12 May, 2015

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

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Boishakh 29, 1422, Rajab 22, 1436

BUET ASKED TO ALLOW EXPELLED BCL LEADERS

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 29

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www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

RAJEEB MURDER CASE IN CAMERON FACES RIGHTSPEEDY TRIBUNAL PAGE 5 WING REBELLION PAGE 9

Police probes miss the point

RU teacher murder mystery solved, Statements from police blame the unarmed protesters for making claim police the first move on law enforcers, triggering the clash

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Jamil Khan n Mohammad and Ashif Islam Shaon Police appear to be more serious about finding those who allowed protesters on Sunday to come “perilously” close to the police headquarters than about punishing the policemen who crossed the limits.

On Sunday, police in full riot gear charged truncheons, hurled tear gas cannisters and used water cannon to disperse a group of unarmed students who were protesting the force’s inaction in probing into the assault on women on Bangla New Year’s day.

Soon after the incident, mainstream and social media were flooded with photographs and news stories, portraying how policemen pounced on the unarmed protesters who were all members of the leftist student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra Union.

Photographs of one particular attack on a female leader of Chhatra Union – in which policemen are kicking and beating her with rifle butts and pulling her by the hair – drew the strongest criticisms.

Yesterday, Police Headquarters and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) formed two separate three-member probe bodies to look into the incidents.

Apparently moved by what they said was “negative” news published in the media, the committee formed at the police HQ was tasked with finding out if any of the policemen had done anything more than what they should have.

A press release, informing the formation of the committee, also termed the protesters “rowdy” and blamed the protesters for getting involved in a clash with law enforcers.

Meanwhile, the DMP, apart from forming a

Detectives now claim that Rajshahi University teacher Prof AKM Shafiul Islam was killed over a rivalry with a female officer of the accounts department, not by militants or members of Islami Chhatra Shibir.

The accounts officer, Nasrin Akhter, earlier told the Dhaka Tribune that she had never met the teacher, who was killed on November 15 last year in Rajshahi city’s Chouddopai area.

The matter of rivalry was first suggested by the Rapid Action Battalion and at the time police had not accepted the version.

“We have made a significant development in the investigation and hope to submit the report shortly,” Rajshahi DB Inspector Ashiqur Rahman, also the investigation officer, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He claimed that Prof Shafiul was killed over a conflict with the university’s accounts Section Officer Nasrin Akhter as he had misbehaved with her.

Elite force RAB and police so far arrested 18 people for their suspected link to the killing.

“We earlier saw a Facebook page named Ansar Al-Islam Bangladesh 2 and recently al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in a video message taking responsibility for the murder. But these are nothing but efforts to divert the case,” the DB official said.

He, however, did not give any specific answer in response to questions why they had arrested two persons for operating the Facebook page. Police then claimed that a Chhatra Shibir leader of Bogra had been behind creating the page. The investigators are yet to trace the Chhatra Shibir leader.

The Dhaka Tribune earlier published an exclusive interview of Nasrin and other staff at the accounts department. All of them said she had never met Prof Shafiul and that no one

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555 Bangladeshis among rescued boat people Myanmar denies refugees are from its shores, calling them ‘Bengalis’ Some 555 Bangladeshis and 463 Rohing- land, usually the initial destination in the ren Agencies ya will be handed over to the immigration gion’s people smuggling network, announced More than a thousand Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees, including dozens of children, were detained by Malaysia, police said, a day after authorities rescued hundreds stranded off the coast of Indonesia’s western tip.

PAGE 3 Bonya: Is Bangladesh the next Pakistan or Afghanistan?

department, police in Malaysia told Reuters yesterday.

The number of refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar headed towards Malaysia and Indonesia has spiked in recent days after Thai-

PAGE 6 No high school for eight villages

a crackdown on the trafficking.

Malaysia, one of South-east Asia’s wealthier economies, has long been a magnet for illegal immigrants from poorer countries in the region.

PAGE 9 Swedish Supreme Court rejects Assange appeal

Nearly 600 migrants thought to be Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis were rescued from at least two wooden boats stranded off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province on Sunday, authorities said.

The overcrowded boats, which were

PAGE 10 Delhi cop attacks woman with brick

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PAGE 32 What’s in a name?

A lot, it turns out

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2 NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

PM intends to visit enclaves n Tribune Report Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown interest in visiting the enclaves of Bangladesh during an informal discussion in the regular cabinet meeting yesterday.

The prime minister has asked the concerned ministry to ensure human rights, citizen’s rights to the Bangladeshis and also other facilities for the dwellers of the enclaves, said a minister present at the meeting to Dhaka tribune who preferred to be unnamed.

The minister said, the prime minister is aware of the inhuman life of the people of the enclaves. It is the government’s duty to take necessary steps for their overall development and the government will concentrate on that.

The cabinet member told the Dhaka Tribune: “The PM directed the related ministry to ensure welfare of the people of the enclaves, specially ensure health facilities and education. She instructed that roads be constructed for smooth communication and the homeless be provided shelter. She also talked about providing employment opportunities for them.” l

Cabinet okays forex regulation, Rabindra varsity acts n Shohel Mamun The cabinet has approved the final draft of the Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act 2015 and the draft of the Rabindra University Bangladesh Act 2015 in principle.

The acts were okayed at the regular weekly meeting of the cabinet held at the Secretariat yesterday.

Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting that the Bangladesh Bank and Financial Institutions Division had finalised the draft of the Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act by including two new provisions.

“One of the provisions is that Bangladesh Bank will have the discretion to ask the foreigners staying in Bangladesh and also Bangladeshi migrants working in other countries to submit their wealth statements.

“The other is that multinational firms and liaison offices of such firms will have to obtain permission from the Board of Investment (BOI) to operate in Bangladesh,” he said.

Foreign companies in Bangladesh previously needed separate permissions from both Bangladesh Bank and the BOI but the BOI from now on will be the only authority to give the permission and will have to send relevant documents to the central bank within 30 days.

The government in the past approved two amendments to the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in 2003 and 1976.

The cabinet secretary said Rabindra University Bangladesh would be established at Shahjadpur in Sirajganj.

He said studies at the university would chiefly focus on subjects related to the arts and culture. “But business, law, science and engineering courses will also be offered.” l

Finance minister: House rents may come under tax net n Tribune Report Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has said the government is considering imposing a tax on income derived from house rents and motor vehicles.

The finance minister, however, did not offer any details on the possible rates that might be applied.

In addition to this, corporate taxes on various sectors of the economy will come down in the coming fiscal year, he said.

“We will impose income tax on some portion of the income of owners which are derived from rental income and motor vehicles,” he told reporters.

He was speaking to members of the media following a pre-budget meeting with the members of 17 parliamentary standing committees at the state guest house Padma yesterday. He said lawmakers had demanded the imposition of the tax as the number of buildings and motor vehicles had increased substantially in recent times. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Police probe to miss the point probe committee of its own, suspended one of its members of the naik rank for “misbehaving” with the protesters. Naik Anisur Rahman from the Public Order Management of Mirpur zone was closed to the Rajarbagh Police Lines.

A DMP press release yesterday said that their three-member probe committee was tasked with finding out how “the leaders and activists of Chhatra Union had overcome so many barricades to come from Dhaka University to Minto Road, an important area where ministers live.”

The DMP release also asked the committee to find out the role that the on-duty policemen played when the protesters tried to “block vehicular movement” on Minto Road and “attacked the police personnel on duty and their vehicles.”

The DMP committee will also have to find out within seven days the kind of security measures taken by the Ramna Zone, the legal actions taken against the protesters for attacking police and the context of the “negative” news published in the media.

Writ seeks HC order

Meanwhile, a writ was moved with the High Court yesterday challenging the legality of Sunday’s police action on women activists.

The petition requested the court to issue an order on the government to take necessary steps against the policemen responsible for assaulting women during Sunday’s protest.

Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond moved the petition with the HC. He prayed the court to order the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident and find out whether human rights were violated during the police attack.

The petitioner told reporters that the HC may hear the petition today. l

RU teacher murder mystery solved, claim police saw them talking together on campus. They alleged that the law enforcers were trying to protect the real killers.

Who killed Avijit, Oyasiqur?

The Detective Branch of police officials dealing with secular writer Avijit Roy and activist Oyasiqur Rahman Babu murder cases are yet to determine who had killed the two men on February 26 and March 30 this year.

Even though they suspect Ansarullah members for the murders, the names of banned militant outfits Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Hizb ut-Tahrir also came up during the investigation.

The officials are now verifying the AQIS

video and the information given by the three arrestees in the Oyasiqur murder case.

Two of the trio arrested soon after the killing have links to Hefazat-e-Islam’s Hathazari Madrasa while one of them was arrested earlier in Narsingdi with JMB militants.

The only person arrested in Avijit murder case is Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, who had long been threatening the US citizen with death and spreading hate speech on Facebook and blogs.

Ansarullah leader Redwanul Azad Rana is believed to have masterminded the killing of Avijit. But he fled the country soon after the killing, though the police have declared bounty for his arrest.

Rana is also a charge-sheeted accused in the blogger Ahmed Rajeeb Haider murder in 2013.

Top US investigating agency FBI is assisting the DB police in the Avijit murder probe.

They have collected evidence and specimens from the crime scene and sent them to the US for lab tests. They are yet to place test reports.

When contacted, Saiful Islam, additional deputy commissioner of DB police, yesterday said they were yet to get any information from the arrestees about their outfit or its leader.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner and chief of DB police, said they had identified four to five people who might have killed Avijit but could not trace them. l

555 Bangladeshis among rescued boat people carrying nearly 100 women and dozens of children among the refugees, were towed to shore by fishermen after running out of fuel.

Myanmar disavows boat people

Myanmar authorities yesterday described Bangladesh as “the root” of the migrant crisis facing the region.

More than 1.3 million Rohingya, a stateless Muslim ethnic group viewed by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, live in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

Myanmar denies them citizenship, refusing to recognise them as one of the nation’s minority groups and labels them “Bengalis” shorthand for foreigners on their soil.

“The root of this problem is Bangladesh.

Bangladesh carries the major responsibility for this,” Zaw Htay, the director of the Myanmar’s president office told AFP, disputing the existence of a “Rohingya” minority in Myanmar.

“We do not accept that term,” he added.

Deadly communal violence between local Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in impoverished Rakhine in 2012 left some 200 dead and

tens of thousands - mainly Rohingya - trapped in squalid camps, setting off the exodus by sea.

The Rohingya say they can trace their ancestry in Myanmar back generations yet they remain expunged from the nation’s official narrative.

Many tens of thousands languish in fetid camps for the displaced, unable to work, attend school or access healthcare.

Deadly passage

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a clean up of suspected human trafficking camps around the country after 33 bodies, believed to be of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, were found in shallow graves in the south of the country, near Malaysia.

Over 100 refugees from the two countries were found wandering around in southern Thailand last week, apparently after they were abandoned by smugglers.

An estimated 25,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis boarded people smugglers’ boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many in the same period of 2014, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Most travel in rickety traffickers’ boats to Thailand, where they are held in squalid jungle camps until a ransom is paid.

An agency official estimated that around 300 people had died at sea in the first quarter of this year as a result of starvation, dehydration and abuse by boat crews.

First Admiral Maritime Zulkifli bin Abu Bakar, the head of criminal investigations in the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said the arrivals in Malaysia were a surprise and couldn’t say if they were linked to the Thai crackdown.

“We didn’t expect large numbers like this to come down,” he said.

Thai police spokesman Lieutenant General Prawut Thawornsiri said: “Yes, our crackdown is affecting the boats.

“They are going to Indonesia. Why else would they go to Indonesia? It is so far … Our job is to block the boats and not let them land on our shores.”

Of those rescued off Indonesia, around 50 were taken to hospital. “In general, they were suffering from starvation and many were very thin,” said North Aceh police chief Achmadi. l

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NEWS 3

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Buet asked to allow expelled BCL leaders in classes, exams n Tribune Report The High Court yesterday directed Buet authorities to allow four expelled students, also top leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League unit, to avail all academic facilities including attending classes and examinations.

The court also issued four separate rules upon the government and the country’s top engineering university to explain as to why the expulsion orders should not be declared illegal.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman came up with the order after hearing four separate writ petitions.

The students were expelled allegedly for assaulting Prof Jahangir Alam of civil engineering department on April 12 following his “provocative” remarks on Facebook over the execution of war criminal Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

The Buet Teachers’ Association also observed a week-long work abstention demanding punishment to the Chhatra League leaders while on April 16, a student named Siyam Hossain filed a sedition case against Jahangir for his remarks.

Lawyer for the students Sakib Rezwan Kabir said the Board of Residence and Discipline took the expulsion decision on April 20 and the Academic Council upheld it on May 2. They did not

mention the allegations brought against them.

Buet unit Chhatra League President Shubhra Jyoti Tikader and General Secretary Abu Syed Kanak were expelled for life, Protik Dutta for two semesters while Rahat Imtiaz Ratul from Ahsanullah Hall.

Following the court order, the expelled students can now continue pursuing their academic careers, the defence lawyer told reporters.

‘Withdraw expulsion order by today’

The Chhatra League central committee earlier threatened to paralyse the university if the expulsion orders were not withdrawn.

Yesterday, the central leaders threatened to

lay siege to the university for indefinite period over the same demand. They also demanded exemplary punishment for the teacher.

Addressing a solidarity rally at Buet Shaheed Minar, BCL President Bodiuzzaman Shohag said the institution should be made free from razakars and anti-liberation forces” He alleged that the expulsion order came as part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of Chhatra League and instead help the militants and extremist forces continuing their activities.

BCL General Secretary Siddique Nazmul Alam said: “The expulsion order must be withdrawn within today [yesterday], otherwise we will meet our demands by hook or by crook.” l

‘Is Bangladesh the next Pakistan or Afghanistan?’ n Reuters

A mother and a child wade through ankle-deep water as the Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka remains inundated due to the heavy deluge yesterday morning. Water-logging is a common problem for the residents of the area as the authorities are yet to take any permanent measure MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

In her first extensive interview taken by Reuters since the attack that killed her husband Avijit Roy, Rafida Ahmed Bonya criticised the Bangladeshi government for not responding more aggressively to her husband’s slaying.

“This was well planned, choreographed – a global act of terrorism,” she said. “But what almost bothers me more is that no one from the Bangladesh government has reached out to me. It’s as if I don’t exist, and they are afraid of the extremists.

“Is Bangladesh going to be the next Pakistan or Afghanistan?”

In an interview, Sajeeb Wazed, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said his mother offered private condolences to Roy’s father. But the political situation in Bangladesh was too volatile for her to comment publicly, he said.

“We don’t want to be seen as atheists. It doesn’t change our core beliefs. We believe in secularism,” he said. “But given that our opposition party plays that religion card against us relentlessly, we can’t come out strongly for him. It’s about perception, not about reality.”

Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation met most recently with Bonya in the United States on Friday, Bonya said.

In 2002, while in Singapore, Roy noticed a blog post from a US woman who wrote of religion: “I don’t understand how people can

JUTA demands expulsion of police officer for harassing university teacher n JU Correspondent Teachers of Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday organised a demonstration on the campus and formed a human chain protesting the alleged police assault on a varsity teacher and demanded expulsion of the guilty sergeant.

More than a hundred teachers under the banner of Jahangirnagar University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) formed the human chain at the campus Shahid

Minar at 10am.

They condemned the attack on Rakib Ahmed, professor of Jahangirnagar University’s journalism and media studies department.

JUTA President Professor Khabir Uddin said: “We are expressing grave concern over the assault on our colleague and urging the government to permanently suspend the accused police officer immediately.”

The agitating teachers later brought out a silent procession which paraded

through the university streets.

Professor Rakib Ahmed was reportedly assaulted by police sergeant Sheikh Imran Hossain in the capital’s Uttara on Saturday night.

As the news spread, JU students put up barricade on Dhaka-Aricha highway on Sunday afternoon and blocked off traffic for three hours.

The blockade was later withdrawn on the assurance of JU Vice-Chancellor Professor Farzana Islam to take necessary action. l

believe in fairy tales.” It was Rafida Ahmed, who would become his wife.

“A lot of people attacked me online for that post,” she recalled. “I was a tech manager in Atlanta at the time, a single mother. I was intimidated and didn’t respond. The next day, someone named Avijit Roy was defending me.”

They dated long distance for years, and he reluctantly moved from Singapore to Atlanta in 2006: Bonya would not leave the US until her daughter Trisha Ahmed completed high school.

Roy held a doctorate in biomedical research, but found it easier to get a lucrative job and a US visa as a software architect, his wife said.

After Trisha was in college, the couple, by then married and US citizens, decided to visit Dhaka. The two departed in mid-February.

“We knew that anything can happen in a country like that, and we took precautions,” Bonya said. “There was only one threat against him but we didn’t take it seriously.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gone.”

“We were really, really happy,” said Bonya, who had edited her husband’s books in Atlanta, but had not seen his influence first-hand in Bangladesh. “He had finally gotten to show me – in Bangladesh – how and why his work was so important.

“This looks much scarier than we originally thought,” Bonya said about how things are panning out. l

DT

4 NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

CU teacher accused of sexual harassment, no progress in probe n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong A month has passed since a female student filed an allegation of sexual harassment against a teacher at Chittagong University, but the probe committee formed to look into the complaint has yet to make any significant progress.

Sources at the CU said the university authorities formed a three-member committee headed by Professor Md Zakir Hossain of the law faculty on April 22, 10 days after a firstyear student filed the complaint against Mohammad Saidul Islam Sarkar, lecturer at the university’s Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries, with the institute’s director.

In the complaint, the student claimed that

Saidul asked her to enter an illegitimate relationship with him when she went to him seeking help to get a placement at the Pritilata Residential Hall, where Saidul was a house tutor.

“When I turned down his indecent proposal, he threatened to drive me out of the institute and spread rumours about me on the campus.

“He also threatened my father that I would not be able to survive in the university if I filed a written complaint against him,” the student said in the complaint.

She also mentioned that her family now felt unsafe due to the threats and demanded exemplary punishment for Saidul.

Mirza Fakhrul among BNP leaders indicted for violence Twin Tower) area – all having n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu occurred during a procession BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, among other BNP leaders and activists, was indicted for violence occurred on March 2, 2013.

Detective Branch Inspector Md Enamul Haque, also investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet yesterday with the Dhaka chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) court.

The charge sheet against the BNP men includes crude bomb charging, vandalising and torching vehicles, attacking on duty police at Shantinagar-Malibagh (in front of

in the capital on March 2, 2013.

The charge also named 35 prosecution witnesses.

Confirming the details, general recording officer of Dhaka CMM court Aminur Rahman said: “The charge sheet will be produced before the court on June 6 and further actions will follow.”

BNP standing committee members Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Goyeshar Chandra Roy, joint secretary general Amanullah Aman, vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman among other notable leaders were also accused in the case. l

REB aims to bring 90% rural areas under electricity coverage by 2018 behind the self-sufficiency in n Tribune Report food production that the counThe Rural Electrification Board is eying to bring up to 90% of the country’s rural areas under electricity coverage by 2018, directly benefitting 1.8 crore families.

The remaining 10% of the areas will be gradually brought under power coverage by the year 2021.

From 2009-2014, the REB got 4.1 million new consumers marking a 56% growth.

This follows the installation of 61,000km long new lines for transmitting 3,642MW of power in the rural areas.

This data was revealed in a convention of the REB titled “DGM Convention 2015” at its headquarters at Khilkhet in Dhaka recently.

REB Chairman Brig Gen Main Uddin, who presided over the programme, said: “The Rural Electrification Board has great contribution

try has achieved. REB officials have always worked very hard to ensure uninterrupted power for irrigation.”

The REB chief praised the government’s for passing 8-9 projects in the last seven months. “We are getting all kinds of cooperation from the government and we are confident that we have all the preparation to meet the target.”

The convention’s keynote paper said that by 2018, the REB will install 3,90,000km distribution line, raising transmission capacity to 14,300MVA. They will supply 5.4 million pre-paid meters, 200,000 solar irrigation pumps and reduce system loss to 9% and make more rural electricity associations profitable.

REB also aims to provide connection against all the pending applications. l

When contacted, the institute’s Director Shahadat Hossain said they did receive a complaint against Saidul from a student, and discussing the issue at the institute’s academic council several times, they forwarded it to the higher authorities in the university.

Later, the CU vice-chancellor formed the probe committee on April 22 and asked it to submit the report as soon as possible, CU Registrar Engineer Alamgir Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune.

When contacted, Prof Zakir told the Dhaka Tribune that the committee had planned a meeting, but it was postponed twice.

“We are having a meeting on Tuesday [today], and hopefully we will be able to submit

a report in a week,” he said.

Meanwhile, Saidul resigned from his house tutor post after the student allegedly filed a complaint with the hall provost.

However, when asked about it, Pritilata Hall Provost Professor Dr Mahbubul Haque denied receiving a complaint of sexual harassment and said Saidul had resigned stating personal reasons.

The Dhaka Tribune also contacted the accused, who refuted the allegation and said someone was conspiring against him to destroy his career.

Asked why he resigned from his post of house tutor, he said: “Because I had some family problems, nothing else.” l

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NEWS 5

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

What happened to Hamida Akhtar on Saturday? n Abid Azad back from Gazipur It was around 11am when Hamida Akhtar felt ill and went to her supervisor M Ratan Mia to seek leave for the day. But she was refused and allegedly rebuked.

“Refusing her plea, he told Hamida to go to the medical centre,” said a worker of the same section, seeking anonymity.

As her condition deteriorated, Hamida went to the toilet and fell unconscious. At that time, she had a miscarriage.

Later the factory authorities ensured her medical check-up and sent her to Shafipur Modern Hospital for treatment.

In the meantime, locals said Ratan was seen coming out of the factory’s rear gate with a shoe box. They first thought someone

was stealing shoes from the factory. As they approached, Ratan showed them the box in which the five-month-old foetus was kept.

Thus the incident came to light.

The parents and husband of Hamida too work at the same factory.

Apex authorities yesterday said they had no idea about Hamida’s pregnancy as she never told them about it. Hamida’s brother Laal Mia also said he did not know about her pregnancy.

When this reporter went to the hospital yesterday, its manager Abdul Majid first said Hamida had been discharged around 10am the previous day. But her neighbours near her house said she was still at the hospital.

Later, she was found at the hospital under constant supervision of the factory officials.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Hamida’s

elder brother Laal Mia claimed that she had been granted leave but the miscarriage occurred before she went home.

“It was merely an accident. It is nothing about negligence of the factory authorities; journalists rather exaggerated it. The factory is carrying all expenses for her treatment,” he said.

Media reports earlier alleged that she was denied leave and this led to her giving birth to a baby in the toilet that later died in Shafipur Modern Hospital.

Hospital Manager Majid said that Hamida had taken medicine to abort the foetus. Factory Assistant Manager (admin) Monir Hossain, who was at the hospital, confirmed this.

Apex Footwear in a rejoinder yesterday binned the media reports. The statement said Hamida first went to the factory’s medical

centre as she felt unwell but concealed her pregnancy. The doctors there suggested that she take some rest.

But after some time, she fell ill and rushed to the toilet where she had the miscarriage.

The victim’s brother claimed that she had been given a pain-killer by a nurse at the medical centre.

According to the authorities, Hamida joined the factory in 2013 and was well-known as a skilled worker. She had applied for maternity leave early last year and been granted it as per the law. She gave birth to a baby and resumed work after the maternity leave.

In September last year, she took a four-day leave as her baby was ill. “But she has never applied for maternity leave since last year,” the statement said. l

Blogger Rajeeb murder case Shajahan seeks cooperation at speedy tribunal in saving Dhaka canals n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The case filed over the killing of blogger Ahmed Rajeeb Haider has been shifted to Speedy Trial Tribunal 3, nearly two months after the indictment of Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani, chief of militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, and seven of his followers.

Special public prosecutor of the tribunal Md Mahbubur Rahman confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune about the transfer, saying they had received the gazette yesterday.

Earlier, the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court indicted the eight accused on March 18 and set April 21 for starting the trial. But upon a defence petition, the case was deferred until yesterday.

Three prosecution witnesses – Rajeeb’s father Dr Nazim Uddin, his cousin Kazi Galib, younger brother Newaz Mortuza Haider – appeared before the court yesterday for deposition.

“The Home Ministry on April 30 issued a gazette notification about transfer of the case for its quick disposal,” defence counsel Md Khairul Islam Liton told the Dhaka Tribune.

Of the accused, seven were produced before the court yesterday. Another accused, Redwanul Azad Rana, is suspected of having fled the country after coordinating the murder of another blogger, Avijit Roy, in February this year.

An architect and war crimes trial campaigner, Rajeeb, was hacked to death on February 15, 2013, near his Pallabi home. His father filed the case the following day. l

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has sought cooperation from Dhaka residents to keep the city’s canals free from illegal encroachment and ensure that the capital stay free of water stagnation during the monsoon.

He expressed hopes that 26 canals being used by the Wasa as the capital’s sewerage and drainage system – would soon be completely freed from illegal occupation.

Shajahan made the comments following an inspection of the city’s Ramchandrapur Canal and Kalyanpur Main Canal yesterday.

Applauding efforts by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), the minister said: “Following a directive from Prime Minis-

ter Sheikh Hasina, the authorities concerned have started development works for all the canals in the capital.”

Others present there included Housing Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Land Minister Shamsur Rahaman Sherif, State Minister for Rural Development and Co-operatives Division Mashiur Rahaman Ranga, and Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan.

Earlier in the day, the cabinet members also visited the Dhaka Wasa office to be briefed about the canal situation by Wasa officials.

As part of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Dhaka Wasa has taken steps to reclaim 26 canals from illegal occupation, for ensuring sustainable delivery of storm water drainage and wastewater disposal. l

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6 NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

No high school for eight villages n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria School-going children who live in Barikanda union under Nabinagar upazila, Brahmanbari are deprived off secondary level education as there in no high school at the locality.

Shah Jahan Sarker, chairman of the union council said: “A total of 30,000 people live in eight villages of the union and 2,500 students complete their primary education every year.”

“Theses students are deprived of secondary education as there is no high school in the area,” he said.

“Few of them go to Salimganj High School which is 5 kilometer away from here. Everyday a student has to count Tk100 as rickshaw fare and the maximum guardians have no ability to bear the cost. So, dropout is increasing rapidly,” he added.

According to sources, the union is situated at the east of the upazila. Of the 21 unions, Barikanda is deprived of mostly.

The people of Dharbhanga, Mukterpur, Nurjahanpur, Dulaiganj, Thollakandi, Barikandi, Kulasing and Sonabalia villages had urged the concern authority to build up a high school many times. But there was no ray of hope.

It is impossible to go to school regularly due to bad shape of roads and high cost Few years ago, former MP Abdul Latif had taken a step to build up a high school in the area.

But, after his death there was no discussion about it.

Aminul Islam of Thollakandi village said: “Maximum people in the area live under poverty line. They have no ability to send their kids to a long distance high school. If there is

Minor girl molested by 50-year-old man Correspondent, n Our Munshiganj A 3-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a man, a father of three children, at Uttar Hashara village in Sreenagar upazila yesterday.

Locals said Samad Bepari, 50, of the village had taken the girl to one Nurul Islam’s house in the evening luring her for watching television. He then confined the girl in a room and raped her.

Hearing screaming of the girl, locals went to the spot and rescued her. But Samad manged to flee the scene.

The girl was admitted to Sreenagar Upazila Health Complex in critical condition. Later, she was shifted to Dhaka Med-

ical College and Hospital as her condition deteriorated.

Soon after the incident, locals brought out a procession, demanding exemplary punishment of the rapist.

They said there were many allegations of sexual assault against Samad which he committed previously.

Two sons of Samad live abroad and they managed to free him from the allegations by providing money to the arbitrators, they added.

Mujibar Rahman, officerin-charge of Sreenagar police station said a case was filed against Samad for molesting the child.

Samad along with his family members went into hiding after the incident, he said. l

Goods-laden trawler capsizes in Meghna Correspondent, n Our Bhola A good-laden trawler capsized in the Meghna River after being hit by a storm in Chowmohuni area under Monpura upazila, Bhola yesterday morning.

Local sources said the trawler – MV Joy – started for Monpura on Sunday night, when the trawler reached near

Chowmohuni it was hit by a storm and sank instantly.

The sources said goods of a good number of traders at different kitchen markets in Monpura were being carried by the trawler.

Officer-in-Charge of Monpura police station told the Dhaka Tribune that the trawler had capsized near Tomuzzudin area. However, no casualty was reported in the capsize. l

a school in the area for them, it would a great benefit form them.”

Sohrab Hossain of Nurjahanpur said: “The communication in the area is not good at all.

The children do not want to go to Salimpur due to vulnerable situation of roads.”

Hasan Majnu of Muktarpur village said: “Maximum students stop their study after completing primary education due to absent of a high school.”

Jannat Akter Jui, Class VI student Salimganj High School who goes from Dharbhanga village said:“ It is impossible to go to school regularly due to bad shape of roads and high cost.”

Md Shah Alam, a physician said that a high school was urgently needed to spread the light of education in the area.

Officer in Secondary and Higher Education Abu Touhid said: “If anybody in the area takes steps to build up a high school, we will help him.” l

Woman strangled after rape in Natore n Our Correspondent, Natore A gang of unidentified miscreants strangled a woman after rape and damped her body at a crop field in Natore Sadar upazila in the early hours of yesterday.

Local people said they had noticed the body of Fahima Khatun, 30, daughter of Abdur Rahim of Telkupi village, at the field in the morning and informed police about the matter.

Ppolice recovered the body and handed it over to the family members after autopsy, said Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station.

He told the Dhaka Tribune that they were suspecting that the criminals had abducted the woman on Sunday night and later strangled her after rape.

“We already have arrested one Shariful for his alleged involvement with the crime. Further investigation is underway,” he said. l

DT

NEWS 7

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

RCC staff beaten by union leaders n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi A group of union leaders yesterday allegedly beat up Rajshahi City Corporation’s (RCC) acting accountant Owalid Hasan Mahmud Rana.

An official wishing anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that recently Jewel, a master-roll employee of RCC administration department, had been fired for his alleged involvement with different irregularities.

A group of employees led by Karmachari Union’s General Secretary Mamun had gone to the office of accountant in the morning and demanded dues of Jewel.

At one stage of altercation over the demand, employees started beating up acting accountant Rana and left his office immediately. They also vandalised the office.

Union leader Mamun said as a fellow of them has been fired without paying his dues, they gone to the accountant department to get the dues. He also said they had only altercation with the official.

Chief Executive officer of the RCC Ajhar Ali told the Dhaka Trbune, he was in a meeting during the incident and added he would take proper actions after looking into the matter.

He said account section knew well, whether Jewel was paid due salary or not. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

TUESDAY, MAY 12 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:32PM

SUN RISES 5:17AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

34

37

Chittagong

33

27

Rajshahi

37

26

Rangpur

33

24

Khulna

36

26

Barisal

34

26

Sylhet

32

23

Cox’s Bazar

33

27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.5ºC

18.5ºC

Mongla

Tangail Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr

3:55am

Sunrise

5:18am

Zohr

11:55am

Asr

4:33pm

Magrib

6:32pm

Esha

7:55pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Mayors vow to make Dhaka as clean and green city in 3 years n Tribune Report Dhaka will become a clean and green city within next three years. Also a coordination authority would soon be formed to resolve all the problems faced by Dhaka dwellers.

The newly elected mayors of Dhaka North and South City Corporations made these promises at a reception programme in the capital yesterday.

Speaking to the crowd at the event organised by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) at IDEB Bhaban in Kakrail, DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq sought everyone’s cooperation to turn Dhaka into a liveable and modern city.

He also assured of setting up close-circuit cameras at various points of the capital to ensure security.

“After two years, you will not face any problem regarding waste management. And in three years Dhaka will be clean and green,” Annisul said.

Addressing DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon, Annisul said DSCC owed Tk200 crore to DNCC. “But that money is not needed now.

We two will work together like brothers to resolve all the issues.”

Talking about freeing up the footpaths, Annisul said the hawkers would need to be rehabilitated. And about improving the traffic situation he said it was a structural problem that needed manifold interventions.

In his speech Mayor Sayeed Khokon said: “City corporation works depend on 20 ministries and 56 departments. So a coordination authority is needed to successfully implement the development projects. We will take the proposal to the Prime Minister and hopefully she would consider it.”

He further said free garbage bags would be distributed among 143,000 houses of DSCC and all the street lights would be repaired before the Ramadan begins.

Sayeed Khokhon also assured of opening up a help desk to register various complaints from the city dwellers. l

Annisul Huq and Sayeed Khokon, the newly elected mayors of Dhaka North and South City Corporations, receive a warm reception from the business community of the country at an event in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Pankaj Saran: Bangladesh-India ties get new dimension amid passage of LBA n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Pankaj Saran, Indian high commissioner in Bangladesh, said a milestone had been achieved in the friendly relations between Bangladesh and India amid the passage of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

“The two nations’ relationship gets a new dimension after the Land Boundary Agreement bill”, Pankaj said while speaking at a felicitation programme organised by Rajsha-

Rajshahi city Chhatra Dal GS quits politics n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Shah Mohammad Moinul Hossain Chowdhury Shanto, general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), Rajshahi city unit declared that he would quit from party politics.

Shanto also sent his resignation letter to his party’s high up yesterday afternoon.

Shanto confirmed the issue and told the Dhaka Tribune that he has decided to give up politics for personal grounds.

Several leaders of JCD Rajshahi city unit wishing anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that Shanto had quit politics after seeing BNP’s present condition. l

hi University authorities at Senate Bhaban yesterday.

Pankaj also informed that the final ratification of the historic Land Boundary Agreement will be forwarded to Bangladesh soon after completion of some internal procedures.

“Bangladesh is the trusted friend of India.

India always stood beside the people of Bangladesh as like it was beside in 1971 during Liberation War of Bangladesh, he added.

He said India government was also work-

ing to come up with a decision on Teesta River Water Sharing Agreement with Bangladesh to develop mutual relationship between the two nations.

Pankaj Saran stressed on the mutual of understanding for the development of education sectors of the two countries.

“Perhaps, we are now at a stage of relationship where the bond is beyond the government adding we want heartiest relations with the people of Bangladesh,” he said. l

DT

8 WORLD

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

‘Ex-intelligence man told US about Osama’s hideout’

Crowded bus falls into Kashmir gorge, killing at least 23 n AP

n Tribune Desk

The United States got to Osama bin Laden with Pakistan’s help, but disclosed the operation in a manner that made the country look like a villain, according to Seymour M. Hersh, an American investigative journalist and author.

“They helped. They totally helped. They helped a great deal,” said Mr Hersh when Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper asked him if he believed Pakistan helped the US reach the Al Qaeda leader.

Seymour Hersh is an award winning investigative journalist known for his reporting on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and for abuses at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War. In a story published in the London Review of Books on Sunday, Mr Hersh described the official US version of the so-called “Operation Neptune Spear” as a work of fiction, a fairy-tale.

He noted that the White House still maintains the mission was an all-American affair, and that senior generals of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were not told about the raid in advance.

“This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written

by Lewis Carroll (the author of “Alice in the Wonderland).”

In an interview to Dawn, Mr Hersh said the operation that ultimately led to Osama’s death began with a walk-in.

“In Aug 2010 a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer approached Jonathan Bank, then the CIA’s station chief at the US

A crowded bus veered off a rocky village road and fell into a deep gorge yesterday, killing at least 23 people in the India-held portion of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, police said.

The driver apparently lost control of the bus while negotiating a curve, police inspector general Danish Rana said.

At least 25 other people were injured in the accident. Rana said police had reached the area and were evacuating the injured.

The 48-seat public bus was traveling to the town of Uthampur when the accident happened near the village of Marotthi, more than 200 kilometers south of India-held Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in its entirety. l Osama bin Laden embassy in Islamabad. He offered to tell the CIA where to find (Osama) bin Laden in return for the reward that Washington had offered in 2001.”

The former intelligence official, Mr Hersh said, was a military man who was now living in Washington and working for the CIA as a consultant. “I cannot tell you more about him because it would not be appropriate.”

Mr Hersh rejected the suggestion that Osama bin Laden was living in his own hideout and was free to move around. “OBL was an ISI prisoner and never moved except under their supervision,” he said.

Mr Hersh said the Saudi government also knew about it and had advised the Pakistanis to keep him imprisoned.

INTERNET

The author said the ISI wanted him dead because “they did not want a witness.”

“The cover story trashed Pakistan. It was very embarrassing for them,” said Mr Hersh.

“Pakistan has a good army, not a bad army, but the cover story made it look bad.”

Mr Hersh also said that former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates disagreed with the cover-up story and wanted the US to respect the arrangement they had made with Pakistan.

“President Obama changed the game because he was running for re-election,” he said. “The two-hour delay in the speech was caused by an internal debate.”

Asked did his investigation show Pakistan as a villain or an ally, he said: “Total ally.” l

US defends record before top UN human rights body n AP, Berlin The United States heard widespread concern yesterday over excessive use of force by law-enforcement officials as it faced the UN’s main human rights body for a review of its record.

Its appearance before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is the second review of the US rights record, following the first in 2010.

A string of countries ranging from Malaysia to Mexico pressed the US to redouble efforts to prevent police using excessive force against minorities. l

Saudi King absent from US summit over Iran policy

Putin, Kerry to discuss Ukraine, Syria, Iran, US says

n Reuters, Dubai/Riyadh

n Reuters, Washington/Moscow

The Saudi king’s absence from a regional summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama shows how Gulf states, displeased by what they see as US indifference to Iranian meddling in the Arab world, may hesitate to bless any nuclear deal with Tehran.

Analysts and diplomats in the Middle East described King Salman’s decision to skip the meeting at Camp David this week as a snub, despite denials from US officials and some Saudi insiders.

Riyadh announced the monarch’s no-show on Sunday, only two days after the White House had said he would attend the summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states some of which have long doubted Obama’s commitment to confronting Iranian backing of Shi’ite Muslim militias across the region.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who has strong ties with the US political and security establishment, will represent Saudi Arabia at the May 13-14 gathering along with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the defense minister. Since Salman took power in January, the pair have determined

most aspects of Saudi policy.

The leading Gulf Arab power has complained for years that Washington does not take its concerns seriously. It thinks a focus on settling the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program has distracted the United States from more urgent problems.

“The conspiracy theorists of old have been proven right. The US creates threats for us and then offers us more weapons systems.

That does not bode well for us,” said Sami Alfaraj, a Kuwaiti security adviser to the six-nation GCC. Riyadh believes Iranian support for militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen is the biggest cause of regional instability, aggravating sectarian tensions, undermining strong government and boosting Sunni Muslim jihadists.

The Saudis fear Obama sees a settlement between the world powers and Tehran as his legacy. Such a deal on the nuclear program - which the West believes may be aimed at building weapons despite Iranian denials could lift international sanctions without taming the country’s regional ambitions, they think. l

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine and other issues, the United States said yesterday in a statement that made no mention of their deep disagreements.

Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest ebb since the end of the Cold War because of Moscow’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its backing for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The West has imposed economic sanctions on Russia, triggering retaliatory measures by Moscow.

The US State Department announced the talks and indirectly alluded to the disagreements, saying the trip aimed “to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure US views are clearly conveyed.”

The two sides plan to discuss Syria, where they disagree on how to end the civil war engulfing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Iran, where they are seeking an agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear program by June 30,

the State Department said.

The Russian foreign ministry also announced Kerry’s visit to the Black Sea resort but said nothing about his meeting Putin, saying he would see Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and blaming Washington for many global problems.

Russia denies Western and Ukrainian accusations that it is arming the pro-Russian separatists battling the government and supporting them with its own military forces. More than 6,100 people have been killed since April 2014 in the Ukraine crisis.

Washington has raised the possibility of providing arms to help Ukrainian government forces, but key European countries such as Germany remain opposed to this.

In a sign of Western displeasure over Ukraine, the leaders of the United States, Germany, and France skipped a military parade in Moscow on Saturday marking the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.

“Russia-US relations are undergoing difficult times caused by Washington’s purposeful unfriendly actions,” the Russian foreign ministry said. l

DT

WORLD 9

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Despite majority, UK’s Cameron faces Conservative rebellion n AP, London Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives may have won the British election and ushered their coalition partner out the door, but that doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing for his government for the next five years.

With influential Euroskeptics clamoring in his own party and a very slim majority in Parliament, Cameron will have a hard time tackling the big headaches looming over his second term: Britain’s membership in the 28-nation European Union and the growing movement for Scottish independence.

Cameron’s Conservatives won an unexpected majority in last week’s election, ensuring that he returns to 10 Downing Street with enough power to govern alone. Within hours of declaring victory Friday, Cameron re-appointed his four highest-ranking ministers — those heading defense, the Treasury, home and foreign affairs — to their posts. No big surprises are expected when the rest of the new, all-Tory Cabinet is unveiled this week.

The Conservatives now have a tiny majority — holding just over half of the House of Commons’ 650 seats — meaning that a dozen defiant Tories could potentially derail important policies.

Rebellion has long simmered in the Conservatives’ more right-wing factions, where many want Britain to pull out of the EU. The presence of the pro-EU Liberal Demo-

Moroccan warplane apparently downed before cease-fire n AP, Sanaa Shiite rebels in Yemen claimed Monday to have shot down a Moroccan F-16 fighter jet taking part in a Saudi-led coalition targeting them and their allies in the Arabian Peninsula nation.

Morocco’s military, however, only would say that the jet had gone missing around 1500 GMT Sunday.

The purported downing of the jet fighter came as a Saudi-owned news channel, al-Hadath, aired live footage of tanks and armored personnel carriers loaded onto giant trucks, saying they were part of a “strike force” deploying to the kingdom’s border with Yemen. There have been no signs to suggest that a ground offensive was imminent, although the coalition has not ruled one out. l

British Prime Minister David Cameron poses for a photograph with newly-elected Conservative party members of parliament at the Houses of Parliament in central London yesterday AFP crats in the government meant that such a move had been out of the question for the past five years.

Radical Conservatives also disagree with their more moderate colleagues over how to deal with the question of Scotland, where the separatist Scottish National Party gained an unprecedented landslide victory in the race for seats in the British Parliament, winning 56

of Scotland’s 59 seats.

Cameron and those who back him will do everything to keep Scotland’s centuries-old union with England, but some Conservatives are leery of ceding too much power to the north without getting reciprocal benefits for England.

The infighting over those two issues is likely to come to a head in the next two years. l

Swedish Supreme Court rejects Assange appeal n AFP, Stockholm Sweden’s Supreme Court said Monday it had rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against his arrest warrant for alleged rape and sexual assault.

Sweden issued the arrest warrant in 2010 following allegations from two Swedish women, one who claimed rape and another who alleged sexual assault.

The Australian former hacker has been ensconced in Ecuador’s embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to the Scandinavian country.

“The Supreme Court notes that investigators have begun efforts to question Julian Assange in London. The Supreme Court finds no reason to lift the arrest warrant,” it said in a statement.

Swedish prosecutors offered in March to question Assange in London, dropping their previous demand that he come to Sweden to answer to the allegations, making a significant U-turn in the case that has been deadlocked for nearly five years.

Assange, who faces arrest if he tries to leave the Ecuadorian embassy, has always vehemently denied the allegations and insisted the sexual encounters were consensual.

He has refused to travel to Sweden because he fears the country would send him to the United States, where an investigation is ongoing into WikiLeaks’ release in 2010 of 500,000 classified military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables which embarrassed Washington. Assange has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in London, his lawyers said last month. l

Britain’s UKIP says it rejects party leader’s resignation n AP, London The UK Independence Party says the resignation of Nigel Farage as party leader has been rejected and he remains in the post.

The announcement yesterday came three days after Farage said he was stepping down

following his failure to win a seat in Britain’s Parliament.

The party said its national executive committee refused to accept the resignation.

The leader of the rightwing party was beaten in his bid for the seat representing the South Thanet constituency.

UKIP only won one seat in the British Parliament but got roughly 13 percent of the vote.

The party is known for its call for Britain to withdraw from the European Union and greatly reduce the number of immigrants arriving in the country. l

Libyan military shells Turkish cargo ship, crew member killed n Reuters, Benghazi Forces loyal to Libya’s internationally recognized government said yesterday they shelled a Turkish ship off the Libyan coast after it was warned not to approach, and one crew member was killed in what Turkey described as a “contemptible attack.”

Libya is in a state of violent factional chaos with two rival governments backed by various armed groups vying for control of the oil-producing North African state including its ports, four years after rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

The dry cargo ship was targeted about 10 miles from the coast on Sunday after it was told not to break a ban on approaching the eastern city of Derna, Libyan military spokesman Mohamed Hejazi told Reuters.

The forces of Libya’s internationally recognized government have said they will hit any ships approaching Derna to stop supplies getting to Islamist militants based there.

The Turkish foreign ministry said the vessel was shelled as it approached the nearby Mediterranean port of Tobruk and then attacked from the air as it tried to leave the area.

“We condemn strongly this contemptible attack which targeted a civilian ship in international waters and curse those who carried it out,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Ankara had protested to the authorities in Libya.

The third officer on the Cook Islands-chartered Tuna-1 vessel died and other crew members were wounded in the attacks, according to the Turkish statement. l

Teenager charged with plotting terrorist act in Australia n AP, Melbourne A 17-year-old boy arrested last week when police allegedly found three homemade bombs in his family home in Australia’s second-largest city appeared in a children’s court yesterday charged with terrorism offenses.

The boy, who as a juvenile suspect cannot be publicly identified, was remanded in custody after a brief court appearance in a Melbourne Children’s Court during which he was charged with planning a terrorist act somewhere in Victoria state and with possessing items connected with a terrorist act.

He faces a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Attorney General George Brandis told the Senate that the boy was the 23rd person to be charged in eight counterterrorism raids in the east coast cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Logan since September when Australia’s terrorist threat alert was raised to the second highest level on a four-tier scale due to the unprecedented threat posed by the Islamic State movement.

The boy did not enter a plea and did not apply for bail. His next court appearance is May 26.

The boy sat in the dock flanked by police during the hearing. None of the boy’s family appeared to be in the courtroom. l

DT

10 WORLD

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Delhi cop attacks woman with brick after altercation on road n Agencies A Delhi Police head constable was yesterday dismissed from service after a video of him attacking a woman with a brick in the posh Golf Link area of central Delhi went viral.

Satish Chand was arrested and a criminal case was filed against him.

The victim, who was riding a two-wheeler,

alleged that Chand demanded a bribe accusing her of violating traffic rules. She alleged that her small child was also abused by the cop.

She said that following an argument, the cop picked up a brick and attacked her.

“Seeing the gravity of the deplorable criminal misconduct of hitting a lady with a brick, Head Constable Satish Chand has been dismissed from service with immediate effect,”

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said Dr Mukesh Chander, special commissioner in Delhi Police, traffic.

“On behalf of myself and Delhi Police, I want to express my regret. We will investigate the matter,” said Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi.

The victim alleged that Chand accused her of violating traffic norms and started abusing her after she refused to pay bribe, insisting that a receipt of the fine he was

demanding be issued to her.

The woman was also seen in the video picking up a brick which she threw on the ground.

The woman also alleged that her two-wheeler was damaged in the incident.

Kamal Kant, who recorded the video of the incident, said the woman “told me that traffic cop stopped her as she crossed red light and asked for Rs 200 as penalty.” l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Police must answer to the public for brutality

T

he brutality shown by the police outside DMP HQ on Sunday is utterly unacceptable.

At least 25 people were injured when police charged batons against the students who were protesting the failure by authorities to effectively follow up leads on those responsible for the series of sexual assaults at Dhaka University during Pohela Boishakh celebrations.

It is one thing to dispense an unruly crowd, it is quite another to use the kind of excessive and disproportionate force that the police did.

Even worse were the vicious assaults on unarmed and defenseless individual protesters. There must be zero tolerance for this kind of atrocity, and those guilty of it have no business being in uniform.

It is inexcusable that police should behave in such a manner. The protest organisers have been peacefully demonstrating on this issue for weeks. Their demonstration on Sunday was legitimately organised and announced in advance.

Many questions are raised by the disproportionately violent manner in which the police dispersed this demonstration, which led to dozens of people being injured, including five police officers.

Nobody, not just innocent protesters. should have to endure such a disproportionate use of force.

Most important of all, there is the basic matter of how the police treats the public. Law enforcers must remember that they are public servants.

Members of the public have a right to hold the police to account for the failure to bring the Pohela Boishakh attackers to justice. The police’s inability to prevent crime occurred on Bangla New Year is bad enough. Their evident inability or unwillingness to bring the perpetrators to justice raises the issue of just what it is they are good for.

We got an answer on Sunday: Not much except for brutally assaulting law-abiding citizens exercising their democratic rights.

The police must remember they are public servants and people have a right to demonstrate peacefully

Greening factories boost jobs

W

e welcome the growing number of investments being made by Bangladeshi RMG companies in making factories more environmentally friendly.

The Ginat Group’s latest venture includes state-of-the-art environmentally friendly energy-saving and water-saving technolgies as part of a new fully vertically integrated composite knit unit designed to produce 25 tonnes of fabrics a day.

It is encouraging to see this investment which will reduce carbon emissions as well as saving water being supported by Spain’s Zara-Inditex, one of the world’s largest apparel retailers, with the help of the IFC backed Partnership Agreement on Cleaner Textiles (PACT) program.

The new unit is equipped with a fullfledged biological ETP solution that can be used to recycle effluents and convert it to organic fertiliser.

Other large RMG manufacturers, including ABA Group, Envoy Textile and Viyellatex have been undertaking similar initiatives to build greener factories.

Although such moves have typically involved higher upfront costs, the companies’ investments in purpose-built green factories is justified by reducing long-term maintenance costs and increasing their attractiveness to global buyers and consumers.

As consumers all around the world and leading brands are placing ever more importance on good factory environments and environmental sustainability, more such initiatives will help enhance the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products in the global marketplace.

The government should do more to promote the building of such factories by supporting tax incentives and allowing more duty-free import of equipment required to establish eco-friendly factories.

Environmental investments bring long-term benefits

Be heard

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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Chhatra League reins in its women April 20

Dev Saha What a shame! I am not surprised that certain BCL members might be involved in assaulting girls and women, and that is why they are very much allergic to protests done by their own female members? I am truly troubled. anonymous AL leaders know all too well that BCL is guilty as charged. Death threats to Moja Losss? and all those who are sharing the truth make it evident that they will go to any lengths to suppress and spin the news of the assault.

The people have no confidence in the government, the police, or the judiciary to bring about justice in our land. It’s high time people rose up and brought about the change we want to see by ousting thugs and goons from our executive and administration, or else all hope is lost.

Samiha Saan I think the prime minister should get

involved with this! Such incidents gives us a negative image. It can also affect our economic growth.

Being a woman herself, she would surely sympathise with the women. Some of the people are arguing and blaming the girls for wearing saaris, which aroused the men, but let’s not forget that the sari is a traditional wear in Bangladesh and their moms/sisters/ grandmothers probably wear saris or wore a sari for this joyous day. How can someone ruin this happy occasion of Bangladesh! ... #iwillnotbesilenced Pilatesbabe “Its women,” surely, even the most arrogant BCL thug doesn’t actually say they own women. Though I am not sure if some of them are above slave-dealers.

Seira Why am I not surprised?

Anon This needs to stop!

DT Boishakh sexual assault: Who are they in CCTV footage?

Change attitudes to fight sexual harassment

Ahad Chowdhury Dev Saha: Looked like rats unleashed on to something. Find their roots. Place the blame where it ought to be. This is not a democracy. This is a “democrazy” run by goons and thugs.

April 20 Rainbow While I have always considered changing public attitude and social perception about women’s position leading to mitigating discrimination and other harmful acts, including social harassment, I started reconsidering this thought of mine, particularly in the Bangladeshi context.

Besides the change of public attitude, there is an immense need to change the law and law-enforcement bodies. I noticed a significant response from the Bangladeshi people condemning the incident of sexual harassment at TSC, then constant death-threats are being flooded towards those speaking out!

Moja losss?’s situation is really disappointing. When the public can’t rely on the police and judiciary system, they encounter more obstacles to stand against violence.

The process of changing attitude becomes gravely challenging!

Dev Saha Ahad Chowdhury: Power has totally corrupted these people. It seems like they are not even thinking about tomorrow.

How could these people commit such vulgarity in the name of Bangabhandhu? I am appalled.

Ana Double standards about women have to go.

It’s not just sexist attitudes which have to be fought. Class snobbery and spoilt-brattedness sees many wealthier women who read about feminism but refuse to take buses and are too lazy to walk.

April 19

rose These thugs ought to be hanged.

Dev Saha Put these animals behind bars!

DT

12 OPINION

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

What can we learn from Greece? n Sushovan Dhar

T

he contemporary Greek tragedy of high sovereign indebtedness and the ensuant “austerity” measures have very few historical parallels. Ever since the debt crisis erupted, the infamous troika --- the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission -- its principal lenders spared no time in prescribing austerity measures as the panacea for all evils and linked it to bailout.

These measures included above anything else deep budget cuts and steep tax increases. Additionally, it also warranted an overhaul of the Greek economy by streamlining the government, ending tax evasion and making the country an investor’s paradise.

Even if we desist from reading the sub-text, we can’t ignore the impacts of these so-called austerity measures.

Austerity and debt

A study by the German Institute for Macroeconomic Research (IMK) affiliated with the Hans Böckler Foundation reveals some genuine benefits of the so-called austerity measures. First, there has been an unprecedented and drastic increase of poverty.

The poorest families lost nearly 86% of their income, while the richest had to part only 17-20%. Why not? Isn’t it common sense that the poor are poor because they are lazy! And, they don’t like to work and live off state-subsidies while the rich strive hard for each and every penny! Again, the tax burden on the poor increased by 337% while upper-income classes registered an increase by only 9%. The report also indicates around 25% income reduction of the Greek families, deep wages cuts, surge of unemployment, forced early retirements, etc.

There is no doubt that the poor, the low-income groups, the low-pension earners and even the unemployed had to suffer disproportionately, thanks to Troika’s prescription.

The bailout that the Greeks received for being such obedient pupil of the Troika was hugely insufficient to take care of the country’s need. Greece’s economic problems have only exacerbated. The economy has contracted by a quarter in the five years while unemployment is ticking above 25%.

The bailout amount was utilised to pay-off Greece’s outstanding external debt rather than strengthening the economy. And further loans are required to pay off the earlier ones.

The rules of indebtedness and bailout are such that the biggest chunk of money from the lenders directly goes back to them. Leonidas Vatikiotis, a Greek economist alleges that 92 % of the 255bn Euro loans received by Greece between 2010 and 2014 would go back into the vaults of the banks and the creditors, with only the remaining 20bn Euro remaining for the Greek budget to cover the country’s financial needs.

According to Jubilee Debt Campaign, the IMF has made a profit of Euro 2.5bn by lending to Greece since 2010. If Greece repays the IMF fully, the latter’s profit could almost double to Euro 4.3 bn by 2024.

REUTERS

While the Greek government should look at Ecuador, could the governments in our region look at Greece for inspiration?

reality, the Troika loans were mostly used between 2010-2012 to ensure sustainability of the private banks of the major European economic powerhouses, starting with the French and the German banks.

Hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny -- these three words aptly defines the Troika’s act.

The banks had lent to an insolvent state and the Troika came to the formers rescue. These avaricious banks could dump their risks on the shoulders of the Greek people with the active help of this sorcerer’s apprentice.

Greek reply

Let us look at the Troika’s macro-economic management. In 2009, at the onset of the issue, Greek external debt stood at 113% of the country’s GDP. With the Troika’s intervention and the imposition of the infamous Memorandum in 2010, the debt figures soared to 175% of GDP in 2014.

This is not the only shock in the whole story! The European Commission proclaim that: “Since May 2010, the Euro area member states and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been providing financial support to Greece through an Economic Adjustment Program in the context of a sharp deterioration in its financing conditions.

The aim is to support the Greek government’s efforts to restore fiscal sustainability and to implement structural reforms in order to improve the competitiveness of the economy, thereby laying the foundations for sustainable economic growth.” While in

Three months back, hope arrived in Greece when Syriza was elected on the basis of its anti-austerity program. This radical left party faces numerous challenges on its way to break with Europe’s austerity policies.

In this David versus Goliath story, uneven forces test their strength. While the Greek government endure a terrible liquidity crisis, the Troika seizes this chance to arm-twist the new government and reassert its authority.

The Greek government has also resorted to a number of confusing announcements, sometimes contradictory. Instead, of refreshing rains in this bleak and arid scenario, the Greeks confront the Troika hanging like Damocles’ sword. While the long winter nights stretches longer, the Troika seems hell bent on punishing the Greek electorate for choosing the “outcast Syriza.”

Debt audit

This spring certainly brought some hope for the Greeks as we witnessed for the first time in Europe an initiative for debt audit with citizens’ participation. A committee was

created by the Greek parliament whose first session was inaugurated by the speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou on April 4. The committee composed of 30 members -- 15 from Greece and 15 outside -- would establish illegal, illegitimate, unsustainable and odious debt.

The major challenge is to analyse the Greek debt contracted from the mid-90s till date. It is important to verify the debts and ascertain their nature -- illegal, illegitimate, odious or unsustainable. The Troika or its components -- ECB, EU, European Stability Fund and 14 European countries lending money to Greece since 2010 -- holding around 80% of the Greek public debt are for sure not very happy with this development.

Although the final call about the repudiation of illegitimate, illegal, or odious debt rests on the Hellenic government and not the commission. The latter could help them by auditing the debt and bringing out the truth to the Greek population and the government. The results can also help in creating an international public opinion which would certainly be very important in confronting the creditors.

The Greek government can look at the Ecuadorian experience for inspiration.

The findings of the Ecuadorian debt audit commission set up in 2007 helped its president Rafael Correa to repudiate and renegotiate the terms of a large part of the debt deemed as illegal, illegitimate, odious, and unjust.

While the Greek government should look at Ecuador, could the governments in our region look at Greece for inspiration? l Sushovan Dhar is an activist.

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OPINION 13

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

The road to 2021 n Harunur Rashid

B

angladesh wants to become a middle-income country by 2021. However, the political instability which plagues the country could very well hamper the goal that the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh set on May 2.

For us to reach this goal, the required industrial contribution of 35% of GDP needs to be achieved first. But if political turmoil continues in the future, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve this within the set timeframe.

Beyond question, any turmoil will cause more prolonged and harmful effects on the country. To overcome these obstacles, everyone must work together to achieve the high GDP growth of 8.5%. It currently stands at 6.3%.

Five years ago, the industry contributed 22% of the GDP, with it growing to 28% last year. Now, the per capita income is $1,190, which needs to go up to $1,450 for us to achieve the vision similar to middle-income countries.

This year, the government has set a target for a 7% growth rate. The required investment is 34.3% of GDP, with our nation lagging 7-8% behind as estimated by the Asian Development Bank. The organisation believes that investment is not expected because the country’s growth rate has been stagnant.

The World Bank estimated that the remittance of income and individual economic growth this year will be useful for the recovery of this business organisation.

Despite the global recession, which has lasted over the last few decades, the economy has maintained a 6% growth rate.

Uninterrupted power supply due to constant growth, demand for improved transport, and telecommunications services and procedures have been established to improve infrastructure.

On the other hand, the influential planning minister said the government was going to prepare the seventh five-year-plan to shift the country’s economy to be more investment-driven.

We want a change in production, and the seventh five-year-plan would focus both on internal and external investment to achieve the GDP growth rate of 8-10%. The targets which are yet to be achieved will be fulfilled through the plan.

The seventh five-year-plan (2016-2020) aims to work out the operational details of how the country should move forward. The execution has to be unique.

In recognising the importance of and the challenges facing the task, a plan management office at the planning commission may be established to lead, guide, and co-ordinate the execution of the plan.

An independent Vision 2021 council can be created to continuously refine the vision and the prospective plan and track progress in an objective manner to meet the need for independent, continuous tracking of progress and to provide feedback to inform policy formulation and decision-making.

The implementation of the prospective

plan -- to develop the nation into a middle-income country by 2021 -- requires the full commitment of will, skill, and resources from all stakeholders. The government is required to make long-term thinking a central element of the decision-making process and service culture.

Due to the unrest over the last six months, the officials concerned -- even field-level workers -- faced difficulties in carrying out their activities. In this regard, the BNP-Jamaat coalition should have started realising that politics is for the sake of the common people.

The government cannot achieve this goal by itself.

We need to properly utilise the vast 70 million-strong labour force that we have

Killing can never be a part of politics. In addition, the ultimate goal should be to boost economic growth, move the country ahead, and ensure good governance. Everyone, including the government, BNP, and others, should realise this and show their support to the planning minister.

Moreover, the honourable planning minister should sit with the planners, economists, businessmen, members of the civil society, and cultural personalities in phases to chalk out his next course of action.

It is a collective effort in which the private sector, civil society, and all other stakeholders should share responsibility to reshape the nation’s future. The consultative process in formulating the plan must continue throughout the implementation since Vision 2021 is not a destination itself, but a journey.

The government cannot achieve this goal by itself. We need to properly utilise the vast 70 million-strong labour force that we have.

Only then -- coupled with a good government policy, and environmental and political stability -- can we speed up industrialisation and create employment opportunities for millions.

So, considering our national and financial constraints and the huge pressure for employment, we should focus on small and medium-level, export-oriented industries.

We believe it is our masses who will decide whether we are marching forward to achieving this goal.

Harunur Rashid is Assistant Deputy Secretary, BKMEA.

BIGSTOCK

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14 OPINION

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

REUTERS

Thank you, Mr Modi n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

W

hen Narendra Modi was elected as the Indian prime minister, people of Bangladesh were sceptical of India’s possible role in Bangladesh, since some comments made about top BJP leaders during the pre-election campaign had already created a sense of unease.

But Modi, in his first state program, buried all such apprehension by inviting the South Asian countries’ heads of state. In his speech, he clearly said his vision was to establish sound friendships with his next-door neighbours.

His statements, however, could not assure the people of our country as Congress had been a tested friend of Bangladesh, while BJP was not.

His willingness to strengthen ties with his neighbours once again surfaced when he telephoned the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan heads of state on the very first day of the ICC World Cup 2015.

But the situation was completely reversed when the supply of cows from India had stopped completely.

All of a sudden, things took a dramatic turn as the LBA was approved in the cabinet.

Then, the very next day, it was passed in the Lok Sabha and then in the Rajya Sabha.

The much anticipated and long overdue agreement was ratified at lightning speed, and people could not even predict what was going on.

The most significant point of the ratification was that it was passed without any

opposition, and no criticism was found on either side. This ratification showed us that India valued humanity, going beyond political considerations.

As Bangladesh has long been pressing for the settlement of pending issues with its next-door neighbour, the Indian move is expected to ease the politics in South Asia on many counts.

The most significant point is that around 50,000 people of the enclaves can now breathe fresh air. None will be born or die stateless

It comes as a gesture of goodwill from an “elder brother,” and not a “big brother” as termed by the Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj.

Bangladesh has always been a very important factor for Indian diplomacy because of its northeastern states. Part of the Indian support during the Bangladesh Liberation War was also rooted in the protection of the Indian seven sister states. Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina’s steps for Indian security concerns in the seven sister states caused India to think positively about Bangladesh and the ratification was a great return on Hasina’s initiative.

The dispute over the demarcation of the international boundary, exchange of enclaves and land, would have been resolved much earlier had the political leaderships in both countries been sincere enough even after the signing of the Land Boundary Agreement between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi in 1974.

Bangladesh ratified the agreement soon after the signing of the agreement, but unfortunately the deal remained elusive as the Indian politicians could not get it ratified.

None of the Indian prime ministers worked towards moving a bill in parliament as India saw high-profile leaders like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, Chandra Shekhar, PV Narasimha Rao, HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujral, and Atul Bihari Vajpayee had forgotten the agreement.

On the other hand, Bangladeshi leaders like Ziaur Razhman, HM Ershad, and Khaleda Zia, who ruled the country for over 21 years after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family in 1975, did not pursue the matter either.

It all came about when the former Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, visited Bangladesh in September 2011 and signed a protocol for the implementation of the LBA. The Congress-led coalition government raised hope after it moved a constitution amendment bill in parliament later that year.

But it got stuck with protests from the

opposition parties, including the BJP, and leaders from states neighbouring Bangladesh. And it was thought that the implementation of the LBA was all but buried.

Since partition in 1947, people of enclaves have passed horrible times. Their sufferings cannot be narrated in words. Only an extremely remarkable writer can come close to projecting their sufferings.

Modi really behaved like an elder brother.

Usually, in Bangladesh, when one goes to a relative’s house, the person brings along some sweets or gifts. In a similar fashion, the Modi government has done this prior to Modi’s visit to Dhaka. After the ratification, it was learnt that Modi is expected to visit Dhaka in June.

The most significant point is that around 50,000 people of the enclaves can now breathe fresh air. None will be born or die stateless in the enclaves. Though some five decades have gone, they now have their identities.

People of Bangladesh remember Congress for their roles in the Bangladesh Liberation War. And from now on, the people of Bangladesh will remember the Modi government for their courageous step for ratifying the LBA in parliament.

Modi certainly behaved like an elder brother, and for this I must salute him.

Thank you Mr Modi and colleagues, for taking these steps towards the betterment of your next-door neighbour Bangladesh. l Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is a political reporter at the Dhaka Tribune

16

Eurozone set to report solid growth for a change

17

China becomes world’s top crude buyer despite economy stuttering

19

Stocks rise after savings certificate rate cuts

20

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Business

15

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Carmudi: Bangladesh 3rd costliest place to buy Toyota Corolla

Disability forum seeks Tk4,500cr fund in FY16 budget n Tribune Report

Two foreign buyers inspect Bangladeshi denim products at the two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo which began yesterday in Dhaka

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Tofail: TICFA fails to bring benefits n Tribune Report Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) has turned into a meaningless arrangement as the country is yet to reap any trade facility from the US government, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said here yesterday.

“Despite Bangladesh signed the TICFA, we are yet to get any sort of trade and investment benefits from the USA government under the framework,” he told the inaugural ceremony of a two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo held at a city hotel.

The exhibition kicked off with an aim to fetch US$7bn of the brand fabric’s global market share within 2021.

“It would be meaningless until and unless we can achieve something under TICFA, which has already become a platform for nothing but holding meetings only,” Tofail said.

Strongly criticising the US government for not restoring the GSP facilities, Toail said, “Unfortunately we did not get any trade and investment benefit from the US government in the last five years, rather it suspended Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of our products to the US market even after the signing of the TICFA.” EU Head of Delegation and Ambassador

to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon said, “It’s not only about prices, rather the European consumers are very much directly connected with Bangladeshi workers and that is why we had reacted very strongly two years back.”

He repeatedly called for compliance with the conditions set in the sustainability compact signed to improve workplace safety and workers’ rights in the RMG sector.

Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Pierre Laramee said, “Price and quality are no longer factors for the Canadian customers.”

Rather, what the customers want is that the workers are respected, treated with dignity and their rights and safety ensured, he added.

Regarding denim, he observed: “As denim has tremendous potentials, investment is necessary to grab more market share. Bangladesh Denim can play a lead role in achieving the US$50bn target.”

Criticising Accord’s recent activities in connection with the termination of workers in a factory, BGMEA President MdAtiqul Islam accused the Accord’s Executive Director Rob Wayss of over exercising his power, which is beyond his jurisdiction.

He also alleged that Wayss asked the factory owner to re-appoint the sacked workers, or

else, he warned the owner of blacklisting the factory by its buyers.

Twenty-five exclusive denim and jeans manufacturers and enterprises from the USA, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, China, San Marino and Bangladesh are taking part in the exposition.

“The show aims not only to promote denim trade in Bangladesh but also to encourage greater business practice to raise the living standard of the people in the country,” said Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd and also organiser of the Expo MostafizUddin.

According to the industry insiders, Bangladesh is the second largest denim exporter in European markets while it is holding the third largest position in the USA market.

Around 400 factories are exporting nearly 180 million pieces of denim jeans to the world.

Bangladesh currently has 25 denim producing factories with total investment of over $834m.

After this show, the next Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held on November11-12 this year. l

The National Forum of Organisations Working with the Disabled (NFOWD), the national platform for the organisations working for the betterment of persons with disabilities, has sought a fund of Tk4,500 crore in the budget of the 2015-16 fiscal year.

Some NFOWD high-ups raised the issue and asked for the fund at a pre-budget meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith at the ministry auditorium yesterday.

The NFOWD officials also asked for the allocated budget to be distributed among 12 ministries to ensure maximum benefits for the persons with disabilities, as well as quota for them in government offices.

Lawmaker Kazi Rozi, NFOWD Chairman Saidul Haque, Senior Vice-President Salina Akhter and Vice-President Harun-ur-Rashid, and Deputy Country Director of Handicap International in Bangladesh Sharmin Khan attended the meeting, among others.

In response, the finance minister said the government would definitely increase the budget allocation for the persons with disabilities in the country, but it would unlikely be the amount sought by the NFOWD. He also said his ministry would advise the government to provide benefits to the persons with disabilities from eight ministries instead of only one, which is the Ministry of Social Welfare.

The ministry also said the government would need a complete census of the persons with disabilities around the country by the next fiscal year.

“We conducted a survey in 2006 at the cost of Tk42 crore, but did not get a satisfying result,” the minister said.

According to the government survey, the population of persons with disabilities in the country is only 3% of the total population, whereas the World Health Organisation estimates the population to be at least 10%.

The NFOWD, on the other hand, estimates the number to be around 15% of the total population. l

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16 BUSINESS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Japan first-quarter GDP growth seen moderate, weak consumption a concern

n Reuters, Tokyo

A graffiti reading off ripper is seen on a bridge railing next to the new headquarter of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt

Eurozone set to report solid growth for a change n Reuters, London With optimism building that the United States is already recovering smartly from another horrible start to the year, focus will shift this week to reports that may show the euro zone is finally shaking off half a decade of torpor.

The 19-member currency union has been a millstone around the global economy’s neck ever since the financial crisis spawned a sovereign debt crisis particular to Europe.

China’s economy is no longer driving growth and other emerging markets like Brazil are grappling with disappointing performance in the run-up to what most expect will be the first U.S. interest rate hike in nearly a decade later this year.

So it is all the more crucial for more than just its citizens suffering from years of high unemployment and feeble or no growth that Europe is able to pick up some of the slack.

Eurogroup finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss once more Greece’s sclerotic progress in implementing economic re-

forms in exchange for bailout funds as it gets dangerously close to running out of cash.

But policymakers have already played down hopes of major progress early next week, which leaves the spotlight on the first read of how quickly the euro zone and its component economies performed at the start of the year.

For the first time in many years, it seems clear that the euro zone performed not only better, but far better than the US, which almost certainly suffered a mild economic contraction in January-March.

Euro zone growth is forecast at 0.5%, according to a Reuters poll of economists, which would even put it ahead of Britain, which consistently has been leading the biggest economies in Europe, not only in growth but employment.

Given that the European Central Bank only just began in March a 60 billion euro-a-month bond purchase program of mainly sovereign debt, such growth data certainly would raise even louder cries that perhaps stimulus is not even required.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy and

REUTERS

the one that was most opposed to ECB bond purchases, is forecast to have grown 0.5%.

France, which has been the laggard among the big economies, is expected to grow 0.4%.

Even Italy is expected to chalk up 0.2% growth. One thing that analysts seem in agreement on is that apart from Greece’s seemingly endless fiscal troubles, many positive forces have lined up behind the euro zone in addition to the launch of massive amounts of monetary stimulus.

“This recovery is supported by five underlying drivers: (1) stronger external demand; (2) easier domestic financial conditions; (3) an end to fiscal austerity; (4) a weaker euro exchange rate; and (5) lower oil prices,” wrote Huw Pill at Goldman Sachs.

The Bank of England also will announce its interest rate policy this week and publish its latest Inflation Report, just days after Prime Minister David Cameron swept back to power in national elections with a narrow majority that took political pundits and much of the electorate by surprise. l

Japan’s economy was expected to post a second straight quarter of moderate growth in January-March, led by a pickup in exports and business investment, a Reuters poll found, pointing if realized to a steady recovery from recession after last year’s sales tax hike.

Annual expansion of 1.5% in gross domestic product (GDP) would match the rate of growth in October-December, translating into a quarterly increase of 0.4%, unchanged from the prior quarter, the Reuters poll of 22 economists found.

Subdued growth could be a source of concern for policymakers counting on consumer spending, backed by increased corporate profits and higher wages, to help sustain a virtuous growth cycle and defeat nearly two decades of deflation.

“The economy shows no signs of accelerating due mainly to private consumption, which would rise only slowly,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“The economy is slow-going despite expected (positive) effects from cheap oil prices.

I’m particularly concerned about struggling private consumption.”

Private consumption, which accounts for roughly 60% of GDP, was expected to register a quarterly gain of 0.2%, slowing from a 0.5% rise in October-December.

Consumers tightened their purse strings as the sales tax hike boosted prices across the board, outpacing salaries and curbing real incomes, hurting household purchasing power.

Capital spending was seen to rise 0.8%, after sliding for three straight quarters through October-December as companies have been hesitant to boost spending on plant and equipment given the uncertain economic outlook.

External demand was seen as likely to shave 0.1% point off GDP growth. A weak yen helped boost exports, but imports outpaced exports, resulting in a slightly negative external contribution.

Ministry of Finance data due on May 13 at 0850 JST (May 12, 7.50 pm EDT), is expected to show the current account surplus rising to 2.0601 trillion yen ($17.18bn) in March, exceeding 2tn yen for the first time since Sept 2010, helped by income gains and an improving trade balance.

On May 15, 0850 JST (May 14, 7.50 pm EDT) Bank of Japan data is expected to show wholesale prices fell 2.1% in the year to April, the first drop since March 2013, partly as effects of the sales tax hike taper off. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort has recently celebrated Mother’s Day by cutting a cake at the presence its female associates who are mothers. The celebration was attended by the company’s executive director and owners among others

Union Bank Ltd has recently held its managers’ conference for the year 2015. The bank’s managing director, Md Abdul Hamid Miah was present at the meeting along with its branch managers

SSG has recently held its monthly sales meeting for May, 2015. The meeting was attended by its MD & CEO, Mohammed Ibrahim

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BUSINESS 17

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

China becomes world’s top crude buyer despite economy stuttering n Reuters, Singapore China overtook the United States as the world’s top importer of crude oil for the first time in April, and its purchases are expected to remain strong despite a slowing economy, with far-reaching consequences for global oil and commodities markets.

The soaring imports came as a surprise as growth in the world’s second-largest economy was sputtering and its oil demand was expected to ease. However, low oil prices and China’s series of interest rate cuts - including one over the weekend - in a bid to stoke growth are factors boosting demand.

China’s crude oil imports hit a record of almost 7.4 million barrels a day (bpd) last month, putting it ahead of the United States’ estimated imports of 7.2 million bpd for April, Reuters data show.

While China may drop back to second place in some months ahead, it is clearly headed towards overtaking the United States as the world’s top crude importer on a permanent basis.

China is already the world’s biggest energy consumer, with oil by far the largest traded energy market. Overtaking the United States means China is the top user of almost all commodities, including coal, iron ore and most metals, with far-reaching implications for markets which continue to shift from West to East.

“Being the world’s biggest crude importer should give China more buying power. China’s engagement in the Middle East will continue to change, and it will no longer be the minority player,” said Philip Andrews-Speed, head of energy security research at the National University of Singapore.

“China becomes not only more important to Middle Eastern states, but the Middle East becomes progressively more important to China relative to other countries that are importing less oil,” he added.

A 60% drop in global oil prices LCOc1 be-

Fuel prices are seen displayed on a fuel pump at PetroChina’s solar-powered Yizhuang gas station in Beijing. China overtook the United States as the world’s top importer of crude oil for the first time in April 2015 REUTERS tween June 2014 and January due to a supply glut encouraged China to build stocks, changing both trade flows and oil politics.

Within a decade, oil producers around the world have had to fundamentally adjust their trade routes as US imports fell from over 10 million bpd 10 years ago to around 7 million bpd currently, just as China’s imports have risen seven-fold.

The Saudi-led decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 not to cut production despite the slide in oil prices has been largely motivated by an effort to defend market share against outside competitors like Russia or US shale producers.

Global impact

Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi was on a high profile visit to China and other Asian countries in April when he announced near record

Saudi oil production and said he was “very positive” about continued strong demand from China.

China’s nascent role as the world’s top crude buyer is also impacting trading.

The crude market has been traditionally dominated on the buy-side by Western oil majors such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron or BP or merchants like Vitol and Mercuria. Now, Chinese traders are increasingly active.

Companies like Unipec or China Oil, the respective trading arms of Chinese national oil companies Sinopec and PetroChina, have entered oil markets on an unprecedented scale.

With prices still relatively low, China’s demand is expected to rise.

“They will definitely continue to buy more crude to fill up new storage capacity, both strategic and commercial,” said Seng Yick Tee, director of SIA Energy in Beijing. l

Oil prices tread water in Asian trade n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices held steady in Asia yesterday after an interest rate cut by China boosted demand hopes in the world’s top energy consumer, while a healthy US jobs report also provided support, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery eased ten cents to $59.29 while Brent crude for June rose six cents to $65.45 in afternoon trade.

China’s central bank on Sunday cut its key rates by 25 basis points - after two similar moves since November - as it looks to support the world’s number two economy, which grew last year at its slowest pace since 1990.

The move is the latest stimulus by the People’s Bank of China, which has also twice this year reduced the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve.

“The stimulus in the economy from the cuts is positive and is likely to boost demand in the Chinese economy,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC markets in Sydney, told AFP. “We expect the trading volume for crude to go up later today and the prices to increase further,” he added.

Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at business consultancy firm EY, said oil prices were also “helped by strong US jobs growth and a lower unemployment rate”.

A US Labor Department report Friday showed the economy added 223,000 jobs in April and unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.4%.

Analysts have said the figures are strong enough to suggest the economy was picking up but not enough that the US Federal Reserve would feel comfortable raising interest rates soon.

Interest rate adjustments are closely watched by crude investors as an increase usually leads to a pick-up in the dollar.

A stronger greenback makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies, denting demand. l

Late to the party, global banks try to muscle into India’s start-up boom n Reuters, Mumbai Global investment banks are scrambling to get a piece of the action from India’s booming technology start-ups, having missed out on the initial flurry of deal-making to their better-connected but much smaller domestic rivals.

Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are looking to hire more bankers in India and are now regularly attending “bake-offs” to pitch for advisory roles on deals, according to several banking industry sources.

Foreign money has been pouring into India’s fast-growing e-commerce sector, with investors ranging from Japan’s Softbank Corp to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and GIC Private Ltd piling in.

Many large global investment banks have stayed away from work in the emerging sector though due to the relatively small deal sizes.

Now they are stepping up efforts to build relationships while the companies are still

young - learning lessons from China where many of them are struggling to compete with small boutique banks as Internet deals pick up speed.

“Several of these companies will be large IPO candidates in the next 12 to 24 months, so the big banks have to start positioning themselves for this,” said Harish HV, a partner in India at advisory firm Grant Thornton.

The number of venture funding deals for technology start-ups in India in the first quarter of 2015 was the highest in nine quarters and exceeded the number of such deals in China, according to data from CB Insights.

The total value of investments in India topped $1bn for the third straight quarter.

Local rivals

To compete with local rivals like Avendus Capital and Kotak Mahindra Capital, foreign banks are now pitching for relatively small deals at start-ups, hopeful they will eventually lead to more lucrative work, banking sources said.

Avendus, which focussed on the tech sector before the deal momentum picked up, ranks fourth in the advisory league table for announced technology deals in India so far this year. That’s ahead of bigger global rivals including Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan, according to Thomson Reuters data.

While Credit Suisse topped the fee income table with $7.7m in India technology advisory fees in 2014, Avendus ranked second with $3.7m from seven deals, according to data from Thomson Reuters/Freeman Consulting Co. “We first looked at the sector and said ‘okay the sector is going to be sizeable. Who are the leading companies in this?,’” said Aashish Bhinde, head of Avendus’s digital and technology practice.

“Global investment banks were completely missing from the scene.”

Now foreign investment banks are starting to make in-roads. Jefferies’ India arm advised home shopping firm Naaptol.com to raise

about $20m last month from Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd and some existing investors.

Citigroup Inc, which advised Indian online payment services provider One97 Communications in raising funds from Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Financial Services in February, is “very focussed” on the internet space in India, said Madhur Deora, its managing director for investment banking in India.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comments on their work with Indian technology start-ups.

Western style fee

While India has fewer Internet users than China, online sales could rise to over $100bn in 2020 from $2.9bn in 2013, making it the fastest-growing market globally, according to a Morgan Stanley research report.

This has led to global banks vying to offer services like loan financing to online retailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal, hoping this could help them secure mandates on any future IPOs, sources said. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures IPO Subscription: Aman Feed Limited Subscription 25.05.2015 TO 04.06.2015.

Offer Price per share Tk. 36.00, Market Lot (Shares) 200.

Dividend/AGM ISLAMIINS: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 19.05.2015.

NCCBANK: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 24.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.

PEOPLESINS: 13% cash dividend, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.

LEGACYFOOT: 5% stock, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

RUPALIBANK: 15% stock , AGM: 31.05.2015, Record date: 14.05.2015.

UNIQUEHRL: 20% cash dividend, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 24.05.2015.

WATACHEM: 5% cash and 25% stock dividend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

CMCKAMAL: 12.50% stock dividend, AGM: 31.05.2015, Record Date: 17.05.2015.

ARAMITCEM: 10% cash dividend, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 13.05.2015.

GOLDENSON: 12.50% cash dividend, AGM: 27.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

GQBALLPEN: 10% cash dividend, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

SUMITPOWER: 10% cash and 5% stock dividend, AGM: 28.06.2014, Record Date: 17.05.2015.

SPPCL: 25% cash dividend, AGM: 28.06.2015. Record Date: 17.05.2015.

PURABIGEN: 15% stock dividend, AGM: 30.07.2015, Record date: 07.06.2015. EPS of Tk. 1.65, NAV per share of Tk. 13.65.

JANATAINS: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 25.07.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015. EPS of Tk. 0.16, NAV per share of Tk. 14.47.

AMBEEPHA: 28% cash dividend, AGM: 14.06.2015, Record Date: 25.05.2015. EPS of Tk. 3.13, NAV per share of Tk. 24.21.

ONEBANKLTD: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders BO Accounts on May 05, 2015.

Cash dividend and proceeds of fraction shares have also been disbursed through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN) system.

PROGRESLIF: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to purchase 5 decimals land with 10 (ten) storied building structure 20,030 sft. under construction building (Balaka Tower) there on in the name of Progressive Life Insurance Company Ltd. at Nijhumalay, 146 Mission Area, court Road, Moulvibazar at a cost of Tk. 3.30 crore excluding stamp duty, registration fees and relevant other expenses with the permission of IDRA. NCCBANK: The Company has further informed that the ensuing EGM scheduled to be held on May 11, 2015 has been postponed due to the Order of injunction by the Honble High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Janata Insur -A 7th ICB M F-A Premier Bank -A Phoenix Finance-A Standard Insurance-A FarEast Knitting -N Republic Insu.-A I P D C -A Northern G Insur-A MeghnaCement -A

Closing (% Change) 24.37 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 9.94 9.87 9.84 9.81

CSE GAINER Company Janata Insur -A BGIC -A Central Insur -A MutualTrust Bank-A Standard Insurance-A Asia Insur. Ltd.-A Provati Insur.-A Islami Ins.BD-A Reliance1 M.F.-A Takaful Islami Insu-A

Closing (% Change) 29.75 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 9.94 9.80 9.79

DSE LOSER Company Ambee Pharma -A Northern Jute -Z BD Submarine Cable-A BSRM Ltd. -N Meghna PET Ind. -Z Eastern Lubricants -A Midas Financing-Z Premier Cement-A Shinepukur Cera-Z United Power-N

Closing (% Change) -10.69 -6.00 -5.98 -5.48 -5.08 -4.68 -4.55 -4.28 -4.12 -3.92

CSE LOSER Company Apex Footwear-A Aramit -A Ambee Pharma -A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A BSRM Ltd. -N Prime Insur -A The Ibn SinaA BD Submarine Cable-A Delta Life Insu. -A Mithun Knitting -A

Closing (% Change) -8.61 -8.04 -8.02 -5.83 -5.83 -5.59 -5.41 -5.41 -4.42 -4.21

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features May 11, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

5,967.11 173,038,108 153,784

Traded Issues

315

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

247

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

67

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

1

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,46.60

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 691.46 257.31 79.22 782.16 124.03 1358.32 2.38 504.24 805.14 12.34 237.54 30.10 138.03 107.32 180.45 96.96 68.64 192.93 73.52 224.67 0.34

% change 11.59 4.31 1.33 13.11 2.08 22.76 0.04 8.45 13.49 0.21 3.98 0.50 2.31 1.80 3.02 1.62 1.15 3.23 1.23 3.77 0.01

Million Taka 54.09 23.93 5.16 60.63 5.02 103.51 61.92 61.61 0.82 19.16 2.06 5.58 11.77 11.46 4.64 4.19 34.08 12.76 25.75 0.00

Average (% Change) 20.68 9.20 8.52 11.37 10.19 9.98 12.05 9.83 10.63 9.98

Average (% Change) 19.42 9.93 10.00 9.57 10.00 9.71 10.00 10.25 9.80 9.79

Average (% Change) -9.10 -6.41 -3.39 -3.13 -5.08 -5.05 -4.91 -2.81 -1.05 -0.52

Average (% Change) -8.62 -8.04 -9.56 -5.83 -2.62 -5.52 -4.91 -2.57 -2.42 -2.41

CSE

ClosingAvg. 14.30 85.80 9.68 19.69 19.78 21.81 17.67 16.65 20.08 97.49

ClosingAvg. 14.45 15.39 22.00 16.48 17.60 16.50 14.30 19.90 5.60 21.30

ClosingAvg. 276.71 192.08 128.21 52.99 5.60 322.83 10.45 58.19 9.46 208.11

ClosingAvg. 342.66 252.90 278.94 1,163.27 53.20 13.51 93.16 128.65 124.73 71.19

% change 10.65 4.71 1.01 11.93 0.99 20.37 0.00 12.18 12.12 0.16 3.77 0.40 1.10 2.32 2.26 0.91 0.83 6.71 2.51 5.07 0.00

Closing

DHIGH

14.80 85.80 9.90 19.80 19.80 22.00 17.70 16.70 20.10 97.40

Closing

14.90 85.80 9.90 19.80 19.80 22.00 17.70 16.70 20.10 97.50

DHIGH

15.70 15.40 22.00 16.50 17.60 16.50 14.30 19.90 5.60 21.30

Closing 278.10 192.70 124.10 51.70 5.60 324.10 10.50 58.20 9.30 203.50

Closing 342.70 252.90 290.00 1,163.30 51.70 13.50 92.60 124.20 123.30 70.50

Million Taka 745.55 281.24 84.38 842.79 129.05 1461.83 2.38 566.16 866.75 13.16 256.70 32.16 143.61 119.09 191.91 101.60 72.83 227.01 86.29 250.42 0.34

DLOW 12.70 85.80 9.20 19.10 19.20 20.80 17.20 15.80 19.60 96.00

DLOW

17.00 15.40 22.00 16.50 17.60 16.50 14.30 19.90 5.60 21.30

DHIGH

13.10 15.10 22.00 16.10 17.60 16.50 14.30 19.90 5.60 21.30

DLOW

297.00 204.50 135.00 54.90 5.70 325.00 10.60 59.00 10.20 215.00

DHIGH 343.00 252.90 290.00 1,167.00 55.00 15.00 95.50 133.00 128.40 73.90

Total

269.90 190.00 123.00 51.50 5.50 323.00 10.20 57.50 9.10 201.00

DLOW 342.20 252.90 275.00 1,160.00 51.50 13.50 91.10 123.50 122.00 70.00

% change 11.51 4.34 1.30 13.02 1.99 22.58 0.04 8.74 13.39 0.20 3.96 0.50 2.22 1.84 2.96 1.57 1.12 3.51 1.33 3.87 0.01

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

1.938 0.077 25.165 8.792 0.621 31.524 2.842 3.475 3.052 19.897

Turnover in Million

0.16 9.73 1.55 2.96 2.66 2.64 1.71 1.36 1.84 8.52

Latest EPS

0.412 0.179 0.004 0.039 0.022 0.105 0.000 0.014 0.000 0.000

Turnover in Million

89.4 8.8 6.2 6.7 7.4 8.3 10.3 12.2 10.9 11.4

Latest PE

0.16 1.31 2.05 2.72 2.66 2.17 1.84 2.04 0.62 1.40

Latest EPS

11.942 0.771 112.310 63.500 0.028 0.041 0.083 0.946 1.967 462.822

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

90.3 11.7 10.7 6.1 6.6 7.6 7.8 9.8 9.0 15.2

Latest PE

3.00 1.75 0.64 0.73 -0.44 2.48 -1.55 1.55 -0.02 9.52

Latest EPS

0.041 0.000 0.915 0.064 15.182 0.024 0.079 28.175 3.150 0.478

92.2 109.8 200.3 72.6 -ve 130.2 -ve 37.5 -ve 21.9

Latest PE

18.05 13.84 3.00 42.84 0.73 2.41 4.36 0.64 2.92 3.63

19.0 18.3 93.0 27.2 72.9 5.6 21.4 201.0 42.7 19.6

CSE key features May 11, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

508.15 17,154,704 24,596

Traded Issues

250

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

207

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

43

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

-

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,394.62

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.03

DT

BUSINESS 19

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Stocks rise after savings certificate rate cuts n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N Ifad Autos -N WesternMarine -N MJL BD Ltd.-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Khulna Power-A Shahjibazar Power-N ACI Formulations-A RAK Ceramics-A Agni Systems -A

Square Pharma -A SAIF Powertec-N S Purbanchol Power-N BD Submarine Cable-A ACI Limited- A

VolumeShares 2,223,952 2,024,567 3,345,643 1,244,624 5,039,521 2,244,220 739,104 681,101 2,043,118 3,992,792

Value in Million 462.82 174.33 161.36 159.84 153.08 141.91 140.67 133.20 129.30 118.98

% of TotalTurnover 7.76 2.92 2.70 2.68 2.57 2.38 2.36 2.23 2.17 1.99

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

474,677 1,605,298 2,259,994 875,990 209,471

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N Mozaffar H.Spinning-A BD Submarine Cable-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A AFC AgroBiotech-A BSRM Ltd. -N Shahjibazar Power-N WesternMarine -N One Bank -A MJL BD Ltd.-A

Khulna Power-A SummitAlliancePort.-A SAIF Powertec-N UNITED AIR-A ACI Formulations-A

209,866 831,620 219,012 697,424 324,199 285,380 72,326 277,164 874,652 88,558

161,902 182,998 125,386 1,133,383 41,655

117.08 117.06 116.75 112.31 111.62

43.63 30.61 28.18 21.12 16.50 15.18 13.70 13.37 11.49 11.35

10.28 9.61 9.14 8.56 8.13

1.96 1.96 1.96 1.88 1.87

8.59 6.02 5.54 4.16 3.25 2.99 2.70 2.63 2.26 2.23

2.02 1.89 1.80 1.68 1.60

ClosingP 203.50 86.80 47.40 126.30 30.00 62.70 192.80 202.00 63.30 29.20

245.00 71.90 52.50 124.10 541.70

ClosingP

Change % -3.92 4.83 -2.07 -3.51 6.01 1.79 5.18 3.64 -0.16 1.39

-0.85 0.14 7.36 -5.98 2.30

Change %

203.10 37.60 124.20 30.20 49.70 51.70 192.90 47.40 13.10 126.20

62.80 53.50 71.80 7.50 203.80

-2.87 5.92 -5.41 6.71 -0.20 -5.83 5.47 -2.67 8.26 -3.37

1.45 9.86 -0.28 0.00 4.67

ClosingY 211.80 82.80 48.40 130.90 28.30 61.60 183.30 194.90 63.40 28.80

247.10 71.80 48.90 132.00 529.50

ClosingY

209.10 35.50 131.30 28.30 49.80 54.90 182.90 48.70 12.10 130.60

61.90 48.70 72.00 7.50 194.70

DHIGH 215.00 87.90 49.50 131.80 31.10 64.00 194.00 205.00 64.60 30.90

251.00 74.40 52.90 135.00 545.00

DHIGH

214.60 37.80 133.00 31.00 51.80 55.00 194.80 49.50 13.30 131.80

64.10 53.50 74.30 7.80 206.90

DLOW 201.00 83.30 47.00 125.10 28.60 62.10 185.00 185.00 61.90 29.10

243.00 71.30 49.40 123.00 526.00

DLOW

200.00 36.10 123.50 29.30 48.00 51.50 185.00 47.20 12.60 125.80

62.20 50.00 71.00 7.40 187.00

AvgPrice 208.11 86.11 48.23 128.42 30.38 63.23 190.33 195.56 63.29 29.80

246.66 72.92 51.66 128.21 532.89

AvgPrice

207.89 36.80 128.65 30.29 50.91 53.20 189.43 48.25 13.14 128.21

63.49 52.52 72.86 7.55 195.25

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

4349.22024

(+) 1.69%

1624.71543

(+) 0.47%

13422.70740

(+) 1.82%

10845.48600

(+) 1.45%

8181.13650

(+) 2.13%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks registered sharp rise with volatility yesterday after interest rate cut in national savings certificate.

As the day passed, share prices rose further on the back of mainly heavy institutional buying.

The DSEX settled at 4,349, surging 72 points or 1.7%, extending its gaining streak for fifth straight session.

The Shariah Index DSES edged over 1 point higher to 1,043. The comprising blue chips DS30 was marginally up more than 7 points or 0.5% to 1,624.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, ended at 8,180, gaining 169 points.

Dealers said stocks fired up as investors cheered the government’s step to cut interest rate of savings certificate.

“Stocks further gained as the day progressed on aggressive institutional buying and some retailers. But political unrest is still in investor mind, making market volatile initially,” said a dealer.

Fear over the equity market that the money is flowing out of stocks has faded out because of rate cut in savings certificate, he said.

On Sunday, the government has lowered interest rate of national savings certificate to 11.26% from 13.19%.

Insurance sector was the biggest gainer rallying almost 7%, driven by Janata Insurance that led the charge and hit its upper price limit.

Banks also showed strong performance as the sector that remained under pressure for long was up 5.7% with all the 30 listed banks closing in green under the buying spree.

However, textile and cement sector suffered losing more than 2% each.

Pharmaceuticals, power, food and allied, and telecommunication closed negative.

Robust buying helped turnover to hit five months high of almost Tk600 crore, which is 14.6% higher over the previous session.

Shares of 314 companies were traded. Of these, 77 declined, 217 closed higher and 21 remained unchanged. l

ANALYST

Stocks further gained as the day progressed on aggressive institutional buying and some retailers.

But political unrest is still in investor mind, making market volatile initially

DT

20 BUSINESS

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Carmudi: Bangladesh 3rd costliest place to buy Toyota Corolla cars n Tribune Report The average cost of a used Toyota Corolla in Bangladesh is Tk13.76 lakh, making it the third most expensive Carmudi country among 20 emerging countries in the world, says Carmudi in a statement.

Carmudi, Bangladesh’s number one online vehicle marketplace, created a Toyota Corolla Index based on listing data to understand the wide range of Corolla price differences globally in order to investigate the costs of purchasing this standard car in twenty emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America.

Based on the Economist’s light-hearted Big Mac Index, the Carmudi Corolla Index serves

as an at-a-glance tool to understand the wildly ranging price differences in emerging markets.

Surprisingly, the car prices in the index had absolutely no correlation with the country’s wealth. For instance, a used Toyota Corolla costs three times higher in Vietnam, which has a GDP per capita of $1,910, than that of the wealthier United Arab Emirates where the GDP per capita is $43,049.

A used Toyota Corolla costs 16,112 euros (over Tk13.76 lakh) in Bangladesh, which is the highest in Vietnam at 26,673 euros, followed by 21,529 euros in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, the car costs the lowest – 5,134 euros – in Congo, followed by 6,592 euros in Tanzania and 6,804 euros in Ghana.

Imports under LC ‘A’ form to be allowed n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has decided to allow local businessmen to import industrial products along with raw materials under the Letter of Credit form “A” without any prior conditions and monetary limitations, official sources said.

“We have already given clarification to the LC form ‘A’ according to the demand of FBCCI and Bangladesh Bank,” Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said a gazette notification would be issued soon in this regard.

According to the country’s existing import policy, the

local importers will import perishable commodities of $50,000 from Teknaf customs station and of $10,000 from other customs stations across the country under LC form “A” without opening of LC. The businessmen should register with the commercial bank appointed dealers for the import of commodities.

“Now more businessmen will be interested in importing perishable commodities under the LC authorisation form,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, former BGMEA president.

Nurul Amin, a banker, said there is a little chance of money laundering, under-invoicing and over-invoicing under the system. l

CAG celebrates 42 years n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission’ role paves the way for the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General to deal with graft cases, said Masud Ahmed, comptroller and auditor general of Bangladesh.

He said this while speaking at a press conference held at Audit Bhaban in the capital yesterday.

The press conference was held to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General.

Masud Ahmed said from post-liberation period to 2014, the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) has

prepared 1,207 audit reports, of which 65 are waiting for discussion at the National parliament.

On behalf of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, four presentation papers were presented at the press conference about the audit activities of C&AG Office, Civil Accounting Cost Management, Defence Finance Management and Finance and Accounts Department of Bangladesh Railway.

According to C & AG Office, on 19 April, 2015, 23 reports were sent to president, of which 15 were audit reports and 8 Accounting Cost reports.

Around Tk8,622 crore was involved in 286 audit disputes, according to the reports. l

Carmudi analysed the data over the last six months, which included over 17,000 Toyota Corolla listings.

To compare the prices across borders, Carmudi examined the average prices of select used Corollas for each country The most frequently listed used Corolla worldwide was from 2010.

Several countries where Carmudi operates

have older cars. For example, Tanzania’s newest Corolla model was from 2008.

To compare the prices across borders, Carmudi examined the average prices of select used Corollas for each country.

The criteria for selection were cars built between 2005 and 2011 with between 45,000km and 110,000km on the odometer.

The criteria were chosen to provide a range of Corollas accessible in all countries while reducing the disparities between older and newer used vehicles.

A Toyota Corolla car is sold in the world every 40 seconds, and that trend has been continuing for the last 40 years, making it the most popular car worldwide, according to Carmudi. l

DT

21

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

BIGSTOCK

news

Voconde - BWA: Fashion for a cause Svetlana Dubovska, owner of Joconde atelier, officially opened a charity fashion show at the British High Commissioner’s residence on May 6, 2015. The event was held by the British Women’s Association, in aid of the victims of the earthquake in Nepal.

The show was organised by Joconde atelier with British Women’s Association members and their children as models. The exclusive line of gowns was provided by Joconde.

Joconde Junior collection was also showcased, with the objective of getting the younger generation involved in the charitable venture.

Jane Cattermull, chair of the BWA said, “It’s been a lot of fun for a really good cause.

The models have been terrific and the clothes looked amazing.” Svetlana Dubovska comented, “It was a great evening and we are proud to participate in this kind of charity event and support people in need.” l

T-JUNCTION

App-ly yourself

INSIDE

22 tires

Two-wheeler conduct

24 apps

Swift or Google interview

A new look at safety

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Wheels

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

tires

Two-wheeler conduct Bike maintenance, in a nutshell

They provide bike cleaning, modification, lubrication services along with repairing services. The repairing and lube-clean section has a serial coordination system for customers, and repairmen check for the damage and problems through trial and quickly find solutions to fix them. Even though the whole process is not supervised properly, a little bit of patience will get you what you want. They are well-equipped with all the tools required to fix any damage and service is said to be very satisfactory by many customers. Even though the location is a bit tricky to find and the café has no other branches, it is preferred by majority of the riders and has good reviews which makes it totally worth the trip if you don’t live nearby.

n Chisty Rahim With the rise of private car owners, inestimable number of rickshaws crawling like insects all over the capital’s streets and unnecessary numbers of half-dead buses for every route, it takes hours to go from one place to another. Fortunately, many people have now chosen two-wheeler rides for their day to day spree. It is somewhat a common trend to have a bicycle as a transportation medium and a classy one at that!

But just like a car or a motorcycle, bicycles need maintenance. So here are a few basic tips on how to take care of your bike: Don’t just hose it How often you have to clean your bike

depends on how often you ride it. If you’re a rough, fast and regular rider you need to clean it frequently - twice a week at least.

Bike cleaning is not just hosing your bike with water. You need to soap and brush the chains, paddles and other deceitful corners of your bike or else the remaining dirt causes rust formation. After a good water bath, clean the chains with kerosene to take off anything sticky that usually won’t come off easily, before you let it dry for about an hour.

Lube it, and lube it good Over lubrication will result in dust particles accumulating in the parts, so try to use bicycle grease or oil as much as needed and lube your bike more often. The parts that are sensitive to lubing are the chains, bearing

systems, derailleur cables and levers and derailleur assemblies. Lube them as often as you can to help the bike run smoothly.

The chain is one of the crucial components of the bike and needs to be lubed more often.

As a matter of fact, lube it every time you feel it’s a bit dry or if it squeaks!

Tighten the bolts Keep a set of Allen keys at home. After every cleaning, check the bolts and tighten them with the keys. But keep in mind, over tightening may damage the components of the bike where as keeping them too loose will cause poor performance and lead to “wear and tear.” It is also a safety hazard and so it is crucial to do this perfectly, refer to the owner’s manual if required as to how tight

the bolts should be.

Take it to better hands The best thing to do if you’re a new rider or just don’t have the equipments to service your own bike is to take it to a repair shop.

There are a few repair shops available. Most riders from all over Dhaka choose to bring their bikes to the BDcyclist repair shop located in Panthapath, opposite to Somorita Hospital. Even though it’s better to take the bike to the initial place it was bought from for servicing, you only get limited chances to take your bike there. And if your offer has run out, fear not! Café Cylist is the second best place to go! l Photos: Shafquat Ameen

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Wheels

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

interview

Bike and order Founder of the BDcyclist group, Mozammel Haque, speaks to Dhaka Tribune on an exclusive interview, talking about his implausible and inspiring quest about how he started his group of cyclers with just a handful of people and turned it into a 35,000 (approx) member family!

Right outside the shop there is a small café, themed and customised to suit the purpose. They provide beverages and varieties of food items for a reasonable price. The café is a perfect place to chill after a long tiring ride.

The shop is filled to the top most rack with all the accessories and gadgets available in the country. Even though the pricing is a bit more than any other place, having all of the parts in one place prevents unnecessary running around from one shop to another looking for a specific one.

How did it all start?

Officially BD cyclist started from May 17, 2011, which is when the official Facebook page was created. We started our weekend rides way before that, maybe four or five months earlier. The idea came to me back in 2010 when I went to Nepal for work with some of my friends and colleagues.

I had the opportunity to ride a trek 4,500, a perfect MTB. I went on rides every now and then during my leisure time around the trail in Nepal and go anywhere I wanted in that bike. Eventually I realised that if I could take a similar bike back to my country it would save me a lot of time to go to work from home, or any other place for that matter. The thing was that at that time I was mostly commuting using my car. And going from home to work (and back) usually took an hour and a half, maybe more. But with a cycle, I could make it there in 30 minutes and so after coming back from Nepal I started using my bicycle more often to go from one place to another and hence saved a lot of time in the process. Nevertheless, it was a good exercise for me and kept me energised the whole day! Few of my friends and colleagues started to notice this and just like me they realised the convenience of the two-wheeler. Soon they adapted this healthy and time-saving method of transportation and joined me.

Gradually, we decided we needed to do this more often, maybe on weekends. And the idea of riding bikes to the outskirts of Dhaka on weekends seemed very tempting to the others and that is when we unofficially started “Bike Fridays.” As we were doing the rides we thought we needed some sort of platform to organise

Photo: Courtesy

ourselves before every one of them and that’s when we created the group.

What is your preferred brand of cycle?

I don’t usually buy bikes based on brands, rather I prefer to judge by its convenience.

For an example, I use a Giant mostly to go to work because I believe that cycle is very convenient for the roads of Dhaka city and you can always do a little bit of adventurous journey with it. The bike I use has a hybrid look which is a mixture of an MTB and a Road bike. During my race trainings with BDcyclist I prefer to use my Giant TCR Advanced 1 which is a feather light carbon fibre bike. And then again when I go on off-road rides I use my 26er which is a Mongoose bike. So basically I use different bikes for different purposes. I also have a Trek 650 which is a 90’s bike with a built in mud guard, very fitting for rainy season. I bought it second hand from a collector.

How do you make time for riding amongst your busy schedule?

I don’t make time for cycling; rather, cycling makes time for me! As I said before, cycling saves me time and gives me more time for other things like going to the gym or swimming, and moreover, it keeps me fit and healthy!

How do you maintain your bikes?

There are a couple of rules I maintain when it comes to taking care of my bikes.

For example, I always lubricate all the moving parts of my bikes and make sure the cranks, the paddles, the gears and any other moving part are not getting rust build-ups. Whenever I am taking my bike on the road I follow the ABC rule - air pressure, breaks and bolts, crank, cassette and chains. You always have to be very careful on the road as I believe, when you’re taking your bike out you’re actually putting your life on the line, and any fault in the bike can cause a catastrophic injury to yourself. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Tires

apps

Swift or Google Keyboard by choice, and they are both free

n Mahmood Hossain For most, the native keyboards on your smartphones may just do the job. But to take complete advantage of a keyboard and its functions we tend to rely on third party apps. We take a look at the best keyboard for each of the leading mobile operating systems.

iOS (SwiftKey Keyboard with Emoji)

Not just for the older generation iPhones, if you’ve got yourself the latest 6, you’ll appreciate the real estate in display. The larger screens has its advantages when watching videos or playing games, but it may be a bit more difficult when it comes to typing. And we all know, no matter which phone you have, we love typing our fingers off. Whether you’re texting, chatting, or completing an e-mail, it becomes hard to handle with just one hand. Even if you’ve dedicated both hands to typing on the keyboard that Apple provides it isn’t all that great. This is where SwiftKey Keyboard with Emoji comes in. We’re sure you’re familiar

with the many Emoji icons on Whatsapp.

Fortunately, iOS 8 now allows users to install third-party keyboard apps. SwiftKey provides the best possible experience when it comes to typing on your smart device. It’s quick on picking up your typing habits and predicts your next words faster than you can think to type it out yourself. There are plenty of coloured themes to change things up, along with the swipe from letter-to-letter to create words feature. However, it does have its limitations, knowing that we’re dealing with Apple here. You won’t be able to incorporate the iOS’ fantastic ability to input voice dictation, input passwords or reply to messages from your lock screen. If you can look pass those little hurdles, SwiftKey is the best keyboard for your iPhone.

Android (Google Keyboard) With SwiftKey a very close second, the best android keyboard to use has to be Google’s own. It’s slightly a given if you’re using an Andorid device. Within Google’s world, the combination of great tap-typing responses, smart autocorrect and word predictions makes for a speedy process.

Google’s wonderful voice dictation seems to get smarter the more you use it. More importantly, the entire function is quite reliable. The Google Keyboard also allows you to customise settings for sounds, vibrations and how strict you want the autocorrect to actually be.

And even though there aren’t too many themes to choose from, the keyboard itself is beautiful. The aesthetics look polished,

minimal, and simply soothing to the eye.

No matter which brand of Android phone you use, the Google Keyboard meshes in just right with your display, which make the entire experience of typing a breeze.

The change in design is enough of a reason to keep going back to simply typing one last message. What really sets this apart from the very popular SwiftKey is the taptyping response, and it just doesn’t feel as nice when typing with Google’s version.

But there’s nothing wrong with sticking with SwiftKey, it’s a brilliant third-party keyboard. In fact, it’s possibly the best.

But the overall experience on the Google Keyboard slightly edges out the rest in the pack. l

interview

A new look at safety We had a little chitchat with the developers of the wonderful new app, Daak

n Baizid Haque Joarder What exactly is “Daak?”

Daak is a personal safety app that can be used both offline and online. When online, Daak gives real-time updates of your whereabouts to your close contacts using Google Maps.

You can also engage with nearby people and communicate. Daak’s SMS tracking feature lets you do the same thing when you are offline. Daak can be used in any emergency situation.

How does the app work?

Daak is an API based application where the data is saved in the server and can be used to track down the location of the person who uses it and forward it to everyone within a 1km radius, along with their location so that assistance can be given immediately.

What makes the product innovative?

One Global Safety Solution: There are many apps available nowadays that deal with only a single issue, and are able to provide only a narrow set of solutions. Daak is a single app that provides many solutions to any number of emergency scenarios. It can work here in Bangladesh or abroad.

Lightweight: We designed Daak with usability in a Bangladesh context in mind. It is only 2.5 MB in size. Throughout an entire day’s use, the app consumes less than 1 MB

of data and very little battery life, which is extremely rare in an app that does as many things as it does.

Always there: Other apps of this type are limited by the service they can provide without a data connection. Daak works both online and offline, allowing both live tracking and SMS-based location reporting.

Scalable: Our back end architecture has been designed to handle a large volume of users at any time. Our servers can handle any number of users, whether 1,000 or 10,000,000.

Clear roadmap: We started working on Daak in October and released the app earlier this year. But it does not stop here. We have a clear vision for the road ahead which we have outlined in this proposal, and are committed to regularly updating Daak in future iterations. We aim to learn from user feedback and incorporate their ideas to make the app as useful as possible.

How did the idea come about?

Before DAAK, our team worked with RHSTEP (Reproductive Health Service Education and Training Program) where we had to work with 40 government hospitals. Our experience in working with them was quite informative and we realized that the registered women and under aged girls for MR (menstrual regulation). MR is a procedure that uses manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) to safely establish no pregnancy after a missed period.

These are the usual victims. The idea to help them generated from working with RHSTEP. The first attempt to improve and help people in danger, difficulty or in need, was to reach out to them and delay, prolong or stop it from happening. Later we worked with GIZ and the PSES project and we had a great deal of help from Naaz Fatema, while working the project and thus DAAK finally took a shape. It is an innovative, simple yet effective attempt to change our lives and make it a better and a safer place to live in. l

Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Muhammad Amir made a return to domestic cricket with a wicket in the first ball in a T20 match against Abbottabad Falcons yesterday

Sport 26

ABAHANI DRAW BLANK, SK RUSSEL WIN

27

TIGERS NEED TO REARRANGE ITS THOUGHT PROCESS

29

25

DT

BACK IN STYLE?

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

MARRIAGE HELPS MURRAY TO MADRID TRIUMPH

Barcelona are hunting their first win in Munich on the back of Saturday’s 2-0 win over David Moyes’s Real Sociedad in the Spanish league which means they have now scored 19 goals without reply in their last four games. Brazil star Neymar has now scored in each of his last six matches to take his tally for the season to 35, whilst Barca have now not conceded a goal for seven straight games. Barca’s unbeaten streak in the Spanish league has been extended to 18 games and they have won 28 of their last 30 matches in all competitions.

In contrast, German champions Bayern are on a four-match losing streak for the first time in 24 years and have failed to score in any of their last three matches for the first time in 15 years. Pep Guardiola’s Bavarians played nearly 80 minutes of Saturday’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to Augsburg with ten men after reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off.Having also been dumped out of the German Cup by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals nearly a fortnight ago, Bayern need a footballing miracle to keep alive their dreams of a sixth European title and more silverware this season.

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm attempts to pass the ball under the watchful eyes of head coach Pep Guardiola at Sabener Strasse yesterday

Bayern look for Munich miracle n AFP, Munich Pep Guardiola has promised embattled Bayern Munich will put up a fight in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final, second-leg, in their near-impossible bid to deny Barcelona an eighth final appearance.

Bayern are chasing a miracle at the Allianz Arena after their humbling 3-0 first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou last Wednesday when Lionel Messi capped a dazzling display with two goals.

No team has ever over-turned a three-goal deficit in a European semi-final.

“We all know it’s going to be a mammoth task, but we’re not going to give up,” said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller.

Bayern believe they can claim a historic win with Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger suggesting: “Sometimes unbelievable things happen in football and we hope we’re going to catch one of those days”.

But their confidence has been dented by losing their last four games since winning the German league for the 25th time a fortnight ago and the losing streak is their longest since 1991.

In Saturday’s latest defeat, Bayern crashed 1-0 at home to neighbours Augsburg and had to play 77 minutes with ten-men after reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off.

Having also lost 2-0 at Leverkusen the previous week before their drubbing in Barce-

lona, it is the first time Bayern have failed to score in three consecutive games for 15 years.

But Bayern coach Guardiola, a former Barcelona boss, insists his side must keep their dreams alive.

“I am realistic, that is the only way you can

Barcelona’s Brazilian duo Neymar (L) and Dani Alves share a moment during their flight to Munich yesterday

win,” said the Spaniard, who has warned his side they risk being routed unless they contain Barcelona’s star-studded attack.

“The dream is still there and we have 90 minutes. It won’t be easy, but I am a fighter.”

In contrast, Barca are in fine form having scored 19 goals in their last four games.

Brazil star Neymar has now scored in each of his last six matches to take his tally for the season to 35, while Barca have now not conceded for seven straight games. But Barca coach Luis Enrique refuses to believe Bayern will bow out of Europe without a fight.

“I saw it (the defeat against Augsburg).

They lost, but they played 70 minutes with 10 men. We will suffer a lot in Munich,” said the Barca boss.

“They are a unique opponent, who know what it is like to turn around important matches already this season.

“We have to give our all. We have showed many times how well we can perform in Munich,” said Bayern’s top-scorer Robert Lewandowski, who will again play with a protective mask after fracturing his nose and cheekbone nearly two weeks ago. “It’s not yet over and we’ll fight to the end.” l

DT

26 Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Series win against India possible, says Shakib Expects BPL 3 to take place

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Sheikh Russel forward Jahid Hasan Ameli dribbles past a Feni Soccer defender during their Bangladesh Premier League match at BNS in Dhaka yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Abahani draw blank, Sk Russel win n Shishir Hoque Abahani continued their miserable run in the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League as they were held to a goalless draw by Farashganj SC at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

In the other match of the day at the same venue, Sheikh Russel returned to winning ways when they defeated Feni Soccer Club 2-1, thanks to goals from Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Kingsley Chigozie.

Abahani are now nine points behind table-toppers Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club although the former have played a match less.

With 14 points from eight matches, Abahani are fourth in the 11-team standings. Farashganj on the other hand lie at ninth position with four points from eight matches.

Abahani head coach George Kottan said, “Scoring remained as the big lack in the team.

We don’t have such quality players who can score and make the difference. Actually [Szabolcs] Csorba was the player who can score but he is injured and will fly back to Hungary.”

Farashganj coach Rezaul Haque Jamal said, “Players kept their commitment to salvage at least a point from the game, credit to them.

The players perform better when they play

against big teams as they know national coach (Lodewijk de Kruif) is watching them.”

Elsewhere, Hemanta netted his first goal for Sheikh Russel in the top-flight when the young national midfielder put his side ahead in the 13th minute. Hemanta smashed home past Feni goalkeeper Salim after Jamaican

RESULTS Abahani

0–0

Farashganj

Sheikh Russel

2–1

Feni Soccer Club

Hemanta Vincent 13

Jatta Mustapha 19 Kingsley Chigozie 60

TODAY’S MATCHES

Team BJMC v Chittagong Abahani, 4:15PM Rahmatganj v Brothers Union, 6:30PM

forward Akeem Sayeed’s initial effort was blocked by the custodian.

Feni, however, equalised the margin just six minutes later through a penalty from Gambian midfielder Jatta Mustapha after Waly Faisal had brought down Abdullah al Mamun inside the box.

Chigozie though sealed the victory for Sheikh Russel at the hour mark when the unmarked Nigerian striker headed home a Jahid Hasan Ameli cross from the left-flank.

Sheikh Russel jumped to third with 16 points from eight matches while Feni remained at their previous position of eighth with eight points from nine matches. Sheikh Russel trail second-placed Muktijoddha by just two points. l

Singapore, Afghanistan friendlies arranged off at Bangabandhu National Stadium at 4pm. n Shishir Hoque The finalised schedule means Bangladesh will Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday confirmed that the national side will take part in two Fifa international friendlies against Singapore and defending Saff champions Afghanistan on May 30 and June 2 respectively. Both the friendlies will kick

have to play two friendlies inside four days as part of their preparation for the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. Bangladesh will take on Kyrgyzstan in their opening qualifier on June 11 at Bangabandhu National Stadium. l

Maverick all-rounder Shakib al Hasan believes it is very much possible for Bangladesh to win the ODI series against India when the two-time world champions visit the country for three one-day internationals and one Test next June.

Shakib, who left Dhaka yesterday to join Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders for their two remaining round-robin matches, informed that the momentum Bangladesh are in at the moment will aid their prospects of a series victory against the visiting Indian side.

“We will first have to see what team they send. They were the semi-finalists in the recent World Cup so there is no doubt with their form at the moment. The job will not be easy for us but we also get a different level of confidence when we play at home. The positives from the Pakistan series will boost us and I am sure the support from the general public will be at a different level compared to the past,” Shakib told the reporters last Sunday.

“So, taking all the facts into consideration, I think we will have a good competition against them. I obviously expect that we will win the series but then again even a single win should not be a bad result for us. We want to put up consistent performances. We were consistent in the World Cup and we were better in the ODI series against Pakistan. Results will generate automatically if we can hold onto that,” added the world’s number one Test and Twenty20 all-rounder.

Besides the India series, Bangladesh are also bracing to host South Africa and Australia in bilateral series this year. The Tigers will hope to display their new-found maturity yet again against the established powers before embarking on their next world event – the 2016 ICC World T20.

And ahead of the marquee T20 event, Shakib thinks holding the third edition of the controversial Bangladesh Premier League T20 would be a good idea.

“I have heard the [Bangladesh Cricket] board is planning to hold it (BPL 3) this year.

To be honest, this will do good to the players who will represent Bangladesh in the [World] T20. We will expect some good results from the tournament as it will be held in Asia (India). But then again, this is also a fact that we could not perform in the last edition, despite the tournament being held in Bangladesh,” he said.

“Having said that, there has been a drastic change in the team since then I believe. The team are performing well at the moment, especially in limited-over cricket. We did well against Pakistan in the T20 match and we have two T20s against South Africa which are important. BPL will, of course, do good to the team. That tournament gives the players some confidence and if you notice, we always had good results following a BPL edition,” he added.

Shakib will take part in the Knight Riders’ two remaining round-robin matches – against Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals on May 14 and 16 respectively – before coming home for the training camp ahead of the India series. l

DT

Sport 27

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

A decision debated and a resolve challenged; Bangladesh needs to rearrange its thought process n Yousuf Rahman (Babu) The true character of a team is judged not by its ODI or T20 performance but by what it delivers in Test match cricket. Bangladesh has made immense strides in the ODI format but it is still a back-bencher in the longer version of the game and the Bangladeshi fans are aware of this reality. I hope the administrators accept this reality too and take steps to remedy this anomaly.

The euphoric wins against Pakistan in all three ODI matches and the lone T20 engagement gave the team and the nation a shimmering hope that, perhaps the time had come for Bangladesh to translate its ODI successes into Test match wins. Were the stars finally aligned to prop up lowly-ranked Bangladesh and place them in a realm never experienced before?

Pakistan, under the conservative leadership of Misbah-ul Haq, is a different cup of tea. He has been strongly and, at times, unfairly criticised by many in Pakistan that includes several former and current players, administrators, analysts and fans for his play-safe approach. However, his record as a captain is a success story for Pakistan in Test match cricket as he now stands on top of the ladder as the captain with the most wins. Yes, in recent times Pakistan has lost its flair of the past. The flamboyance is gone which was so evident a decade or so ago but one has to give credit to a nation that has been boycotted by the entire cricketing fraternity for keeping up with the rest of the world in maintaining its standing in world cricket. Where its cricket goes in the years to come considering its internal problems remains to be seen!

Khulna was a revelation of sorts for Bangladesh. While the end result gave the nation great expectation and drew much deserved applause not only from the nation but also from the opposition, one needs to analyse the various aspects of the match that could have forced a different outcome. On a flat wicket (I was surprised of its docile nature even on day five), Bangladesh played in the most conservative mode in the first innings and had Pakistan taken the chances that came its way, it could have crumbled to a score of less than 250.

With the blessings of the Pakistani fielders, aided with some over-cautious and defensive batting, Bangladesh went into day two posting a score of 236 for 4. While one can accept this as a fairly good position to be in, based upon the nature of the wicket and the fact that the Pakistani bowlers were struggling, an average rate of three-plus per over was a no-brainer.

What seemed to be an imminent score of 400plus, ended up with a below par total of 332.

That the Pakistan batting would post a huge total was never in doubt and so it did. Facing a deficit of 296 runs, both Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes came up with magical performances on days four and five. With five sessions available to get a win, the Pakistani bowling attack threw patience out of their plan and tried too hard on a flat wicket that seemed to get flatter by the hour. Wayward bowling with no plan or purpose in sight, they got slaughtered as Bangladesh hammered 550-plus at a rate of more than four runs per over. It was a 136-over ODI innings.

Having saved the Khulna Test, which was

equivalent to a victory for Bangladesh, both teams went into the second and final Test in Dhaka with contrasting intentions. Pakistan had to win otherwise it would be on the flight back with absolutely nothing in the bag. Bangladesh on the other hand, planned for a draw to keep Pakistan winless on the tour, which in my mind was a tactical mistake. A team should never walk into a game unless you believe that you can win. That’s what you plan and prepare for. In the ODI and T20 matches, Bangladesh played to win and its aggressive approach not only surprised the opposition, but shocked them as well.

it. The morning session of day one gave ample evidence that wickets were there to be taken and Bangladesh did make the inroads, even with its limited pace attack. Where would Pakistan be had two wicket-producing balls not been negated for overstepping? In addition, the Bangladesh camp did not want to expose their batters to such conditions against an experienced pace attack that would have probably taken the game away from Bangladesh on the first day.

As I wrote earlier, you need to have one primary plan of action and that should be to work out the mechanics of getting a win based

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Bangladesh will always be a threat to most teams anywhere in the ODI format. Plans need to be crafted and implemented from the grass-root level for winning Test matches The Dhaka pitch was a good result-oriented track with a bit for the bat and the ball. For the batters to get runs, one has to have the mental strength and ability to play according to the merit of the ball. Good technique and patience was the need of the hour. For bowlers to find success, it required basic bowling skills straight out of the coaching manual, i.e., bowl in good areas with proper line and length. So, when most arm-chair generals are screaming for Mushfiqur Rahim’s head for deciding to field first, I have a different point of view on

upon your team’s strength. This is where Bangladesh failed.

With a draw in mind, they picked a team with a supposedly batting depth up to No 9, although I fail to understand how your No 9 can expect to save or win matches for you.

Playing Soumya Sarkar at No 8 who batted with success at No 3 in the ODIs is beyond all rationale. A batter that is used to form partnerships with frontline batsmen was being asked to formulate a plan with tail-enders.

On the other hand, if it was felt that the

wicket had something for the bowlers, why go into the match with two main seamers?

To add to this woeful plan, you have a onematch experienced Test player in Soumya who bowled only one over in the run-infested Khulna Test. To rely on him to deliver the goods was wishful thinking. It was a “neitherhere-nor-there” unit.

The home crowd and those that follow the game got the opportunity of watching some stellar performances of grit and determination not only from the home team but also from the visitors. While Younis Khan was his usual masterful self, Azhar Ali once again proved his ability to bat under trying conditions and scored a brilliant double hundred, an innings that deserved much more appreciation than what it got by the home crowd. Where has the spirit of the game gone? I expected the Bangladesh crowd to be much more knowledgeable than what it exhibited. Good cricket should be appreciated by all those that are privileged to watch it.

On a trying pitch, the Bangladesh batters could have taken the opportunity to gut it out and be a bit more tenacious in defying the leg spin of Yasir Shah. It was a perfect classroom providing quality Test match cricket for the Bangladesh batsmen to learn from. It would have been beneficial to them had they applied themselves in negotiating the threat of Wahab Riaz, Yasir and the others on a pitch that favoured the bowlers a bit. Where Mominul Haque survived with ease and joined an elite group by scoring his 11th consecutive fifty in Tests, the others failed to take the bull by the horn and meekly surrendered to a fine-tuned Pakistani attack.

Test match cricket is a different ball game.

A team needs to work out the percentages of every aspect of the game. Bangladesh only needs to look at its Test match history.

In fifteen years, Bangladesh has won seven Test matches (five against Zimbabwe and two against a depleted West Indies unit). Bowlers win matches and more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s wickets have been taken by the spinners. Common sense dictates that wickets for home matches should be prepared to aid the spinners. Yes, the opposition will have its own arsenal of spinners but with the right mental approach and technique by its batsmen, Bangladesh will have a better chance of bowling oppositions out and hence create chances of winning matches.

Bangladesh will always be a threat to most teams anywhere in the ODI format. Plans need to be crafted and implemented from the grass-root level for winning Test matches. Sri Lanka is a perfect example to follow. The first step towards this objective is to change the thought process and get out of the negative frame of mind and walk into a game with the belief that you can win the game.

The Indians are coming in June and will play in hot and humid conditions. One thing is for sure, they will not be as complacent as the Pakistanis have been and so Bangladesh can expect them to come out with all cylinders firing. If Bangladesh can produce the level of cricket that it is capable of, then we can look forward to an exciting series. Let us hope that the performances in the just concluded Pakistan series have not been a flash in the pan. l

DT

28 Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Spanish court to decide on legality of players’ strike n Reuters, Madrid A Spanish court could decide as early as Wednesday on the legality of a strike protesting against a new TV rights law called by the players’ union (AFE) which is threatening the final two match days in La Liga and the King’s Cup final.

The AFE announced last week players would go on strike indefinitely from May 16 and the professional league (LFP), which represents the 42 clubs in the top two divisions, filed a petition to have the action declared illegal.

The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) had earlier decided to halt all competition from the same date. The AFE and RFEF are unhappy with a new law mandating collective bargaining for domestic television rights and say their interests have not been sufficiently taken into account.

The AFE and LFP have been summoned to make a court appearance on Wednesday, a league spokeswoman said on Monday.

The penultimate round of La Liga matches is on Sunday and leaders Barcelona can make sure of a fifth title in seven years with a win at last season’s champions Atletico Madrid. l

United States forward Christen Press dribbles the ball around Ireland goalkeeper Niamh Reid to take a shot on goal during their international friendly at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California on Sunday. United States won 3-0 AFP

Hernanes returns to haunt Lazio n AFP, Rome A brace from former Lazio star Hernanes saw Inter Milan beat his old side 2-1 in Serie A in an incident-packed clash on Sunday which saw the hosts have two players sent off and Inter miss a penalty.

Brazilian Hernanes spent three-and-a-half years at Lazio and claimed that he cried when he was sold to Inter last January.

But he enraged the home fans in Rome when he celebrated his 26th-minute equaliser with a somersault only seconds after defender Mauricio had been sent off for pulling back Rodrigo Palacio when he was through on goal.

“This was a very important match for me, I’m a better player than I was at Lazio and I wanted to show it,” said Hernanes. “(Lazio chairman Claudio) Lotito spoke

too much, saying that he’d done a great bit of business by selling me. That was for him.”

To rub salt into the wound the 29-year-old raced on to Palacio’s delightful flick and slotted home the winner seven minutes before the end to move Inter up to 52 points, only three away from the Europa League places.

Icardi’s weak penalty was easily saved by substitute keeper Etrit Berisha, sparking hopes of a point, but Hernanes crushed them with his smooth finish.

The defeat is a huge let off for second-placed Roma, who fell limply 2-0 at AC Milan on Saturday, and fourth-placed Napoli, who are three points behind Lazio despite only drawing 2-2 at bankrupt and relegated Parma.

There was also controversy there, after a Parma display that was apparently too spirited for some within the Napoli set-up.

Gonzalo Higuain reacted badly at the end of the game, having to be pulled away from Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante as he reportedly shouted “you’re already down, what do you want?”

Parma coach Roberto Donadoni was outraged, calling Napoli’s actions disgusting and suggesting that a Napoli director – reportedly sporting director Riccardo Bigon – had said similar things.

“I was there and I heard what was said after the game,” Donadoni told Mediaset.

“Having people tell us we should lose just because we’re bankrupt and already relegated is disgusting and shameful.

“It wasn’t just Higuain, but a few others said the same on the field during the game.

When you hear something like that from a director, though, it’s a real tragedy.” l

Sevilla slip-up hands Atletico UCL return n AFP, Madrid Atletico Madrid secured their place in the Champions League for next season despite only managing a 2-2 draw at Levante on Sunday as Sevilla were held 1-1 at Celta Vigo.

A point for both sides means that Atletico lead the Europa League champions by seven points with just two games remaining.

Atletico now need three points from their final two fixtures at home to Barcelona and away to Granada to guarantee third place ahead of Valencia and avoid a qualifier for the group stages in August.

Fernando Torres replaced Mandzukic for the final half hour and provided the finishing touch that the former Bayern striker has lacked recently 11 minutes from time as he rose highest to bullet home Koke’s corner.

LA LIGA Levante

2-2

Barral 31, Uche 62

Villarreal

Atletico Madrid Siqueira 34, Torres 79

1-0

Elche

Campbell 26

Almeria

1-2

Thomas 30

Celta Vigo Santi Mina 58-P

Malaga Casado 22-og, Javi Guerra 68

1-1

Sevilla Gameiro 8

Atletico could have snatched all three points towards the end, but Marino made another fine stop to deny Jose Maria Gimenez as Levante edged closer to sealing their La Liga status for a sixth consecutive season.

Sevilla could still qualify directly into the

group stages of next season’s Champions League themselves should they go onto retain the Europa League.

But their hopes of doing so through La Liga took another blow as Celta remained in the fight for a European place of their own.

Kevin Gameiro fired the visitors into an early lead with a brilliant finish after a neat one-two with Iago Aspas.

However, Santi Mina levelled from the penalty spot after Alejandro Arribas had felled Charles inside the area just before the hour mark.

Celta now trail Malaga by three points in the race for seventh place after they edged an Andalusian derby against Almeria 2-1.

Villarreal are guaranteed a place in next season’s Europa League as Joel Campbell’s solitary goal handed them a first victory in 10 league games against Elche. l

SERIE A Chievo

2-2

Paloschi 9, Pellissier 40-og

Palermo

2-3

Vazquez 43, Rigoni 68

Udinese

1-4 2-3 2-3

Candreva 8

Fiorentina Ilicic 4, 68, Salah 58

2-2

Palladino 9, Jorquera 33

Lazio

Sassuolo Zaza 48, Taider 51, Missiroli 69

Saponara 28, Mchedlidze 77

Parma

Sampdoria Soriano 26, 63, Acquah 80, Duncan 90

Defrel 15, Brienza 29

Empoli

Atalanta Baselli 6, Andelkovic 17-og, Gomez 51

Di Natale 87-P

Cesena

Verona Gomez Taleb 20, Toni 26

Napoli Gabbiadini 28, Mertens 72

1-2

Inter Milan Hernanes 26, 84

Belgian player dies of heart attack on pitch, second in two weeks n Reuters, Brussels Belgian lower-league defender Tim Nicot, 23, died on Monday after suffering a heart attack during a friendly on Saturday, the second such death in Belgium in two weeks.

In an incident likely to increase calls for more cardiac screening of young players, Antwerp club Beerschot Wilrijk said Nicot died in hospital after collapsing at a post-season tournament following their promotion to the Third Division.

On April 30, former under-21 international defender Gregory Mertens, 24, died three days after his heart stopped during a reserve game for top-flight Lokeren at Racing Genk. l

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Sport 29

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Marriage helps Murray to Madrid triumph n Reuters, Madrid

QUICK BYTES Dramatic Marseille keep Euro hopes alive Two late goals for Marseille kept their hopes of Champions League football next season alive with a 2-1 comeback win over Monaco in Sunday’s late Ligue 1 match.It took the Principality side just one minute to take the lead after Joao Moutinho pounced on a defensive mistake.

But Marseille hit back with 10 minutes to go as Andre Ayew headed home his ninth goal of the season before Romain Alessandrini secured the three points with just three minutes to play.

– AFP

Schalke release Boateng, Sam after poor run Schalke 04 released midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng and striker Sidney Sam on Monday following the 2-0 Bundesliga defeat by Cologne which put their European place for next season at risk. Sports director Horst Heldt had warned there would be consequences after Schalke, who reached the Champions League knockout stages this season, lost in Cologne on Sunday.

They have managed only one win in their last eight league games.

– Reuters

Pep dismisses City rumours Pep Guardiola on Monday dismissed out of hand rumours he will quit Bayern Munich with a year left on his contract to become Manchester City coach for next season.“Oh, boys. I have said 200 million times that I have a year left on my contract and will be here next season. That’s it!,” said Guardiola. There were fresh claims over the weekend that Premier League giants City are negotiating with Guardiola to bring the 44-year-old to the Etihad Stadium to replace Manuel Pellegrini as head coach.

– AFP

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six 8:30PM Indian Premier League Delhi v Chennai

Star Sports 1 6:30PM AFC Cup 2015 Kitchee v Kingfisher East Bengal

Star Sports 2 Badminton: Sudirman Cup 2015 11:00AM Hong Kong China v France 5:00PM China v Thailand

Star Sports 4 3:00PM ATP 1000 Masters 2015 Internazionali BNL d’Italia 7:30PM AFC Cup 2015 Bengaluru v Persipura Jayapura

Ten Action 12:45PM UEFA Champions League SFs Leg 2: Bayern v Barcelona

Scottish tennis player Andy Murray poses with his trophy as he celebrates his victory over Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal at the end of the men’s final of the Madrid Open in Madrid on Sunday AFP

Andy Murray attributed his stunning victory over Rafa Nadal in the Madrid Masters final on Sunday not only to the work of his team but also to a happy private life following his recent marriage to Kim Sears.

Murray beat home favourite Nadal 6-3 6-2 with another superb performance on the red dust to secure his second clay title in a week following his debut triumph on the surface in Munich.

The Scot become only the fourth player to beat Nadal in a clay final, joining Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Horacio Zeballos, and will head to Roland Garros at the end of the month with high hopes of a deep run in the French Open.

“People don’t always appreciate that there is another part of our lives that is very important as well,” Murray told a news conference after clinching his 10th Masters crown.

“If you’re happy away from the court, if your private life and your personal life is good, that will help everything,” added the 27-yearold, who spent some time honing his clay skills in Barcelona before the Munich event.

“Obviously, for me that’s very good right now ... but you still need to put in the hard work as well, which I did in Barcelona and Munich, and I’ve been rewarded for that.” l

Pakistan hopeful of reviving bilateral cricket with India n AP, New Delhi

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said Monday he was hoping for a resumption of bilateral cricket ties with India in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

“The security situation is improving very fast (in Pakistan), but right now, India won’t be able to come for a full tour,” Khan told the Headlines Today news channel after a meeting with Board of Control for Cricket in India President Jagmohan Dalmiya in Kolkata on Sunday.

“There is much hope and expectation that the

series will take place in December in the UAE. We want to make sure this happens now.”

Khan said fans were keen for a revival of cricket between the two countries.

“If the approval of the government is required, fine. But we should make a very clear decision because our public and the entire world wants to see Pakistan and India play each other,” Khan said.

Pakistan has not hosted international cricket since a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore in 2009.

India suspended bilateral ties after Paki-

stani militants killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008. Pakistan toured India for a short limited overs series in 2012-13, but there has been no series between the two neighbors since.

Khan said a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the two boards to play five series in eight years and that the proposed series in the UAE would feature three tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games. The Indian cricket board said in a statement that it was “desirable to recommence such cricket contact” but added that the situation would be reviewed later. l

Gerrard urges Liverpool to move forward n AFP, London

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard urged the club to look to the future after their Champions League hopes all but evaporated following a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday.

Gerrard, 34, will leave Anfield for the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the season, but he said that despite Brendan Rodgers’s side coming up short, there were plenty of grounds for optimism.

“I think now this team’s got to prepare for next year,” he told Sky Sports.

“There’s a great core of players here. This league is getting more and more difficult every year. We lost (Luis) Suarez (to Barcelona), we haven’t had Daniel Sturridge (due to injury). It’s been tough.”

Liverpool granted newly crowned champions Chelsea a guard of honour prior to kick-off

and Gerrard, who twice nearly joined the west London club, said it had been an unpleasant moment.

“It’s not nice, the guard of honour, but Chelsea have won the league,” he said. “They deserved it, but it wasn’t nice doing it.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho revealed before the match that he had tried to sign Gerrard for Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and he said that he was sad to see the 34-yearold go.

Gerrard returned the compliment, saying: “I have huge respect for him. He’s the best manager in the world in my opinion.

“I would have signed for him on three occasions if I wasn’t such a big Liverpool fan. He’s the reason my head was turned on a couple of occasions. But he knew why I couldn’t do it, because I love Liverpool Football Club. It always means more when you win for your people. l

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30 DOWNTIME

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Misleading appearance (6) 5 Briny (3) 7 Fuss (3) 8 Reputation (6) 11 Decay (3) 12 Letting contract (6) 14 Table-shaped hill (4) 16 Held principle (5) 18 Angry (5) 20 Yield (4) 21 Ore (5) 23 Jump on one leg (3) 24 Talisman (6) 27 Lyric poem (3) 28 Play on words (3) 29 Coiled lengths of yarn (6)

DOWN 1 Tree (3) 2 Headwear (3) 3 Flatter (7) 4 Show excessive love (4) 5 Calm (6) 6 Shrewd (6) 9 Water pitcher (4) 10 Consume (3) 13 Keep apart (7) 14 Accident (6) 15 Chinese boat (6) 17 Border (4) 19 Greek letter (3) 22 Violently deranged (4) 25 Hawaiian garland (3) 26 Apple Isle (abb) (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 11 represents M so fill M every time the figure 11 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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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SHOWTIME 31

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

Jon and Mithila reunite on screen

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

n Showtime Desk Jon Kabir and Mithila paired up again to appear in a Television drama titled Cry Baby Cry just one year after the duo shared a screen for the first time. Written and directed by Mabrur Rashid Bannah, who was behind the pair’s endeavour titled Anger Story, the single episode drama will air during the upcoming Eid holidays.

As the director seemed reluctant to reveal much, there is very little public knowledge about the plot line.

The most we know at this point is that there is definitely romance involved in the story. Jon, the former front man of the alternative rock band Black and currently a member of Indalo, will play a melodramatic man who is friends with Mithila’s character.

Ishika Khan, model and actress was also cast in a vital role for the drama.

Made under the banner of Underground Creative Factory (UCF), the production is currently in progress. l

Stand-up Comedy Show (Bangla)

Ellie Goulding @elliegoulding

James Franco @JamesFrancoTV Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers!

Damn, I got a GOOD ONE!

Performers: Naveed Mahbub, Parvez Sumon

Pharrell Williams @Pharrell Happy Mother’s Day to my mom Dr. Carolyn Williams and all the loving and caring mothers around the world

Venue: Caspian, 3rd floor, RM Centre, 101 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan, Dhaka 1212 Date: May 14, 2015 Time: 7:30pm Info: 01755618541

WHAT TO WATCH

Organiser Naveed’s Comedy Club

Piggy Chops new venture n Mahmood Hossain Let’s check off a few things on Priyanka Chopra’s successful celebrity life. Former Miss World winner? Check. National Award

winning actress? Check. International recording artist? Check. Naturally as an A-lister, Ms Chopra is diverting her attention to the small screen. Say what?

That’s right, Priyanka Chopra will be playing the lead in a green lit television show on ABC in the United States.

With the pilot episode wrapped up in Los Angeles, the Bollywood bombshell will be playing as FBI agent Alex Parrish on the show Quantico. Alex Parrish is half-Caucasian, half-Indian trainee with a haunting past. The 32-year old actress will be supported by Dougray Scott, Jake McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis, Yasmine Al Massri, Johanna Brady, Tate Ellington and Graham Rogers. Each actor plays a character in a diverse group of recruits at the FBI Quantico Base for training.

However, this isn’t going to stop The Times of India sixth most desirable woman from making Bollywood hits. Her latest, Dil Dhadakne Do, directed by Zoya Akhtar, will be releasing soon and the success will surely continue. l

Shooter B Zee Studio 9:30pm A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the President. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to find the real killer and the reason he was set up.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Rhona Mitra The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring A HBO 8:30pm A meek hobbit of the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring and the dark lord Sauron Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom American Pie 2 C Star Movies 8:00pm The continuing bawdy adventures of a group of friends reuniting after their first year of college.

Cast: Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Shannon Elizabeth

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32 BACK PAGE

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015

TOFAIL: TICFA FAILS TO BRING BENEFITS PAGE 15

BAYERN LOOK FOR MUNICH MIRACLE PAGE 25

PIGGY CHOPS NEW VENTURE PAGE 31 SC upholds ban on national anthem use as ringtone n Ashif Islam Shaon

This is a fisheye view of a renovated section of Boro Sardar Bari, a historical building in Sonargaon, Narayanganj. Once full renovation works are complete in November, it is expected to be opened to public and will also provide a new space for the National Folk and Crafts Museum SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

What’s in a name? A lot, it turns out n Tribune Desk The world’s health authority has recently sounded the alarm on careless nomenclature, pointing out that the name of a disease can have unexpected adverse effects.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on scientists, national authorities and the media to follow best practices in naming new human infectious diseases to minimize unnecessary negative effects on nations, economies and people.

“In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr Keiji Fukuda, the organisation’s assistant director-general for health security, said.

“This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected. We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash

against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods,” he said.

Diseases are often given common names by people outside of the scientific community. Once disease names are established in common usage through the Internet and social media, they are difficult to change, even if an inappropriate name is being used.

The best practices state that a disease name should consist of generic descriptive terms, based on the symptoms that the disease causes, for example respiratory disease, neurologic syndrome, watery diarrhoea.

More specific descriptive terms such as progressive, juvenile, severe, winter, can be used when robust information is available on how the disease manifests, who it affects, its severity or seasonality.

If the pathogen that causes the dis-

ease is known, it should be part of the disease name – coronavirus, influenza virus, salmonella.

Terms that should be avoided in disease names include geographic locations such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Spanish Flu, Rift Valley fever; people’s names, as in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Chagas disease or a species of animal or food for instance swine flu, bird flu, monkey pox.

Cultural, population, industry or occupational references – Legionnaires disease, for example – and terms that incite undue fear – as in unknown, fatal, epidemic – should not be used.

The final name of any new human disease is assigned by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is managed by WHO. ICD is used by doctors, nurses, researchers, health information managers and coders, policy makers, insurers and patient organizations around the world to classify diseases and other health problems for records and statistics. l

The Supreme Court has upheld a 2010 High Court verdict that declared the use of national anthem as ringtone for mobile phones illegal.

A three-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha yesterday passed the order after dismissing two separate pleas filed by Banglalink and Grameenphone challenging the High Court verdict.

In 2006, Kalipada Mridha, an advocate, filed a writ petition with the High Court, saying the use of national anthem should be restricted to uphold its sanctity.

He said the National Anthem Act 1978 had detailed instructions about when, where and how the national anthem could be played.

The lawyer also said in his petition the use of national anthem as ringtone was violating the law and any commercial use of it went against fundamental rights and interests of the people.

Later in 2010, a High Court bench declared using the national anthem as ringtone and welcome tune in mobile phones illegal. It also instructed Grameenphone and Banglalink to donate Tk50 lakh each to the Liver Foundation and the National Institute of Kidney Research respectively.

The two mobile phone operators then filed separate pleas against the court verdict but the apex court yesterday dismissed those and also reduced the amount of donations to Tk30 lakh for both companies.

Masud Ahmed Sayeed, who represented Kalipada in the court yesterday, told reporters the operators have to donate the new amount set by the court within 30 days after the release of the full verdict.

“The operators have already stopped providing the national anthem as a ringtone content to the subscribers after the High Court verdict was pronounced,” he said. l

SSC result on May 30 n Shohel mamun Results of the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations 2015 will be published on May 30, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid to reporters yesterday at the secretariat.

The examinations had began on February 6 across the country amid the non-stop countrywide transport blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

A total of 1,479,256 students from 27,808 institutions across the country under the 10 educational boards took the examination.

Of the total, 763,339 are male students and 715,927 are female students.

The SSC exams starting date was shifted twice within a week from the original date of February 2 to February 4 and then again to February 6, a Friday, due to sudden nationwide hartals. l

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