20 March, 2015

SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 |

Chaitra 5, 1421, Jamadiul Awal 27, 1436

DANISH MINISTER MEETS KHALEDA PAGE 2

| Regd No DA 6238, Vol 2, No 344 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend | Price: Tk10

JANNATI RELEASED AFTER 8 MONTHS PAGE 3

THAI SC ACCEPTS CASE AGAINST YINGLUCK PAGE 10

Tigers fall to controversial calls ICC President Mustafa Kamal says he may resign if needed protesting bad umpiring n Tribune Report International Cricket Council President AHM Mustafa Kamal may resign amid controversy triggered by dubious umpiring decisions leading to Bangladesh’s loss against India in the second quarter-final of the World Cup of cricket at Melbourne, Australia yesterday.

Kamal, who is also Bangladesh’s planning minister, said the ICC was not the International Cricket Council anymore. He was shown on Bangladeshi television channels saying: “It has become the Indian Cricket Council...One can be part of the ICC but not the Indian Cricket Council.”

The leading force of the so-called “Big Three,” India can count themselves extremely lucky to have enjoyed the rub of the green on numerous occasions yesterday, writes Dhaka Tribunes Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne.

It all started in the 34th over bowled by  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Not just skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, but millions wait to chest bump rookie Tiger pacer Taskin Ahmed and his teammates when they return home to a nation they have done proud #riseofthetigers REUTERS

Manna taken back to jail from DMCH

Police: Salahuddin in Gaibandha just a rumour

n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna was taken back to Dhaka Central Jail yesterday after his release from Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 1pm.

“Manna is now quite well, has no chest pain and his blood pressure is also under control,” said Prof Dr Abdul Wadud Chowdhury, chief of the DMCH Cardiology Department.

“We have presented his health report to the six-member medical board and as per the decision of the board we discharged him,” said Prof Wadud yesterday.

PAGE 8 Fund crisis hits Rajshahi City Corporation

During his second-phase remand when he felt pain in his chest he was admitted to DMCH on March 10 around 11pm.

DMCH police camp in charge sub-inspector Sentu Chandra Das said, Razarbagh police took Manna back to Dhaka Central Jail.

Since his admission Manna had been undergoing treatment at the Coronary Care Unit of the DMCH. Meanwhile, Manna’s family yesterday at a press conference in the capital’s Nagorik Oyikko office expressed concern over Manna’s health.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 11 Tunisia museum attack death toll rises to 23

Police last night conducted a fruitless drive in several remote shoals in the river Brahmaputra in Gaibandha in search of missing BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed.

Personnel from Gaibandha district police ended the drive around 11:55pm yesterday.

“We have not found anything alive or dead in the shoals that may resemble Salahuddin.

Now we are returning,” Mosharraf Hossain, additional superintendent of Gaibandha Police, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Earlier, we heard a rumour that Salahud-

PAGE 27 Tigers proud after landmark tournament

din could be there. But it was just a rumour.

No arrests have been made either,” he said.

Joynal Abedin, chairman of the local union council, told the Dhaka Tribune that he first heard about the rumour from the officer-incharge of the local police station and the local upazila executive officer (UNO).

By the time teams from the district police arrived in the area, some of his men had already started the search.

Meanwhile, BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin’s wife Hasina Ahmed sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 32 Fans say umpiring was ridiculous

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Disaster risk reduction framework adopted n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Following a two-day-long marathon negotiation at a UN conference in Japan, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted on Wednesday to improve protection for people against disasters.

“We had tough negotiations and at the end we could include many of our issues the way we wanted it to appear in the framework,” said a Bangladeshi diplomat who took part in the process.

Since October last year, Bangladesh stayed involved in negotiations for the risk reduction framework, which would replace the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.

The Sendai Framework incorporated international cooperation in a very comprehensive manner that covers primarily the financing for disaster risk reduction (DRR), technology transfer and capacity building, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The issue of technology transfer survived the negotiations and appeared in several paragraphs in the final text as one of the impor-

tant components of international cooperation, he said.

Bangladesh also pushed for trans-boundary cooperation, and it was agreed that the cooperation would be done in accordance with the UN Charter, the diplomat added.

The text recognises migrants as important stakeholders in the DRR framework and also their role in the design and implementation of the DRR framework.

It also recognises the critical importance of health care services in the framework including community clinics, which Bangladesh supported, the diplomat said; adding: “Bangladesh also supported the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health.”

In the negotiation, the developed countries opposed any mention of right to development, but Bangladesh along with other developing countries argued to insert a paragraph about it in the text.

“Our strong position made inclusion of right to development in the Sendai Framework possible,” the diplomat said.

The framework is not a legally binding document but it is an inspirational and norm-setting document, he added. l

Manna’s wife Meher Nigar addresses a press conference in Dhaka yesterday requesting the government to ensure proper healthcare for and release on bail of her husband MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Danish minister meets Khaleda n Tribune Report Mogens Jensen, Danish minister for trade and development, yesterday met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office.

The Danish minister, who is now in Dhaka on a three-day visit, entered Khaleda’s office, where she has been holed up since January 3, at 7:45pm. Khaleda’s special assistant Shamshur Rahman Shimul Biswas received him.

In a 40-minute meeting, Khaleda and Jensen talked about the political situation in Bangladesh, the Rana Plaza disaster and its aftermath, the state of the RMG sector and some bilateral issues.

However, neither the minister nor the BNP briefed the media after the meeting.

BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP chairperson’s adviser Abdul Kayum and Danish dignitaries were present at the meeting. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Police: Salahuddin in Gaibandha just a rumour to trace her husband who had been missing for the last nine days.

Hasina Ahmed, also a former BNP lawmaker, handed over a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) around 11:25am yesterday.

Hasina Ahmed told reporters: “I came to the PM to seek her help to find out my husband. I believe she will understand my agony as she too is a mother and a wife.”

The three-page memorandum said: “I beg your intervention and special instruction to find my husband.

“If my husband did anything wrong and if there is any police case against him then he should be brought to the court through legal procedure.”

In the memorandum she urged the prime minister to give an appointment to her despite the PM’s busy schedule.

Immediately after the submission of the memorandum she fell sick and was driven home.

Salahuddin was allegedly picked up on March 10 from a house in Uttara by some people who identified themselves as detectives.

Until then, Salahuddin had been issuing press statements on behalf of the party from the hideout since the arrest of another Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Former bureaucrat Salahuddin left government job to join the BNP and became a lawmaker from a Cox’s Bazar constituency.

He also served as the state minister for communications in a BNP government. l

Manna taken back to jail from DMCH His wife Meher Nigar said: “Manna’s admission to the DMCH’s CCU showed that how much he was tortured during the police remand. We fear he might die and hence we demand his bail.”

She alleged that she was not allowed to meet her husband and provide him with medicine during the remand period.

Manna has three heart blockages. His condition may worsen if he is kept in jail and tor-

tured, she said.

Manna was arrested by RAB members on February 24 following a leaked conversation between Manna, BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka and an unknown expatriate.

He was shown arrested in a case filed with Gulshan police station for instigating the Army to takeover power and placed on a remand for 10 days on February 25.

Later, on March 5, a separate sedition case

was filed with Gulshan police against Manna and Khoka.

Manna was once again placed on remand on March 7. However, within three days of Manna’s second-phase remand, he got sick and was admitted to the DMCH on March 10.

Asked about it, Mahfuzul Islam, addition deputy commissioner of DB police, said: “We have appealed to the court to uphold its previous remand order.” l

Tigers fall to controversial calls Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza.

Suresh Raina, batting on 10, was struck on the pads but on-field umpire Ian Gould denied the appeal. Mashrafe appeared pretty confident and asked for a review.

Even though the ball pitched in the trajectory of the leg stump, TV umpire Steve Davis retained the decision of the on-field umpire which surprised Mashrafe a great deal. It was, at best, a marginal and tendentious call.

Raina went on to punish the Tigers dearly, eventually scoring 65 off 57 balls before he was finally dismissed by Mashrafe in the 43rd over.

The worst decision, however, came in the 40th over bowled by Rubel Hossain as Rohit Sharma was batting on 90. The fourth delivery of the over was a full toss which Rohit hoicked towards the mid-wicket region where Imrul Kayes was waiting. The ball sailed straight down towards Kayes’ throat – and he made no mistake. The Bangladesh cricketers started celebrating but little did they know that English umpire Gould would signal a no-ball even before consulting with leg-umpire Aleem Dar. Replays, however, clearly showed that the ball was dipping on its way to the right-hand-

er and was below the waist. Bangladesh supporters watched in disbelief as the giant screen repeatedly showed the replay.

Journalists from both the nations were also shocked in the press box, writes our sports correspondent Mazhar.

The Bangladesh cricketers could not believe the decision that came their way but were ultimately helpless as they had already used up their review. All Mashrafe could do was talk with Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar. It would have been a different scenario had the umpires, at the very least, referred it to the third umpire.

Rohit went on to smash his seventh ODI ton and his first in a World Cup. After that horrible decision, Rohit faced 24 balls and blasted 47 runs before he was finally cleaned up by a clinical yorker from Taskin Ahmed.

India eventually ended on 302/6 in 50 overs as Bangladesh’s momentum, along with their confidence, was cruelly snatched away by the umpires.

But, the umpires were not done yet.

Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s best batsman in this World Cup, smacked a Mohammed

Shami delivery towards the deep fine-leg region. Shikhar Dhawan took the catch just on the boundary rope.

Rather than carefully assessing the replays, Australian umpire Davis was apparently in quite a hurry as he wasted very little time before pressing the red button. At first sight, it appeared that Dhawan might have touched the ropes but Davis clearly thought otherwise, declaring another controversial decision that went against the Tigers.

After that decision, which robbed the Tigers of their in-form target-man, leaving the score at 73 for 3 wickets, the match slipped out of their grasp. A visibly discouraged and depleted Bangladesh finished all out for 193 in 45 overs, 110 runs short of their target.

Immediately after the match, fans took to the streets in Dhaka in protest and social media were flooded by outrage, particularly at umpire Aleem Dar’s decision of a no ball when Rohit Sharma was caught off Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain. Rohit ended up scoring a century that ultimately gave India the foothold for the win.

Bangladesh will appeal to the ICC against the controversial umpiring. l

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Jannati released after eight months in jail n Tribune Report Young entrepreneur Jannati Hossain was released from the Dhaka Central jail yesterday evening, three days after securing bail from the Supreme Court.

Jannati’s family members received her at the jail gate.

She had been in jail since July last year in a murder case filed over the death of her business partner Mostamsir Ashraf in a road accident.

According to the post mortem report, Mostamsir died in an accident and police said his seat belt was not fastened. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority report stated that the car suffered a mechanical failure On March 12, a High Court bench granted her bail in two cases – one filed by police and another by Mostamsir’s family. The court also said although there was no evidence of planned killing in this case, the trial court would examine whether there is any element of murder charge in it.

Later the government challenged the bail order. The Appellate Division upheld the High

Court verdict on Monday.

Jannati was denied bail by the lower courts several times while judges of two High Court benches felt embarrassed to hear her bail petitions. On December 10, another bench issued a ruling on the authorities concerned to explain why Jannati should not be granted bail in the murder case.

Jannati crashed Mostamsir’s car into a parked police van near the capital’s Mohakhali flyover on July 11, 2014. Mostamsir who was in the front passenger seat died on way to a nearby hospital. Tejgaon police sued injured Jannati for reckless driving and arrested her.

But after 10 days, Mostamsir’s family lodged a case against Jannati, her husband Raymen Siddique, her brothers Jubair and Junaid and father Delwar Hossain alleging it was a planned murder to take over his business.

The plaintiff, however, did not mention how Mostamsir had been murdered.

Mostamsir is the son of Khan Mohammad Abdul Mannan, a former district court judge now serving as the inspector general of registration (land). Of the 15 people named as prosecution witnesses, four are high-profile government officials.

Jannati’s family members allege that Mannan was influencing the case. However, Mostamsir’s father denied the allegations.

According to the post mortem report, Mostamsir died in an accident and police said his seat belt was not fastened. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority report stated that the car suffered a mechanical failure. l

Shoe retailers take over the important thoroughfare of Fulbaria in the capital’s Gulistan area and turn it into a busy shopping street. The illegal make-shift shops, as seen from the Gulistan flyover, not only create a huge congestion but also contribute to the corruption of local administration MEHEDI HASAN

Dhaka seeks G7 help to Zillur Rahman’s 2nd death integrate into global system anniversary today n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh needs help from the developed world in order to integrate with the global system and maintain the standards associated with the global value and supply chains.

Bangladesh lacks the capacity to meet those standards and these constraints need to be addressed for enhancing productive capabilities.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed made the interventions at a high-level G7 consultation on “Developing Sustainable Global Supply Chain in the Context of Decent Work for All” at Germany’s Berlin last week.

This is the first time a Bangladeshi delegation is invited to such a high-profile G7 panel discussion.

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, German Ministers for Social Affairs and Labour Andrea Nahles, Economic Development and Cooperation Gerd Muller, French Economic Minister Francois Rebsamin, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría , ILO Director General Guy Ryder, members of other international development

agencies took part in the discussion.

The members of Bangladesh delegation included Mostafa Abid Khan, acting CEO of BFTI, and Riaz Hamidullah, director general the Foreign Ministry.

Germany is now holding preparatory meetings for the next G7 Summit due in a few months.

The delegation pointed out that Bangladesh wants to prosper in a fair and equitable manner in the global marketplace and the developed nations should appreciate and consider the challenges that local producers are facing, said an official who attended the meeting.

Over the last two years, Bangladesh and the developed world worked hand-in-hand to improve working conditions in the readymade garment sector and the G7 felt that they can use Bangladesh’s experience for developing a new model in other parts of the world, the official said.

“We got the impression that the developed countries want to begin a global conversation with the producer countries within global supply chain to make globalisation fair, supply chain sustainable and ethical,” he added. l

n BSS The second death anniversary of veteran politician and former Bangladesh president Zillur Rahman will be observed today.

Zillur Rahman, who breathed his last at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on March 20, 2013, was the 19th president of Bangladesh.

He was also the undeclared guardian of Bangabandhu’s remaining family after the father of the nation, along with most of his family members, was assassinated on the fateful night of August 15, 1975.

A close associate of Bangabandhu, Zillur played a substantial role in the historic Language Movement, the Liberation War and all

other democratic movements. He started his 60-year political career as a volunteer of Awami League and was inducted as the 19th president on February 12, 2009. He discharged his responsibilities as the general secretary of Awami League for 12 years in five terms.

In observance of Zillur’s death anniversary, Awami League, its associate bodies and other socio-cultural-professional bodies will lay wreaths at his grave in Banani graveyard at 9am.

Besides, his family will pay a visit to his grave and pray for the eternal peace of his soul.

Zillur Rahman Smriti Parishad and Janatar Protyasha will jointly organise a memorial meeting at the roundtable auditorium of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity at Segunbagicha in Dhaka at 10:30am. Awami League presidium member and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader will attend the discussion as chief guest.

Besides, memorial meetings and milad mahfils will also be organised at different places in Zillur Rahman’s home constituency – Bhairab in Kishoreganj. l

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Hasan Mahmud: Workshop on leadership in Finding vanished power-energy sector begins leaders Khaleda’s job n Aminur Rahman Rasel

n Abu Hayat Mahmud It is the responsibility of Khaleda Zia, not the government’s, to locate the whereabouts of the BNP leaders who had gone into hiding, Awami League’s Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud has said.

Addressing a rally in front of the capital’s National Press Club yesterday, he said many BNP leaders had voluntarily gone into hiding in recent times.

“The party’s [BNP] Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed had earlier gone into hiding and still remains in hiding. Even the other BNP leaders did not know where he issued the party statements from.

“The BNP is now creating a drama and claiming that Salahuddin was not sending any statement [any more],” said Hasan Mahmud, a former forest minister.

On another note, he urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to participate in the upcoming city polls in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Hasan Mahmud further claimed that the name of a BNP leader who had funded a conspiracy to kill the prime minister’s son in the US – would be revealed in due time. l

Denmark signs Tk600cr assistance deal with Bangladesh n Tribune Report Bangladesh and Denmark have signed an agreement under which Denmark will assist in ensuring security for RMG workers and improving the health sector.

Secretaries of the labour ministries of the two countries inked the deal at a conference on Bangladesh’s RMG sector in Dhaka yesterday.

Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmud Ali were present at the signing.

On Wednesday, a five-member delegation led by Mogens Jensen met Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his residence.

It was informed in the meeting that the Danish government would give financial assistance of around Tk600 crore to Bangladesh over the next five years. The Danish delegation arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday on a three-day visit. l

Robbers snatch Tk2.5 lakh n Tribune Report Robbers took Tk2.5 lakh impersonating DB men and picking up the victim onto a microbus in the capital’s Gulshan yesterday around 12:30pm.

The victim Arif Hossain, 22, an office assistant of internet service provider company Fusionnet, withdrew the money from the Gulshan Branch of Dutch Bangla Bank and was on his way to deposit it at the City Bank branch in Gulshan.

He was stopped by a microbus on his way to City Bank. The people inside, claiming to be from DB police, asked Arif to get into the vehicle. After torturing him and taking the money, the robbers left Arif on a footpath at the Tejgaon area.

Tanvir Ahmed, head of corporate affairs of Fusionnet said: “We went to Gulshan police station but the OC said a GD is not applicable under the circumstances and advised to file a case.” l

A two-day workshop on leadership in the country’s power and energy sector begins at Bidyut Bhaban in Dhaka today.

Organised by the Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the workshop will focus on improving leadership skills in the sector to ensure energy security.

The ministry is organising this workshop to improve the skills, efficiency and management capabilities of energy and power officials, said Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, additional secretary at the Power Division and convener of the workshop organising committee.

“We have been organising such workshop every year for the past few years to openly discuss issues that occur during the implementation of various projects in this sector, as well as

find solutions to those issues,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

More than 30 government entities in power and energy sector will attend the workshop this year.

Energy Adviser to the Prime Minister Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury will inaugurate the workshop, while the PM’s Prinicipal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and Power Division Secretary Monowar Islam will be present at the event as well. l

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UP member’s body found after two days n Our Correspondent, Jessore Family members and local BNP leaders alleged that Jubo Dal leader Mesbah Uddin Chontu, whose body was found yesterday, had been killed in police custody.

Chontu, 40, was also a member of Khedapara union parishad in Monirampur of the district. His body was found beside rail tracks in Shatmile Manikdihi area under Jessore sadar around 10am.

His brother Ruhul Quddus Montu claimed that Chontu had been arrested by police in Dhaka on Tuesday while the detectives in Jessore took him into custody the next morning.

Montu said he had met with senior police officers to request that Chontu be produced before the court.

Police, however, denied having detained Chontu. OC Molla Khobir Ahmed said police

had been looking for Chontu as he was wanted in 15 cases including two filed for murder.

Montu on Wednesday told reporters that driver of the microbus, on which police brought Chontu to Jessore, had been threatened by the OC to remain silent about the detention and torture of his brother. Chontu was the former Jubo Dal president of Khedapara union unit.

Monirampur Municipality Mayor Shahid Iqbal claimed that Chontu had been killed in police custody.

District BNP General Secretary Syed Saberul Huq Sabu censured police for carrying out state-sponsored crimes. “The police have created a reign of terror by killing political leaders,” he alleged.

Family members claimed that Chontu had been on the run most of the time during the Awami League-led government tenure as he was facing many false cases. l

CTG COLLEGE ARMS HAUL

Over 70 accused in 3 cases n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Chittagong police filed three cases accusing more than 70 people on Wednesday night for their involvement in concealing firearms, ammunition and bomb making materials. The police had recovered the large cache from two government college campuses in Chittagong.

Police said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Detective Branch Sub-Inspector Abdul Monaf filed an arms case with Chawkbazar police station against 21 Shibir men in connection with the seizure from Chittagong Government College.

The Chawkbazar police OC Atik Ahmed said 14 of the accused were arrested from two hostels of the college.

DB SI Rasel Mia lodged another arms case with the same police station accusing nine ar-

rested Shibir men in connection with the seizure from Government Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College, he added. The SI also lodged an explosives case with the station against 25-30 unidentified persons along with the nine arrested.

DB Additional Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Arafat told the Dhaka Tribune that around 34 other arrested men were also accused in cases lodged with different police stations in the city for subversive activities. However, some of them were released as they had no connection with the seized items.

Police detained 81 Shibir men from the two Shibir-dominated colleges on Wednesday during their 16-hour raid on the campuses.

Two six-member probe committees were formed by college authorities and asked to submit a report within three days. l

Kids browse through children’s literature yesterday at a book fair organised by Bangladesh Shishu Academy on its premises in the capital to mark the National Children’s Day 2015 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two gets life for killing Bikalpa Dhara leader n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced two people to life-term imprisonment for killing Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh leader Masum in Munshiganj in 2004.

Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Dhaka’s First Speedy Trial Tribunal handed down the verdict after examining case records and depositions of 23 prosecution witnesses.

The court also fined the lifers – Babul and fugitive Shahadat – Tk50,000 each, in default they will have to suffer one more year in jail.

Babul also sentenced to eight years in prison under another charge in the case.

The court also acquitted 20 other accused as the allegations brought against them were

not proved. The names of three accused, out of 25, were dropped as they died during the trial period.

The case says miscreants attacked Abdullah Al Mamun and his brother Masum at Kamargarh in Sreenagar of Munshiganj as they came out of their house to join a procession led by Mahi B Chowdhury, joint secretary general of BDB, on June 7, 2004. They stabbed the brothers, leaving Masum, who was local leader of Bikalpa Dhara, dead on the spot. Abdullah was critically injured.

Abdullah filed the case with Sreenagar police the following day against some unidentified people.

Police submitted the supplementary charge sheet against 25 people on November 6, 2004 and the accused were indicted on October 22, 2008. l

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Fund crisis hits RCC n Nazim Mridha, Rajshahi Several projects of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has come to a standstill due to an acute fund crisis caused by a significant cut in government allocation to the organisation.

Sources at the city corporation said the annual allocation for the local government body is around Tk8 crore under the current mayor’s tenure, whereas it used to be around Tk30 crore during the tenure of the preceding mayor.

The fund crisis has slowed down renovation of streets and drainage system in different wards of Rajshahi, as well as the daily cleaning of the city, said Ashraful Haque, chief engineer at the RCC. “The government allocation is usually spent to pay for electric bills, mosquito killing, daily cleaning, renovation of the city’s drainage system, and renovation and construction of streets. But the fund cut is affecting RCC’s

work,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Azahar Ali, chief executive officer at the city corporation, said the amount of government fund depends on lobbying and good relations with the ministers.

“As the current RCC mayor, Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, is a leader of the BNP-Jamaat coalition, he could not lobby and maintain good relations with the government, he told the Dhaka Tribune.”

The Dhaka Tribune tried to contact Bulbul for a comment in this regard, but could not reach him.

Former mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton told the Dhaka Tribune that the fund which RCC is currently getting from the government is what it usually allocates to the city corporation.

“But as I used to maintain good relationship with the prime minister, as well as the LGRD minister and secretary, I was able to get extra fund for the RCC,” he said. l

Barisal nursing college students continue demonstrations n Our Correspondent, Barisal Students of Barisal Nursing College continued demonstration for the second consecutive day yesterday and kept college principal in their confinement protesting a decision of turning their newly-built academic building into a female dormitory for the nearby Sher-e-Bangla Medical College. The agitating students demonstrated on both campuses demanding cancellation of the decision and making a female hostel there for them.

A tense situation has been prevailing on Nursing College and Sher-e-Bangla Medical College campuses since Monday when the students started the agitation programmes.

Campus sources said food and drinking water for the confined BNC principal were supplied by the agitated nursing students.

Smriti Hawladar Banya, a nursing students, said 550 female students of BNC living in only 160-seated hostel in a sub-human condition.

Health Ministry ignoring problems of students ordered to accommodate SBMC female students in a BNC building, she said.

When contacted, BNC Principal Aleya Begum over mobile phone said local public works department took the decision to ease the accommodation crisis of the SBMC although her students also have been facing the same problem. Public works department had handed over the newly constructed four-storied academic building to BNC on March 3, 2015.

SBMC Principal Dr Bhaskar Saha said the PWD some days ago directed to vacate one of their female hostels declaring it risky to reside and ordered to use just two floors of the four-storied BNC building primarily as long as the ongoing construction works of a new hostel for the SBMC female students does not completed. l

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY THURSDAY, MARCH 19 DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:09PM

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:04AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

34

21

Chittagong

34

22

Rajshahi

33

18

Rangpur

33

17

Khulna

34

18

Barisal

34

20

Sylhet

33

17

Cox’s Bazar

33

23

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.6ºC Cox’s Bazar

15.5ºC Srimangal Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr

4:50am

Sunrise

6:05am

Jumma

12:07am

Asr

4:28pm

Magrib

6:08pm

Esha

7:24pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

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Dread of pirates returns to Monpura n Our Correspondent, Bhola Residents of Monpura and Tajumuddin, two remote shoals on a Meghna River estuary, are dreading the return of pirates with the removal of a coast guard station and Coastal Crisis Management Centre (CCMC).

The measure leaves about 200 square kilometres of Bay of Bengal, a popular fishing area during the monsoon, vulnerable to pirates who abduct and kill fishermen for ransom.

There are about 10 shoals and eight mangrove forests around Hatia, Tajumuddin and Monpura upazilas. Exploiting their remoteness, pirates often loot, abduct and hold fishermen hostage in the adjacent forests.

However, with the coast guard station and the crisis management centre on Dhalchar, crime rates decreased significantly.

The coast guard station was established in 2013 to curb piracy and ensure safety for the fishermen and hundreds of shoal residents.

The crisis centre was set up with support from the US government after former chairman of Monpura Upazila Parishad (UP) Kamal Uddin Chowdhury donated a piece of land to the Bangladesh Coast Guard.

The coast guard station was suddenly withdrawn from Dhalchar in January this year. The crisis centre was transferred to Ramnabad area of Kolapara upazila of Patuakhali.

This has enraged the shoal residents who have been staging demonstrations against the decision. Fishermen, farmers and general people feared that the area would again turn into a safe haven for pirates.

Char Dampayer, commonly known as Dhalchar, of Monpura upazila is home to some 3,000 people, most of whom rely on fishing and agriculture for their livelihood.

Belayet Hossain, 70, a resident said the shoal was a regular victim of piracy. “Some politically powerful people support these pirates. They not only loot our boats and equip-

ment but also abduct us and demand ransom.”

Fisherman Kader of Taluk village said: “I have been fishing in the river for the last 14 years. The situation was really bad before.

But since the coast guard station was set up, abductions came down significantly. But I am afraid it will just get worse now.”

Another concern for the villagers is the safety of their female population. Many villagers alleged that pirates kidnapped their women and raped them.

Nasima, a housewife of Dhalchar said they were scared of pirates, who would attack their homes at night and kidnap the women.

Sakina Bibi was abandoned by her husband after she was picked up and raped by the pirates. “I was violated four times in the last 10 years. I am yet to get justice. It is not only about me but many women have faced similar harassment.”

Two years ago, pirates kidnapped Motahar’s wife, who has not been found since. “Pi-

rates rob us during the day, and then pick up our women at night. We are afraid that the situation would deteriorate now that the coast guard station has been removed.”

When contacted, Commander of South Zone of Bangladesh Coast Guard, Captain Kawser Alam, said the Dhalchar station was withdrawn as per the directive of the headquarters and the ministry. He refused to give any more details.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Monpura, Ershad Hossain Khan acknowledged the vulnerable situation of Dhalchar.

“It is important to ensure the safety of residents and the fishermen. I will ask the authorities to establishing a police camp in the area,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Bhola, Md Selim Reza reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensure safety of the char residents and said the law enforcers had been given directives in this regard. l

SCHOOLGIRL’S RAPE

Settlement in arbitration sparks protest in Kishoreganj n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

Students, teachers and guardians of Sahera Mahmud Arif Government Primary School formed a human chain on the school premises yesterday demanding arrest of rapists of a minor girl.

The agitators took part in the human chain from 10am to 11am. They urged the government to take legal actions against the people who settled the rape incident with money.

They also threatened to go on tougher movement, if exemplary steps are not taken

against them.

On the other hand, father of victim yesterday filed a case with sadar police station accusing three people. The accused are Rafiqul Islam, Jalal Uddin, and Anwara Khatun On Wednesday, main arbitrator Anwara Khatun, who settled the rape incident with money, was sent to jail after producing before a court. She was arrested from her residence on Tuesday night. Saifur Rahman, officer-incharge (investigation) of sadar police station, said during interrogation, Anwara confessed to settle the rape incident with money.

On Monday night, the rape incident was allegedly settled with money in a local arbitration in Bogadia area of Sadar upazila.

There was also an allegation that the arbitrators gobbled the money paid by alleged rapists.

Local sources said Sahera Mahmud Arif Government Primary School’s Managing Committee President Anwara Khatun played the key role in the settlement.

On the day, the school’s night-guard Rafiqul Islam tactically confined a class V student in a room of the institution after school

hours and later he along with his accomplice Jalal Uddin raped her there.

Sensing the matter, some locals caught the rapists red handed around 7:30pm and gave them a good beating.

Later, Anwara Khatun meddled in the matter and she along with some influential locals in the end settled the rape incident in her home by imposing a fine of Tk30,000 on the rapists.

Kishoreganj Superintendent of Police Anwar Hossain Khan said police were trying to arrest the two alleged rapists. l

DT

10 WORLD

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Thai Supreme Court accepts criminal case against former PM Yingluck n Reuters, Bangkok Thailand’s Supreme Court accepted a criminal case against ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday on a charge of mishandling a multibillion dollar rice subsidy scheme, and she could be jailed for 10 years if found guilty.

“This case is in the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction so we have accepted the case and we have set the first court hearing for May 19,” the court said in a statement.

Yingluck was banned from politics for five years in January after a military-backed legislature found her guilty of corruption related to the rice subsidy.

Yingluck, who did not appear in court yesterday, has denied the charges.

She has also defended the rice policy which bought rice from farmers at above-market prices, and has said the charges against her are politically motivated.

“Throughout my time as prime minister I worked honestly and I did my duties correctly according to the provisions of the constitution and the law in every respect,” she said in a Facebook post.

“The rice policy was one that the public trusted me to perform.”

Her supporters see the case as the latest step by the royalist, military establishment to eradicate the influence of her powerful political family, in particular that of her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, also an ousted former premier.

Antagonism between the Shinawatras and the establishment has divided the country for the past decade.

“The conflict between the elite, or the royalist military establishment, and the Shinawatras is far from over,” said Kan Yuenyong, an analyst at the Siam Intelligence Unit think-tank.

He said the military had to “tread carefully” or the case could become a catalyst for protests.

The military ousted Yingluck’s govern-

Singapore says founding father Lee’s condition deteriorates

n AP, Singapore The condition of Singapore’s 91-year-old founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, has deteriorated further at the hospital where he’s been treated for about six weeks, the government said Wednesday.

Lee was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on Feb. 5 for severe pneumonia and was later put on life support.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that Lee “remains critically ill in the ICU and has deteriorated further.”

On Tuesday, it had said that Lee’s “condition has worsened due to an infection. He is on antibiotics. The doctors are closely monitoring his condition.”

Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee ruled for 31 years until 1990, and has been credited with transforming the city-state from a sleepy tropical port to a wealthy, bustling financial hub with one of the highest average incomes in the world. l

Iran downplays deal prospects

n Afp, Tehran

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday played down the chances of reaching a nuclear agreement during talks under way this week in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

Foreign ministers of the other world powers negotiating with Iran are unlikely to be required in Lausanne to approve a deal, said Zarif, who has been holding two-way talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“I don’t think their presence will be needed in this round because when the solutions are found and we approach a deal, then all the foreign ministers of the negotiating parties should come,” state media quoted him as saying.

“They might come, but at this stage I wouldn’t think they are needed,” he repeated, referring to the top diplomats of the so-called P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany).

On day three of talks with Kerry, Zarif said “there are differences and we are trying to reduce them,” by yesterday evening, with political directors of the 5+1 countries starting to arrive in Lausanne on Wednesday.

“We must find solutions,” he said.

“The question of an agreement comes when we have solutions written on paper, and to write the solutions we need the experts more than foreign ministers.” l

VP: Zimbabwean police shot prisoners, death toll at five Thailand’s former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra ment in May saying it had to step in to end violent protests by establishment supporters bent on ousting what they said was an administration riddled with corruption.

Critics denounced the rice scheme as a populist give-away to the Shinawatras’ rural support base. The finance minister said on Feb. 24 rice stockpiles stood at 17.5m tonnes and the estimated loss incurred by the

AFP

scheme totalled $16.46bn.

The military government is still struggling to offload rice stockpiled under the scheme.

Authorities have held five rice tenders since the military took power and have sold 1,177,983 tonnes for about 17 billion baht ($526m).

Exporters criticised the subsidy for distorting the market and dethroning Thailand as the world’s biggest rice exporter. l

US rebukes Israel’s victorious Netanyahu on Mideast policy n Reuters The White House on Wednesday scolded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following his re-election victory for abandoning his commitment to negotiate for a Palestinian state and for what it called “divisive” campaign rhetoric toward Israel’s minority Arab voters.

Even as President Barack Obama’s administration congratulated Netanyahu for his party’s decisive win, the White House signaled its deep disagreements – and thorny relationship - with Netanyahu will persist on issues ranging from Middle East peacemaking to Iran nuclear diplomacy.

In a hard-right shift in the final days of campaigning, Netanyahu backtracked on his support for eventual creation of a Palestinian state - the cornerstone of more than two decades of peace efforts - and promised to continue building Jewish

settlements on occupied land.

Such policies could put him on a new collision course with the Obama administration.

Some Obama aides had privately left little doubt during the Israeli election campaign of their preference for Netanyahu’s center-left challenger, Isaac Herzog.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest reaffirmed Obama’s commitment to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict and said that based on Netanyahu’s comments, “the United States will evaluate our approach to this situation moving forward.”

Netanyahu’s insistence that there will be no Palestinian state while he holds office, seen as a maneuver to mobilise his right-wing base, angered the Palestinians and drew criticism from the United Nations and European governments. Chances for restarting longstalled peace moves already had been low.

US lawmakers were divided on Netanyahu’s hardened stance. l

n Reuters, Harare

Five Zimbabwean inmates died after being shot by police in last week’s prison protest over food shortages, which turned violent as some prisoners attempted to break out of jail, vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa said.

Prison authorities last week denied that prisoners had been shot, saying one person died after being stampeded during the protest and investigations were being carried out on the cause of death of two more who were taken to hospital.

Some opposition members of parliament accused prison officials of trying to cover-up the cause of the prisoners’ deaths at Chikurubi Maximum Security prison, which houses some of Zimbabwe’s most dangerous prisoners convicted of crimes including rape and armed robbery. l

Syria downs US drone over ‘spying’ fears

n Afp, Damascus

Syria’s military yesterday said it downed an American drone over suspicions it was spying, in what would be its first attack on an aircraft in the US-led coalition battling jihadists.

A military source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the drone was not immediately identified as being American but was shot down as a hostile aircraft.

The US military confirmed losing communication with a Predator drone over Syria on Tuesday and said it was looking into claims the aircraft was shot down.

If confirmed, the incident would be the first time Syrian forces have attacked a US aircraft since the international coalition began its raids against ISIS in Syria in September. l

DT

WORLD 11

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

UN: ICC should prosecute IS for Iraq genocide, war crimes n Reuters

The United Nations human rights office said yesterday that Islamic State fighters may have committed genocide against the minority Yazidi community in Iraq as well as crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians including children.

In a report based on interviews with more than 100 alleged victims and witnesses, it urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution of perpetrators.

The report also said Iraqi government forces and affiliated militias “may have committed

some war crimes” while battling the insurgency.

The UN Human Rights Council launched its inquiry in September after the Islamist militant group Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, seized large swathes of northern Iraq.

The report said the Council had found “information that points to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” and that the Security Council should “consider referring the situation in Iraq to the International Criminal Court.”

There was a “manifest pattern of attacks”

by Islamic State on Yazidis as well as Christians and other minorities as it laid siege to towns and villages in Iraq.

The UN investigators also cited allegations

that ISIL had used chlorine gas, a prohibited chemical weapon, against Iraqi soldiers in the western province of Anbar in September.

Captured women and children were treated as “spoils of war,” and often subjected to rape or sexual slavery, it said.

The report said that ISIL’s Islamic sharia courts in Mosul had also meted out cruel punishments including stoning and amputation.

“Thirteen teenage boys were sentenced to death for watching a football match,” it said.

The UN investigators said it was “widely alleged” that Iraqi government forces had used barrel bombs, an indiscriminate weapon banned by international law. l

Tunisia: Death toll in museum attack rises to 23

n AP, Tunis

One of the gunmen who killed tourists and others at a prominent Tunisian museum was known to intelligence services, but no formal links to a particular extremist group have been established, the prime minister said yesterday.

The attack Wednesday on Tunisia’s National Bardo Museum left 23 dead, scores wounded and threatens both Tunisia’s fledgling democracy and its struggling tourism industry. It was the worst attack at a tourist site in Tunisia in years, and a leading cruise line announced it is now canceling its Tunisian stops.

Razor wire ringed the museum yesterday and security forces guarded major thoroughfares in Tunis, the capital, as authorities hunted for two or three more people believed to have been involved in the attack. l

DT

12 EDITORIAL

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

A brave effort

Be heard

W

e are sad to see the Bangladesh team gracefully bow out of the cricket World Cup following its defeat against India in Melbourne.

However, we congratulate the Tigers for their valiant sportsmanship, and we thank our national cricket team for keeping the nation enthralled with the sport for the past few weeks.

Just qualifying for the quarter-finals was no small achievement for the Tigers.

It is regrettable that the game with India was marred by unfortunate umpiring decisions that tipped the match in India’s favour. However, it is worth noting that no team in history has ever won chasing a target of 300 at the MCG. At a time when political crisis leaves the nation bitterly divided, the World Cup has united the nation in ways that transcend party and ideology. To see millions of fans cheering for our national team, and having so many spirits uplifted is nothing if not heartening.

We offer our sincere congratulations to the players for giving their best, for exhibiting tremendous teamwork, and for keeping their cool under pressure.

We hope the country can take lessons of good sportsmanship and the value of working together from cricket, and move forward in other sectors as well.

We congratulate the Tigers for their valiant sportsmanship

Writeto toDhaka DhakaTribune Tribune Write Tower,8/C 8/CPanthapath, Panthapath, Sukrabad, Shukrabad,Dhaka-1207 Dhaka-1207 FRFRTower, Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Sendususyour yourOp-Ed Op-Edarticles: articles: Send opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

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Muhith: BNP’s ongoing programs worthless February 24

Molla A Latif Some common words like “worthless,” “stupid,” “bogus,” “rubbish,” and “nonsense” are the favourites of the FM. But actually, these programs are not totally worthless, rather they are life-taking and detrimental to the economy, mainly to the poor. The FM may not feel it, but a day labourer earning

DT OSCAR 2015: Why must the show go on?

February 28

Bimstec energy deal boosts connectivity

W

e welcome the draft deal agreed by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) to support more power grid connections for trading electricity among member nations.

The new deal involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, complements November’s Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation signed in Kathmandu.

It provides a broad framework for optimising regional grid interconnections to help deliver cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable electricity supplies to member states.

The agreement includes important references to encouraging sustainable development and supporting cooperation in diversifying power sources to include renewables such as solar, wind and bio-fuel.

Importantly, it also outlines the large hydro-power generating potential of Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal.

Bangladesh has already set up a cross-border electricity grid with India for importing 500MW of power from India. We hope this agreement will help moves to facilitate connectivity and overcome obstacles to make it easier for Bangladesh to import electricity from other nations such as Bhutan, which are keen to export power.

Such regional co-operation needs to be encouraged to help all states in our region maximise their economic potential, by boosting mutual trade and investment.

Efforts to ease power generation, distribution, and trading between Bimstec states are crucial to underpinning improved connectivity and trade in our region.

Such regional cooperation needs to be encouraged to help maximise economic potential

his livelihood can tell him the worth of these stupid programs.

A parent may tell him abour their worth, whose offspring is burnt to ashes, or a child may tell him, whose father is groaning in the burn unit, if these programs are worthless or painful. Is he compensating any of them?

Al Saqib Majumder It was the greatest year for films in recent memory. The year The Hurt Locker won the Oscars was terrible.

Bring Avijit’s killers to justice February 28 Babul Sarwar Ego worshippers killed Avijit -- the ruling party keeps the police force busy for their rivals, not for protecting the lives of the people. Killers should be hanged openly after due process of law. Let there be an expedited due process of law.

Ln M W Faruque Blogs don’t kill people, murderers who are offended by blogs do.

US condemns Avijit murder, ready to assist probe February 28 Alberto Milazzo Who wouldn’t condemn this behavior?!

Manna’s phone records being analysed February 28 Tarik Chowdhury Before they planted the eggs, or after? lol

River safety requires wholesale reforms

February 24 Bhashunbhai None of this will happen if the minister does not resign or is not dismissed.

Improve Dhaka-Kolkata links to test connectivity

February 23 ASAD SHAMS What about the BCIM? Why don’t we hear anything about this great initiative any more from Kolkata to Kunming?

Yasmina I think Lance Armstrong could beat the express train from Dhaka to Kolkata if there was a decent track to pedal on.

Speakers: Stalking plays vital role in drop-out

February 23 F138 What does Internet access and “Western media” have to do with stalking and drop-outs?

People trying to do good things should maintain their credibility, not just blab nonsense. probirbidhan Police and cybercrimes prevention wings of different state agencies should play proactive roles.

Manna claims no plot in leaked conversations February 24 deep purple blue Who recorded the phone conversations?

Whoever has the phone recording and tracking devices did it. Clearly it violates a citizen’s right to privacy.

It’s eavesdropping. Such recordings can only be done under the approval of a competent authority, which should be the courts and not partisan officials.

Parliament must inspect overpriced oil deal February 23

J Biswas Its ironic that there are so many different sources of news, but so few of them are reporting on recent corruption.

DT

OPINION 13

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

n Ryan Burkwood

P

erceptions are all-important when it comes to politics, not only how the body politic views the candidate, but how they see themselves. The collective media plays a hugely important role in both these cases.

With the increase in 24-hour news accessible from anywhere at any time via smartphones, this has never been truer. A breaking story now reaches more people, faster than at any other time in history.

In the UK, rhetoric reigns supreme, tabloid newspapers (whether online or offline) being the number one source of news consumption. These papers sell their print copies and their online ad spaces with sensationalism.

The more attention grabbing the headline, the more extreme the viewpoint, the greater the profit margins. This is all achieved with little to no risk to the papers themselves.

In the name of freedom of the press, they have been allowed to “self-regulate” for years. This led to widespread abuse of privacy by investigative journalists with no risk of real repercussions, culminating in the “hacking” of a murdered teenager’s phone to access her voicemail messages in the hope of breaking a story.

An independent inquiry was set-up by the judiciary which presented shocking findings in 2012 of intrusion into the privacy of thousands of people, from celebrities to grieving parents of murdered or missing children.

The report also found that the current system of regulation was woefully inadequate. This led to one of the country’s most

prominent newspapers to close its doors permanently pending criminal investigations into its senior management.

The result of this was the introduction of a Royal Charter for press regulation to create an independent body to issue fines and require prominent apologies for inaccurate reporting. How useful this system will be is yet to be seen, since, in an extremely media-savvy move, the government changed the bill at the last minute delaying the introduction of the body until after the general election.

This has led to the Daily Mail’s website, arguably the most sensationalist popular newspaper, a newspaper renowned for its barely concealed racism, homophobia and panic-peddling xenophobia, being the most visited English-language news site in the world.

But what does this mean for public perceptions? What happens when a society is bombarded day to day with sensationalist stories that have little basis in fact or are oneoff cherry-picked examples peddled as the norm? The result is an extreme gap between reality and perception.

On average, people think 41% of the welfare budget goes to people who are unemployed, the actual figure is 3%. People assume that 27% of welfare is claimed fraudulently, the real figure is 0.7%. When asked what percentage of girls between 15 and 19 give birth each year, becoming a “dreaded” teenage mother, the average estimate is 16%!

The real rate is a rather more normal 3%.

Combine this with a global recession, a crippling austerity program and voter apathy accelerated by a move to the centre ground of

BIGSTOCK

Perception isn’t reality

politics by all parties, and you have a recipe for the rise of extremism.

It’s no coincidence that the UK Independence Party (UKIP) running on a nationalist, anti-immigration platform were last week officially declared a “major party” by Ofcom (our media regulator), granting them legitimacy and free election broadcasts on the BBC, not to mention inclusion in the televised debates.

The Green Party was not offered the same honour however, even though their membership currently stands higher than UKIP. The Green Party policies obviously don’t have the same amount of attention-grabbing, newspaper-selling sensationalism as the far-right does. l

to walk, and also take the bus or a rickshaw, since they were the only means of transportation in the rural areas.

Most of the time it is too difficult to get a rickshaw, and buses are so over-crowded that girls can hardly think of riding them, so the only mode of transportation that remains is walking.

Walking 12km everyday was difficult for Tomalika: She would be tired and her school performance was getting worse, her productivity was diminishing, she was late for her classes almost every single day, and ultimately she lost interest in school.

Another serious problem which occurred was when some boys blocked the road on her way to school and harassed her. Tomalika feared going to school alone, and chose to stay at home instead.

When Mr Abu Helal, headmaster of Bamoil High School, found Tomalika was consistently absent in school, he immediately rushed to her house. To solve her problems, Mr Helal came up with an amazing idea: He pursued and convinced her parents to buy a bicycle for her. And Tomalika’s parents did exactly that. The headmaster and other teachers taught Tomalika how to ride a bicycle.

Mr Helal went to the community and urged other parents to do the same, and the response from the community was overwhelming -- other parents bought bicycles for

their daughters as well. And now, Tomalika, Sabrina, and other girls come to school riding their bicycles as a group. This noble initiative not only helped increase the attendance of girls in school, but also reduced drop-out rates.

When asked how she felt about riding a bicycle, Tomalika said: “When we walked to school, our clothes got wet due to fog and rain. And we had to sit in our classes with those wet clothes on. Some of us suffered from fever, headaches, etc. Also, some boys teased us almost every day. Then we all decided to go to school on our bikes, which helped us overcome the distance quickly.”

This example made girls from other schools interested in riding bicycles. Realising it as a safe and secure way to travel, female students of Khirsin School, Nokucha School, Sibpur High School, and other schools in Patnitala, Naogaon, are now also using bicycles.

Despite losing hope for a while, these two courageous village girls have been trying hard to continue their education and make their dreams come true. We should salute the headmasters of the schools who took the initiative in combating the drop-out rates of girls from their schools, and for bringing them back. l

Ryan Burkwood is an actor, director, teacher, and activist.

Bicycle back to school n Amina Akbar

O

ur latest education policy has set a target that dictates “all students have to be enabled to complete their eighth grade education by 2018.” Almost five years have gone since we had that policy made, but the drop-out rate of girls is still 50%.

We need to reduce this high rate of dropouts and bring our girls back to school, as all our development programs will go in vain if a a huge population is left illiterate. To educate these girls, we need the government’s support and co-operation from the community, our schools, and our families.

As an ardent supporter of girl’s education, I travelled to various remote areas of Bangladesh to see the current situation of girls’ education. Through my extensive visit to Naogaon, Bogra, Meherpur, Kulaura, and Satkhira, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the fortunate girls who came back to school.

These rural girls are courageous enough to continue their education, overcoming all hardships.

Our first brave girl is Joney Aktar Bristi -- a student of class X in Kanta Kismot High School in Patnitala, Naogaon. When Joney was a little girl, her dream was to be a doctor.

But unfortunately, when she was in the sixth grade, her parents told her that there was no money left for her education. She stopped going to school. But hard-working Joney did

not give up on her dream.

She went to her ex-school headmaster and asked for help. Her headmaster enrolled her in his school’s bag-making training program.

After a couple of months of training, Joney started to make beautiful bags with intricate designs using beads, ropes, etc. Joney was able to earn a stable income, and now she trains other girls in her school. She not only supports her education but also helps out her family.

Rural girls are courageous enough to continue their education, overcoming all hardships

Our second girl is Tomalika, a student of class VII in Bamoil High school in Patnitala, Naogaon. She was having trouble going to school before, since her house was about 6-7km away from her school. Every day she had to travel almost 12km back and forth, had

Amina Akbar is a communication specialist working with Women and Girls Lead Global (WGLG).

DT

14 OPINION

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

In cricket as in life n Zafar Sobhan

T

here’s no need for anger, no need for tears.

The Tigers exit the cricket World Cup with their heads held high, having done the entire nation proud over the last month, and giving us all something to cheer about amidst the most depressing and distressing of times at home.

We have won matches at world cups before, but this time was different. It wasn’t just that we upset the odds to qualify for the quarter-finals or even the three wins along the way. It was how we played and how we carried ourselves throughout the tournament.

Bangladesh has always had individually talented players who could put in an eye-catching performance, and we have always had enough talent as a team that when everyone is on song together, Bangladesh can upset even the best in the world.

What has been missing in the past has been determination, dedication, and commitment. This World Cup the Tigers showed that they have grown up. They showed character. They showed fight. They showed that we have finally arrived as a cricket-playing nation.

This year there was no crumbling before stronger sides and no throwing away of matches against weaker ones. We lost two matches pretty comprehensively, but at no point did we give up and throw in the towel.

And we ran an impressive and in-form New Zealand closer than anyone thought possible.

The bottom line is that we were in with a fighting chance in all three of our losses, and in all the games came back from adversity with grit and guts, although we fell short in the end.

Let us therefore not get too upset about the poor umpiring decisions in our quarter-fi-

nal loss to India, or poor decisions made in the field or with the bat, or with our inability to keep up the pressure when in a good position.

These were all disappointing and they all contributed to our loss, but it’s all in the game.

Bangladesh may feel that we never get the rub of the green and that close and controversial umpiring calls always seem to go against us, and we might have genuine cause for grievance and complaint.

But that’s the game, and we need to man up and take it on the chin.

allowed themselves to get rattled. The bad luck and poor umpiring visibly discouraged and deflated them, and contributed to poor decision-making and sloppy execution that let slip away any chance we had of getting back in the game.

But we hung in there and didn’t give up.

We went down swinging, and no one will ever take this team lightly again. Taking the tournament as a whole, 2015 was the year we came of age as a cricketing nation.

Shakib and Mushfiq are world class players -- no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Mashrafe and Mahmudullah showed they have the heart

We went down swinging, and no one will ever take this team lightly again. Taking the tournament as a whole, 2015 was the year we came of age as a cricketing nation

That’s life, and if any nation knows something about being dealt a rough hand and picking itself up and dusting itself off after facing disappointment and defeat, it is Bangladesh.

What marks Bangladeshis out among the rest of the world, is our resilience and our grit. No one works harder, fights more bravely, or has overcome more adversity than the men and women of this country. Now, finally, we have a cricket team that reflects the national character, that is equal to the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of a nation of 160 million.

The Tigers were not faultless. They

and the spirit to compete with anyone in the world. Rubel, Taskin, Soumya, Nasir and Sabbir suggest that the future for Bangladeshi cricket is bright.

This World Cup performance will have done wonders for their self-confidence and the self-confidence of all the other young players waiting in the wings, and we have reason to hope that it will be a platform we can build upon for sustained improvement and development.

If we are being perfectly honest, we would have to admit that we are just a rung below world-class, and that we need a little push before we can consider ourselves ready to

join the elite. We need to be able to consistently hit 300 and be able to restrict the opposition to the 270-280 mark before we can demand a seat at the table.

But on the form of this World Cup, those days might not be too far away.

So let’s not get too hung up on the poor fielding that gifted the Indians an extra 25 runs or own poor running between the wickets. Let’s not fret about poor decision-making and our inability to keep the pressure on the Indians or to relieve their pressure on us.

Above all, let’s not get too discouraged by the shocking umpiring decisions that in the end turned the match decisively against us.

Don’t get me wrong. I am as outraged as the next man and think that flogging is too good for the two match umpires. It is one thing to miss a call. We all make mistakes, and to not spot a no ball is an excusable mistake to make.

To gratuitously call one when it wasn’t, however, requires a very rarified species of officiousness that marks out the concerned official as the worst kind of pedant. These are the types of men who got given a lot of wedgies growing up, you can count on it.

Certainly, had Rohit been given out on 90 or Riyadh not out, things might have turned out very different. But the truth is that this wasn’t one of our better turns at the cup, and while we didn’t get the rub of the green, it wasn’t a match-winning performance by us, either.

And credit to the Indians. They might have got lucky with some key calls and had more than their fair share of good fortune, as well, but they also turned in a very competent, highly professional performance. They didn’t make too many mistakes, and in the end, that’s what counts.

In the end, you make your own luck. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

16

Fed opens door wider for rate hike but downgrades economic outlook

17

Holcim, Lafarge discuss new role for Lafont to save deal

19

DSE turnover hits 12-week low

20

DT

Business

15

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

WB okays $200m soft loan for 5m poor in Bangladesh

BB offers incentives for good borrowers n Tribune Report Good borrowers will get at least 10% rebate on interest accrued against their loan accounts.

Bangladesh Bank offered the incentives through a circular issued yesterday with taking immediate effect.

The central bank came up with a set of facilities to encourage good borrowers, said the circular.

The borrowers whose loan accounts remained unclassified continuously for three years and complied with all terms and conditions of approval will be entitled as good borrowers, according to the circular.

At the end of three years, the good borrowers will receive the 10% rebate every last year on their loan interest.

The benefit will continue if the clients are identified as good borrowers at the end of every year. The policy will remain valid until further instruction.

The circular also advised the banks to take measures to award the good borrowers through annual programme.

The central bank has offered the incentives considering the country’s current crisis, said Rup Ratan Pine, deputy general manager of Banking Regulation and Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank.

Earlier, Bangladesh Bank blessed the defaulters with easing rescheduling policy considering the political unrest while the good borrowers were not provided with any favour to get them off the hook.

In the perspectives, the central bank came up with the offer, he said.

In January, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman made an announcement of a separate policy for good borrowers. The policy was to encourage them in regular loan payment and reward them also.

The Board of Directors of Bangladesh Bank also approved a separate loan restructuring policy for the big defaulters on January 27.

The decision corresponds with the bad loan recovery aim in the wake of the ongoing political crisis. Only those who have defaulted loans worth over Tk500 crore will be able to enroll for the new package.

In December 2013, Bangladesh Bank also relaxed the loan rescheduling policy to favour the big borrowers who failed to make installment payment due to political turmoil. l

A vegetable vendor takes time away from business to listen to radio commentry of the Bangladesh-India quarter-final match as cricket fever swept the country.

People of all walks of life tuned in to see how the Tigers fared in their first-ever ICC World Cup quarter-final. The photo was taken yesterday in the capital’s Karwan Bazar MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Imports continue to drop n Tribune Report The country’s import expenditure continues to fall for second month in February due to drop in capital machinery import amid the ongoing political crisis.

The letter of credit (LC) settlement value dropped by around 5% to $2.71bn in second month of the year compared to $2.85bn in the same period last year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data released yesterday.

The capital machinery import, that declined by 14.5% to $151m during the month compared to the previous month, was mainly accounted for negative import growth.

The LC settlement value against capital machinery dropped due to slow pace in business expansion amid growing political crisis, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

Capital machinery import dropped by 31% to $176m in the first month of the year com-

Deal on workers’ safety signed n Tribune Report Bangladesh and Denmark yesterday signed an agreement under which Denmark will provide assistance to ensure RMG workers’ security and improve the health sector.

Secretaries of Labour Ministries of the two countries signed the deal at a high-level conference on readymade

garment sector in the capital city.

Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen and Foreign Minister of Bangladesh AH Mahmud Ali were present at the function.

Earlier on Wednesday, a five-member delegation, led by Mogens Jensen, held a meeting with the finance minister at the latter’s official residence. l

pared to $258m in December last year.

The import orders for petroleum oil dropped by 54% to $131m in February compared to $287m in the previous month.

The central banker said lower prices of petroleum products in the global market have contributed to cut in import orders in terms of value.

The LC opening value against petroleum rose by 37% to $172m in the February compared to $125m in the previous month. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Fed opens door wider for rate hike but downgrades economic outlook n Reuters, Washington The Federal Reserve on Wednesday moved a step closer to hiking rates for the first time since 2006, but downgraded its economic growth and inflation projections, signalling it is in no rush to push borrowing costs to more normal levels.

The US central bank removed a reference to being “patient” on rates from its policy statement, opening the door wider for a hike in the next couple of months while sounding a cautious note on the health of the economic recovery.

Fed officials also slashed their median estimate for the federal funds rate - the key overnight lending rate - to 0.625% for the end of 2015 from the 1.125% estimate in December.

The cut to the so-called “dot plot,” together with other economic concerns cited by the Fed, sent a more dovish message than investors were expecting, and pushed market bets on the central bank’s rate “lift-off ” from midyear to the fall.

“Just because we removed the word ‘patient’ from the statement doesn’t mean we’re going to be impatient,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference after Wednesday’s statement.

Stocks on Wall Street surged and oil prices jumped as much as 5% after the Fed statement.

The dollar tumbled against other major currencies and the US 10-year Treasury yield dipped below 2% for the first time since March 2.

In its quarterly summary of economic projections, the Fed cut its inflation outlook for 2015 and reduced expected US economic growth. The policy statement repeated its concern that inflation measures were running below expectations, weighed down in part by falling energy prices.

“I just don’t see any price or wage pressure out there,” said Craig Dismuke, chief economist for Vining Sparks. “June is not off the table but it’s unlikely. September is the most likely time for the first rate hike. They might get one hike in this year, maybe two.”

The Fed noted that a rate increase remained “unlikely” at its April meeting and said its change in rate guidance did not mean it has decided on the timing for a rate hike.

Yellen told reporters that a June move could not be ruled out.

The Fed statement, however, allowed

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at a news conference following the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington REUTERS enough flexibility for the central bank to move later in the year, stressing that any decision would depend on incoming data.

“The committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen further improvement in the labour market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium-term,” the Fed said.

It had previously said it would be patient in considering when to bring monetary policy back to normal.

Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius said in a research note that the Fed’s statement and projections suggested a hike in Septem-

ber rather than June, citing the “dot plot” shift and changes to the central bank’s assessment of the economy.

Muddy data

yellen has kept rates at near zero since taking over as head of the central bank in February, 2014, though she has also overseen a steady whittling of loose money promises.

And while she lays the ground for “lift-off,” the Fed continues to grapple with muddy economic data: strong job creation, continued growth, and healthy consumer demand in the United States, but a global collapse in oil prices and a rapid run-up in the dollar that could mean the Fed remains far from its 2% inflation target.

Windows 10 coming in 190 countries n AFP, Washington Microsoft says its new Windows 10 operating system will be coming “this summer” in 190 countries and 111 languages.

In a blog post late Tuesday, Microsoft executive vice president Terry Myerson said the operating system designed for multiple devices would also have a “small footprint” for connected devices.

“We continue to make great development progress and shared today that Windows 10 will be available this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages,” he said. l

The Fed on Wednesday downgraded its view of economic activity, saying growth has “moderated somewhat,” a departure from its view in December, when it cited economic activity expanding at a solid pace.

Economists and investors were watching closely for the Fed to drop “patient” from its rate guidance language, as a sign that the central bank will shift towards making rate decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis.

“Let me emphasise again, that today’s modification of the forward guidance should not be read as indicating that the committee has decided on the timing of the initial increase in the target range for the federal funds rate,” Yellen said in the press conference. l

MACOMM becomes affiliate of Dentsu in Bangladesh n Tribune Business Desk

Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh has recently partnered with bKash, a subsidiary of BRAC Bank to launch Straight2Bank Wallet in Bangladesh. With the introduction of the platform, Standard Chartered’s corporate clients in Bangladesh can now make instant, cashless payments to banked and unbanked individuals via the Straight2Bank channel. The bank’s MD & head of transaction banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, Hussain Shirazie and Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash Limited have signed an agreement in this regard

MACOMM, a communication agency has recently become the affiliate of Dentsu, under Dentsu Aegis Network for the Bangladesh region. Rabeth Khan, CEO of MACOMM and Steve McNaught from Dentsu Aegis Network have signed agreement in this regard.

Under the joint working alliance, MACOMM will assimilate international advertising and marketing communication practices from the advertising agency brand Dentsu. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Dollar pressured after Fed tempers interest rate talk n AFP, Tokyo

A general view shows Switzerland’s Holcim cement production plant in Siggenthal

REUTERS

Holcim, Lafarge discuss new role for Lafont to save deal n Reuters, Paris Cement makers Holcim and Lafarge, seeking to save their merger deal, are discussing a new leadership for the combined group which would give Lafarge’s boss Bruno Lafont a lesser role, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

When the deal was announced in April last year Lafont was presented as the future chief executive of what would be the world’s biggest cement maker. But the Swiss side has since grown dissatisfied with his leadership and financial track record, the people said.

Lafont could be named co-chairman of the future company, two of the sources said, alongside Wolfgang Reitzle, the current chairman of Holcim.

Lafarge’s financial director Jean-Jacques Gauthier is a possible candidate for the post of CEO, said two of the people.

The discussions over the leadership as well as the share exchange ratio of the deal are continuing, the people said, and could still evolve or break down.

“The discussions are ongoing on all aspects of the deal, on the share exchange ratio and the governance,” said one of the sources.

The board of Holcim was meeting on Wednesday evening, while a meeting of the Lafarge board was pushed to Thursday morning, said two of the sources.

A second source said that Holcim was not calling into question whether the marriage of the two groups was a merger of equals - the basis of the deal’s pricing and other terms and allocation of seven seats aside on the board.

“This is not about the balance of the merger this is about one person,” the second person said.

Lafont’s brash style and tendency to brook no dissent among his management or with investors has proven difficult for the Swiss side to accept, said the sources. The second

person characterized the conflict as a cultural one, with Lafont seen as representing an imperialistic French CEO style and Holcim as a more consensual organization.

Lafont has headed Lafarge since 2007 and was the architect of the acquisition of Egyptbased peer Orascom that saddled the company with debt.

Some on the Swiss side have also began to question Lafont’s ability to deliver promised cost savings of 1.4bn euros a year from the tie-up.

“He had 11 months to earn trust and confidence and he didn’t,” said the second person, referring to Lafont.

“The whole value proposition of the merger rests on management and the ability to realize synergies ... there are plenty of good people at Lafarge that Holcim would be happy with.”

Holcim and Lafarge originally presented the deal as a merger of equals with Lafarge shareholders getting one new Holcim share for every Lafarge share, which would leave Holcim with 53% of the combined group.

But as the two sides spent months working on asset sales to get regulatory approvals, the performance of the two groups diverged, leading Holcim, under pressure from its shareholders, to call a halt to the deal under its old terms on Sunday with a letter to the Lafarge board.

It demanded better terms on the share exchange ratio and changes to the “governance” of the new group.

Holcim proposed changing the agreed onefor-one share exchange ratio to 0.875 Holcim shares for each of Lafarge, sources said Monday, but the French side wanted 0.93 to 1 ratio.

Media reports late on Wednesday said an agreement had been reached for a share-exchange ratio of around 0.90 shares of Holcim for each Lafarge share. Reuters was unable to verify the information, and two sources said

it was premature to say an accord had been found on the point.

The decision to try to find a new role for Lafont within the combined group came about on Tuesday after the two largest shareholders of Lafarge, who together own 37% of the shares and hold five board seats, pushed for the French group to open discussions to save the deal, the third person said.

Belgian investors Paul Desmarais and Albert Frere own 21% of Lafarge via a holding company, while Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris owns 16%.

Shares in Lafarge were up 5.6% at 62.72 euros by 1608 GMT, making them the largest gainer on the French blue-chip index. Holcim’s share price was up 3% at 75.10 francs.

A new agreement could be reached between Holcim and Lafarge and announced later on Wednesday or on Thursday, the sources said.

There is pressure to find an accord soon because Irish building materials group CRH, which has agreed to buy a chunk of European assets from Lafarge and Holcim to help them get antitrust clearance, has a shareholder meeting scheduled for Thursday to ratify the acquisition.

CRH shares were up 1.1% at 24.60 euros.

Bernstein analyst Phil Roseberg welcomed the apparent progress being made in talks but said the public nature of the tussle had damaged investors’ confidence in the deal.

“Even if the boards come out tomorrow and say we have kissed and made up, this story will not be over,” he said. “A growing number of Holcim shareholders oppose the deal on any terms, and the outcome of the shareholder vote remains wide open.”

Holcim shareholders will have a vote on the deal, while Lafarge shareholders would have to decide whether to tender their shares.

The companies aim to close the deal before mid-year. l

The dollar struggled to recover yesterday after diving on comments from the US Federal Reserve that cooled expectations of an early summer interest rate hike.

In Tokyo, the greenback briefly fell below 120 yen before ticking up to 120.58 yen in the afternoon, but still well down from the 121.35 yen level in Tokyo before the US central bank’s announcement.

The euro changed hands at $1.0768 and 129.85 yen, down from $1.0871 and 130.54 yen in New York but still well above $1.0595 and 128.57 yen in Asia on Wednesday.

While the US central bank opened the door for a rise from years of zero percent rates, it lowered its forecasts for economic growth and inflation and stressed it would remain cautious before making any move.

“It’s fair to say we now have somewhat stronger doubt that Fed rates ‘lift-off ’ will begin as early as June, than we did heading into the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee)” meeting, National Australia Bank said.

“The key takeaway is that (Fed chief Janet) Yellen has successfully established in the market’s mind the data, rather than date, dependency of Fed policy.”

After a two-day meeting, the Fed on Wednesday issued a statement that removed a pledge to remain “patient” on raising interest rates, signalling a possible mid-year rate increase.

However Yellen stressed growth prospects were more muted than three months ago, despite strong increases in jobs creation. She noted consumer spending has slipped, inflation has declined, wages are flat, and the stronger dollar has hurt US exports.

The policy committee lowered its rate outlook to 0.5-0.75 percent for the end of this year from 1.0 percent previously, while also reducing its 2016 forecast to 1.75-2.5% from 2.5%.

“Just because we removed the word patient from the statement doesn’t mean we’re going to be impatient,” Yellen told reporters.

Markets have been focusing on the Fed’s timing for a rate hike - a plus for the dollar with Yellen’s comments giving much-needed relief for the euro, which has been hammered by the European Central Bank’s new stimulus programme.

While some analysts pegged the dollar to fall further, loose monetary policy in major economies was likely to stem its losses, said Sebastien Galy, a senior currency strategist at Societe Generale.

“The dollar will resume its uptrend vs G10 in the next few weeks driven by the pressure of negative interest rates elsewhere,” he wrote in an e-mail, according to Bloomberg News.

The dollar also fell against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It weakened to 44.70 Philippine pesos from 44.72 Philippine pesos on Wednesday, to Sg$1.3812 from Sg$1.3900, to Tw$31.43 from Tw$31.54, to 1,117.67 South Korean won from 1,127.82 won, to 13,037.50 Indonesian rupiah from 13,181.90 rupiah, to 32.73 Thai baht from 32.90 baht, and to 62.43 Indian rupees from 62.68 rupees.

The Australian dollar rose to 77.31 US cents from 76.13 cents, while the Chinese yuan was unchanged at 19.45 yen. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures BERGERPBL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to subscribe 5,00,000 ordinary shares of Tk. 100.00 each totaling Tk. 50.00 million of the ordinary shares of wholly owned subsidiary Company Jenson & Nicholson (Bangladesh) Limited.

SHAHJABANK: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 22, 2015 at 5:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

IPO Subscription: Tosrifa Industries Limited Subscription March 24, 2015 to March 31, 2015; NRB UPTO April 09, 2015.

Offer Price per share Tk. 26.00, Market Lot (Shares) 200.

Dividend/AGM ONEBANKLTD: 12.50% cash and 12.50% stock, AGM: 30.04.2015, Record date: 29.03.2015.

FIRSTSBANK: 10% stock, AGM: 09.05.2015, Record date: 02.04.2015.

RELIANCINS: 15% cash and 15% stock, AGM: 30.04.2015, Record date: 19.03.2015.

UNITEDFIN: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 23.04.2015, Record date: 18.03.2015.

LAFSURCEML: 5% final cash dividend (i.e. total 10% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclusive of 5% interim cash dividend which has already been paid), AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 07.04.2015.

BRACBANK: The Board of Directors has recommended 20% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

Date of AGM: 23.04.2015, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: BRAC-CDM, Savar, Dhaka. Record date: 30.03.2015. The Company has also reported consolidated profit after tax of Tk. 2,101.57 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 3.13, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 27.19 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. 14.77 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

BERGERPBL: The Board of Directors has recommended 220% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 19.04.2015, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: International Convention City (Pushpoguscho, Hall No.-2), Bashundhara, Joarsahara, Dhaka. Record date: 30.03.2015.

The Company has also reported consolidated profit after tax of Tk. 1,151.03 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 49.64, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 154.04 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. 54.66 for the year ended on December 31, 2014 as against Tk. 899.80 million, Tk. 38.80, Tk. 126.41 and Tk. 45.32 respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

BRACSCBOND: BRAC Bank Ltd. has informed that the record date for Subordinated 25% Convertible Bonds of BRAC Bank Ltd. will be April 08, 2015 for payment of interest due on April 15, 2015. If the record date is on holiday, the previous trading day will be set as Record date.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Delta Brac HFCL-A Global Heavy Chemicals-N AB Bank - A Brac Bank -A ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A Apex SpinningA Jamuna Bank -A Navana CNG-A SAIF Powertec-N Dutch Ban. Bnk- A

Closing (% Change) 4.05 3.60 3.40 3.31 2.86 2.64 2.52 2.50 2.38 2.32

CSE GAINER Company Sandhani Life -A Linde (BD) Ltd. -A ICB Sonali Bank 1 MF-A GreenDeltaInsu -A Nitol Insurance -A Dhaka Ins. Ltd.-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A Argon Denims Limited-A Intl. Leasing-B Shinepukur Cera-Z

Closing (% Change) 9.09 6.70 6.67 6.25 6.19 4.52 4.26 3.23 3.20 3.17

DSE LOSER Company Union Capital -A Global Insurance -A LafargeS Cement-Z Samata LeatheR -Z Hwa Well Textiles-A Al Arafa Islami B-A Stylecraft -A Aziz PipesZ First Lease- A Mercantile Insur -A

Closing (% Change) -9.09 -7.64 -7.15 -6.62 -6.62 -6.02 -5.90 -5.46 -5.19 -4.93

CSE LOSER Company Union Capital -A ISN Ltd. -Z Rahima Food -Z Sinobangla Indu.-A Standard Insurance-A Rupali Life Insur.-B LafargeS Cement-Z Northern G Insur-A Berger Paints-A Meghna Life Ins. -A

Closing (% Change) -11.70 -8.13 -7.64 -7.39 -7.08 -6.90 -6.88 -6.36 -6.03 -6.00

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features March-19, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

3,133.48 62,890,174 71,792

Traded Issues

308

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

62

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

238

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,464.34

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.87

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 282.96 85.33 19.34 305.80 509.12 362.78 1.49 235.75 406.74 3.71 102.29 10.47 14.58 419.47 39.63 23.87 19.69 190.49 18.02 81.85 0.08

% change 9.03 2.72 0.62 9.76 16.25 11.58 0.05 7.52 12.98 0.12 3.26 0.33 0.47 13.39 1.26 0.76 0.63 6.08 0.58 2.61 0.00

Million Taka 18.85 4.35 0.80 39.39 2.79 19.15 27.06 15.24 0.90 6.87 0.17 0.55 39.74 4.13 0.59 0.35 16.40 3.07 21.78 0.00

Average (% Change) 2.61 1.70 1.83 0.30 (0.14) 1.89 0.08 0.98 (0.16) (1.88)

Average (% Change) 9.09 6.87 6.67 6.25 6.28 3.41 1.05 1.08 0.72 1.57

Average (% Change) -9.81 -8.13 -9.54 -4.73 -8.67 -6.02 -5.90 -5.04 -4.68 -6.69

Average (% Change) -12.37 -6.53 -7.29 -8.93 -7.20 -7.13 -8.26 -5.05 -6.03 -6.00

CSE

ClosingAvg. 76.67 37.04 23.91 33.46 7.12 69.63 12.03 52.33 63.80 76.70

ClosingAvg. 60.00 956.49 6.40 59.50 24.02 23.05 4.82 31.82 12.62 12.96

ClosingAvg. 15.72 13.33 108.80 14.29 29.51 12.50 846.00 17.51 14.66 13.25

ClosingAvg. 15.02 11.30 28.99 23.77 21.00 41.70 108.68 20.89 1,610.00 70.50

% change 8.49 1.96 0.36 17.73 1.25 8.62 0.00 12.18 6.86 0.40 3.09 0.08 0.25 17.89 1.86 0.26 0.16 7.38 1.38 9.80 0.00

Closing

DHIGH

77.10 37.40 24.30 34.30 7.20 70.00 12.20 53.30 64.60 79.40

Closing 60.00 955.00 6.40 59.50 24.00 23.10 4.90 32.00 12.90 13.00

Closing 16.00 13.30 110.30 14.10 29.60 12.50 846.00 17.30 14.60 13.50

Closing 15.10 11.30 29.00 23.80 21.00 41.80 109.70 20.60 1,610.00 70.50

Million Taka 301.81 89.68 20.14 345.19 511.90 381.93 1.49 262.80 421.98 4.61 109.16 10.64 15.13 459.21 43.76 24.46 20.05 206.89 21.10 103.63 0.09

DLOW

77.50 37.60 24.50 35.00 7.30 70.40 12.60 53.50 64.80 80.00

DHIGH

73.60 36.20 23.20 32.00 7.10 68.50 11.90 51.00 62.70 74.10

DLOW

60.00 957.40 6.40 59.50 24.20 24.00 4.90 32.00 12.90 13.00

DHIGH

60.00 955.00 6.40 59.50 24.00 22.10 4.70 31.60 12.40 12.10

DLOW

16.10 15.00 114.00 14.20 30.70 12.70 846.00 18.30 15.20 14.40

DHIGH 15.50 11.30 30.00 23.80 21.00 41.80 112.00 21.00 1,610.00 70.50

Total

14.50 13.00 107.00 14.10 28.80 12.30 846.00 16.50 14.50 12.80

DLOW 14.40 11.30 28.50 23.70 21.00 41.60 106.10 20.60 1,610.00 70.50

% change 8.99 2.67 0.60 10.29 15.26 11.38 0.04 7.83 12.58 0.14 3.25 0.32 0.45 13.68 1.30 0.73 0.60 6.17 0.63 3.09 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

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

4.082 1.391 20.772 49.744 0.042 3.743 0.606 8.637 30.123 2.782

Turnover in Million

4.26 2.43 4.13 3.13 0.96 2.28 0.84 3.53 2.50 11.03

Latest EPS

0.036 0.150 0.006 0.001 0.034 0.046 0.015 0.124 0.056 0.020

Turnover in Million

18.0 15.2 5.8 10.7 7.4 30.5 14.3 14.8 25.5 7.0

Latest PE

2.12 40.75 0.98 2.96 2.79 2.44 0.74 3.79 -0.09 0.39

Latest EPS

2.833 1.229 375.886 0.021 3.780 18.356 0.036 0.078 4.392 1.181

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

28.3 23.5 6.5 20.1 8.6 9.4 6.5 8.4 -ve 33.2

Latest PE

1.50 1.12 2.43 -0.46 2.66 2.20 44.44 -0.37 1.27 1.48

Latest EPS

0.261 0.001 0.090 0.051 0.005 0.042 36.419 0.015 0.016 0.002

10.5 11.9 44.8 -ve 11.1 5.7 19.0 -ve 11.5 9.0

Latest PE

1.50 0.13 -0.42 1.27 3.07 5.33 2.43 2.77 49.64 6.45

10.0 86.9 -ve 18.7 6.8 7.8 44.7 7.5 32.4 10.9

CSE key features March-19, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

222.16 6,088,063 10,535

Traded Issues

223

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

44

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

175

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,330.83

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.25

DT

BUSINESS 19

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

DSE turnover hits 12-week low Stocks modest rise ends 5-day losses

n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Olympic Ind. -A LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A ACI Limited- A Shahjibazar Power-N Ifad Autos -N Square Pharma -A Shasha Denims -N SummitAlliancePort.-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

Titas Gas TDCLA Brac Bank -A MJL BD Ltd.-A CVO PetroChem RL-A One Bank -A

VolumeShares 2,083,082 3,454,815 490,921 286,542 664,034 1,508,200 374,419 2,264,974 1,178,241 1,779,841

Value in Million 457.91 375.89 166.57 129.12 119.24 96.72 95.65 85.24 68.94 56.90

% of TotalTurnover 14.61 12.00 5.32 4.12 3.81 3.09 3.05 2.72 2.20 1.82

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z GPH Ispat Ltd-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Shasha Denims -N Grameenphone-A Shahjibazar Power-N National Feed-N SummitAlliancePort.-A BD Submarine Cable-A Square Pharma -A

WesternMarine -N Ifad Autos -N National Bank - A ACI Limited- A MJL BD Ltd.-A

776,463 1,486,738 350,477 82,925 2,181,862

335,091 416,112 455,081 356,396 32,842 32,349 212,427 93,233 44,113 20,069

123,067 66,587 382,655 8,679 31,551

55.44 49.74 42.20 34.05 33.28

36.42 16.97 14.57 13.39 11.12 5.77 5.59 5.46 5.27 5.15

4.98 4.26 3.95 3.89 3.80

1.77 1.59 1.35 1.09 1.06

16.39 7.64 6.56 6.03 5.01 2.60 2.52 2.46 2.37 2.32

2.24 1.92 1.78 1.75 1.71

ClosingP 214.50 110.30 336.20 445.50 184.00 64.60 255.00 37.30 58.70 32.20

72.60 34.30 120.70 407.50 15.30

ClosingP

Change % -0.74 -7.15 -1.06 -2.58 -1.02 0.00 -0.82 -0.53 0.34 2.22

1.40 3.31 -0.25 -2.40 -0.65

Change %

109.70 42.90 32.20 37.20 336.10 187.00 26.30 58.60 118.90 256.10

40.30 64.50 10.50 446.60 120.20

-6.88 3.87 2.55 -0.80 -1.15 -1.58 -1.50 0.34 -2.78 -0.39

-2.18 0.47 0.00 -2.32 -0.74

ClosingY 216.10 118.80 339.80 457.30 185.90 64.60 257.10 37.50 58.50 31.50

71.60 33.20 121.00 417.50 15.40

ClosingY

117.80 41.30 31.40 37.50 340.00 190.00 26.70 58.40 122.30 257.10

41.20 64.20 10.50 457.20 121.10

DHIGH 220.00 114.00 344.50 458.10 194.00 65.50 258.80 38.20 59.50 32.40

74.00 35.00 122.80 422.00 15.40

DLOW 213.00 107.00 335.00 443.00 169.00 62.20 254.20 37.10 57.30 31.60

70.30 32.00 118.00 406.00 15.10

DHIGH

DLOW

112.00 43.40 32.30 38.00 345.00 191.50 26.70 59.30 122.00 258.00

106.10 41.00 31.60 37.10 333.40 170.90 25.90 57.70 118.40 255.00

41.50 65.40 10.60 456.00 123.00

40.00 62.50 10.20 441.30 118.80

AvgPrice 219.82 108.80 339.30 450.63 179.57 64.13 255.46 37.63 58.51 31.97

71.40 33.46 120.39 410.62 15.25

AvgPrice

108.68 40.78 32.03 37.56 338.66 178.42 26.30 58.56 119.58 256.59

40.43 64.00 10.33 448.09 120.50

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

4442.81544

(-) 0.79%

1675.11797

(-) 0.97%

13566.10130

(-) 1.10%

11208.29980

(-) 0.46%

8255.22630

(-) 0.76%

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼

Trading volume on stock markets yesterday hits about 12-week low yesterday as most investors remained conspicuous by their absence owing to heating up of the political scenario.

Sellers’ cheering for the second quarter-final of India versus Bangladesh match during the trading hours also contributed to the fall of turnover, analysts say.

Stocks, however, registered modest rise, breaking losses of 5th straight session, as selling pressure eased somewhat compared to the previous sessions.

Turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange stood at Tk166 crore, its lowest since December 28 last year and sharply down 47% over the previous session.

Dealers said trading resumed on a terribly sluggish note in the morning as most investors kept to the sidelines owing to developing political situation and allied perceptions about the future uncertainty.

“The shrinking investor interest is linked to political uncertainty as some positive corporate results even fail to inject buying enthusiasm,” an analyst said. “Political situation is certainly tense, which continued to hunt in-

vestors.”

The benchmark index DSEX rose 25 points or 0.6% to close at 4,468, pulled up by mainly small cap issues that moved up marginally.

The Shariah Index DSES edged almost 7 points or 0.7% higher to 1,081. The comprising blue chips DS30 gained 11 points or 0.7% to 1,686.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 8,294, rising 39 points.

Cement advanced the most, gaining by 2.5%, after suffering worst fall in the previous session.

Telecommunic ation and non-banking financial institutions continued to decline. Almost all other sectors, including bank, pharmaceuticals and textile, closed marginally higher.

Lanka Bangla Securities said a sportive mood of ICC Cricket World Cup match has largely affected the sentiments of viewers cum investors in market, which was reflected in the market performance. l As investors were following how Bangladesh performs against India, today’s equity market participation became lacklustre with trading value slumped to two and half month’s low, it said. l

ANALYST

A sportive mood of ICC Cricket World Cup match has largely affected the sentiments of viewers cum investors in market, which was reflected in the market performance

DT

20 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Thailand for deeper ties with Bangladesh n UNB

A woman drinks water while other farm workers harvest rice in a rural area of Rajshahi. The World Bank has launched a loan project to improve the livelihoods of the poor in rural Bangladesh AZAHAR UDDIN

WB okays $200m soft loan for 5m poor in rural Bangladesh n Tribune Report The World Bank’s board of directors has approved $200m interest-free credit to improve livelihoods of about 5m poor people in the rural areas of Bangladesh, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

The credit will be spent under a programme styled Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project (NJLIP) that will benefit the rural poor in the poorest Upazilas in 21 districts, building on the activities supported by the predecessor Social Investment Program Project.

The project will empower rural communities by providing support for livelihoods and access to market through business partnerships. The project will also offer funding for small rural infrastructures.

The project will mobilise the poor and extreme poor people, who often remain left out from micro credit schemes, by building and strengthening community institutions

including Nuton Jibon Community Societies - second generation institutions.

Further, the project will raise nutrition awareness, share agricultural knowledge and continue focusing on creating youth employment opportunities.

“Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty. Sixteen million people came out of poverty in the last decade. Still poverty remains a daunting development challenge, with around 47m poor people – most of whom live in rural area,” said Johannes Zutt, WB country director for Bangladesh.

“The Nuton Jibon Livelihood Improvement Project will consolidate and scale-up the activities of its predecessor programs to improve livelihoods, quality of lives and resilience of the poorest and vulnerable households.”

The project will promote a community-driven approach that will allow beneficiaries to collectively identify, prioritise, plan,

and implement their development needs.

The project will cover around 2,500 new villages in 12 districts in addition to the around 3,200 villages supported under the Social Investment Program Project-II. “We have seen that when poor people, and particularly women, are given the chance, they successfully prioritise needs, manage resources and engage in livelihood activities that help them to transform their lives,” said Frauke Jungbluth, the WB task team leader for the NJLIP. The project builds on the success and lessons of the Social Investment Program Project that started as a small-scale pilot in two of the poorest districts of the country in 2003 and gradually expanded to 14 more districts.

The credits are provided by the International Development Association, the Bank’s concessional lending arm, with 38 years to maturity, a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75%. l

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand General Tanasak Patimapragorn has expressed his government’s interest for a more active and robust engagement with Bangladesh towards strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.

He conveyed the message when Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem met him at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, said a media release yesterday.

During the meeting, the Bangladesh Ambassador reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to a closer diplomatic, trade and investment partnership with Thailand, especially given the close proximity the two countries enjoy geographically sharing extended sea linkages on the Andaman Sea with a common neighbour, Myanmar in between.

Tasneem requested the Thai Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs that Thailand, reaching the higher middle-income country status, needs to accord DFQF market access to Bangladesh for select products to offset the imbalance heavily tilted towards Thailand.

The envoy also requested the Thai Deputy Prime Minister to encourage his country’s investors to invest in Bangladesh, especially in the tourism and hospitality, power generation, food processing, automobiles, machinery, electronics, ship-building, hospital and health services industry.

Ambassador Tasneem highlighted the need for new areas of cooperation, especially finalisation and early signing between the two countries of bilateral cooperation instruments.

The instruments include on exemption of visa for diplomatic and official passports, cooperation of employment of Bangladeshi workers in Thailand, Technical Cooperation on fisheries and livestock, and between Bangladesh Accreditation Board and the Thai Industrial Standards Institute.

Referring to her recent calls on the Thai Ministers of ICT, Tourism and Sports and Industry over the past one month, the Ambassador stressed exploring new institutional cooperation between the two countries during her tenure, especially on tourism and culture cooperation, defence and security including on UN peacekeeping, and industrial and technological exchanges between public and private sectors of the two countries. l

Bangladesh seeks support from foreign partners for RMG sector n UNB Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday said the RMG industry and the government are determined to bring in changes whatever might be necessary for its further development, and sought support from foreign friends and partners.

“Some important constraints are there for which Bangladesh requires support from friends and partners,” he told a high-level conference on “RMG Industry and Beyond: Bangladesh - Framing the Future” arranged at the initiative of the Danish government at a city hotel.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Dan-

ish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen, State Minister for Labour and Employment M Mujibul Haque Chunnu, BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam, Shirin Akhter, MP, business leader Syed Nasim Manzur, Roy Ramesh Chandra, ILO Country Director Srinivas B Reddy and Netherlands Ambassador in Dhaka Gerben Sjoerd de Jong, among others, spoke at various sessions of the conference.

The Foreign Minister mentioned that contemporary Bangladesh RMG and textile sector is in the throes of transformation. “In the process, our younger workforce has demonstrated their skills, adaptability and diligence. Our entrepreneurs has weathered challenges and

ventured into new lands and areas.”

He said Bangladesh counts on support from its friends - at bilateral and global levels - towards a broader dialogue with all stakeholders within global supply chain(s).

“As norms, practices or, guidelines are considered, Bangladesh would stress that those should be geared towards creating a truly level-playing field.”

While addressing another session, Tofail Ahmed sought help from the brands apart from an increase in product price.

Appreciating the progress in the RMG sector, he said there has been no accident in the last two years. “Workers are also happy with the working environment with increased

wages. They’ve now more bargaining power.”

Mogens Jensen in his speech said there is undoubtedly progress but more needs to be done, and termed Rana Plaza disaster as “game changer.”

He hoped that the conference will inspire other industries in Bangladesh and its stakeholders to look at how they can take advantage of the lessons learned from the RMG sector.

On the sidelines, the visiting Danish Minister met Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the same venue.

He thanked the minister for his presence in the conference and said Denmark would like to expand the existing cooperative relations between the two countries. l

NEWS

KOBE introducing new Japanese food KOBE is the first grill restaurant from Japan which offers various beef, chicken and seafood items cooked in the Japanese style. Kobe has introduced a lunch buffet package, which starts at Tk499 and 5% service charge so that people can enjoy the food at reasonable prices. This lunch buffet package features rice, fried rice, special salads, bread, and delicious desserts with ice cream. The buffet also features KOBE original Gyudon (Japanese Stewed Beef served with steamed rice). Dinner buffet starts at Tk680 with 5% service

charge. KOBE also has a kid’s menu priced at Tk299. The Kids menu is served on interesting plates designed after Japanese cartoons such as Doraemon, Ampanman and the famous bullet train. KOBE also offers a take-away menu (Bento box) starting from Tk500 and on. The restaurant is operated by Japanese management and features a Japanese chef.

House: 25, (4th floor), Road: 11, BlockH, Banai, Dhaka. Hotline: 01791406080.

Facebook page: facebook.com/ Koberestaurantdhaka

DT

Photo: Tasmia Momin

T-JUNCTION

Wash your truffles away

21

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

INSIDE

22

tantalise

Sauce from scratch

23 recipe

Coconut and raisin truffles

24

playtime

Types of Facebook couples

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Tantalise

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Sauce from scratch When is the last time you tasted a homemade one? n Nadia Khan

Photos: Bigstock

Whether you need a spicy dip for your fries or a thick concoction to slather your pasta with, these homemade sauces never fail to deliver.

Garlic sauce We all love that tangy punch that garlic sauce comes with. It tastes divine when smeared on garlic toast, but it does wonders too when teamed up with pasta noodles and lasagna.

Tomato sauce Whether you like it better with your fries or pasta, nothing beats a good ol’ homemade tomato sauce.

Ingredients: • • • • • •

5 ripe tomatoes 1tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced ¼ cup basil, chopped 1tsp salt

•

1tbsp honey

Pour olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the chopped onions and minced garlic. Saute for a while and add tomatoes, chopped basil and salt. Cook the concoction over low heat for two to three hours, and add honey before you remove the pan from the stove.

White sauce Store-bought jars are great but try your hand at this homemade white sauce that’ll perfectly complement your pot pie, soup, sandwiches etc. The chicken strips and sautéed veggies taste a little too dry? You can use the white sauce as a side gravy as well.

Ingredients: • • • •

1 cup milk 1 bay leaf 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic

• •

2tbsp butter 2tbsp all-purpose flour

Boil milk over medium heat and add an onion (halved), cloves and a bay leaf. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and add flour to it. Mix them well together, stirring thoroughly. Remove the cloves, bay and onions from the milk and pour it in the other saucepan with flour.

Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.

You may add more milk for thicker consistency.

Green chilli sauce Chicken wings, fried calamari, prawn on toast and all that’s deep fried could do with a spicy sidekick. In comes green chilli sauce, and this one takes very little effort to make.

Ingredients: • • • •

1kg green chillies, chopped ½tsp garlic, minced 2 cups of vinegar 2tbsp mustard oil

•

Salt to taste

Mix the salt and vinegar together and marinate the green chillies and minced garlic in this mixture for about an hour.

Then pour it in a pan and bring it to a boil. Cook over high heat and remove the pan from the stove when it thickens. It’s now ready to be devoured.

You’re welcome!

Ingredients: • • • • •

1 head garlic, minced ½ cup of lemon juice ½tsp salt ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup vegetable oil

Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and vegetable oil in a blender and mix it for five minutes. And that’s it - your garlic sauce is ready. It doesn’t get any easier than that. You may optionally add 1 egg white to it if you like.

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Recipe

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Coconut and raisin truffles n Tasmia Momin If you’re mad about truffles, you’ll love this recipe made with coconut and raisin. An unusual combination, I must admit, but it’s also just as surprising and delicious.

Truffles are a sweet, devilishly delicious delicacy that can be mastered right at home, in your very kitchen. Instead of going for store bought tried and tested sweets, why not go for a homemade special this time? The ingredients are simple and the directions simpler still. Once you’ve mastered the art of these truffles, there’s no turning back. Bon appetit!

Ingredients • • • • •

1 cup of desiccated shredded coconut 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk 2tbsp. of milk powder Handful of raisins Some extra desiccated coconut to coat the truffles and a little bit of oil to grease your hands while making the truffles.

Method

In a large bowl, combine equal quantity of coconut and condensed milk, along with 2 tbsp of milk powder. Press it down with the back of a greased spoon to form a sticky dough. Add more milk powder if the mixture is too sticky to form balls. Grease the palm of your hands and make small balls of of the mixture of about an inch in diameter. Press in a raisin inside each truffle and roll it back into a ball. Roll them over a bowl of desiccated coconut flakes.

Note

After making a few truffles, you’ll notice quite often that your hands are getting really sticky and the balls are breaking off.

To prevent this, scrape your hand with a spoon and grease your palms again. This will help the balls to be perfectly round without sticking to your palms.

In case if you want to use freshly shredded coconut instead of desiccated ones, decrease the amount of condensed milk, so as to make a sticky dough.

Photos: Tasmia Momin

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

LISTOLOGY

Playtime

Types of couples on Facebook

What kind of Facebook-er are you?

1. How many likes did your last profile picture get?

A. Less than 20 B. Less than 100 C. Less than 300 D. Over 500 2. It’s raining after a week of heat...

A. And your point is?

B. Like rain statuses C. Get ready. Rain statuses are coming!

D. Give a rain status

That make you want to throw a book at somebody

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

3. What kind of statuses do you usually like?

A. Never saw the point really B. Things I actually like C. Everything D. I don’t like photos. I get notified when they like mine.

Texting was too personal

Clearly love talk over the phone was getting way too little attention for their liking, so they found a nice little replacement – status comment style. No one enjoys the boo and bae romancing it out on the news feed while liking the cat and food photos. Not only does this get their exes noticing, if there are any, but nuts off their friends as well in frustration.

4. You just woke up.

A. Brush my teeth dude!

B. Just check notifications C. Log in, like and/or comment everywhere notified D. Yawn! Now, who was I stalking...

TMI syndrome

They’re cool most of the time, until one writes something surprising and awkward enough to get all the admirers “oohing” and their friends “naahing.” Private acts should be kept private, yet they seem to find their adventures in each others land of wilderness worth sharing to the world.

Even if it’s an inside joke, people naturally assume it’s something icky. Too much information syndrome only proves you can’t trust these folks with much, for they love to share, and often inappropriately.

to show it off and making it obviously obvious makes everyone go oblivious.

Got a room, wanna see?

The next level after the TMI syndrome, they prefer to illustrate their love instead. It takes no Sherlock to notice the backgrounds of their “early morning at his place” and “wild night” pics. No one wants to see that. They put the same thought into every viewers mind – someone should tell them we’re not curious about what their hicky looks like.

Time is of the essence

It starts with days, then weeks, then months when it comes to (state time) -versary celebrations for these jolly folks.

They are clearly deep in love, living in the moment and counting the seconds they have with each other. Well, it’s cute at first, but after the first few weekaversaries, it starts to creep onto everyone’s nerves.

War of the words

You complete me

Matching t-shirts, completing love-quoted wristbands, bae-printed phone covers...a tad too much maybe? We may not know what love looks like, but trying intentionally

Quiz

Photos: Bigstock

The most dramatic of them all, this couple lashes out at each other in passiveaggressive statuses referring to the other in third person. They tend to break up and patch up more than a teenager’s shoelaces, and at a certain point, it begins to test everyone’s patience. If you’re extremely unlucky, you would happen to be close to these hate-birds, and involved in their love life, then it’s lemons in life for you.

Mostly A’s: Formality user

Facebook is nothing special for you.

You have to cope up with it because everyone does. Meh.

Mostly B’s: Regular user

You’re on the lines of normal, and utilise the media as an entertainment source. It’s not like you’ll die if it closes down.

Mostly C’s: Super user

You’re highly active and love the attention. A missed update bothers you as much as a missed lunch.

Mostly D’s: Addict/Celebrity You feed off it, and it’s almost like you’ll die when it closes down.

It matters more to you than the happenings of your reality.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza was banned for one limited overs international and fined 40 percent of his match fee, while his players were fined 20 percent of their fees for maintaining a slow over-rate against India at MCG.

Sport 26

FB, TWITTER FLOODED WITH UMPIRING PROTEST

27

TIGERS PROUD AFTER LANDMARK TOURNAMENT

29

25

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

LEFT ARM MATCH MAY BE A MIS-MATCH

Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain (C) celebrates with teammates after dismissing India’s Virat Kohli for three runs during their Cricket World Cup quarter-final in Melbourne yesterday

Tigers’ dream run comes to a cruel end Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne Bangladesh finished their dream World Cup run in the quarter-final stage as India defeated the Tigers by a comprehensive margin of 109 runs at Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. Defending champions India progressed to the semi-finals while the Tigers ended their campaign in pain and agony as they were on the receiving end of some pathetic umpiring decisions.

Taking first strike, India coasted to 302/6 from their stipulated 50 overs, riding on the back of a hundred from opener Rohit Sharma.

In pursuit of a hefty target, Bangladesh started relatively well as opening batsman

Tamim Iqbal hit some gorgeous boundaries.

However, the Tigers threw away the fine start as Tamim was dismissed after scoring a-runa-ball 25. His opening partner, Imrul Kayes, followed soon after being run out for five.

Kayes continued his terrible run of form with the bat as he failed to reach double figures in his last seven ODIs. With Bangladesh struggling at 33/2 inside the seventh over, youngster Soumya Sarkar and back-to-back centurion Mahmudullah began to reconstruct the early damage.

Just when the third-wicket partnership of Soumya and Mahmudullah were beginning to look threatening, the latter departed for 21 after being smartly caught by Shikhar Dhawan at the deep fine leg region.

Soon, Soumya was also dismissed after scoring 29 and from there on in, the Tigers were unable to make a fist of the high chase.

Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim were dismissed cheaply, for 10 and 27 respectively, while Sabbir Hossain’s 30 and Nasir Hossain’s 35 helped Bangladesh inch closer to 200 before they were bundled out for 193 in 45 overs.

Fast bowler Umesh Yadav bagged four wickets while Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a couple each.

India, earlier, got off to a good start as Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan added 75 runs for the opening wicket.

In a bid to break the opening partnership, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza introduced Shakib in the 17th over of India’s innings. Shakib wasted little time initiating the breakthrough as Dhawan was stumped for 30.

Virat Kohli, arguably India’s best batsman, compounded his side’s misery as he was dismissed by Rubel Hossain after making just three.

DT

SUSPENSION

REUTERS

About 50,000 people, mostly Indians, soon went mum as Ajinkya Rahane departed for 19 off the bowling of Taskin Ahmed.

The Bangladesh bowlers though were unable to maintain their stranglehold, owing to some sloppy work in the field. Unneccessary overthrows hardly helped matters.

From the 35th over onwards, India dominated the opposition bowlers adding 147 runs in the last 15 overs. Rohit and Suresh Raina put on 122 runs for the fifth wicket with the latter scoring 65 off 57 balls.

Rohit continued to flay the Tigers bowlers on his way to his seventh ODI ton and his first in a World Cup. The right-hander ended his knock on 137, his innings featuring 126 balls and 14 boundaries and three sixes.

Taskin was the most successful Bangladesh bowler with three wickets while Rubel, Shakib and Mashrafe picked up a wicket each. l

DT

26 Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

FB, Twitter flooded with umpiring protest n Minhaz Uddin Khan Below-par umpiring decisions cost Bangladesh heavily as the fearless run from the Tigers in the World Cup ended with a 103-run defeat to India in the quarter-final yesterday, but gave birth to immense doubts in the mind of the cricket fans across the globe.

It was not only the Bangladeshi fans, but general cricket lovers and celebrities also did shy away from expressing their disappointment over the ridiculous decisions from the umpires which helped a limping India gain grip of the high-voltage encounter.

The social media websites were flooded with arrows of criticisms towards the International Cricket Council (ICC) and India’s strong role behind the international cricket body’s activities.

India managed 302 for 6, but as MS Dhoni in the post-match conference said they could have easily been restricted to 250 if Suresh Raina or Rohit Sharma did not contribute largely. Imagine how awful and disheartening was it then for Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza when his side, the ninth ranked ODI team, were denied the wickets of both the batsmen before they launched a late assault.

Raina, who went on to make a 57-ball 65, survived a mighty close leg-before wicket shout on 10 off Mashrafe. Umpire Ian Gould did not hesitate for a moment to shake his head in favour of Raina who walked across and exposed his leg-stump at the moment of impact. In naked eyes and in a flash of a moment the left-handed seemed plumb in front, however, DRS revealed the ball pitched fractionally outside leg and did not matter

whether it was hitting the stumps or not. On any other day, Gould would have given that out with Raina not having a doubt about it.

The second instance was more unbelievable. Rohit, on 90, was caught at deep mid-

wicket off Rubel Hossain dipping full-toss but Pakistani Aleem Dar (standing at square-leg) to shocked everyone by calling it a “no-ball.”

Replays clearly showed the ball was well below the waistline, but for some weird reason in this era of technology, Dar and Gould did not find it necessary to seek help from the third umpire over their walkie-talkie! Rohit left adding 47 more runs.

“That should have been a wicket. The ball was under the waist,” cried out Shane Warne at the commentary box. “He (Aleem Dar) has lost his confidence,” added the Australian spin legend.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman meanwhile criticised Gould and tweeted, “Bad decision from Gould, was definitely not above the waist. Lucky break for Rohit. This can be the difference in getting extra 20 runs.”

The official Cricket Australia Facebook page ran an opinion poll asking for thoughts on umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould’s “noball” decision. For obvious reasons majority of the comments came from the Australians among which Andrew Ritter wrote, “Two terrible decisions now. The lbw was millimetres from being out, and it was not a no-ball.”

A Saud Jan said, “This is the 2nd one. Before that it was judged as pitching outside leg. It was pitching in line and crashing the stumps. All the decisions will go India’s way, that is for sure. For Big 3, cricket is not a sport, it is a business dominated by India.”

Another fan, possibly from Bangladesh, Apon Rahman provided a new idea and suggested ICC to introduce “touch detection boundary rope” and “height detection meter.” l

IND v BAN INDIA R. Sharma b Taskin S. Dhawan st Mushfiqur b Shakib V. Kohli c Mushfiqur b Rubel A. Rahane c Shakib b Taskin S. Raina c Mushfiqur b Mortaza MS Dhoni c Nasir b Taskin R. Jadeja not out R. Ashwin not out Extras (b4, lb7, w3, nb2)

R 137 30 3 19 65 6 23 3 16

Total (6 wkts, 50 overs)

302

B 126 50 8 37 57 11 10 3

Fall of wickets 1-75 (Shawan), 2-79 (Kohli), 3-115 (Rahane), 4-237 (Raina), 5-273 (Rohit), 6-296 (Dhoni)

Bowling Mortaza 10-0-69-1 (1nb); Taskin 10-0-69-3 (1w); Nasir 9-0-35-0 (1w); Mahmudullah 1-0-4-0; Rubel 10-0-56-1 (1w, 1nb); Shakib 10-0-58-1

BANGLADESH Tamim Iqbal c Dhoni b Yadav Imrul Kayes run out (Jadeja/Yadav) Soumya Sarkar c Dhoni b Shami Mahmudulla c Dhawan b Shami Shakib Al Hasan c Shami b Jadeja Mushfiqur Rahim c Dhoni b Yadav Sabbir Rahman c Shami b Yadav Nasir Hossain c Ashwin b Jadeja Mashrafe Mortaza c Dhoni b Mohit Rubel Hossain c Ashwin b Yadav Taskin Ahmed not out Extras (b1, lb1, w8)

R 25 5 29 21 10 27 30 35 1 0 0 10

Total (all out, 45 overs)

193

B 25 14 43 31 34 43 40 34 3 3 0

Fall of wickets 1-33 (Tamim), 2-33 (Imrul), 3-73 (Mahmudullah), 4-90 (Sarkar), 5-104 (Shakib), 6-139 (Mushifiqur), 7-189 (Nasir), 8-192 (Mortaza), 9-193 (Rubel), 10-193 (Sabbir)

Bowling Yadav 9-1-31-4 (1w); Shami 8-1-37-2 (4w); Mohit Sharma 7-0-36-1 (1w); Ashwin 10-1-30-0 (1w); Raina 3-1-15-0; Jadeja 8-0-42-2 (1w)

Result India won by 109 runs

INDIA V BANGLADESH HIGHLIGHTS

OFF YOU GO, KOHLI

Rubel Hossain left Virat Kohli in no doubt what claiming his wicket meant to him. The Bangladeshi seamer tempted the Indian star to edge behind for just three and gave his rival en eyeball-to-eyeball send-off. Kohli went into the game with an average of over a hundred against Bangladesh.

BANGLADESH’S ‘BRYAN BROTHERS’

Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza mimicked US tennis brothers Mike and Bob Bryan’s famous leaping chest bump celebration when Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed. It was a powerful collision, sending both men falling to the ground.

TOO HIGH LOW BLOW

Indian opener Rohit Sharma made a fine 137 but he had a lucky escape on 90. Sharma was given not out despite being caught in the deep off Hossain. Umpire Ian Gould judged a Hossain full toss was above the batsman’s waist when TV replays showed it was below and therefore a legitimate delivery.

JUGGLER DHAWAN

Shikhar Dhawan took a fine catch on the boundary to get rid of Bangladesh dangerman Mahmudullah. As he closed in on the boundary rope, Dhawan lost control of the ball, caught it but as he stepped over the rope, he had to tip the ball back into play before finally grabbing it at the third attempt.

DT

Sport 27

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

ICC chief Kamal disappointed n Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne Bangladesh fans cheer their team during their World Cup 2015 quarter-final against India in Melbourne yesterday CRICINFO

Tigers proud after landmark tournament n Reuters, Melbourne Bangladesh’s fairytale run at the World Cup was ended brutally by reigning champions India on Thursday, but the Tigers’ elation at making the knockout rounds for a first time will not be too dimmed by the humbling.

Bangladesh’s bowlers tried hard to restrict India and though able to subdue them for a period, were ultimately thwarted by a 122-run partnership between centurion Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.

With no team having ever chased down more than 300 for victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, few would have dared back Bangladesh to reel in India’s 302.

But the batting collapse and 109-run defeat was an unworthy finish to an industrious campaign that offered glimpses of a future where Bangladesh cricket might be taken seriously rather than accused of squatting at

cricket’s elite table.

In their pool phase thrashing by Sri Lanka at the MCG, Bangladesh put in an abysmal fielding effort that suggested a failure to grasp the dimensions of the sprawling venue on their debut appearance.

Those fielding demons were kept at bay for half of the first innings but came rushing forth as the pressure grew to break Rohit and Raina’s partnership.

Fortune played a cruel hand, with Raina surviving an lbw decision when on 10 by the vagaries of ball tracking technology, which showed Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s delivery pitching a whisker off leg stump.

Rohit was later caught for 90 but was reprieved by umpire Aleem Dar who judged Rubel Hossain’s full toss above waste height though replays suggested it was perfectly legal.

“Our plan was pretty good and we were a bit unlucky we couldn’t get a wicket at that

TALKING POINTS

Yousuf Rahman (Babu), former national cricketer, vice captain and first centurion writes from New York for Bangladesh fans all across the globe.

Umpiring during this World Cup needs to be closely looked into

Had Rohit Sharma walked back to the pavilion in the 40th over when he was on 90, where would the Indian total be? Perhaps it would be somewhere in the 260-270 mark. Umpire Ian Gould made a catastrophic error in favour of India when he unanimously (against the norm of consultation) called a Rubel Hossain delivery a no ball due to its trajectory. Rohit Sharma was caught in the deep. In such situations, the big teams always seem to get the benefit.

While this is an error that everyone witnessed, it still does not explain the docile batting approach of Bangladesh during the middle period of the innings.

Indian batting is an example of confidence and maturity

Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan both were their unusual self against a mediocre Bangladesh bowling attack. Both have been quite explosive in the past but they knew 300 plus was on the cards if they batted deep into the innings. India was on the back foot at 117 for 3 with Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane back in the pavilion.

Rohit held the innings together, and along with Suresh Raina batted into the 42nd

time,” Bangladesh captain Mortaza lamented to reporters.

“We always knew they would come hard after 35 (overs).

“They were brilliant after 35 and took the calculated risks and we couldn’t bowl according to our plans ... That was the moment when we lost.”

Mashrafe still hailed a “brilliant” tournament for his team, who sent England crashing out of the tournament to secure their place in the last eight.

“Except today, the batters batted really well throughout this tournament ... Hopefully that will continue. The confidence we got hopefully will continue.

“Most of the players in our side ... haven’t had any cricket in Australia, so it was a really big class for us but the way the bowlers adapted with the wickets and the conditions, I’m still very proud of this team.” l

The International Cricket Council was the prime target of the angry Bangladeshi spectators after their nation suffered from poor umpiring decisions during their World Cup quarter-final against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.

ICC president and the former Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mostafa Kamal also spoke from the supporter’s point of view and said, “When they were showing the replay, I kept telling the Bangladesh players and team management to oppose the decision.

But they didn’t take any action. I am not talking as the ICC president. I will tell you as a spectator that just like everyone else, I felt very disappointed. I agree with you in saying that umpiring quality was very poor. I don’t know if this was done deliberately. If it was deliberate, ICC will definitely find it out and take action.

Kamal did not directly agree to the question whether India influences ICC, but said, “Won’t other teams play against India? If Australia play against them in the next match, will they agree to (these decisions)? What about teams like South Africa or other teams?”

Meanwhile, BCB president Nazmul Hasan informed, “We will appeal against the poor umpiring which took place against us today (yesterday). The quality of the umpiring was very poor and I am very disappointed to see the no-ball decision as it looked like a legal delivery in the replay.”

The BCB boss also expressed disatisfaction over the performance of senior cricketers Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan adding that Mahmudullah is human and he won’t win all matches. l

BANGLADESH v INDIA

over and got 137 at a strike rate of 108. This is a classic example of one top order batter batting through the innings and taking the team score to a near unassailable total.

Bangladesh ready to go home before the match got underway

This Bangladesh unit looked completely different than the ones we saw in the group stage matches. The fire in the belly was missing, especially when it batted. It was as if the team’s thirst for success was quenched by qualifying for the quarter finals and they were dying to get back home for the celebrations. The Tigers have been over fed prior to this match and hence the loss of appetite for victory.

Soul searching time for Tamim Iqbal

His lack of mental discipline and, perhaps, match fitness has prevented him from bringing his talents to fruition in this World Cup. Chasing a target of 303 required a mature approach to bat deep into the innings and on a batting friendly wicket, this should not have been a difficult task.

Knowing he had the inexperienced Soumya Sarkar coming in at No 3, there was absolutely no reason for him to throw his bat around so recklessly, especially after he got a

start and the innings was flowing along well.

Middle overs killed Bangladesh’s run chase

The docile approach to batting in the middle overs was something that was not seen in this tournament prior to this match. It was as if there was a divine power that sent telepathic messages to the batters to pull the shutters down. Shakib al Hasan looked like a novice who found it painful to play each ball as he could not find his feet, Mushfiqur Rahim was not himself and Soumya displayed his inexperience to the brim. The run out of Imrul Kayes was abysmal. What boggles my mind is that as soon as the fate of match is sealed (after the dismissal of Mushfiq) both Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain came up with a stint of excellent batting that made it look so easy.

Just a week back these same individuals had taken apart some of the best bowlers in the tournament without batting an eyelid. So the Bangladesh approach will be scrutinised by many.

Was the MCG too overwhelming for the Bangladesh batters

The Bangladesh batting relies more on boundary balls than on rotation of the strike.

With the huge playing area of the MCG, the

boundaries were not as frequently available as they would be on smaller grounds. Rotating the strike is an art. It requires special skills to nudging the ball in gaps and picking up runs in ones and twos, which we have not seen happen in this match. It also requires a good understanding of running between wickets. So when the boundary balls were not there, the batters fell behind on the run rate as too many dot balls were played by Soumya, Shakib and Mushfiq. A total of 19 fours were hit in the innings out of which eight were hit

by Sabbir and Nasir, when the match was already lost.

MS Dhoni finds the right groove for his team to succeed

He joins some elite leaders by notching his 100th ODI win, a winning percentage of 60.

This is a fantastic achievement for a man who has not had the best ODI team in recent times.

This Indian team was struggling some four months back as an ODI unit but they have bounced back from nowhere with its weakest link (bowling unit) working with efficiency in groups. Mohammed Shami is now the highest wicket taker in this World Cup with 17 wickets. So, all kudos goes to this man who has been leading from the front over the years.

Congratulations are due! l

DT

28 Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

3RD QUARTER-FINAL

For Australia to win:

The Aussies have a near perfect unit with a combination of fast bowlers and powerful batters suited for winning championships.

They need to have a complete brain freeze to lose this one.

Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed cannot be allowed to get off the blocks. If the Aussie seamers bowl at them, both Shehzad and Sarfraz will score freely. Remember, they depend on their eye-hand coordination. Bowl at them outside the off stump and they will be gasping for air.

The Australian batting need not force the pace. It has a calm and collected middle order that will create the platform for the lower middle order (Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin) to explode.

A fighting score in Adelaide will be around the 280 mark so the team batting first and getting this total will make it tough for the team chasing. A score over 280 will be an extremely difficult proposition for Pakistan to chase.

Played: 92 Tied: 1 No result: 1

AUSTRALIA 57

When Wasim Akram was dominating the pace bowling world with his left arm swinging yorkers and giving many a batsman swollen toes, there was hardly any left arm seam bowler in world cricket let alone one that came anywhere close to his quality or class.

In a vote taken to name the five greatest players in World Cup history, Wasim was voted in as one. If memory serves me right, the only other left arm fast bowler of some quality in those days was Nathan Bracken of Australia.

Today, we have six high class left arm fast bowlers appearing in the same match. It is possible that Wasim may have inspired many to take up left arm fast bowling.

When Pakistan meets Australia today in Adelaide, there will be five left arm fast bowlers of the highest class taking the field.

Imagine a battery that consists of Mitchell

PAKISTAN 31

At Adelaide Oval today (9:30AM)

Umpires

Australia coach Darren Lehmann (L) speaks to David Warner in Adelaide yesterday

Left arm dominated match may turn out to be a mis-match n Yousuf Rahman (Babu)

Wins

Johnson, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner on one side and Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali on the other. Unfortunately for Pakistan, its “extraordinary” strike bowler Mohammed Irfan has been ruled out of the competition due to injury.

Pakistan has a tough assignment ahead of them. Regardless of the momentum they gained by winning four matches on the trot, when it boils down to reality, its batsmen are technically ill-equipped to handle the quick men of Australia. This is not the UAE environment. Most of Pakistan’s batters depend on their eye-hand coordination to score runs, which can work when you are playing medium pace bowling such as Ireland’s or Zimbabwe’s. They generally tend to have frozen feet when it comes to playing genuine pace bowling. We saw this being cruelly exposed against the West Indies and we may see it being repeated against the venomous Aussie attack.

AFP

AFP

While Pakistan’s strength, whatever little it has, lies in its fast bowling quartet of Wahab, Irfan, Rahat and to some extent Sohail Khan, Australia has a batting unit to rack up the score that facilitates a powerful bowling group to attack with ample freedom. Sadly, the loss of Irfan to injury will hurt Pakistan’s chances in the match and some Aussie batters will be relieved to see him off the list.

The Mitch factor is a lethal factor, especially the tall, lanky Starc. He is a demon with the ball, more so in the death overs than at any time during the innings. Johnson is yet to show up for the competition and a stellar performance is due. This could very well happen at this knock out stage and if he gets his areas right, the scenario could become nightmarish for the Pakistani batters.

To sum it up, here are my brief points that will come into play in deciding the final outcome of match: l

For Pakistan to win:

Pakistan batsman Sarfraz Ahmed (L) plays a shot during a net session in Adelaide yesterday

Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

Their top order must somehow find the groove to take the attack to the Australians and not allow the Aussie seamers to dominate the proceedings. If they fail to accomplish this, we will see a repeat of the West Indies match.

Pakistan’s bowling unit must strike early. So far, we have seen this unit adopt a policy of bowling short to get the wickets. They have been successful with this strategy against weaker opposition. The victory against South Africa was a one-off win. This strategy may not work against David Warner, Aaron Finch and the some of the others. The Pakistani bowling unit must bowl consistently length and short of a length a shade outside the off stump. It is an area which may also be called “the area of apprehension.”

It will be critical how Shahid Afridi bowls in this match in the crucial middle overs. So far he has hardly been effective as all opposition batters have successfully milked him with relative ease. Pakistan will painfully realise in due course that it has missed out by not prepping and playing Yasir Shah should they not opt to play him. Now that Irfan is no longer available, if I were picking the team, I would definitely consider Yasir over another seamer.

Weather forecast

Partly cloudy. Maximum temperature 21 degrees.

Pitch report

Fast bowlers will enjoy the hard and bouncy drop-in pitch at the Adelaide Oval where India’s 300-7 against Pakistan at the start of the tournament is the highest ODI total ever at the ground.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mitchell Starc (Australia)

The tall left-arm fast bowler has been the standout performer with the ball for Australia, his 16 wickets in five matches leaving him at the top of the bowling charts in the tournament.

Starc’s consistent length and his ability to extract bounce almost enabled Australia to defend their paltry 151 all out against New Zealand in Auckland before the Black Caps squeezed home for the loss of nine wickets.

The 25-year-old should enjoy the hard and bouncy drop-in pitch at the Adelaide Oval where India’s 300-7 against Pakistan at the start of the tournament is the highest ODI total ever at the ground.

Misbah-ul Haq (Pakistan) The gutsy skipper has led Pakistan from the front with four half-centuries in the first five matches when others around him were falling apart. His 56 against South Africa was crucial in the low-scoring game where Pakistan successfully defended 222.

The 40-year-old, who will quit one-day cricket after the World Cup, is the rock around whom Pakistan rally in a crisis.

Often criticised for a slow strike-rate, Misbah stunned critics by smashing a Test century off 56 balls against Australia in Abu Dhabi last November, equalling the record of West Indies legend Viv Richards.

Pakistan will hope for another landmark innings from their captain against the same rivals on Friday.

DT

Sport 29

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

England wrong to axe me as one-day captain, says Cook n Reuters, London Alastair Cook believes England were wrong to sack him as their one-day captain less than two months before the start of the World Cup. Eoin Morgan took over as skipper and presided over England’s worst ever 50-over World Cup campaign in which they won only two matches and failed to reach the quarter-finals.

“I think you saw in Australia at the World Cup the dangers of making such a big decision so close to the tournament,” Cook told a Dubai radio station.

“I don’t know what’s gone on on that tour, but it did look like the lads were shellshocked from the first two games. That’s when you need real leadership to help steer you through that.

“I would have loved to have had the opportunity that was taken away from me.”

Cook was axed as captain due to his poor form with the bat and a lack of tactical acumen which was exposed again in the 5-2 oneday series defeat in Sri Lanka late last year.

“The selectors made that decision because they thought it was the best for English cricket. Hindsight has probably proved them wrong, but now it’s easy to say that.”

Cook was named as England captain on Wednesday for three Tests against West Indies which starts next month.l

Liza out of World Women’s Chess n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh women’s champion and Woman International Master Shamima Akter Liza lost both of her first-round matches against GM Cmilyte Viktorija of Lithuania in the Women’s World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia yesterday.

Liza played with black pieces against Cmilyte, who has a rating of 2530, and lost at the 38th move. The loss eliminated Liza from the tournament while Cmilyte qualified for the second round.l

RESULTS Borussia Dortmund

0-3

Juventus

Tevez 3, 79, Morata 70 Juventus qualify 5-1 on aggregate

Barcelona Rakitic 31

1-0

Man City

Barcelona qualify 3-1 on aggregate

Barcelona players celebrate after scoring a goal during their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against Manchester City at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Wednesday AFP

Barca through, Tevez sinks Dortmund n AFP, Paris

A first-half goal by Ivan Rakitic was enough to see Barcelona end English interest in the Champions League on Wednesday as they beat Manchester City 1-0 in their last 16 second leg clash for a 3-1 aggregate win and a place in the quarter-finals.

Former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez scored a double in the night’s other game as Juventus pulled off an impressive 3-0 win away at 2013 finalists Borussia Dortmund to win 5-1 on aggregate.

For Tevez it represents quite a turnaround

in fortunes in the competition, having gone six seasons without a Champions League goal,he has now scored six this term.

Rakitic struck with a delightful effort after being found by Lionel Messi, chesting it down and then lofting the ball over the outstanding Joe Hart. City had their chances to get back into the game, none more so than when Sergio Aguero was given the opportunity to reduce the overall deficit with a penalty.

However, he failed to take the chance and Barcelona held on comfortably only being denied a more convincing margin of victory by the impressive Hart.

Dinajpur, JM Sen reach semis n Raihan Mahmood

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 9:30AM 2015 ICC World Cup QF3: Australia v Pakistan

Star sports 4 1:45AM Spanish La Liga Elche v Valencia

Ten Action 2:40PM A-League 2014/15 Sydney FC v Melbourne City 5:00PM Champions League and Europa League Quarter Final Draws 1:30AM French Ligue 1 2014/15 Paris Saint-Germain v FC 56 Lorient

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, who is now riding on the crest of a wave after a rocky patch earlier in the season, praised Hart’s performance but was also ecstatic about his side especially Messi. It leaves the quarter-finals without an English team for the second time in three seasons.

Tevez had Dortmund rocking from the third minute as he rifled home a superb effort from outside the area and further goals from Spaniard Alvaro Morata, who also scored in the first leg, and then Tevez again sent out a warning to the other contenders that Juventus will be no pushovers. l

Dinajpur District High School and Moyezuddin High School, Faridpur in action during their National School Hockey quarter-final at Moulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday COURTESY

Dinajpur District High School and JM Sen High School reached the semi-finals of the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey after winning their respective quarter-finals at Moulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

In the first quarter-final of the day, Dinajpur District High School beat Moyezuddin High School, Faridpur 3-0 while in the second quarter-final, JM Sen High School defeated BAF Shaheen School and College, Chittagong 2-0.

Rafikuddin Memorial School, Comilla will take the field against Armanitola High School in the third quarter-final today. Khanjanpur High School, Joypurhat will face Bindubasini Govt. High School, Tangail in the fourth and final quarter-final. l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Hemispherical vault (4) 5 Make suitable (5) 9 Complete agreement (6) 10 Old French coin (3) 11 Large brown seaweed (4) 12 Sudden wind blasts (5) 14 Old stringed instruments (5) 16 Region (4) 19 Season (4) 21 Added clause (5) 24 Skin disease (5) 27 Tibetan priest (4) 29 Top card (3) 30 Merchant (6) 31 Forgetfulness (5) 32 Salamander (4)

DOWN 1 Nobleman (4) 2 United (3) 3 Cereal grass (6) 4 See at a distance (4) 5 Made irate (7) 6 Donkey (3) 7 Kitchen utensil (3) 8 Long, protruding teeth (5) 13 Employ (3) 15 Emit in rays (7) 17 Scrape off (6) 18 Essential (5) 20 Wrath (3) 22 Dash (4) 23 Unsightly growth (4) 25 Frozen treat (3) 26 Meshed fabric (3) 28 Gull (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 16 represents D so fill D every time the figure 16 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.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

SUDOKU

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

Ameena Ahmed to receive Rabindra-Shoilajaranjan Award

n Showtime Desk Ameena Ahmed, a renowned Rabindra Sangeet singer and cultural leader, has been confirmed to receive the Rabindra-

Tania Bristi to play lead in Sohan's new flick

n Showtime Desk Tania Bristi has stepped into the shower to play lead in Sohanur Rahman Sohan's latest flick “Obola Nari.”

Bristi is to star opposite debutant Shrabon Khan, while her character Jhumka is partially based on Basanti from the 1975 Indian classic “Sholay.”

Initially, Sonia Hossain was talked to play the lead, but later she opted out. Bristi came forward to take the challenge, signing her fourth big screen venture till date. Though her three previous ventures are yet to hit the screen, the winner of second runner-up title of Veet Channel i Top Model 2012 seems confident to make a firm place in Dhallywood.

Shooting for the film commenced from March 16 at Cox's Bazar. l

Shoilajaranjan Award this year in recognition for her contribution in promoting and practising Rabindra Sangeet.

Apart from Ahmed, Surer Dhara, a Dhakabased musical school which is modelled after

Tagore’s philosophy, has also been confirmed to receive the prestigious award from Bangladesh. Ashish Kumar Bhatyacharya and Sangeetbhabon of Biswabharati are lined up for the award from Kolkata.

On receiving the award, Ameena Ahmed said to the Dhaka Tribune, “It’s indeed a big honour for me to have been found worthy of this prestigious award.

But I would like to reckon myself as a devotee and life-long learner to the Rabindra Sangeet.”

Chayanika, a joint India-Bangladesh cultural front, has introduced the award to honour the success of the people who contributed in practice and advocacy for Rabindra Sangeet. In remembrance of Shoilajaranjan Majumdar, an acclaimed protege of Tagore, the award was given previously to both Bangladeshi and Indian individuals and organisations in the aforementioned field.

The ceremony will take place at the Satyajit Roy Auditorium of ICCR in Kolkata on March 21. l

Jaw dropper

SALMAN KHAN @ BeingSalmanKhan Topi pehnao toh aisi.

AZMI SHABANA @AzmiShabana Have been watching classic songs. There is no other like @ TheDilpKumar.

I will never stop regretting I didn’t get a chance to work with him.

TWINKLE KHANNA @mrsfunnybones Gabbar: Tera kya hoga, Kaliya?

Me: Careful! You know wht happened to the AIB folks with dark skin jokes-Mera Kutch Nahin-tere hoga FIR #Gabbar

WHAT TO WATCH

n Mahmood Hossain Truth be told, we don’t get too many movies from the Hindi cinema that are praise worthy. Gone are the days of melodies combined with meaningful lyrics, intertwined with heart strings being pulled by the lead romantics. The film NH10 happens to be a crime thriller like no other. A thriller so gripping that it blurs the lines of authentic horror. The realism in the story and performances by both Anushka Sharma and Neil Bhoopal are incredible.

To no surprise, the level of fear palpitates throughout the film.

The direction is superb by Navdeep Singh, capturing enough of the fear factor one needs to drive the audience to the edge of their seats. Without giving away any significant parts of the movie, the majority of the film does an exceptional job of keeping eyes locked to the screen. But let’s

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

TELEVISION

MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI B-

not treat this film as an award winner. We can applaud this film for not trying to be what it is not. It’s a true entertainer with a few less credible turns in the plot. Again, this wasn’t meant to dish out awards at the future Filmfare awards. Nominations may be in order though.

It’s safe to say Anushka’s first home production film is a success, and this is definitely worth the watch. l

SONY MAX 03:17pm Cast: Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Amrish Puri, Rajpal Yadav This romantic comedy movie has the leading character Sameer, fast at losing his temper, is re-located to Goa where he falls in love with Rani. But his new roommate Sunny has some other plans.

KHILADIYON KA KHILADI C

Star GOLD 05:30pm Cast: Rekha, Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Deven Verma, Anjana Mumtaz.

This action Hindi film is about a game of survival in a ruthless world of crime where the hero, Akshay, as an army officer taking out the evil he faces.

DT

32 BACK PAGE

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015

IN CRICKET AS IN LIFE PAGE 14

DSE TURNOVER HITS 12-WEEK LOW PAGE 19 M

BB OFFERS INCENTIVES FOR GOOD BORROWERS PAGE 15 A

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From non-cooperation to People’s Raj

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This extract is part of a series that will run until March 25, in which we reproduce Rehman Sobhan’s contemporaneous account of the events of that momentous month in Bangladeshi history. This was first published in Forum on March 13, 1971

n Rehman Sobhan Furious Tiger fans burn a teddy-bear effigy of the umpires of the Bangladesh-India Melbourne match at the Dhaka University campus yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Tiger fans say umpiring was ridiculous n Arif Ahmed Over the last decade and a half that Bangladesh have been playing serious cricket, Tiger fans have made a name as one of the game’s most passionate followers.

This report would not have existed if Rubel’s full-toss to Rohit Sharma was really above waist height; or if the television umpire – after just one view of the replay – had not ruled that Mahmudullah’s hook to the deep square leg boundary was a Dhawan catch and not a sixer.

‘Nothing can be worse than ridiculous, unfair umpiring. Sadly, Tigers were at the receiving end of such injustice in the most important match in history’ These two controversial decisions at crucial junctures of what is easily the most important match in Bangladesh’s cricket history could have made a world of difference had they gone the way that appeared right.

Instead, they meant that Rohit ended up adding 47 more runs and propelling India towards a formidable total; and the contribution of Mahmudullah, who was bringing in two back-to-back centuries to this match, was going to be just 31.

It would be an utter understatement if one said that they were instances of bad umpiring; hundreds of Tiger fans, who gathered at

the TSC roundabout on the Dhaka University campus yesterday in their customary way for watching the quarter-final draw, did not think that way.

“If the umpires did not save Rohit Sharma by preposterously declaring Rubel’s legitimate delivery as a no-ball, India would not have got 47 extra runs,” said Naadir Junaid, associate professor of Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ) at DU. “And if in-form Mahmudullah was not given out because of the doubt whether Dhawan’s leg touched the fence, Bangladesh would have managed to form a much-needed partnership which would have made the chase easier. At that stage, the target was absolutely obtainable,” he said.

As immediate reaction the controversial umpiring decisions that sealed Bangladesh’s world cup fate, hundreds of fans, under the banners of Dhaka University Family and the Bangladeshi Cricket Fans, burnt effigies of the umpires at TSC after the match ended.

They also demanded permanent exclusion of those umpires from the ICC panel and proper investigation into the decisions that they had made.

Nuzaira Taranum, a student of MCJ at DU, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Nothing can be worse than ridiculous and unfair umpiring.

Sadly, Tigers were at the receiving end of a such injustice in what happens to be the most important match in their history.

“India have won this match, but they cannot claim that they have beaten Bangladesh by playing better cricket.

“The world witnessed how the umpires’ unfair decisions demoralised the Bangladeshi cricketers,” she said.

Fans also criticised the Bangladesh team management for picking out-of-form Imrul Kayes ahead of Muminul Haque. l

In this context, all attention is directed to Yahya who is expected any day. Lt. General Yakub left Dacca on 9th and was replaced by the governor designate Lt. General Tikka Khan. It is reported that Yakub had no stomach for killing people whose language he learnt and culture he admired, in support of a lost cause. The security forces were apparently staying within barracks avoiding confrontation. Indications are that they are marking time for Yahya’s arrival.

And what does this promise? Yahya’s strategy over the last week indicates the use of the carrot and the stick. Whilst the tone of his broadcast on the 6th was designed to give maximum offence to Bangla Desh, in substance, the declaration of a date for the assembly, without preconditions, was a climb down. But then his reference to LFO and his dispatch of a reputed hawk to replace Yakub indicated the brandishing of a big stick. But again Tikka Khan has shown relative restraint since his arrival.

Now we find the great Chairman Bhutto shedding a few crocodile tears for his dead victims and talking the language of conciliation in his cable to the Sheikh.

The wellsprings of bitterness and frustration generated by recent events invoke only suspicion within the people. Many see this as a gesture to buy time before the final showdown. This is envisaged as taking place when Yahya vetoes a Six-Points based constitution. By this time sufficient reinforcements will be at hand to cope with all eventualities.

But another school sees Yahya corning

to terms with reality in Bangla Desh. For effective power is now irrevocably out of the hands of Islamabad and any attempt to re-establish it will require the reconquest of the whole province piece by piece. Nor can they expect people to merely play the role of live targets for the movement has advanced, light years between March 1 and 10.

In this situation Yahya may well cede Mujib’s demands de facto. He will let him continue to exercise power in Bangla Desh, he will keep his troops in the barracks, he will, in effect, end martial law by the simple expedient of not enforcing it. This will then be presented as an exercise in restraint and good faith which should be sufficient to let Mujib come to the National Assembly.

Mujib would then have to decide whether demand for de jure rather than de facto power was sufficient to precipitate confrontation or whether he should go ahead and join the constitutional debate whilst consolidating his hold on Bangla Desh.

He must have realised by now that in any system controlled from Islamabad, provincial power has limited attractions. He has no control of domestic revenues, foreign exchange, or aid. He will also face the risk of veto once he passes his draft unless Yahya has realised that Six Points is the best of all evils he faces in his confrontation with Bangla Desh.

If Mujib can get Six Points carried he may possibly be able to contain his own hawks and keep the polity together. If however Yahya vetoes or Bhutto again sabotages the Assembly then Mujib will have no option but to seek a showdown on the streets.

With his middle-class base becoming progressively more irrelevant, he is becoming more dependent on the people to sustain his present confrontation and to lead any future movement. Here he will have to decide between leading their struggle in a full-fledged people’s war or making himself redundant in their next and final upsurge. l

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