 86.17 80.14 70.56 69.70 65.28

% of TotalTurnover 4.31 4.30 3.84 3.53 2.68 2.64 2.46 2.16 2.14 2.00

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

1,879,799 227,590 1,738,122 792,979 972,597

639,402 144,822 222,516 312,416 1,193,472 30,303 389,661 121,700 374,711 241,250

135,524 171,400 265,460 41,121 82,659

64.74 58.75 58.28 55.48 45.97

22.12 17.17 14.07 12.87 10.95 10.68 7.57 7.36 6.73 6.66

6.54 5.75 5.62 5.25 4.78

1.99 1.80 1.79 1.70 1.53

7.73 6.00 4.91 4.49 3.83 3.73 2.64 2.57 2.35 2.33

2.28 2.01 1.96 1.83 1.67

ClosingP 40.90 35.50 63.10 38.70 349.60 124.50 60.90 120.30 475.00 26.00

34.70 257.70 33.20 69.80 47.80

ClosingP

35.50 119.80 63.30 41.10 9.10 349.80 19.30 60.80 17.50 27.50

48.20 33.10 21.90 127.40 58.20

Change % 3.54 2.01 2.60 0.26 -1.05 -0.08 0.00 6.93 2.55 3.17

1.17 0.39 0.00 0.14 3.91

Change %

2.31 6.77 3.43 4.58 1.11 -0.88 -1.03 -0.16 2.94 0.00

0.42 -0.60 8.42 -0.16 1.75

ClosingY 39.50 34.80 61.50 38.60 353.30 124.60 60.90 112.50 463.20 25.20

34.30 256.70 33.20 69.70 46.00

ClosingY

34.70 112.20 61.20 39.30 9.00 352.90 19.50 60.90 17.00 27.50

48.00 33.30 20.20 127.60 57.20

DHIGH 41.80 36.00 64.60 39.60 355.50 126.00 61.50 122.50 477.90 26.20

34.90 259.80 34.20 70.70 48.10

DHIGH

35.90 122.20 64.50 41.80 9.40 356.60 19.70 61.40 20.00 28.00

48.60 34.00 22.00 128.80 58.50

DLOW 39.60 33.80 60.10 38.40 348.00 122.60 59.30 113.50 463.50 25.00

34.00 256.50 32.90 69.00 46.00

DLOW

33.70 113.40 60.00 39.30 8.90 349.00 19.10 59.20 17.50 27.40

47.90 32.60 20.40 127.00 55.50

AvgPrice 41.01 34.64 63.00 39.29 351.49 124.33 60.32 118.67 469.74 25.81

34.44 258.16 33.53 69.96 47.26

AvgPrice

34.60 118.58 63.22 41.18 9.17 352.51 19.42 60.48 17.95 27.59

48.23 33.57 21.16 127.70 57.83

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

B3

Friday, February 13, 2015

S&P lowers Saudi outlook on oil price slide n AFP, Dubai Standard and Poor’s has lowered the outlook for the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia to negative and downgraded its Gulf partners Oman and Bahrain on sliding oil prices.

But despite the large budget deficit planned by Riyadh for this year, the agency maintained its sovereign credit ratings for the kingdom, as well as neighbouring Abu Dhabi and Qatar, citing their “very strong fiscal positions.”

“Given its high dependence on oil, Saudi Arabia’s currently very strong fiscal position could weaken owing to the oil price decline,” S&P said in a statement on Monday.

“The negative outlook reflects our view that Saudi Arabia’s general government fiscal position is weakening,” it said.

S&P lowered its outlook for Saudi Arabia from positive to stable in December citing similar reasons.

The agency has since further lowered its projections for world oil prices.

In December 2014, S&P expected benchmark Brent North Sea crude prices to average $80 per barrel in 2015 and $85 a barrel in 2015-2018.

“We now assume an average Brent oil price of $55 a barrel in 2015 and $70 a barrel in 2015-2018,” it said.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, the neighbouring United Arab Emirates expects to balance its budget this year, and S&P maintained its “AA/A-1+” ratings and stable outlook for Abu Dhabi.

It said it expected the emirate, which accounts for 90 percent of UAE crude output, to remain prudent and

Kingdom Tower (Burj Al-Mamlaka) , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia flexible in its fiscal policy.

“But we also anticipate structural and institutional weaknesses to remain,” it added.

Gas-rich Qatar has yet to unveil its budget for this year but S&P maintained its “AA/A-1+” sovereign credit

ratings and stable outlook for the emirate.

The smallest Gulf producers, nonOPEC Bahrain and Oman, which lack the fiscal reserves of their wealthier Gulf partners, both saw their ratings downgraded one notch.

REUTERS

Bahrain’s sovereign credit ratings were cut to “BBB-/A-3” from “BBB/A-2” and Oman’s to “A-/A-2” from “A/A-1.”

World oil prices plunged more than 50% last year and have since rebounded only feebly, amid forecasts of weak growth in key consumer countries and a

continuing, if reduced, boost to supply from North American shale producers.

The International Monetary Fund estimated last month that the six Gulf Arab states - which also include Kuwait - would suffer $300bn in lost revenues this year because of the price slump. l

Oil prices rise in Asian trade n AFP, Singapore Oil prices edged higher in Asia yesterday but gains were capped owing to concerns about surging stockpiles in the United States, the world’s top consumer, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery rose 64 cents to $49.48 while Brent crude for March gained 34 cents to $55.00 in mid-morning trade.

“There is some optimism in the market at the moment, but the fundamentals have not changed,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP. “The increased US stockpiles adds to the worry about ample global supply, which is the main cause for the current bearish market,” he added.

The US Department of Energy reported on Wednesday that commercial crude reserves rose 4.9 million barrels in the week ending February 6.

Stockpiles were “at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years”, the agency added.

Oil prices have been under pressure for months, plunging about 60% to just over $40 a barrel between June and the end of January.

However, they have recovered slightly in recent weeks as the number of drilling rigs has fallen and oil companies have trimmed some investment.

Investors are also monitoring talks on Greece’s demands to renegotiate its international bailout as the risk of debt default looms.

A meeting between Finance Minister Yaris Varoufakis and his counterparts from the eurozone late Wednesday broke up without agreement, with deliberations now set to go down to the wire next week.

“We expect price action to remain choppy as markets await for direction,” said Singapore’s United Overseas Bank. l

Russia budget WGC: India likely to keep lead over China in gold consumption deficit to reach 3.8% India mulls export n Reuters, Mumbai of GDP in 2015

n AFP, Moscow

Russia’s budget deficit is expected to reach 3.8% of GDP in 2015, mainly due to the impact of falling oil prices, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Wednesday.

“According to our calculations, the resulting deficit amounts to 3.8% of GDP,” Ulyukayev said after meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, quoted by Interfax news agency.

After keeping its budget largely balanced for many years, Russia is seeing its financial situation deteriorate because of Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis and the falling price of oil, its main source of revenue.

“According to our forecast, budget revenues will fall by 2.340tn rubles ($35.41bn) - mainly due to oil and gas revenues (falling by) 2.2tn rubles ($33.27bn),” Ulyukayev said.

The forecast is based on oil prices staying at $50 for all of 2015, while they stood at $55 per barrel in London on Wednesday, and on GDP contracting by 3%, after 0.6 growth in 2014. Inflation is predicted at 12 percent for this year.

Ulyukayev predicted a balanced budget in 2017 if oil prices reach $70 per barrel. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov had in December predicted a budget deficit of 3%.

Ulyukayev said the budget deficit could be covered by the country’s reserve fund, which has been topped up by earnings from oil and gas sales in recent years. l

India is likely to remain the world’s biggest gold consumer this year after regaining the top spot from China in 2014, driven by robust jewellery demand, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Indian consumer demand for gold jewellery and investment totalled 842.7 tonnes last year, compared with 813.6 tonnes by China, according to WGC data.

Demand dipped in both countries in 2014 from record levels a year earlier, but Indian demand slid only 14%, compared with a much steeper 38% fall in China. The two countries accounted for over half of global demand.

Global gold demand also hit a fiveyear low last year as buying of jewellery, coins and bars failed to keep pace with 2013’s elevated levels, the WGC said on Thursday.

The industry group forecast gold demand in both India and China to rise to 900-1,000 tonnes in 2015, but said India was likely to retain its edge.

“We are maintaining the same level of demand for both the countries but Indian demand could rise marginally (higher) than China in 2015 as sentiment is ahead in India,” said Somasundaram PR, managing director of WGC’s India operations.

“Jewellery demand is the major driving factor in India and would continue to drive the market in 2015 as well,” he said.

India’s gold jewellery demand rose 8% to an all-time high of 662 tonnes

incentives for raw sugar n Reuters, New Delhi

India, the world’s second biggest sugar producer, is considering giving export incentives for 1.4 million tonnes raw sugar, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Wednesday, as mills started distress sale of the sweetener to pay cane farmers.

“The ministry’s views is that we should give subsidy for 1.4 million tonnes ... the paper has been circulated for a cabinet meeting,” Paswan told reporters.

Without any government incentive, Indian sugar is uncompetitive in world markets well supplied by low-cost producers Brazil and Thailand. l

A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai in 2014 on strong purchases for weddings and festivals. The robust demand comes despite tighter gold import rules, some of which were removed only in the latter part of 2014.

In contrast, Chinese jewellery demand slumped 33% from 2013, when a sharp slide in gold prices triggered massive purchases.

Chinese appetite for gold has dropped after the 2013 buying frenzy

due to a weak price outlook, with the WGC saying last year that this lower demand was the “new normal.”

China’s jewellery and investment demand has also taken a hit from the country’s anti-corruption drive, which has curbed some gift-giving practices during festivals.

The WGC said China was the single biggest contributor to a decline in global investment demand for gold bars

CORPORATE NEWS

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and coins due to the corruption crackdown and weak price outlook. Investment demand in China halved in 2014 from a year earlier.

“We can’t expect double-digit growth (in China) every year but we are looking at sustainable growth which is a reflection of people’s consumption power and appetite for investment,” said Albert Cheng, managing director of WGC’s far east region. l

n Tribune Business Desk BTCL has recently introduced new bill distribution system where area-based linemen through supervision of GMs are distributing bills and payment of redemption notes to customers.

Clients are requested to contact with nearby camp offices if the delivery of bills and redemption notes get delayed, said a press release. l

US warns G20 against using exchange rates to boost exports n Reuters, Istanbul

Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) has recently signed a contract with an advertising agency, Bitopi Advertising Ltd for its promotional campaigns. IDCOL’s executive director and CEO, Mahmood Malik and Bitopi’s MD, Sarah Ali signed the agreement Jamuna Bank’s training academy has recently arranged a workshop on prevention of terrorism financing and FATCA reporting. The bank’s DMD, AKM Saifuddin Ahamed inaugurated the workshop as chief guest

OK Mobile Ltd President wins the second prize in the premier mini pavilion category at the 20th Dhaka International Trade Fair. The company’s president Kazi Zaseemul Islam received the prize from Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayatullah Al Mamun and FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed at the concluding function

BTCL introduces new bill distribution system

Audit committee of Social Islami Bank Limited has recently held its 96th meeting. The committee’s chairperson, Md Abdur Rahman presided over the meeting

The United States urged a meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies not to resort to currency devaluations to boost exports, while a draft communique gave a gloomy assessment on Tuesday of the outlook for global growth.

The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Istanbul comes at a difficult time, with major economies running at different speeds, monetary policies diverging and Greece casting a new shadow over Europe.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew underlined the need to stick to existing commitments on exchange rate policy, a Treasury official said, pledges which include refraining from competitive exchange rate devaluations.

“Secretary Lew strongly emphasised ... that we are highly focused on ensuring that US workers and firms play on a level playing field and no country should use their exchange rate to increase exports,” the official said.

The US Federal Reserve looks set to raise interest rates this year, a stark contrast to huge money printing programmes by the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan and impromptu rate cuts from India to Australia, Canada to Denmark.

A by-product of that is the dollar being driven higher while other major currencies tumble. There has generally been an acceptance in Washington that a weaker euro and yen is an inevitable consequence of actions to revive moribund economies, something the United States has consistently called for.

According to a draft communique for the meeting, obtained by Reuters overnight and intended for adoption later on Tuesday, the G20 welcomed the ECB’s quantitative easing - despite German concern - and said it would further support recovery in the euro area.

In a nod to expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates, the draft said some advanced economies with stronger growth prospects were moving closer to “policy normalisation”. l

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Euro zone in deflation until Q4; 1-in-4 chance of Greek exit n Reuters The euro zone’s bout of deflation will last for most of this year despite the European Central Bank’s decision to buy government bonds, according to a Reuters poll that also gave a one-in-four chance of Greece leaving the currency area in 2015.

The findings from a survey of economists taken this week are likely to disappoint the ECB, especially just after it announced, after much debate, a quantitative easing programme worth 60bn euros a month starting in March.

But a majority, 20 of 32, said that will not be enough to bring inflation back up to the ECB’s target ceiling of 2% from -0.6% now, matching a record low.

Consumer prices will likely keep falling compared with last year until the fourth quarter, the poll showed, a sharp downgrade from last month, when economists forecast that would happen from January to March only.

For the full year, inflation is seen averaging -0.2%, compared with 0.2% in last month’s poll.

If the poll predictions are correct, that would signal the longest stretch of falling prices in the monetary union since its inception in 1999 and would counter policymakers’ claims the region would avoid deflation.

“More needs to be done in order to make QE effective,” said Elwin De Groot, economist at Rabobank. “To strengthen the impact of QE it should go hand in hand with a further let-up in fiscal policy and a speeding-up of structural reforms.”

The euro has weakened more than 6% since January on hopes of additional stimulus from the ECB and a mid-year interest rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve. But a sharp drop in global crude oil costs and weak demand has kept a lid on prices.

A private industry survey earlier this month showed euro zone firms cut

prices at the fastest rate in five years in January to drum up new business.

But while economists predict QE is unlikely to boost inflation, they are optimistic the new cash will help banks increase lending to private businesses by the end of this year.

Lending to households and firms fell by 0.5% in December - less than in previous months - but remains an area of concern for the ECB, which has lent trillions of euros to banks in the hope that it will filter through to the economy.

“Credit supply and demand conditions are improving. However, ongoing balance sheet reduction in the private sector is likely to continue to dampen credit demand,” said Johannes Gareis, economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Growth in the monetary union will likely average 1.1% this year, and 1.6% in 2016, roughly in line with the previous poll. By contrast, the US and UK economies are expected to grow 3.2% and 2.6% in 2015.

One-in-four chance greece exits

Deflation is not the only risk facing the currency bloc.

The new Greek government’s plan to abandon its austerity programme will continue to pose challenges to policymakers.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday won a confidence vote on his plan to cancel the bailout programme and end years of austerity imposed by international lenders that has resulted in deep job cuts and widespread discontent.

Since entering office less than a month ago Tsipras has stopped privatisations of public firms and promised to reinstate pensions and get government workers back into jobs.

But Germany, the ECB and other creditor nations remain opposed to allowing any concessions for Greece, especially if Athens deviates from its reform agenda.

A woman holds a Greek flag as she takes part in an anti-austerity pro-government demonstration in front of the parliament in Athens Economists in the latest poll gave just a 25% chance of Greece leaving the euro zone this year. But that is the highest probability collected by Reuters polls - even those conducted during the depths of the debt crisis be-

tween 2011-2012.

Athens is set to run out of money soon and is seeking a bridge loan to help it stay afloat and avoid a default while negotiations with lenders go on.

“There are no legal procedures for

a member country’s exit from European Monetary Union. Greece cannot be forced to exit,” said Marius Daheim, senior consultant at SEB. “However, once having defaulted, Greece may chose to negotiate an exit

Euro down as Greece talks break up but Nikkei surges n AFP, Hong Kong

Workers push harvested cotton with their feet after unloading it from a supply truck at a cotton processing unit in Gujarat

REUTERS

India to incur steep losses from cotton reserve sales n Reuters, Mumbai State-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is set to suffer its steepest loss in at least six years from sales in the current season, highlighting the plight of an industry that is battling bulging stockpiles and waning demand from top buyer China.

The CCI started selling from its stockpiles last month to make room in its warehouses for the ongoing bumper harvest, but managed to find buyers for less than half of what it auctioned.

It has procured more than 6.5 million bales this season from farmers

at prices around 5-6% above current market rates, making the fibre uncompetitive amid world prices that are languishing near more than five-year lows.

“Based on the current price we may see a loss of about 20-25bn rupees ($322-$403m) under the support price in operation this year as the response to the sale is very sluggish in the absence of Chinese demand,” CCI Chairman and Managing Director B.K. Mishra said.

That would be the biggest loss since at least 2008/09, a government official said. However, this loss will not show up on CCI’s books as it will be reimbursed by the government.

“I am hoping for some stability in prices by March on less supply,” Mishra added, referring to the month when new season arrivals dwindle.

Of the 35,000 bales auctioned since Jan 27 until last Thursday, CCI has found buyers for only 17,000 bales, but despite the dismal response, the agency cannot afford to lower prices as it has already spent about $2bn in buying cotton from distressed farmers, Mishra added.

A second government source said, including this week, CCI has auctioned 60,000 bales and sold around 29,000 bales. l

The euro dipped in Asian trade yesterday after talks between Greece and its European creditors on restructuring the country’s bailout broke up without agreement.

Japanese shares surged to a more than seven-year high as the yen retreated against the dollar thanks to investors betting on the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates soon.

The Nikkei in Tokyo, which was closed Wednesday for a public holiday, rallied 1.85%, or 327.04 points, to 17,979.72 - its best finish since July 2007.

Shanghai rose 0.50%, or 15.72 points, to 3,173.42 while Hong Kong gained 0.44%, or 107.13 points to 24,422.15.

However, Sydney retreated 0.44%, or 25.5 points, to close at 5,743.6 after data showed Australian unemployment at a 12-year high. Seoul eased 0.21%, or 4.07 points to 1,941.63.

The focus of attention was on Europe, where eurozone finance ministers were unable to hammer out a renegotiation of Greece’s bailout terms.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of eurozone ministers, said six hours of talks produced no deal on an extension of Athens’ 240bn euro EUIMF rescue programme.

Greece’s bailout is due to expire at the end of February and failure to agree on an extension would see Greece default on its giant debts, almost inevitably meaning that it would crash out of the eurozone.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras led the hard-left Syriza party to victory in elections last month vowing to bring an end to austerity measures imposed under the bailout.

On currency markets the euro

bought $1.1317 and 136.20 yen, down from $1.1332 and 136.37 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon.

Fed rate hike in view

“In global terms, the view over Greece is mixed, with a majority saying the Greek situation will have limited impact on global markets and economies,” Andrew Clarke, director of trading at Mirabaud Securities Asia in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg News.

“However, there are a few that think that view is slightly naive. If Greece does pull out and defaults on its debt, what will stop Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal from doing the same?”

The greenback held above 120 yen, with analysts predicting it could advance further if US retail sales later Thursday come in strong.

The dollar was at 120.27 yen, compared with 120.35 yen in US trade but well up from 119.70 yen in Asia earlier Tuesday.

Dealers are moving back into the US unit after another strong jobs report increased the likelihood the Fed will bring forward its timetable for raising rates.

Figures showing Australian unemployment hit a 12-year high of 6.4 percent in January increased the chances the country’s central bank will cut interest rates, sending the local dollar tumbling.

The Aussie hit a near six-year low of 76.59 US cents yesterday, from 77.26 US cents before the jobs data release.

On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery rose 93 cents to $49.77 while Brent crude for March gained 60 cents to $55.26 in afternoon trade.

Gold fetched $1,222.56 an ounce, against $1,234.49 on Wednesday. l

German inflation tips into Chinese economy more sustainable now n negative territory Reuters, Beijing

n

AFP, Frankfurt

Inflation in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, dipped into negative territory in January for the first time in five years, largely due to lower energy prices, data showed on Thursday.

The annual rate of inflation in Germany stood at -0.4% last month, the federal statistics office, Destatis, calculated in final data.

That was fractionally lower than a provisional estimate of -0.3% released

at the end of January.

In December, it had been in positive territory at 0.2%.

The last time German inflation had dropped into negative territory was in September 2009.

Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - the yardstick used by the European Central Bank inflation in Germany was even lower at -0.5% year-on-year, way under the ECB’s annual inflation target of just below 2%. l

China’s economy is now more sustainable and domestic consumption is steadily rising, Chinese Central Bank Vice Governor Yi Gang told a G20 meeting of finance officials earlier this week.

Yi’s remarks came after China posted its slowest economic growth in 24 years in 2014, with a cooling housing market, slowing investment and recent underwhelming exports expected to weigh further on domestic demand this year.

To stoke growth and bank lending, China’s central bank last week reduced the amount of cash that banks have to

hold as reserves for the first time in over two years. That was after it had unexpected cut interest rates in November.

Finance officials from the Group of 20 leading economies sketched an uncertain outlook for global growth on Tuesday and vowed to use monetary and fiscal policy if needed to stem any risk of stagnation. Yi also was quoted on the central bank’s website on Wednesday as saying that the central bank was closely monitoring China’s property market and shadow banking sector, and increasing the transparency of the nation’s local government debt.

China’s shadow banking business,

which includes investment trusts and bill acceptances, ballooned to 45tn yuan ($7.21tn) at the end of 2014, according to estimates by ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service. l

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REUTERS

agreement. This would incur strong losses for its creditors, but as these are mainly European taxpayers, the fallout on financial markets should be contained. Grexit is not going to be another Lehman-type event.” l

Gazprom: Shale production ‘nonsense’ after price drop n AFP, Riyadh The plunge in global crude prices makes it difficult for North American shale oil producers to survive, the chairman of Russian gas giant Gazprom said in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Viktor Zubkov told an industry gathering that “a lot” of shale producers are suffering from the drop in oil prices and current conditions make shale production “nonsense”.

“The low price of oil, $45, $50, or even $60 (per barrel), it’s not a driver for shale business,” he told the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Riyadh.

Crude prices dropped from around $100 to below $50 per barrel over the past year on concerns over a supply glut and weakening demand.

Traditional producers including the OPEC cartel have refused to lower production ceilings despite the fall, in a move analysts say is aimed at driving new competitors like shale producers out of business.

Current price levels, and connected prices for natural gas, “significantly undermine the economy of shale and LNG (liquified natural gas) export projects from the United States,” said Zubkov, a former Russian prime minister.

He said the current price level was “not normal” and that a “golden middle” would be preferable.

“Prices should not be too high or too low,” he told the Saudi-based forum, which brings together 74 oil and gas producer, consumer and transit nations.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery slid 10 cents to $49.92 a barrel on Wednesday.

Brent North Sea crude for March dropped 59 cents to $55.84 a barrel in London.

On Tuesday the International Energy Agency, another body that works for global energy security, said crude prices will recover from the $50-$60 range but will stay well below $100.

The IEA sees US shale oil production growth slowing to a trickle this year, but quickly bouncing back to post a 50% rise from 2014 levels. l