July 23, 2015

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

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Shraban 8, 1422, Shawwal 6, 1436

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 97

DHAKA-ASHULIA $2BN INDIAN CREDIT LIKELY BY AUGUST PAGE 3 EXPRESSWAY HALVED

PAGE 5

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

‘OLDEST’ QURA’N FRAGMENTS FOUND IN UKPAGE 32

The what-not-to-do manual of politics n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Over the last nine years, the BNP has typically dealt with its own failures by taking time to regroup and reorganise. But the much touted – and much needed – reorganisation of the party has never actually taken place. Instead, the party has experienced an unrelenting losing streak and fallen into increasing disarray. In this series, the Dhaka Tribune looks into why the party has not been able to put its house in order in nearly a decade. This is the second part of the report

When the BNP stepped down in 2006 after completing its third tenure, nobody would have thought that it was the closest the party was ever going to get to having state power again.

Nine years later in 2015, with no representation even in parliament because of a national election boycott in 2014, the party that ruled the country three times since 1979, now appears to be the farthest from forming a government.

This is also the first time that the party has ever been totally out of the Jatiya Sangsad – neither as the treasury nor the opposition – since parliamentary democracy was reinstalled in Bangladesh in 1991.

Given the importance of being part of the legislature in parliamentary democracy, the boycott and failure to prevent the election despite bloody street protests meant that the BNP – who had never had any shortage of public support – was now on the wrong side of the political spectrum.

According to noted political researcher Rounaq Jahan: “Political leaders have recently been promising that they would strengthen  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Nine minors among 155 repatriated from Myanmar

Resolute Tigers eye first-innings lead

Sakhawat with Our n Adil Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Half-centuries from opener Tamim Iqbal and middle-order batsman Mahmudullah saw hosts Bangladesh continue their good run over the world’s number one Test side South Africa following the second day’s play of the opening five-dayer at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

Prior to yesterday’s start of proceedings, the Tigers were in the driving seat, thanks to the bowlers, and the batsmen ensured capitalisation of the advantage as they ended the day on 179/4, trailing the visitors’ first-innings tally by 69 runs.

The rain-break in the post-tea session should come as a blessing for the Proteas bowling department. Despite occasional breakthroughs, the South Africans largely

Myanmar yesterday repatriated 155 Bangladeshi people including nine children, who had been rescued at sea on May 29 on their way to Malaysia illegally.

Myanmar’s immigration department and Border Guard Police (BGP) handed them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel after a brief flag meeting at Bekubunia BGP camp in Maungdaw.

The BGB delegation, led by BGB 17 Commanding Officer Lt Col Md Rabiul Islam, returned to the country with the identified Bangladeshis around 3:30pm through the Ghumdhum border in Naikkhyangchhari upazila of Bandarban, says a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After the handover process, Sha Naing,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

PAGE 3 Zafrullah given more time to explain his comments

n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong

The third batch of 155 Bangladesh nationals, who were rescued from Myanmar’s sea territory on May 29, are being repatriated yesterday. The photo was taken at Ghundum border point in Naikhyongchhari upazila of Bandarban district DHAKA TRIBUNE

PAGE 4 Ctg mayor, Feni MP acquitted from murder attempt charges

PAGE 5 Home minister: Efforts on to extradite Rajon’s killer

PAGE 9 India, Japan, US plan Indian Ocean war games

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 32 9th grader gang-raped in Lalbagh

DT

NEWS 3

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

$2bn Indian line of credit likely finalised by August n Asif Showkat Kallol A second line of credit from India worth $2bn is likely to be finalised in August, as Bangladeshi officials meet to work out the terms of the loan contract, described by some officials as “harsh.”

The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), which will extend the loan, proposes to invest in seven sectors, namely, power, railways, road transportation, information and communication technology, shipping, health and technical education.

An inter-ministerial meeting has been called by Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division (ERD) on August 2 to review the “harsh conditions” set by Exim Bank and to prepare for negotiations with the Indian side, an ERD official, asking not to be named, said.

ERD Additional Secretary Mohammad Asif-uz-Zaman is likely to preside over the meeting, the official said.

The ERD official said the $2 billion loan contract would be signed with India’s Exim Bank within the next two months. The Indian and Bangladeshi governments have signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard.

According to the draft loan agreement, the contract will be signed between the government of Bangladesh and the Export-Import Bank of India.

The proposed interest rate for the dollar-denominated line of credit is 1% per year, but in the event of default, the interest rate will increase to 2% per year. The proposed commitment fee for the credit line is 0.5% per year, according to the draft agreement.

Under the proposed agreement, goods

and services, including consultancy services, worth at least 75% of the contract price must be supplied by Indian firms, but will be procured by Bangladesh. The remaining 25% of goods and services to be procured by Bangladesh must have Indian consent.

Procurements will be made via competitive bidding and will be publicised in the local and Indian press, but India’s Exim Bank will approve Indian bids. Moreover, the Export-Import Bank of India will not be held liable for the cancellation or suspension of the procurement of any good or service, according to the draft agreement.

Bangladeshi authorities will inspect the goods and services and will submit a status report on the execution of each contract every six months until the contracts are fulfilled.

A Finance Division official said if the Indi-

an side invests in the two proposed economic zones at Bheramara and Mongla, the funds will be released quickly. But if the $2bn Indian credit line is invested in an assortment of development projects, disbursements will take longer.

Before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran visited the proposed economic zones at Bheramara and Mongla and spoke about the construction of connecting roads and development infrastructure there, the finance official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The finance official said the Indian credit line had not been included in this year’s budget allocation.

India provided Bangladesh the first $1bn soft loan in 2010, during the tenure of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. l

Charge sheets filed against 58 BNP leaders n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu The police have submitted two charge sheets against 58 BNP leaders and activists, including standing committee members Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah and MK Anwar, in a case filed over an arson attack on a vehicle on January 23.

Md Muraduzzman, sub-inspector of Jatrabari police station and also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheets with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday.

The IO also filed a petition for discharging 16 other accused from the allegations as the allegations brought against them were not proved during primary investigation.

One of the charge sheets was submitted under the Explosive Substances Act while the other was submitted under the penal code.

General Recording Office Sub-Inspector Ujir Ali said the charge sheets would be produced before the court on August 2.

The other charge-sheeted accused include Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Amanullah Aman, Barkatullah Bulu, Selima Rahman, Serin Sultana, Maruf Kamal Khan, Shimul Biswas, Journalist Shawkat Mahmud, Mir Sharafat Ali Sapu, Azizul Bari Helal, former MP Salauddin Ahmed and Nabiullah Nabi.

According to the case statement, miscreants hurled a petrol bomb and torched a vehicle of Tarab Paribahan in front of Kajla Mohila Madrasa at the capital’s Jatrabari area on January 23 during the blockade-hartal programme of the BNP-led alliance.

A day after the incident, SI Abdullah Biswas filed a case with Jatrabari police station in this regard. l

A girl uses an empty drum in an effort to scoop out the ankle-deep rainwater that had inundated her family's room near the DND dam area in Kodomtoli of Narayanganj yesterday. During monsoon, water inundation becomes a regular headache for the locals in the area DHAKA TRIBUNE

Zafrullah given more time to explain his comments n Tribune Report The International Crimes Tribunal 2 has given Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury two more weeks to explain his comments on its judges.

A Magsaysay award-winner and a freedom fighter, Zafrullah was supposed to place his reply yesterday. But he sought more time ap-

pearing before the tribunal earlier in day.

Accepting his petition, the three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan fixed August 5 for submission of the explanation.

On July 12, he was asked to appear before the tribunal and explain “why he would not be punished for contemptuous remarks.” The tribunal order came in response to a petition filed by pro-government activists on July 6.

The petition says that Zafrullah made contemptuous comments before the media on June 10. On that day the court found him guilty of contempt of court, imprisoned him at the courtroom for an hour and fined him Tk5,000 for criticising the punishment of Bangladesh-based UK journalist David Bergman.

According to media reports, Zafrullah said: “Today’s contempt of court verdict is the

proof of mental sickness of the three judges.”

On June 16, the Supreme Court stayed until July 5 the tribunal’s verdict that fined Zafrullah Tk5,000. However, on June 18, the tribunal issued arrest warrant against the freedom fighter “for his failure in paying the money.”

On June 21, the tribunal recalled it after Zafrullah submitted a Supreme Court stay order with his petition. l

DT

4 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Ctg mayor, Feni MP acquitted from murder attempt charges n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday acquitted city Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Feni-based Awami League lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari and 16 others in a case filed over the murder attempt on a Bangladesh Chhatra League leader in 1993.

Chittagong District and Sessions Judge SM Nurul Huda delivered the verdict in the morning about 22 years after of the case had been lodged, said court sources.

Apart from Nasir and Hazari, Chittagong city Panel Mayor Chowdhury Hasan Mahmud Hasni, former Chhatra League leaders Khorshed Alam, Shahidul Islam Mintu, Simanto Talukder, Shamsul Huda Mintu, Wahidul

Alam Shimul, Shafi Dobhas, Shakil Mahmud, Shahnewaj Saki, Faruk Ahmed, Sokul Chandra Das, Minhajur Rahman, Raihan Yusuf, Sohrab Hossain Majumder, Imran Yusuf and Abdul Mannan were also acquitted.

Apart from three on the run, 15 of the accused appeared before the court yesterday.

“There were also dissimilarities among the depositions given by the witnesses and the plaintiff said he did not want any prevention,” said Chittagong Public Prosecutor Abul Hashem.

On January 24, 1993, Chittagong city unit Chhatra League’s then publicity secretary Sufian Siddique filed the case against 19 people accusing them of trying to kill him during a clash at a rally of Sheikh Hasina at Laldighi ground.

CU BCL president ditches murder allegation n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Alamgir Tipu, the newly-selected president of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s Chittagong University unit, has denied having any involvement with the 2013 double murder that took place in the port city’s CRB area.

“I have no involvement with the double murder incident. I even did not know about the killings before my arrest,” Chhatra League President Tipu said during a press conference at Chittagong Press Club yesterday.

“My name is not mentioned in the case filed by the mother of a deceased. Kotwali police arrested me along with my senior political brother Saiful Islam Limon the day the murder took place,” he said citing the case statement.

Dhaka Tribune ran a report tiled “Murder suspect made president of CU Chhatra League committee” on July 21.

Two people were killed on June 24, 2013 when members of two rival groups of Chhatra League clashed in CRB area over the submission of tender documents.

Apart from the victim’s family, Kotwali police filed another case in which Tipu, then organising secretary of the unit, is named as an accused.

He was freed on bail on August 4 the same year. The Detective Branch of police is investigating the case.

The new general secretary, HM Fazly Rabbi Sujon, is also accused in a case filed under the explosives act over trading gun shots between two groups of Chhatra League on September 27 last year at a dormitory. He is also on bail.

The new committee was formed on July 20. Central General Secretary Siddique Nazmul Alam earlier told the Dhaka Tribune that they had selected the leaders based on information gathered from the detectives, locals and political leaders in Chittagong and the local policymakers.

The previous committee was dissolved on June 10 last year after a factional clash on the campus.

At least five bloody clashes took place after the committee had been dissolved leaving a Chhatra League activist killed.

At yesterday’s press conference, the top Chhatra League leaders promised to stop factional clashes, making the campus free from anti-liberation forces and ensuring congenial atmosphere on the campus.

The new committee leaders also placed 10 demands asking the university authorities to ease session jam, increasing shuttle train compartments and arranging residential facilities for the female students. l

Police submitted charge sheet against 18 accused on March 7, 1993. Eight out of the 12 witnesses testified at the court. A defence plea for reexamination was turned down.

Later, AJM Nasir lodged a revision case with the High Court in 1994 after which the proceedings of the cases remained stalled until 2014.

On March 9, 2014, an HC bench ordered for the disposal of the revision, finishing the case procedures in six months and recalling the first eight witnesses. Following that order, proceedings resumed on April 6.

The court rerecorded the deposition of those eight witnesses and seven new ones mentioned in the charge sheet. Finally, all the proceedings of the case were wrapped up on July 14. l

Cricketers receive electricity connections n Tribune Report Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (REB) has given electricity connections to 238 subscribers in Mohishdanga village under Satkhira’s Ashashuni upazila including Soumya Sarkar, an allrounder and a top-order batsman of Bangladesh cricket team.

The task was done on July 14, upon the completion of construction of a two-kilometre electricity line in the area following the order of REB chairman, said a press release.

Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque, former MP Monsur Ahmed, Satkhira District Administrator Nazmul Ahsan, Ashashuni Upazila Nirbahi Officer Momtaj Begum were present at the inauguration. Power connection was also given to the house of Mostafizur Rahman, a Bangladeshi left-arm fast bowler, in Tetulia village under Kaliganj upazila of the same district two months back, the release said. l

DT

NEWS 5

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway halved n Shohel Mamun The government has decided to reduce the length of Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway to 22km, saying the original design is no longer necessary.

The expressway’s original plan depicted it to be 42km long, connecting Dhaka airport with National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar via Abdullahpur, Ashulia, Dhaka EPZ and Chandra, with four intersections at Turag, Ashulia, Baipali and Chandra, said a report by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), which was assigned by the Bridges Division for the project’s initial study.

However, according to the new plan, the expressway is now 22km and will connect Dhaka Airport with Baipali via Ashulia, with

no intersections.

The construction work will begin next month, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at a press briefing yesterday.

“We are backing away from the 42km plan because the road between Savar and Baipali is a four-lane road now, which was two-lane when we formulated the plan. There is also an immediate plan to upgrade it to a six-lane road in place. So the elevated expressway need not be 42km long,” Bridge Division Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

Obaidul Quader said: “The elevated expressway will connect Baipali and Ashulia and the road between those two places cannot be upgraded to four-lane or six-lane road

due to problems with land acquisition.”

The Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway is supposed to be an extension of the 26km Dhaka Elevated Expressway that will link the airport with Dhaka-Chittagong highway near Shanir Akhra to enable quick entry and exit of vehicles to and from Dhaka and facilitate transit trade with India, Nepal and Bhutan.

On January 22, the Bridges Division inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China National Machinery IMP & EXP Corp (CMC) to construct the elevated expressway.

The project was approved in June 2011 at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs with an estimated cost of nearly $2 billion.

However, the CMC estimated almost double the original cost after completing their

feasibility study in May, which the Bridges Division did not find acceptable.

“We have yet to cancel the MoU. The Economic Relations Division (ERD) has been given the charge of taking decisions regarding this project,” Anwarul Islam said.

The government had initially decided to implement the project under public-private partnership, and a notice was issued inviting tenders from investors by July 31, 2011, as per the directive of the cabinet committee.

But the tender invitation did not receive positive response and the government has not been able to find any investor to build the PPP project, which is why it decided to run the project under a government-to-government agreement, resulting in the MoU with the CMC. l

CNG-run autorickshaws banned on highways n Shohel Mamun

The road in front of the Postogola bridge in Jurain, Old Dhaka, has been in a dilapidated condition due to the incessant rain for the last couple of days. Locals’ attempts to make the road somewhat usable by placing stones hardly eases the woes of passengers MEHEDI HASAN

Home minister: Efforts on to extradite Rajon’s killer Kamrul n Our Correspondent, Sylhet The government has taken all necessary measures to extradite Kamrul Islam – one of Rajon’s killers – back to Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said.

However, there remains some legal complications regarding his repatriation, the minister told reporters yesterday after visiting the family of Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon, who was mercilessly beaten to death by a group of men on July 8.

Following his meeting with Rajon’s parents at their Sylhet home, the minister added that

the government is trying to use its friendly relations with Saudi Arabia to expedite the process of bringing Kamrul back.

Replying to a query, Asaduzzaman Khan said a probe committee is currently looking into allegations of police negligence and bribery regarding the case. Steps would be taken for a speedy resolution of the sensitive case, he added.

During his visit to Rajon’s home in Kandigaon union’s Ali village, the minister handed over a cheque of Tk1 lakh to Rajon’s family.

Meanwhile, Muhitul Alam, the main suspect in Rajon’s murder, has submitted a confessional statement before the court of Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate Anwarul Haque.

Deputy Commissioner (media) Md Rahmat Ullah of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune.

On July 8, thirteen-year-old Rajon was beaten to death in Kumargaon by some men who falsely accused the teen of stealing a van.

The video of the brutal beating soon spread on social media platforms, triggering massive outrage among the public.

So far, 11 arrests have been made in connection with the murder, while investigation is still going on regarding claims that two police officials of the Jalalabad police station took Tk6 lakh in bribe to let Kamrul flee to Saudi Arabia. l

The government has decided to ban CNG-run autorickshaws on the country’s highways with a view to reducing road accidents, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday.

Speaking at a press briefing in his office at the Secretariat, the minister further said the authorities had also decided to make it mandatory to assign at least two drivers to every long-haul bus during a trip.

He said reckless driving was the main reason behind the road accidents that claimed the lives during the Eid holidays, refuting the allegations of faulty roads.

Talking about accident-prone areas on the highways, the minister said: “We have identified four such black spots in Sirajganj.

We have taken some steps to solve this problem, and will start with construction of road divider on the roads, similar to DhakaAricha road.”

He said traffic situation on Dhaka-Tangail highway collapsed before Eid because eight vehicles had broken down on the road at the same time.

“We stepped in to resolve the issue and cleared out the road in a short time.”

He further said although the bus owners had promised not to use unfit vehicles for Eid trips, they clearly did.

“We have decided to punish the bus owners who ran their unfit vehicles during Eid rush, as well as the officials who did not monitor the roads properly.”

However, the officials who did their jobs well during Eid holidays would be rewarded as well, Quader added.

Speaking of road development, the minister said the construction of 70-km four-lane highway from Joydebpur, Gazipur to Elenga, Tangail would begin in September.

Following that project, the road between Elenga to Bonpara-Hatokomrul via Bangabandhu Bridge will be upgraded. “This project will cut down the number of road accidents.” l

DT

6 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Over 50,000 in danger as dam faces collapse n Tribune Report Over 50,000 people of 20 villages at Sharonkhola upazila, Bagerhat are in danger as a dam of Water Devlopment Board (WDB) on the bank of Baleshwari River has developed serious structural weaknesses and is on the verge of collapse.

Sources said two constriction firms – Messers SS and Alam Construction - started the work of the dam in 2014-2015 fiscal year at cost of Tk32 crore donated by World Bank.

They completed the work two months ago.

Ten villages including Bogi, Tebereka, Gabtola, Chalitabunia, Rayenda, Bilbunia, Rajeshar,Lakurtala of Southkhali union council were flooded after breaking open the dam Locals said a large portion of the dam near 35/1 holder in Tafalbari collapsed yesterday due to high tide.

According to WDB sources, the people of 20 villages of Southkhali and Raenda unions are in danger as the dam might collapse any time if proper steps are not taken.

Meanwhile, many people of the area including Abdul Halim Sheikh, Abdur Sabur

Akhond, Muhidul Islam, Abdul Haque, Dulal, Liton and Zakir Ghorami went another places in last two days for shelter leaving their homesteads.

They said the dam might collapse anytime as about 700 kilometers of the dyke had already been grasped by the river.

If proper steps are not taken, many important structures including Tafalbari police out post, Southkhali Union Parishad, Tafalbari Bazar, bazars, hundreds of homesteads, croplands, schools, roads will go into the river bed as cracks have been found in several places of the dyke.

Ten villages including Bogi, Tebereka, Gabtola, Chalitabunia, Rayenda, Bilbunia, Rajeshar,Lakurtala of Southkhali union council were flooded after breaking open the dam.

Jalil Howlader, Delwar Hossain, Abul Hossain, Yousuf Hossain living nearby the dam

One dies in Gaibandha clash over land dispute Correspondent, n Our Gainbandha A young man was killed and 11 others were injured in a clash over the ownership of a piece of land at Mohipur village, Sadullahpur upazila Gaibandha yesterday morning.

Police have arrested eight people, including two women, over the killing of Saharul Fakir, 40, after the clash.

Officer-in-Charge of Sadullapur police station told the Dhaka Tribune that there had been a long-standing dispute between Mofiz Mia and Ramjan Ali over the ownership of a

piece of land. A case remains pending in this regard.

The clash ensued between the supporters of Mofiz Mia and Ramjan Ali when they went to the land to sow saplings. The rivals used lethal weapons during the clash, leaving 12 people injured.

Sub-inspector of Dhaperhat police outpost Rezaul Karim said on receiving information police rushed to the spot and sent three people to Rangpur Medical College Hospital while nine others to Polasbari Upazila Health Complex. Saharul died at Rangpur Medical College Hospital. l

Muggers kill youth Correspondent, n Our Bhola A youth was hacked to death by a gang of muggers at Char Nurul Amin village, Charfashion upazila, Bhola yesterday.

Police arrested four people in this connection. The arrested were identified as Farid, Habib, Shahjahan and Sumon.

Officer-in-charge of Charfashion police station Abul Bashar told the Dhaka Tribune that the four youths tried to

snatch mobile phone of Abdul Mannan, son of Ali Ahmed, When Mannan tried to put up resistance against the muggers, they stabbed him severely.

She was taken to Charfasion Upazila Health Complex where on duty doctor declared him dead.

Local people said the trio - Habib, Shahjahan and Sumon – came to the house of Farid from Munshiganj with intention to snatch phone from people. A case was filed in this connection. l

said that they could not sleep at night sensing the fear of collapse of the dyke.

Sarankhola Upazila Chairman Kamaluddin said most of the houses of the common men on both sides of the dam were collapsed or blown away by the attack of cyclone SIDR in 2007.

As cracked developed at the dam within a short period, the common people got afraid thinking it if natural disasters like SIDR will happen again.

“The concern authorities should proper steps to repair the damaged dam immediately,” he said.

The upazila vice-chairman Hasanuzzaman

said that the major portion of the dam was damaged due to heavy rain in the last few days.

He alleged that poor quality materials were used for the purpose of construction.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Atul Mondol said low quality sand was mixed with the materials and those parts were damaged where the sand was used heavily.

Md Mynuddin, executive engineer of the WDB, said when the dam was built, the river was in a long distance. “Due to erosion, the river reached near the dam and it is on the verge of collapse,” he said. l

DT

NEWS 7

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Bus service through Hatirjheel project area soon n Shohel Mamun The government is going to introduce a bus service through Hatirjheel area with a view to easing sufferings of townspeople as well as reduce traffic congestion in the capital.

Project Director of Hatirjheel Major Kazi Shakil Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the proposed bus service through Hatirjheel would start within the next two months. Under the service, buses will run from FDC intersection to Rampura.

“We have already purchased six buses for the service. Of the buses, two are air-conditioned,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the bus service would start before Eid-ul-Ajha. The projector director also said a committee was working to fix the fare of the route.

The official said when the services would start the city dwellers would be able to easily visit Hatirjheel area, a place of tourists’ attraction.

Commuters who travel from eastern part to western part of the city every day are suf-

fering immensely as they have to brave traffic congestion and travel more areas since the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) had not given permission to run public transport through Hatirjheel project area.

Consequently, commuters who travel on public transport on the route especially from Rampura, Bonosri, Merul, Badda and Baridhara areas are the worst sufferers.

Hence, commuters have been demanding public transport service through the project area for long.

Taking the advantage, some transport owners in collaboration with DMP officials are running human hauliers in the area and charging higher fare from passengers.

Currently, a number of illegal microbuses are carrying passengers from Karwanbazar to Rampura route through Hatirjheel area.

Joint Commissioner of the DMP (traffic) Mosleh Uddin, however, denied their involvement with the plying of microbuses on the route.

During a visit to Karwan Bazar area, this correspondent found that fare of microbus

has been fixed at Tk20.

Some passengers said when they asked transport workers about higher transport charge, they said authorities had fixed the fare.

Commuters who travel on public transport on the route especially from Rampura, Bonosri, Merul, Badda and Baridhara areas are the worst sufferers But transport workers were reluctant to reveal who was the authorities that fixed the fare.

About the microbus transportation, Kazi Shakil said: “The services are totally illegal.

When we will start the bus service on the route, we will strictly impose a ban on the plying of such illegal vehicles in the area.” l

WEATHER RAIN OR THUNDERSHOWERS

THURSDAY, JULY 23 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:47PM

SUN RISES 5:23AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

33

26

Chittagong

32

26

Rajshahi

32

26

Rangpur

31

26

Khulna

31

26

Barisal

32

26

Sylhet

31

25

Cox’s Bazar

30

26

24.5ºC

Rajshahi

Tangail Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:00am 5:23am 12:05am 4:42pm 6:47pm 8:11pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

A faulty drainage system has resulted into severe waterlogging in Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila leaving more than a hundred families marooned.

Since July 10, the families in Beraiderhala village and surrounding areas under the upazila are bearing untold miseries due to the incessant rainfall.

Upon a visit, this correspondent found absence of a proper drainage and sewerage system and a number of streets and tin-shed houses almost flooded in the village.

Rainwater has entered many of the households leaving the people in dire straits.

Many of the inhabitants of the area claimed that the drainage system was built in such a manner that rainwater could not pass through it. It was higher than the level of water clogged in the area. So pedestrians often have to fold their clothes up to knees and walk through the dirty rain water on the streets during monsoon.

A number of houses go under water after heavy downpour, they described with anger.

Shirin Sultana, a housewife living in the area, said: “It has been 14 days since we are living in knee-deep water inside our house.

We have built a makeshift structure and hung it from the roof where we stay awake at night.”

“Unplanned dumping of land and a faulty drainage system is responsible for the situation,” alleged Alauddin, chairman of Golden Star Academy in Beraiderchala village.

Sreepur City Corporation Engineer Sanowar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune: “The water-logging was caused due to the Eid vacation as many of the garment factories in Gazipur had dumped their industrial wastes in a haphazard manner which blocked the drains thus blocking the rainwater to pass away.

Necessary steps for removing the rain water will be taken soon.” l

8 die in road accidents n Tribune Report

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34ºC

Faulty drainage system makes 100 families marooned

Bangladesh Air Force hands over the Indian Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft that was used in Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War to the Liberation War Museum in Agargaon yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

At least eight people were killed in accidents on roads in Munshiganj and Gazipur.

In Munshiganj, four people were killed in an accident on the Dhaka-Mawa Highway at Nimtoli under Sirajdikhan upazila.

Police said a bus of Ilish Pribahan rammed into a three wheeler locally known as ‘Lguna’ on the highway leaving Russel,30, Ershad, 32, and two unidentified persons dead on the spot. Locals vandalised several vehicles at the incident and blocked the highway.

In Gazipur, four people, including a student of Notre Dam Police said a Dhaka-bound bus hit Zakir Hossain, 18, Class XI student of Notre Dame College, in Cherag Ali area on the Dhaka- Mymensingh Highway while he was crossing the road. Locals rescued him and sent to Tongi Hospital. Later, he died. An unidentified youth was crushed under the wheels of a speedy bus in Tongi on the highway, added the SI. Former UP member Ahsan Ullah was killed as a truck hit him in Bhabani Bazar area around 9pm when he was returning home.

Besides, a bus driver was killed in a triangular collision among two buses and a CNG run auto-rickshaw. l

DT

8 WORLD

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Suicide bomber kills 19 in Afghan market n AFP, Mazar-i-Sharif

A suicide bomber killed 19 people including women and children yesterday when he blew himself up in a northern Afghan market, as militants intensify their annual summer offensive despite nascent peace talks.

The attack in Almar district of Faryab province, bordering Turkmenistan, highlights the heavy toll of such attacks on civilians after 13 years of war.

No group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

The suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden vest in the main market of the volatile district of Almar, killing at least 19 people, according to Faryab police chief Subhan Quli Ebrahimi and the United Nations.

“Women, children and at least one Afghan army soldier were among those killed,” Faryab governor Abdul Sattar Barez told AFP, adding that around three dozen others were wounded.

Almar district chief Saleh Mohammad Saleh said that some of the wounded were in a critical condition and had been taken to the provincial capital Maimanah. l Signed petitions supporting French tobacconists fall on demonstrators who stage a protest march in Paris, France yesterday. France’s tobacconists are protesting plans to force cigarette companies to use plain, unbranded packaging, as part of anti-smoking legislation. The placard reads: ‘President Hollande, stop using a smokescreen’ REUTERS

After labelling, EU think-tank proposes banking steps on Israel n Reuters, Jerusalem The EU agreed this week to push ahead with introduction of labels that specifically identify Israeli goods made in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a policy that has angered Israel; but now an influential European thinktank is proposing going much further, including the targeting of Israeli banks.

The European Council on Foreign Relations, which frequently informs EU policy, argued in a paper yesterday that the EU is in breach of its own laws. It had to go further to distinguish its dealings with Israel from Israel’s activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it has occupied since 1967.

European diplomats have long said that labelling - to make clear the goods originate

in settlements - is only the first in a series of steps the EU could take against Israel over its settlements policy, one that in financial terms is expected to have a relatively minor impact on the Israeli economy.

But the new proposals would go much deeper and further, reaching into banking, loans and mortgages, qualifications earned in settlement institutions and the tax-exempt status of European charities that deal with Israeli settlements.

“Under its own regulations and principles, Europe cannot legally escape from its duty to differentiate between Israel and its activities in the occupied Palestinian territories,” says the report.

The most significant proposal is on banking, where large Israeli institutions have daily

dealings with major European banks.

Under European Commission guidelines from 2013, EU- and member-state-funded lending cannot be provided to Israeli entities operating in the occupied territories.

The issue extends into loans and mortgages: settlement property cannot be used as collateral for a European loan since Israeli-issued property deeds are not recognised.

Another area relates to qualifications from academic, medical and other Israeli institutions based in the West Bank since the EU does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the territory.

Likewise, there is a question mark over whether the EU should deal with Israeli institutions - such as the Ministry of Justice, the building ministry and the national police headquarters - which are based in East Jerusalem. l

Greece to vote on second bailout bill n AFP, Athens

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras yesterday faced a new test of his authority in parliament, where lawmakers were to vote on a second batch of reforms to help unlock a huge new bailout for Greece’s stricken economy.

The second bill covers civil justice reforms, a bank deposit protection scheme, and measures to shore up the liquidity of the nation’s banks, which reopened only Monday after a three-week closure that was imposed to avert a run on banks and a catastrophic collapse of Greece’s financial system.

The government received a boost Tuesday when Standard & Poor’s raised its credit rating on Greece by two notches to CCC+ from CCC, still in junk territory, but a step in the right direction.

Yesterday Tsipras met with executives from the banks, which have seen some 40 billion euros withdrawn since December by customers anxious over the safety of their cash.

“The priority right now is to normalise the [financial] system, but at the same time to protect low-income citizens,” state news agency ANA quoted Tsipras as saying. l

Tennessee shooter’s uncle to 19-year-old Palestinian shot be interrogated in Jordan dead in West Bank raid n Reuters, Amman

US investigators are in Jordan to interrogate the Jordanian-American uncle of a suspect in the shooting of five US servicemen in Tennessee last week, the man’s lawyer said yesterday.

The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, was killed in a gunfight with police on July 16 after he opened fire at a military recruitment centre in Chattanooga and the nearby Naval Reserve Centre.

The suspect’s family say he had long-standing psychological and substance abuse issues and went to stay with his uncle, Assad Ibrahim Abdulazeez Haj Ali, in Amman to help his recovery. Investigators say he had been searching for jihadist material that may have inspired the attack.

Jordanian authorities arrested Haj Ali on Friday and he was being interrogated by both Jordanian and US investigators, his lawyer said. l

n Reuters, Ramallah Israeli security forces on an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank shot and killed a Palestinian yesterday when clashes broke out with residents, Palestinian sources said.

A Palestinian hospital official said Mohammed Alawneh, 19, was shot in his chest and taken to hospital where he died of his wounds. The witness said Alawneh picked

up a stone to throw at a policeman and was shot.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military described the stone-throwing as “a violent riot.”

Israeli troops enter Palestinian-controlled territory frequently to detain people suspected

by Israel of militant activity.

The Palestinians condemn this practice as an encroachment on the limited self-rule they hold in parts of the West Bank. l

DT

WORLD 9

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

India, Japan, US plan Indian Ocean naval exercises n Reuters, New Delhi Japan is set to take part in joint naval exercises with India and the United States in the Indian Ocean in October, military and diplomatic sources said, a drill that so riled China eight years ago that Delhi has not since hosted such a multilateral war game.

The Indian Ocean has emerged as a new arena of competition between China making inroads and India trying to recover its position as the dominant maritime power in the region.

New Delhi’s decision to expand the “Malabar” exercises that it conducts with the United States each year to include Japan suggests a tightening of military relations between three major maritime powers in Asia, analysts said.

Military officials from India, the US and Japan met at a US navy base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, yesterday and today to plan the exercises, a navy and a diplomatic source in New Delhi said.

A Japanese government official in Tokyo confirmed the meeting and said representatives from the three navies were discussing Tokyo’s participation in the war games. He declined to be identified.

The officials will decide the type of warships and planes the navies will deploy for the exercises in the Bay of Bengal in the north-eastern Indian Ocean, said one of the sources familiar with the initial planning.

“They are discussing platforms, logistics and interoperability between the three naval forces,” said the source. India and the United States have fielded aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines in previous bilateral exercises.

An Indian defence ministry official de-

clined any comment on Malabar 2015, saying announcements will only be made closer to the event. A spokesman for Japan’s Maritime Self Defence Force said no decision had yet been taken on Japan’s participation.

Jeff Smith, a South Asia specialist at the American Foreign Policy Council, said Japan was keen to take part in the exercises this year at a time when it is expanding the role of its military against a more assertive China.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inclusion of Japan after some hesitation was part of a trending pattern of forging close ties with the US and its allies.

“I’d view aircraft carrier participation in this year’s drill as yet another signal from the Modi government that it was shedding the [previous] government’s anxiety about a more overt balancing posture toward China and a more robust strategic embrace of the US and Japan,” Smith said.

India last hosted a multilateral exercise in 2007 when it invited Japan, Australia and Singapore to join its drills with the US navy in the Bay of Bengal, prompting disquiet in Beijing where some saw it as a US-inspired security grouping in the making along the lines of NATO in Europe.

At the time, Beijing activated diplomatic channels seeking an explanation from the participating nations, said Gurpreet Khurana, Indian navy captain and executive director of the government-funded Maritime Foundation of India.

The exercises held in the Indian Ocean were scaled back in the following years, with India participating in three-way events only when it was away from its shores, such as last year’s drills off Japan’s Nagasaki coast.

But China’s expanding naval footprint in the Indian Ocean including submarines docking in Sri Lanka, just off the toe of India last year, and again in Karachi in May, has prompted Modi’s administration to accelerate naval modernisation as well as shore up ties with maritime nations.

“Modi’s Delhi is no longer willing to give Beijing a veto over its defence partnerships,” said C Raja Mohan, a top Indian foreign policy expert who has just published a book, “Modi’s World: Expanding India’s Sphere of Influence.”

Just as China had overridden India’s concerns about arch-enemy Pakistan and was building ports and roads under a $46 billion economic corridor, New Delhi was free to pursue closer security cooperation with the West and its partners, Mohan said.

The Indian Ocean has become the new global centre of trade and energy flows, accounting for half the world’s container traffic and 70 percent of its petroleum shipments.

More than three quarters of China’s oil transits through the Indian Ocean and its choke points such as the Malacca Straits, prompting its search for friendly ports and islands to secure the shipping lanes backed by an expanding Chinese navy, Chinese commentators say.

“India alone cannot assure the security of the Indian Ocean, even if it regards [it] as its backyard and wishes no one to compete with it there,” wrote Zhou Bo, an honorary fellow at the Beijing-based Academy of Military Science in the China Daily.

“If the Pacific Ocean is big enough to accommodate China and the US, so is the Indian Ocean to accommodate India and China.” l

Pakistan Supreme Court to hear Christian woman’s blasphemy case n Reuters, Lahore

Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday temporarily suspended the death sentence of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, her lawyer said, in a case that hit global headlines after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

Asia Bibi, a farm worker and mother of four, became the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law in 2010.

The Supreme Court will soon begin hearing an appeal against her conviction, said lawyer Saif-ul-Malook.

“The execution of Asia Bibi has been suspended and will remain suspended until the decision of this appeal,” Malook said. No date had been set for her execution, he added.

The prosecution lawyer was not available for comment.

The law in predominantly Muslim Pakistan does not define blasphemy but stipulates that the penalty is death.

While convictions for blasphemy are fairly common, with most cases involving members of religious minorities, a death sentence has never been carried out.

But many people have been killed by angry mobs after being accused of blasphemy. Human rights activists say accusations of blasphemy are sky rocketing because the law is often abused to settle grudges and seize money or property.

Attacks on those who have questioned the blasphemy law and called for reform, including the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on behalf of Bibi, have stifled debate.

Pakistani law does not define blasphemy but stipulates that the penalty is death

People gather at the site of car bomb in New Baghdad yesterday. Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters launched an offensive on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants and secure a supply route in Anbar province, police and tribal sources said REUTERS

The governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was shot dead by a bodyguard in 2011 after he had sought a presidential pardon for Bibi. The judge who later sentenced Taseer’s killer had to flee the country.

Islamist militants claimed responsibility for the murder later in 2011 of the then sole Christian government minister for challenging the blasphemy law.

The case against Bibi followed accusations by two sisters who accused her of making derogatory remarks about Islam.

Her lawyers say her neighbours had a grudge against Bibi because of an earlier dispute.

Malook said key witnesses had not appeared during hearings by the High Court.

“The real eyewitnesses ... never appeared before the court and backed out,” he said.

Evidence in blasphemy trials often cannot be reproduced in court for fear of committing another offence and judges and lawyers often refuse to hear cases because they fear being attacked.

A prominent human rights advocate defending a professor accused of making a blasphemous Facebook post was murdered last year. l

DT

10 WORLD

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Berlin demands answers Italy seizes 2bn euros over NSA spying allegations in mafia assets n AFP, Berlin Germany said yesterday it was “demanding answers” from the United States over fresh allegations of official US espionage, this time against the German foreign minister.

Berlin “confronted” Washington with German media reports based on Wikileaks documents indicating that the National Security Agency (NSA) “systematically” spied on Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman, Martin Schaefer, told reporters that the revelations, “if true,” were “damaging” relations between Germany and the United States. A high-ranking ministry official, Stefan Steinlein, phoned the US ambassador to Berlin, John Emerson, Tuesday.

“He confronted him with the accusations and stressed that we expect the necessary clarifications and explanations on this case and all the other cases that remain unresolved,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer said that during the nearly twoyear-long scandal over NSA spying against

Germany, information had only emerged “bit-by-bit and via media outlets.”

Meanwhile both Berlin and Washington “have all the reason in the world to have good and fruitful and constructive ties” given the diplomatic and security issues facing them as partners, he said.

The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR reported this week that the NSA had tapped a mobile phone number used by Steinmeier as early as 2005, at the beginning of his first term as foreign minister.

German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was dropped due to lack of proof.

Earlier this month Merkel’s chief of staff called Emerson to the chancellery over reports the United States did not just listen in on Merkel’s mobile phone but also eavesdropped on several ministers. l

n AFP, Rome Italian police said yesterday they had seized assets worth two billion euros ($2.2 billion) belonging to a powerful organised crime syndicate, in the latest sting against the mafia.

The assets snatched from the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, which controls much of Europe’s cocaine trade, included more than 1,500 betting shops, 82 online gambling sites and almost 60 companies, as well as numerous

properties, the police said.

Prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 28 people suspected of running the gambling empire and placed 23 others either under house arrest or ordered them to check in with the police.

The crew is believed to have been headed by mobster Mario Gennaro, who made his way up through the mob in the southern region of Calabria from local to regional chief because of the gambling ring’s success. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

INSIDE

Tajuddin Ahmad: Our tragic hero He was not inclined to verbosity. He was not an orator. It was his organisational abilities which complemented the inspirational leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

PAGE 12

Lessons from Greece Greece’s debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe is ready for

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 13

Build upon the BRICS Bank

Convicted for contempt, but no right of appeal Absence of a right of appeal in the ICT Act is definitely a step backwards when one considers the global trend in relation to contempt of court

PAGE 14

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

opinion.dt@dhakatribune. com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook. com/DhakaTribune

W

e welcome this week’s launch of the New Development Bank in Shanghai.

This new $50bn body established by the five BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- has a mandate to help developing countries finance infrastructure projects.

It will be a valuable addition to the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and complement existing lenders like the ADB and IMF. For Bangladesh, the new institutions not only offer extra options for funding vitally needed infrastructure programs, but provide a platform for developing relations with and increasing exports to the BRICS economies.

Economic growth in Bangladesh is acutely constrained by bottlenecks created by aging and overstretched infrastructure. Only about 3% of our GDP is currently spent on infrastructure, compared to up to 15% in China.

According to the World Bank, Bangladesh needs to invest $74bn in infrastructure to bring its power grids, ports, roads, and water supplies up to global standards. This level of investment amounts to 7.38% of the country’s GDP, and is at least three to five times the levels which the country has managed in the last decade.

The government needs to follow up all possible avenues to plug the nation’s infrastructure gap.

While it is encouraging that multilateral institutions are planning to increase infrastructure funding across Asia, Bangladesh also needs to nurture a more attractive climate for investors in order to take advantage of new funding possibilities.

Bringing political stability and guaranteeing rule of law to encourage investors are imperative to attracting more FDI and building the virtuous cycle of increased investment and trade which Bangladesh needs to boost economic growth rates. The government must do more to listen to businesses and increase incentives for investment in infrastructure if the economy is to live up to its potential.

Government needs to nurture a more attractive climate for investors to help the economy live up to its potential

DT

12 OPINION

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Tajuddin Ahmad: Our tragic hero never forgiven him for taking control of the liberation struggle now drove a wedge between him and his leader. Bangabandhu never sought to know from Tajuddin how he had organised the armed struggle.

It seared the soul in the battlefield leader to know that the Father of the Nation had little time for him. Worse was his feeling that Bangabandhu had opted for a definitive shift in foreign policy. A clear trend towards developing ties with the United States and towards closer association with donor institutions such as the World Bank left Tajuddin perturbed.

He had studiously ignored Robert McNamara in Delhi in early 1972. And yet it was McNamara he was compelled by circumstances to meet in 1974, a time when famine stalked the land and socialism did not appear to hold out much promise for Bangladesh.

There was something abrupt about Tajuddin’s departure from government. He spoke of resignation and told perhaps a lot of people about it. In the end, the satisfaction of leaving the government voluntarily was not to be his. It was Bangabandhu who asked him, in the larger national interest (as his brief note to Tajuddin pointed out), to submit his resignation.

Tajuddin Ahmad complied with the directive. Between that low point in his life and the end of life itself, he would lapse into silence. The assault on pluralist democracy, through the rise of the one-party BAKSAL system of government in January 1975, appalled him. It was the statesman in him that informed him of the tragedy ahead.

Bangabandhu would destroy himself,

Tajuddin remained loyal to Mujib, in spite of being relegated to finance minister

n Syed Badrul Ahsan

T

ajuddin Ahmad would be 90 years old today.

He was a mere 50 when he died.

Yet, in those five brief decades of his life, Tajuddin Ahmad achieved a feat rare in the history of political men. He rose to the peaks of leadership in the brilliance emitted

by Bangabandhu and remained there till almost the very end. In between, he managed to pull off what was certainly the most significant success for the Bengali nation, the formation of the very first Bengali government in history and the liberation of Bangladesh.

In recent years, a necessary revival of interest in the life and career of Tajuddin Ahmad has served to add the missing links to Bangladesh’s national history. Much of the revival is again a result of the strenuous efforts put into the story of the wartime leader by his daughters Sharmin Ahmad and Simeen Hussain Rimi. They have been instrumental in having Tajuddin’s life, in the form of biographies, letters, and diaries, researched and transcribed in Bangla and published in immaculate form.

Beyond Maidul Hasan’s Muldhara ’71 and Faruk Aziz Khan’s Spring 1971, not much has emerged to expand on the contributions Tajuddin Ahmad made to history in South Asia, indeed around the globe. Sharmin and Rimi, in recent years, have served as the driving forces behind a necessary retelling of the life and contributions of Tajuddin Ahmad

in Bangladesh’s history.

Their works are touching tributes to the humble, austere man who has, especially since his assassination in 1975, become an icon for students of history. They have offered his legacy anew to a nation that might well have been blown off course had he not been around to take charge.

Back in March 1971, the risk for Bengalis was double-edged. On the one hand, there was the spectacle of a captive Bangabandhu. On the other, there was no clear sign of anyone else in the Awami League hierarchy, at least up to that point, taking control and reassuring the country that everything was on course, or soon would be.

The call of duty was one that Tajuddin Ahmad heard loud and clear. By the time he found himself on Indian soil, he knew that exile, his and that of everyone else in those times of horror, would need to be purposeful.

He lost little time in meeting Indira Gandhi and laying out before her his plans of leading Bangladesh to liberation.

Tajuddin was clearly not happy at being relegated to the job of finance minister once Bangabandhu took charge as prime minister, but his acute sense of loyalty precluded demonstrating any hint of his displeasure.

Discipline was a lesson he had learned early on in life. He was not inclined to verbosity.

He was not an orator. It was his organisational abilities which complemented the inspirational leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

These two men, more than all those others

He was not inclined to verbosity. He was not an orator. It was his organisational abilities which complemented the inspirational leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

in the party, were the reason why Bangladesh needed to be. On their watch in the early 1960s came the Six Points. In early March 1971, as Yahya Khan and ZA Bhutto resorted to chicanery, it was the elemental MujibTajuddin strength that kept them at bay, until the junta let loose the dogs of war.

That was not the only tragedy. Somewhere between cobbling the Mujibnagar government into shape in 1971 and making his way out of government in 1974, Tajuddin was a lonely traveller.

Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani and his band of Mujib loyalists took it upon themselves to undermine the nation’s first prime minister even as he defined military strategy for a nation at war. There were other troubles as well. Tajuddin had to constantly look back, behind his shoulder, for there was a smell of conspiracy in Khondaker Mostaq.

Tajuddin’s loneliness took on newer dimensions in early 1972. The men who had

he reasoned. And with Bangabandhu gone, Tajuddin and everyone else would be pushed towards doom. And that was precisely the way things happened. As he went down the stairway of his residence in August 1975, a man in army custody, Tajuddin told his wife he might be going away forever. He was to return in November, shot and bayoneted to an ugly death.

It is the quiet legend of the man that was Tajuddin Ahmad we recall today. In the darkness that swept across the country on August 15, 1975, there were yet the intimations of light at the end of the tunnel. Someday, Tajuddin Ahmad might again take charge, as he had taken charge in April 1971, and restore the nation’s self-esteem.

But that was not to be. That has been our long agony, our own Greek tragedy. l Syed Badrul Ahsan is Associate Editor, The Daily Observer.

DT

OPINION 13

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

There’s no money left in Greek pockets to buy things

REUTERS

Lessons from Greece n Mamun Rashid

T

hough the crisis emerged out of the North American meltdown and the PIIGS crisis in Europe, it is Greece that has been in the headlines for the last month or so. Most are, by now, aware that the debt/GDP ratio of the Greek government has risen too high. While the size of their GDP is about $238bn, their government debt has risen to almost $320bn, ie 180% of their GDP. There is a saying: Don’t borrow beyond your means. In the banks, we were taught how net cash generation in the borrowing entity must be higher than its financial obligations. Some analysts feel that Greek authorities might have not done enough to manage its escalating debt.

Certainly, the Hellenic Republic came into the debt crisis with hemorrhaging budget deficits, and they could have done more over the past few years to prevent that debt rise.

However, the fiscal adjustment that the government has undertaken over the past five years is nothing short of being tantamount to swallowing many bullets.

The revenue increases and spending cuts that the Greek government has enacted over the past five years have led to a correction in the cyclically-adjusted budget balance worth almost 20% of the nation’s GDP. Questions may arise if the Greek government has done a good job in reducing its budget deficit -- if so, why then has the country’s debt/GDP ratio escalated by 80% since 2007? As a Wells Fargo report shows, between 2008 and 2011, the Greek government debt rose about 40%.

Although Greece was undergoing some serious fiscal adjustments during those years, it was still facing sizeable budget deficits, and these deficits added to the outstanding debt amount.

Debt fell sharply in early 2012, when private investors were forced to accept a debt restructuring that included cuts in excess of 50% of the face value of the bonds they held.

Government debt rebounded a bit over the next few quarters, but outstanding debt balance has remained more or less unchanged in recent years.

Greece’s debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe is ready for

The real GDP of Greece is currently down by 27%, from its Q2-2007 peak. It will probably fall further in the near term due to the freezing of commerce that has occurred with banks being closed over the past three weeks. As history shows, the real GDP in USA plunged 26% between 1929 and 1933.

However, positive economic growth resumed in 1934, and by 1936, the level of the US’s real GDP had reclaimed its 1929 peak.

Greece has endured a US-like depression, but after eight years, the economy has not even begun to recover.

Rather, the significant fiscal consolidation that the government has undertaken over the past five years has reportedly pushed the economy deeper into a hole. It is likely to be years, if not decades, for the real GDP in Greece to reach its peak.

The country recently reached a conditional agreement with its lenders for a third bailout that could total more than 80bn euros. IMF recently raised eyebrows when it announced that Greece’s debt dynamics were not sustainable, and that Greece’s debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe is ready for.

If the Greek government makes stringent fiscal choices, it will achieve a primary budget surplus of 4% of its GDP in 2019, and with a fasten-your-seat-belt 4.5% in each year in the next decade, the government debt/GDP ratio will recede to less than 100% in 2030.

However, the IMF tells us that a few countries have managed to maintain primary budget surpluses of 3.5% of its GDP for decades. If the primary budget surplus slips back to 1.5% of the GDP in the next decade, then the debt/GDP ratio will go much higher.

Widening budget deficits in the immediate aftermath of the global recession contributed to the increase in the Greek government debt in those years. However, Greece has undertaken an extraordinary amount of

fiscal consolidation since 2009, and the level of Greece’s government debt has remained more or less unchanged over the past two years. The increase in the debt/GDP ratio over the past few years, therefore, reflects the continued slump in the country’s nominal GDP. The activities which are required to bring about a sharp reduction in the country’s debt/GDP ratio in the coming years sound too optimistic. The government would need to undertake further fiscal consolidation and maintain austere budgets into the next decade.

Additionally, the country would need to experience strong economic growth. A recession or inability to maintain austere budgets would slow down, if not completely arrest, the decline in the debt/GDP ratio, which could then raise renewed concerns about the sustainability of the country’s debt, or possibly even the country itself.

The Greece government and its lenders may reach an agreement in the coming weeks for a third bailout package, and market attention with Greece may then dampen.

However, unless Greece enjoys the benefits of low borrowing costs, austere budgets, and strong economic growth on a sustained basis, concerns about the country’s debt sustainability will continue, or even increase.

The lenders, who hold the majority of its debt, may eventually need to take large cuts on their holdings. Otherwise, it will be true that “we learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

DT

14 OPINION

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Convicted for contempt, but no right of appeal n Rashna Imam

I

n the light of a series of contempt proceedings drawn by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh, the debate on the law of contempt of court has taken centre stage once again. In a recent program organised by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and UNDP, the honourable chief justice of Bangladesh, Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, very succinctly summarised the law in this regard, inviting and encouraging fair criticism of judgments and the judiciary, but strongly discouraging irresponsible criticism.

While the importance of the law on contempt is undeniable in maintaining public confidence in the justice delivery system as a whole, it has the potential of unreasonably restricting freedom of speech and expression, a right that is the hallmark of any functioning democracy, and in our case, guaranteed as a fundamental right by the constitution.

The modern trend in democracies is increasingly to confine contempt of court cases to instances where either there has been a substantial interference in ongoing legal proceedings, or there has been a defiance of court order. The common law of England and Wales, from which our contempt of court law has originated, no longer contains scandalising the court as a category of contempt: England has abolished it by the Crimes and Courts Act 2013.

This category of contempt, which is still recognised and punishable in Bangladesh, has the potential of significantly restricting freedom of speech and expression. The attitude of the Indian judiciary has also increasingly been more and more charitable in the face of scathing criticism of its judgments, as long as those criticisms have been made out of bona fide concern for improvement of the law and the legal system in general.

A recent example of this is an article on the political website www.thewire.in criticising a decision by the Karnataka High Court acquitting the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, in a corruption case. The article contained scathing criticism of the Karnataka High Court’s decision, referring to the judgment as containing “errors,” stating that jurists are “spitting fire” because of the poor quality of the judgment, that the judiciary is “giving legal sanction to corruption,” that the High Court is setting “a bad precedent, one that encourages bribery,” and that the judgment “will bring down the image of the Indian judiciary in the world.”

Does the law of contempt of court in Bangladesh conform to this modern trend which allows free speech to flourish? The Supreme Court of Bangladesh derives its power to punish for any contempt of itself from Article 108 of the constitution. The Contempt of Courts Act 1926, which merely deals with the High Court’s powers, in this regard is outdated and inadequate to say the least. There is no

statute containing similar provisions with respect to the Appellate Division. In the light of the inadequacies of the 1926 act, the Law Commission headed by our former chief justice, late Justice Mustafa Kamal, prepared a draft of the Contempt of Court Bill, which was then finally enacted. While the new act was not without its share of flaws, it was a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, it did not live long. Immediately after its enactment, a writ petition was filed in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of several sections of the new act. The judgment that followed declared the entire act to be unconstitutional and therefore void and of no legal effect. At present, the case is pending in the Appellate Division and as the operation of the High Court judgment was not stayed, the new act has no legal effect. Therefore, the main source of the law of contempt of court is not codified law but English common law as adopted by our judicial decisions.

In recent times, it may tend to give an impression that the Bangladeshi judiciary has taken a hard-line approach to contempt of court, as evidenced by the International Crimes Tribunal drawing up to nine contempt proceedings in three years. Others may argue that the tribunal has shown magnanimity that befits a judicial institution of its stature in dealing with these nine contempt proceedings by mostly cautioning and exonerating the accused contemnors for criticising the tribunal’s judgments.

There is always room for debate when the issue is free speech, vis-a-vis contempt of court. However, the same should not apply when the issue changes to the rights of

England abolished scandalising the court as a category of contempt in 2013

Absence of a right of appeal in the ICT Act in a case where a person may be put behind bars for up to a year is definitely a step backwards when one considers the global trend in relation to contempt of court

convicted contemnors of the tribunal. There should not be any room for debate as to whether a right of appeal should be afforded to a convicted contemnor, especially given the very nature of contempt jurisdiction where the court is both the prosecutor and the judge, rolled into one.

Unfortunately, the International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973 (ICT Act), as it stands, does not afford a right of appeal to those convicted for contempt of the tribunal even though the ICT Act provides such right to convicted war criminals and the government. On the face of the law, there seems to be no rational

justification or legitimate governmental objective for discriminating between convicted contemnors and convicted war criminals.

This absence of a right of appeal becomes even unacceptable when one considers that, (i) appeal has been granted as of right

by Article 103 of the constitution to those convicted and punished for contempt of the High Court, and (ii) a conviction for contempt of the tribunal carries a harsher punishment than a conviction for contempt of the High Court.

While a maximum of six months’ imprisonment or up to Tk2,000 fine or both

BIGSTOCK

has been prescribed for contempt of court by the Contempt of Courts Act 1926, a maximum of one year’s imprisonment or Tk5,000 or both has been prescribed for contempt of the tribunal by the ICT Act. Absence of a right of appeal in the ICT Act in a case where a person may be put behind bars for up to a year is definitely a step backwards when one considers the global trend in relation to contempt of court. This lacuna in the ICT Act requires amendment, especially because the tribunal’s power to punish for contempt has the potential to affect three important fundamental rights of the citizens of Bangladesh, namely, the right to personal liberty, the right to freedom of speech and expression, and the right to freedom of press.

As we have seen, the ICT Act is far from flawless, and has been amended multiple times till date. One of the amendments extended the right of appeal to the government when it was previously only given to convicted war criminals. It is now time for another amendment to extend the right of appeal further. l Rashna Imam, an Oxford Scholar, is a practicing Barrister and the Managing Partner of Akhtar Imam & Associates.

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Global regulators may soften rules for assetbacked financing

17

Return of Iranian oil may cause more OPEC tensions

19

Stocks end flat on profit booking

20

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Business

15

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

All used car customers explore online

RMG makers want price hike to retain business n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The readymade garment manufacturers want price hike to remain in business as the production cost has gone up as a result of factory upgradation and also increase in workers’ wages.

“Recently, the buyers have become tricky in setting prices of RMG products and introduced cost breakup system,” BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.

They collect prices of raw materials used to make certain products from several manufacturers and set the lower price based on the average cost, said Azim.

The new system put manufacturers in tough competition and it should be scrapped, otherwise the garment sector will fall in trouble, which will ultimately put the workers’ jobs at risk, he added.

The production cost has gone up by around 12% because of the factory upgradation to make it compliant and also hike in wages by 219% in the last four years, BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

Before launching the inspection programme to improve safety standards in the RMG sector, the global buyers promised to raise prices of apparel products, but did not do so, rather they took the opportunity to lower the prices, said Atiqul.

Garment workers seen busy in a RMG factory Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday requested the foreign buyers to raise the prices of Bangladeshi garment products, according to a UNB report.

The PM made the request when Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Gerben de Jong paid a farewell call on her at her office.

Citing her government steps about the

FBCCI seeks gas for new factories by August n Tribune Report Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry urged the government to provide gas connection to newly established factories by August to start production.

The country’s apex trade body also sought the energy supply to the factories willing to relocate out of the capital as part of compliance matter.

At a press conference on “prospects of industrialisation and steps to implement it” in Dhaka yesterday, FBCCI suggested resuming operation at the closed and old power plants and running rental power plants under Public Private Partnership initiative to tackle power shortage.

“Gas connection should be provided to those factories, which already are issued demand notes by Titas Gas and others, by August,” FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmed told the reporters.

He said as the readymade garment manu-

facturers were relocating their factories from the capital to meet compliance issue set by the international buyers, they need gas connection in the new place.

Matlub also demanded uninterrupted gas supply to the factories generating own power from gas.

“Local industries ensure sustainable growth. For expansion of the industrial sector, comprehensive steps are needed to be taken,” FBCCI chief stressed.

He said they had taken steps to create entrepreneurs in the district level.

About gas connection to the factories, ex-FBCCI president AK Azad said: “About 80 organisations so far have been issued demand notes for gas connection, of which, only 8-10 have got connections.”

Former FBCCI president Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman and FBCCI vice president Mahbubul Alam were also present. l

FILE PHOTO

welfare of RMG workers, Sheikh Hasina said the workers’ wages have been hiked by over 200% since 2009.

“After the collapse of Rana Plaza building, Bangladesh RMG sector had to spend a lot of money to meet the prescription of global buyers to make the sector compliant,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters As-

sociation of Bangladesh (EAB) told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We have installed fire doors, sprinklers and been implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) outlined by the Accord and Alliance, but the buyers are still unwilling to increase prices and the prime minister’s call for price hike is a timely and rational steps, said Salam.

If prices are not increased, manufacturers might opt for job cut to avert losses, he added.

During a visit in mid-June, the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of Netherlands, Lolianne Ploumen, underscored three challenges, including fair price for Bangladeshi RMG products, unauthorised subcontracting and rights to orgainse.

According to the study conducted by Mark Anner, associate professor, Penn State University, prices of men and boys cotton trousers exported to the US market declined by 40.89% over the last 14 years.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports displayed the poorest performance in six years with 4.1% rise in the just-concluded fiscal year while the country’s overall export growth also slumped to 13-year low.

The RMG sector earned $25.49bn in the just-concluded fiscal year compared to $24.49bn in the previous year. l

BEZA seeks Tk420cr fund for CEIZ n Tribune Report Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has sought funding from the finance division to set up a special economic zone at Anwara upazilla in Chittagong for attracting the Chinese investors especially.

The authority has recently sent a proposal to the finance ministry seeking over Tk420 crore interest free fund for land acquisition of land in the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ).

Bangladesh and China had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Establishment of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Bangladesh during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to China.

The China Harbour Engineering Company Limited is working to establish the economic zone on 774 acres of land in Anwara.

BEZA in its proposal said, “The authority needs the fund

as they have to handover the land to the Chinese authority in the designated time as mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.

The fund is expected to come from Annual Development Programme (ADP) of Bangladesh, said an official.

As contacted, BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that BEZA was conducting the feasibility study on establishing the economic zone. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Global regulators may soften rules for asset-backed financing n Reuters, London Global regulators may ease restrictions on asset-backed or pooled-debt in a policy shift that banks and European policymakers say is needed if financial markets are to play a bigger role in funding economic growth, two financial industry sources said on Tuesday.

Pooled-debt or asset-backed securities (ABS) based on poor quality US home loans were blamed for triggering the 2007-09 financial crisis, leading to tougher rules for these financial instruments.

This tarnished the asset-backed market that is roughly still only half its pre-crisis size in Europe, though it has rebounded in the United States.

The European Union is working on reforms of asset-backed securities to try to revive the market so it can contribute to funding for businesses that in Europe largely rely on banks for money. These reforms would seek to cut capital charges on high quality securitized debt.

Now the global Basel Committee of banking supervisors has also begun a fundamental review of how much capital banks should hold against assets such as pooled or securitized debt on their trading books.

The skyline of the banking district is pictured in Frankfurt This week it sent a questionnaire to banks to test the impact of lower capital charges on securitized debt based on high quality loans.

“They have lowered the capital requirements on securitization, which is going with the political wind,” a senior European banking source who has read the questionnaire told Reuters.

REUTERS

Until now there has been no sign that global regulators were willing to follow the European Union’s lead and thereby avoid fragmenting the asset-backed market, which currently operates as a global market, without regional constraints.

Basel’s questionnaire follows calls in February from three lobby groups, the Interna-

Governance, performance woes put investors off emerging Asian stocks n Reuters, Singapore

Global investors are more conservative on emerging Asian stocks compared with equities elsewhere, as concerns about poor corporate governance and lack of transparency are taking some of the gloss off the region’s outperforming markets.

The problems are particularly acute in China, South Korea and Taiwan, which make up more than half of the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets index.

As a result, international investors are more selective about where they put their money and are underweight Asian equities even as economic growth and stock returns in the region continue to outpace other emerging markets such as those in Latin America.

“While there are opportunities among selected companies in Asia, we have reservations about the quality of companies that make up a significant portion of the index,” said Matthew Vaight, London-based manager of M&G Global’s Emerging Markets fund. “We will struggle to move to a significant overweight in Asia.”

Global emerging markets funds had only 63% of their investments in Asia as of May 31, below the benchmark’s weighting of 69.7%, according to a survey of 51 funds by JP Morgan last month.

Among major emerging markets, countries with the biggest gaps between investors’ positions and the benchmark were Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and China, according to the survey.

Governance struggle

The underweight position on emerging Asia comes despite the outperformance of the broader index.

The MSCI Asia Emerging Market index has fallen only 5.3% over the past year, compared with a 32% slide in its Latin American counterpart and an 18% decline in European and Middle Eastern emerging markets.

“We struggle to find companies that satisfy our quality criteria,” particularly in north Asia, said Christopher Wong, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore, who runs its emerging markets fund. “We are uncomfortable with the opaque business structures and the generally poor corporate governance standards.”

Take the case of China and South Korea, for example. Although Beijing is undertaking reforms, the inefficiency of its state-owned enterprises, including its Big Four banks - Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China - has long been one of the country’s thorniest problems.

In South Korea, Samsung Group’s founding Lee family - which controls global electronics giant Samsung Electronics - last week scored a narrow win in a landmark proxy battle, led by activist U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates.

The rare challenge by a foreign fund has stirred public debate about the country’s corporate-governance standards, especially amid growing disenchantment with family-owned businesses running rough-shod over minority interests.

Aberdeen’s emerging markets fund had 55.9% of its investments in Asia as of May 31.

It has been underweight Asia, particularly China, Taiwan and Korea, for 10 years.

Indian opportunity

In contrast, while Latin American economies aren’t exactly brimming with confidence, the fund is more exposed to the region than the benchmark.

Companies including retailer Lojas Renner and fuel distributor Ultrapar in Brazil, and Mexican convenience store operator and bottler FEMSA, are well managed, have healthy balance sheets and strong business models that ensure their survival in tough times, Aberdeen’s Wong said. To be sure, some funds are taking the opportunistic approach in places like South Korea.

M&G Global’s Vaight says concerns about corporate governance have compressed valuations to the point where they’re attractive.

Korean companies are trading at 11.6 times earnings, which for instance compares with 15.8 in Indonesia and 16.7 in Thailand.

India, home to the biggest number of overweight positions among emerging market funds and favored by global equities funds, is an exception despite the Sensex’s high 20.5 times earnings multiple.

“The only appealing investment right now in Asia is India,” said Chris Semenuk, manager of TIAA-CREF’s $4.3bn international equities fund, which is underweight Asia.

“India, in its development, is where China was 10 years ago. The runway for future growth in Indian companies is quite long.” l

tional Swaps and Derivatives Association, the Global Financial Markets Association, and the Institute of International Finance, for more flexibility on securitized debt.

The three trade bodies have said it is important to avoid making the product uneconomic at a time when political objectives in many countries focus on reviving the market and broadening the available sources of funding.

Basel’s questionnaire is a sign of possible flexibility in its trading book review in other ways too. The questionnaire also tests the climate for ditching so-called “asymmetric correlations” or capital charges for covering less well-hedged positions in the asset-backed market.

Banks argued the original proposal could lead to unrealistically high capital charges for well-hedged positions as well.

“It looks much better,” the banking source said of the latest questionnaire.

But the Basel committee is also testing opinions about a new capital charge to cover products that are not covered by broader rules on asset-backed securities.

Basel wants to wrap up work on its trading book review by the end of this year and then decide on when the changes must be introduced. l

Four rental power plants get extension n Tribune Report The government has extended the tenure of purchasing power from four gas-run rental power plants.

The Cabinet Committee on public purchase yesterday cleared the proposal to extend the contracts.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the meeting.

Three of the power plants are of Aggreko International Project Limited while the other is of Energy Prima Limited.

“The contract with Aggreko for the Brahmanbaria 85MW power plant and Ashuganj’s 95MW plant has been extended by a year,” said Cabinet Division’s Additional Secretary MostafizurRahman after the meeting.

“Aggreko’s Ghorashal 145MW plant and Energy Prima’sFenchuganj 50MW have also got three more years extension.”

Rahman also disclosed that the government would buy power at Tk 3.26 per megawatt from these plants in the extended period.

When the contracts were signed for three years, the government agreed to buy power at Tk4.8 per MW from the plants at Brahmanbarhia and Ashuganj, Tk4.75 from Ghorashal, and Tk4.65 from Fenchuganj.

“The price of power has dropped, as the overhead cost decreased,” said Rahman. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Return of Iranian oil may cause more OPEC tensions n AFP, London The return of oil from Iran following the landmark nuclear energy deal with world powers could create fresh tensions within OPEC but may reinforce the cartel’s output strategy, analysts say.

Tehran and major powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - clinched a historic agreement in Vienna on Tuesday aimed at ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear bomb, and which paves the way for the removal of sanctions and the gradual return of Iranian oil to the global market next year.

The accord puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities for at least a decade. In return, sanctions that have slashed the oil exports of OPEC’s fifth-largest producer will be lifted and billions of dollars in frozen assets unblocked.

The Islamic republic’s exports could reach a potential 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, from 1.6 million bpd in 2014, according to data from economist Charles Robertson at investment bank Renaissance Capital.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - whose 12 members including Iran pump one third of global oil - is mindful that Iranian oil could worsen a global supply glut and depress oil prices further.

OPEC decided at its last meeting in Vienna in June to maintain output levels, extending its Saudi-backed strategy to preserve market share and fend off competition from booming US shale.

Oil prices sank last week, hit by the Iran nuclear deal and the strong dollar, raising jitters among some OPEC members who next meet on December 4.

London Brent oil slid to about $56 per barrel and New York’s West Texas Intermediate dropped to around $52 a barrel.

Divisions in cartel

Poorer OPEC members Angola, Algeria and Venezuela - whose budgets are heavily reliant on oil revenues - may again argue for less output to support prices, analysts say.

Richer Gulf producers, led by OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, remain eager for the cartel to preserve valuable market share and force out high-cost US shale producers with lower oil price levels.

An All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) plane flies over a chimney of an oil refinery in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo REUTERS

“Clearly there is a divide between the countries on this new policy of seeking new market share,” Ann-Louise Hittle at consultancy Wood Mackenzie told AFP. “So it could be a contentious (OPEC) meeting and there could be pressure for an emergency meeting before December.”

Faced with stubbornly low prices, Algeria’s energy minister Salah Khabri indicated to state news agency APS last week that an emergency OPEC meet could be needed.

“The real problem starts when OPEC members begin to fight for quotas amid oversupply and market share disputes,” said Jassem al-Saadun, head of Kuwait’s Al-Shall Economic Consultants.

“If Iran, Venezuela, Algeria and Libya - all of which need to pump more - enter into a dispute with the Gulf producers, then it could be the end for OPEC,” he warned.

Danske Bank analyst Jens Naervig Pedersen said such countries had been “really hit” by low oil prices.

But he added: “Their collective power is probably not great enough to turn the mind of Saudi Arabia and the core members of OPEC

in the Middle East.”

Global demand key

In June, OPEC’s collective output ceiling was left at 30 million bpd - where it has stood for three and a half years - despite an oil price collapse between June 2014 and January that slashed precious revenues.

The organisation appeared to shrug off calls from some members, including Iran, for a “reasonable” oil price of between $75 and $80 per barrel.

Oil is forecast to languish at an average of just above $62 per barrel next year, according to French bank Natixis.

Hittle cautioned that low price levels could slow down US shale energy production and make room for returning supplies from Iran - provided that global energy demand does not falter.

“When we look at fundamentals (of supply and demand) in the next year, with prices at this level we do expect to see a much slower growth in US oil supply,” she said.

“So there might actually be some room for Iranian production to start up, as long as oil demand growth holds up and continues.” l

Oil prices resume decline on supply glut worries n AFP, Singapore Oil prices resumed their declines in Asia yesterday following a US report showing stockpiles surged last week, with analysts warning for further weakness ahead.

Ahead of an official report, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute (API) said stockpiles had increased by 2.3 million barrels last week.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 70 cents to 50.16 a barrel and Brent crude for September tumbled 53 cents to $56.51 in late-morning Asian trade.

Both contracts had posted gains Tuesday.

“Crude prices remain under pressure as the supply overhang continues to persist,” said Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore.

Wednesday’s official Energy Information Agency data “will be closely monitored, although it is evident that the supply glut problem is expected to stay for a while longer”, Aw added.

Oil prices have tumbled from more than $100 a barrel in June last year as strong production from the United States and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries led to supplies outpacing demand. l

New York Fed: A 10% rise in dollar cuts US GDP by 0.5% n Reuters, New York A 10% increase in the dollar in a quarter would reduce US economic growth by half a percentage point over a year and by another 0.2 point the following year, according to a New York Federal Reserve blog post on Friday.

The greenback has gained 12% against other major currencies since mid-2014 on improving jobs conditions and in anticipation of a Federal Reserve rate increase by late 2015.

This has raised worries among Fed officials and economists about the impact of a sturdier dollar on US exports. US gross domestic product contracted 0.2% in the first quarter, with exports falling 5.9% and imports rising 7.1%, the government said in June.

While a stronger dollar makes imports cheaper for consumers and domestic producers, it seems not enough to offset the drag for US exporters, New York Fed analysts Mary Amiti and Tyler Bodine-Smith wrote in the blog post. l

Developing nations give up on global tax plan n AFP, Addis Ababa Developing nations have abandoned their push to create a global tax authority during a key United Nations global development summit being held this week in Ethiopia, officials said yesterday.

Poorer countries, as part of the 134-member G77 bloc, had been lobbying hard for an end to multinationals’ profit shifting, which the UN’s trade and development body UNCTAD says costs poorer countries some $100bn a year.

They wanted a UN-managed intergovernmental body charged with overseeing a new set of global fiscal regulations to be creat-

ed, replacing the current set-up where such matters are managed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the so-called “rich man’s club”.

Richer countries, led by Britain and the United States, were opposed to the plan.

The dispute has been at the centre of the summit, which has been tackling the question of how to plug an estimated $2.5tn gap in development financing.

Th United Nations hopes the meeting will pave the way for a fairer world of inclusive, low-carbon growth, set out in its 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The final text of the summit, obtained by

AFP, shows developing nations dropped their demands for a global tax body, with the text only mentioning that a subsidiary committee of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) - which only has a consultative role - will handle the matter.

It says members of this committee will in future be appointed by their governments and that it will be more geographically representative.

“This question has become a political football,” explained Paddy Carter, a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a London-based development think-tank.

“It’s easy to understand why developing

countries need a global tax body instead of being told by OECD what they should do. But it’s harder to say how effective a UN body could be to increase tax revenues for these countries,” he said.

The final text from the summit, the third of its kind after talks in Monterrey in 2002 and Doha in 2008, is expected to be formally adopted later Thursday.

This in turn will enable the world body to push ahead with its 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which are due to be formally adopted in New York in September. There are 17 in all, ranging from ending poverty to providing universal access to sustainable energy. l

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18 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

News, Analysis and Recent Disclosers

Warrants for the year 2014 will be credited to respective shareholders’ Bank Accounts on July 16, 2015. The Dividend for the folio holders will be distributed on July 22, 2015 from the registered office of the Company at PRANRFL Centre, 105, Middle Badda, Dhaka-1212 from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Dividend Warrants not collected by the folio holders within the time mentioned would be mailed to their respective addresses from July 23, 2015.

PARAMOUNT: 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. Fraction dividend will be disbursed after sale procedure of the same.

MEGHNALIFE: (Q1 Un-audited): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st March 2015 (Jan-15 to March-15), the Company has reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk. 79.25 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 13,485.93 million as against Tk. 222.94 million and Tk. 12,307.53 million respectively for the same period of the previous year.

PURABIGEN: (H/Y Un-audited): Net Profit after tax from Jan’15June’15 was Tk. 20.88 million with basic EPS of Tk. 0.60 as against Tk. 15.84 million and Tk. 0.46 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

However, considering proposed bonus share @ 15% for the year 2014, restated basic EPS will be Tk. 0.52 as on 30.06.2015 and Tk. 0.40 as on 30.06.2014.

Whereas Net Profit after tax from April’15-June’15 was Tk. 11.86 million with basic EPS of Tk. 0.34 as against Tk. 7.84 million and Tk. 0.23 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

However, considering proposed bonus share @ 15% for the year 2014, restated basic EPS will be Tk. 0.30 as on 30.06.2015 and Tk. 0.20 as on 30.06.2014.

IPDC: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the rating of the Company as ‘AA2’ in the long term and ‘ST-2’ in the short term along with a Stable outlook based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

RANFOUNDRY: The Company has informed that the Dividend

Dividend/AGM GP: Interim cash dividend 80%, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 29.07.2015.

SQURPHARMA: 30% cash and 12.50% stock dividend, AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 13.08.2015.

MEGHNALIFE: 13% cash and 20% stock, AGM: 27.08.2015, Record Date: 30.07.2015.

FAREASTLIF: 35% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.08.2015, Record Date: 23.07.2015.

STYLECRAFT: 60% cash, AGM: 27.08.2015, Record Date: 30.07.2015.

BIFC: No dividend, AGM: 03.09.2015, Record Date: 23.07.2015.

SANDHANINS: 22% stock, AGM: 01.09.2015, Record Date: 12.08.2015.

PRIMELIFE: 15% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 31.08.2015, Record Date: 14.07.2015.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Sector

7,151.69 141,017,801 142,275

Traded Issues

317

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

162

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis) Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

Closing (% change)

Company Islami Bank BD - A Shahjibazar Power-N National Polymer -A PragatiLife Insu. -Z BD. Autocars -Z MeghnaCement -A Eastern InsurA Wata Chemicals -A Hakkani P& Paper -B Renata Ltd. -A

10.00 9.91 9.90 9.68 9.48 9.26 8.05 6.76 6.43 6.25

CSE GAINER Closing (% change)

Company Islami Bank BD - A National Polymer -A Shahjibazar Power-N Dutch Ban. Bnk- A Midas Financing-Z Continental Insur. -A Eastern InsurA Fareast Finance-A Islami Ins.BD-A Samata LeatheR -Z

10.00 9.92 9.76 9.62 9.32 8.11 7.69 7.62 7.14 6.67

DSE LOSER Company EXIM Bank 1 MF-A Samata LeatheR -Z Rangpur Dairy-Z Saiham Cotton-A Bengal Windsor-A AramitCementA 7th ICB M F-A Global Heavy Chemicals-N Anlima Yarn -A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A

Closing (% change) -9.09 -7.24 -5.00 -4.52 -4.31 -4.09 -4.04 -3.89 -3.79 -3.77

CSE LOSER Company Rahima Food -Z Fine Foods A Shinepukur Cera-Z Imam Button -Z Daffodil Computers -Z Provati Insur.-A Padma Islami Life*-N Premier Leasing-Z Rangpur Dairy-Z Khan Brothers-N

Closing (% change) -9.87 -7.55 -6.42 -6.36 -5.76 -5.63 -4.62 -4.60 -4.29 -4.07

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features July 22, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

147 8

2,683.32 32.53

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 263.27 255.78 75.37 1143.73 268.91 1765.35 4.59 351.58 1441.38 20.22 103.04 42.80 155.40 392.13 60.40 30.23 82.58 282.92 134.98 275.45 1.59

% change 3.68 3.58 1.05 15.99 3.76 24.68 0.06 4.92 20.15 0.28 1.44 0.60 2.17 5.48 0.84 0.42 1.15 3.96 1.89 3.85 0.02

Million Taka 14.50 23.82 2.92 96.47 9.82 128.63 27.70 63.54 2.90 6.98 1.18 6.74 37.04 3.14 1.15 5.59 31.36 23.82 30.91 0.02

Average (% change) 11.02 7.98 6.87 8.28 9.16 7.99 5.47 5.24 0.91 6.73 Average (% change) 11.78 9.92 7.55 9.69 9.79 6.49 7.74 5.79 7.07 5.34

Average (% change) -9.09 -6.09 -2.80 -3.42 -2.95 -3.97 -4.04 -1.63 -1.73 -1.72

Average (% change) -9.87 -0.41 -3.85 -5.63 -2.17 -5.49 -3.20 -0.93 -0.43 -1.10

CSE

Closing average 20.86 201.59 89.76 87.60 23.11 121.85 24.87 165.32 46.36 1,184.11

Closing average 20.88 92.38 202.83 92.33 12.90 15.76 23.81 11.32 14.99 28.80

Closing average 6.00 28.51 13.56 21.44 67.66 35.83 95.00 42.97 20.49 5.13

Closing average

% change 2.80 4.60 0.56 18.61 1.90 24.82 0.00 5.34 12.26 0.56 1.35 0.23 1.30 7.15 0.61 0.22 1.08 6.05 4.60 5.97 0.00

35.60 9.80 10.48 10.39 13.52 13.43 31.46 8.53 13.81 28.84

Weekly closing 20.90 205.20 92.10 89.50 23.10 123.90 25.50 168.90 48.00 1,196.80

Weekly closing 20.90 93.10 207.00 92.30 12.90 16.00 23.80 11.30 15.00 28.80

Weekly closing

Weekly high 20.90 205.30 92.10 89.60 23.20 124.70 25.90 174.00 48.30 1,196.80

Weekly high

Weekly high

Weekly low 20.00 84.70 190.00 92.00 12.90 15.00 22.50 10.20 13.00 28.80

Weekly low

6.00 30.00 14.00 22.10 69.30 37.80 95.00 43.70 21.70 5.30

Weekly high

35.60 9.80 10.20 10.30 13.10 13.40 31.00 8.30 13.40 28.30

Million Taka 277.78 279.60 78.29 1240.20 278.73 1893.98 4.59 379.28 1504.92 23.13 110.02 43.98 162.14 429.16 63.54 31.38 88.17 314.29 158.80 306.36 1.61

19.40 188.00 85.10 82.00 22.00 114.20 24.20 155.20 43.60 1,130.00

20.90 93.10 207.40 92.60 12.90 16.20 24.30 11.50 15.40 28.80

6.00 28.20 13.30 21.10 66.60 35.20 95.00 42.00 20.30 5.10

Weekly closing

Weekly low

6.00 28.00 13.30 20.80 66.00 34.50 95.00 41.50 20.00 5.00

Weekly low

35.60 9.80 10.80 10.60 13.60 13.50 32.00 8.90 14.00 30.60

Total

35.60 9.80 10.10 10.30 13.10 13.40 31.00 8.20 13.40 28.20

% change 3.62 3.65 1.02 16.17 3.63 24.69 0.06 4.95 19.62 0.30 1.43 0.57 2.11 5.60 0.83 0.41 1.15 4.10 2.07 3.99 0.02

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

33.057 653.574 78.343 2.938 0.245 20.556 0.366 7.273 8.788 133.070

Turnover in million

1.00 8.44 3.36 2.38 0.19 8.52 3.52 3.80 0.29 36.04

Latest EPS

1.099 3.135 46.090 0.042 0.009 0.018 0.014 3.360 0.065 0.009

Turnover in million

20.9 23.9 26.7 36.8 121.6 14.3 7.1 43.5 159.9 32.9

Latest PE

1.00 3.36 8.44 8.40 -1.55 2.84 3.52 1.88 1.32 -0.05

Latest EPS

0.004 0.691 1.788 11.244 21.459 5.985 0.001 4.065 1.510 2.090

Turnover in million

Latest PE

20.9 27.5 24.0 11.0 -ve 5.5 6.8 6.0 11.4 -ve

Latest PE

0.56 -0.05 0.80 1.43 3.35 0.72 9.73 2.08 0.83 0.63

Latest EPS

0.018 0.005 0.017 0.055 0.041 0.024 0.022 0.083 0.095 5.936

10.7 -ve 17.0 15.0 20.2 49.8 9.8 20.7 24.7 8.1

Latest PE

-0.47 -0.27 0.12 -1.21 0.80 1.84 1.10 0.07 0.80 1.52

-ve -ve 87.3 -ve 16.9 7.3 28.6 121.9 17.3 19.0

CSE key features July 22, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

518.26 12,925,714 20,113

Traded Issues

247

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

125

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

118

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,589.82

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.39

DT

BUSINESS 19

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

July 22 WED

July 21

July 14

TUE

TUE

DSE turnover crosses Tk700cr n Tribune Report

July 13 MON July 12

July 09

SUN

THU

Change of DSE Broad Index vs Sectoral Index 6%

FuelPowerIndex

DSE BroadIndex

4%

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

2% 0%

- 2% - 4% - 6% DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Shahjibazar Power-N BSRM Ltd. -N LafargeS Cement-A MJL BD Ltd.-A Active Fine Chem.-A Khulna Power-A ACI Limited- A Square Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A United Power-N

Grameenphone-A FAR Chemical-N Ifad Autos -N RAK Ceramics-A Olympic Ind. -A Renata Ltd. -A

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Shahjibazar Power-N BSRM Ltd. -N LafargeS Cement-A United Power-N MJL BD Ltd.-A UNITED AIR-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BD Submarine Cable-A Olympic Accessories -N Khulna Power-A

Grameenphone-A Square Pharma -A Beximco Pharma -A FAR Chemical-N Active Fine Chem.-A

Volume shares 3,242,142 4,297,592 2,388,214 1,932,224 3,291,752 2,633,533 329,218 753,593 5,120,564 1,012,458

475,232 3,156,166 1,437,609 1,838,131 533,724 112,380 Volume shares 227,229 414,165 255,644 141,048 200,129 1,889,775 611,508 134,929 298,515 211,736

37,278 44,741 164,255 178,737 134,920

Value in million 653.57 365.52 289.37 219.66 209.28 201.54 197.12 195.92 172.57 167.49

158.50 152.04 145.88 145.64 141.45 133.07

Value in million 46.09 35.14 30.85 23.36 22.77 20.62 20.62 18.91 17.19 16.30

12.46 11.63 10.71 8.59 8.58

% of total turnover 9.14 5.11 4.05 3.07 2.93 2.82 2.76 2.74 2.41 2.34

2.22 2.13 2.04 2.04 1.98 1.86

% of total turnover 8.89 6.78 5.95 4.51 4.39 3.98 3.98 3.65 3.32 3.15

2.40 2.24 2.07 1.66 1.66

Weekly closing 205.20 84.60 119.80 114.90 63.80 75.60 591.50 261.50 33.40 163.10

333.60 48.00 101.10 78.40 268.90 1196.80

Weekly closing 207.00 84.10 118.70 162.90 114.70 10.70 33.40 141.50 56.60 75.70

333.80 261.10 64.20 48.00 63.70

Price change 9.91 0.36 -1.40 3.61 2.41 -2.70 -2.05 1.79 -1.76 -2.86

Weekly opening 186.70 84.30 121.50 110.90 62.30 77.70 603.90 256.90 34.00 167.90

Weekly high 205.30 87.00 124.50 115.70 64.50 78.40 614.80 262.50 34.40 172.00

Price change 9.76 -0.94 -2.70 -2.80 3.61 -3.60 -1.76 3.82 -4.07 -2.70

Weekly opening 188.60 84.90 122.00 167.60 110.70 11.10 34.00 136.30 59.00 77.80

Weekly high 207.40 87.00 124.00 171.80 115.50 11.20 34.40 142.90 59.60 79.00

-0.51 2.56 -2.03 -1.38 2.32 6.25

-0.54 1.56 -3.17 2.56 2.41

335.30 46.80 103.20 79.50 262.80 1126.40

335.60 257.10 66.30 46.80 62.20

338.80 49.10 104.70 81.10 269.80 1196.80

338.90 262.00 66.80 49.00 64.40

Weekly low 188.00 82.50 119.00 111.10 62.30 75.00 590.70 257.00 33.20 160.70

332.20 47.30 100.00 77.80 258.00 1130.00

Weekly low 190.00 82.60 118.00 161.50 110.00 10.70 33.20 137.00 56.50 75.40

332.50 256.60 64.00 47.30 62.20

Weekly average 201.59 85.05 121.17 113.68 63.58 76.53 598.75 259.97 33.70 165.43

333.53 48.17 101.48 79.23 265.02 1184.11

Weekly average 202.83 84.83 120.66 165.61 113.76 10.91 33.72 140.13 57.58 76.99

334.13 260.01 65.19 48.06 63.61

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

Stocks end flat on profit booking

12045.26190

(+) 0.23%

1857.44854

(-) 0.05%

14530.51480

(-) 0.06%

12045.26190

(+) 0.91%

8848.29920

(-) 0.05%

▲ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▼

Stocks closed flat amid volatility yesterday while investors booked profits on earlier rally with buoyant trading activities.

Fresh fund injection after a long vacation has helped turnover of the prime bourse cross Tk700 crore after nearly two months.

The benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, rose over 10 points or 0.3% to close at 4,741, extending gaining streak for the eighth consecutive session. The Shariah index, DSES, edged 7 points or 0.6% higher to 1,171.

The blue chip comprising index, DS30, witnessed fractional losses of 0.8 points to 1,857.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange was down 4 points to settle at 8,848.

The DSE turnover stood at Tk715 crore, a jump of more than 45% over the previous session’s value and highest since July 1 this year. Almost all the major sectors closed in positive territory with tannery surging the highest almost 3%.

Among the heavyweights, pharmaceuticals outshone all the sectors rising 1.6%, driven by the sector’s second largest market capitalisation company RENATA that moved up 6.3%.

Non-banking financial institutions continued to gain, soaring 1.4%. Food and allied that was in red in previous session rallied over 1%. Power and bank performed positive while textiles closed marginally lower.

After making a significant rally in the previous sessions, cement sector declined 1.4% on profit booking.

Lanka Bangla Securities said after showing a sporty move in the previous session, the market posted a marginal gain amid a volatile trading session.

Banks and multinational firms’ stocks remained on the buyers’ radar hoping for a lucrative earning declaration.

Investors keyed up after a week-long vacation and were busy playing on stocks totaling the daily market turnover value Tk715 crore which is close to around two months’ high.

IDLC Investments said quick booking of profit accrued in the latest rally slowed down indices’ upward movement.

Though the number of issues that declined almost matched the number of issues that advanced, fearless gaining streak in most of the multinational scrips assisted a higher close for the aggregate market.

In anticipation of more upside in coming days, investors moved in from sideline and increased activities level, yielding a higher turnover, it said. l

ANALYST Investors keyed up after a week-long vacation and were busy playing on stocks totaling the daily market turnover value Tk715 crore which is close to around two months’ high.

DT

20 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Cabinet committee okays ICT infranetwork project n Tribune Report

The picture symbolises how easy it is to buy a used car online

COURTESY

All used car customers now buy cars online n Tribune Business Desk Nearly all of reconditioned car and 80% of new car customers have started online shopping experience as the e-commerce enables them to buy at any hour of the day, says online vehicle marketplace site Carmudi.

According to a Carmudi analysis, millions of people visit to the company’s classified website, and the data shows that car buyers around the world, including Bangladesh, are predominantly searching for cars late at night.

Late night car search is a growing trend with more than 40% of global car buyers now searching for cars between 5pm and midnight.

With e-commerce booming and increasing use of mobile phones to make purchase online, major goods are now being traded online.

Traditionally, consumers bought a car af-

ter visiting several dealers and verifying dozens of vehicles.

With the average car dealer closing by 6pm, car buyers are now able to save valuable time by researching car brands, and shopping for the best price from the comfort of their own home.

From arranging test drives to applying for financing, the majority of the purchasing cycle takes place online.

Dealers continue to play a vital role in the process, particularly when it comes to test driving.

Another insight gleaned from the Carmudi data shows that car consumers are transitioning from searching for vehicles on a desktop, to using mobile apps, most notably in the evening hours.

During working hours, only 15% of consumers visit Carmudi via the mobile app, but from 6pm to midnight more than 55% of vis-

itors search for cars on their mobile app, as opposed to their computer.

The car buying experience has remained stagnant for decades, but in the world of AMAZON and UBER, the car classifieds market is ripe for disruption, starting with the ability to find customer’s dream car at midnight from the comfort of their own couch.

Carmudi was founded in 2013 and is currently available in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Zambia.

In Bangladesh, the vehicle marketplace offers buyers, sellers and car dealers the ideal platform to find cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles online at www.carmudi. com.bd. l

The cabinet committee on public purchase yesterday approved “Development of ICT Infra-Network for Bangladesh Government Phase-III (Info-Sarkar Phase-3).”

Under the project, the government will provide optical fibre connections to up to 1,200 union parishads across the country.

A total of 171 video conference systems, 554 business process outsourcing (BPO), pilot-based cloud platform, increased capacity of the existing network management system, setting up of network equipment and establishing help desk will be needed on an urgent basis to expedite the ICT infra-network project.

Chinese Exim Bank will provide loan worth $167m under a government to government arrangement, official sources said.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division has undertaken the project with an aim to give all the Union Information Service Centres (UISC) an institutional shape.

The proposed loan would be used to procure all the necessary products, infrastructural eqipment and services from the Chinese stateowned firm M/S China Railway International Group Company Limited (CRIG) through a direct purchase method, according to a summary of the report of the cabinet committee on economic affairs. The Chinese government has already nominated the CRIG to implement the project.

The incumbent Awami League-led government announced “Vision 2021” in its election manifesto as a political commitment as part of its bid to build “Digital Bangladesh.” l

Rahman Rahman Huq in BSEC’s auditor panel n Tribune Report Rahman Rahman Huq, a renowned chartered accountants firm in Bangladesh, is in the panel of auditors of securities regulator.

Last week, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission published the full lists of 36 chartered accountants firms eligible for auditing financial statements of listed securities.

From next month, it is mandatory for all listed firms to have their financial statements audited by only the commission’s panel of auditors. l

Germany to provide 208m Euro as development assistance n Tribune Business Desk

Germany will provide 208 million Euro in assistance to Bangladesh for combating the adverse impacts of climate change, develop energy efficiency and strengthen governance.

The newly appointed German Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr Thomas Heinrich Prinz, said this while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office on Wednesday, reports UNB. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

He said Germany would continue its partnership in Bangladesh’s development efforts, saying it has made tremendous success in socioeconomic development.

“Bangladesh is on the right track,” he said.

Referring to Bangladesh’s progress in the IT sector, the German envoy expressed his high hope to bring some investment from his country to this sector.

He said some 1,500 Bangladeshi students are now getting German visas on average every year for higher study and this time it might be increased.

Mentioning that Bangladesh’s potentials in bio-gas, Dr Thomas Heinrich Prinz said 26% of the total energy consumption of his country comes from renewable energy. “We want to increase it to 50 percent,” he said.

The German ambassador said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu was a great orator and the people of Germany hold him in high es-

teem. He mentioned that he recently visited the Bangabandhu museum and he said: “History speaks.”

Referring to his visit to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after the countrywide violence and petrol bomb attacks by the BNP-Jamaat alliance, he said he witnessed the unbearable sufferings of burn victims.

He said Germany would help Bangladesh set up a separate burn institute in the country.

Welcoming the new German ambassador to Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she appreciates the sustained commitment of Germany to Bangladesh through development cooperation since its birth.

She said Bangladesh is a very lucrative destination for investment and sought more

investment in the country as it has a very liberal investment policy.

Mentioning Bangladesh’s growing shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said there is scope of cooperation in this sector.

Talking about the establishment of a separate burn institute in the country, Sheikh Hasina said her government has already taken a decision in this regard.

She recalled that Germany was one of the first European countries which recognised Bangladesh right after its independence.

The Prime Minister also invited German Chancellor Angela Merkel through the Ambassador to visit Bangladesh at her convenient time. l

DT

Photo: Bigstock

T-JUNCTION

On a roll

21

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

INSIDE

22

Hot Topic

These tiles tell a story

24 Ticket

Light up! news

Kolpokushol: Bringing the art of innovation to the youth

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Hot Topic

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

These tiles tell a story A tribute to those brief moments, when the release of that new movie you wanted to watch isn’t what you want to ‘come out’ the most

As a n in s c h o o e ye a r o l d l l av a it s o h tor y. boy, I was a aw a r e too fo ppened th However, of the at r v hor diffic number tw I had to u ic timised by m r o r s o f t h e ulty, s o e . the sc Upon y bad I assu when hool re luck r e yo I toilet u ) I k l i e v i ng m o f p a c o u ld n o t and t , y n self ( ew th nic, I see a h at w it e ny s o di bua ( a p a r wo r s t w a s h g r e at j a n it o d n o t k n o o y u w et to r) a fe nd m me. S w h at co e. w o to do . A f t e I n my m o m e to cla I c almly w times, I re m e nt r a ss an i c l p i a s e l e d l i d d n m no on g I was w e nt y han he e was out to the abou ds in t c t t h e s c d my h a n d s a m my b u s i n e h e d i r t y t o o m i ng f o r hool ss l av at w illion - Sam or y a t i m e s . U p o n r e a e l , w e nt ia Z a gain. c h i ng man , and h 16 home a ve n e ve r v i s it e d

It was a rainy day and by no mere coincidence, I slipped and fell onto a puddle of mud.

Knowing how it would look, I immediately sneaked into the school toilet, disgusting as it is, and turned on the tap only to find that the one thing that a bathroom was reliable for wasn't there. Yes I am talking about water, in case you thought school toilets have much of anything else. I had no option but to go to the classroom and assume my friends would be mature 15-year-old's. But as you know, there is no such thing, and I leave it to you to guess how that went.

- Tasmia Ekram Farhana, 14

Photos: Bigstock

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Hot Topic

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Let me tell you about a nightmare I once had. No, it does not involve Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Loch Ness monster or any other terrifying entity. Imagine having diarrhoea and rushing to the school washroom only to find that there is no tissue, no hand spray, a dirty toilet seat and a flush that doesn’t work. Then imagine reliving that dream again and again throughout the day.

Needless to say I have never taken the risk to go to school with even the slightest suspicion of food poisoning.

-Nadir Rahman, 17

n Mustafid Raiyan Khan To most kids and teenagers all around the world, the worst place in school they dread ending up in is the principal’s office - unless of course you’re in Bangladesh, in which case it’s probably the second worst place. Air permeated with the rancid stench of urea, ground checkered with mud, water, other unidentified liquids and little pieces of sullied Lux soaps scattered, we present to you the average Bangladeshi school toilet, the scariest place to have to end up in school.

Now it’s common knowledge that the toilets in Bangladeshi schools, to make a major understatement, isn’t quite up to par. Whether it’s a broken flush, dirty floors, lack of toilet paper, shortage of water, or even weird handwritten messages on the walls asking you to call them (no, I am not looking for a good time), almost everything about the place screams neglect. You go in for relief and exit scarred, your nose protesting in distress and you are simply grossed out. That is, assuming the overwhelming smell of urea didn’t black you out and you actually managed to exit the place.

And what these conditions do is instill in you immense fear of the number two. In fact, you probably can’t scare Bangladeshi students in schools enough to make them release in their pants because they’re more afraid of the latter! Jokes apart, this has grown to be serious issue. There are countless cases of students “holding it

in” during school hours, their minds far from their lessons, only because they deem holding back a smaller torture than visiting the school lavatory. As the war rages in the lower part of your body, your entire being is invested into generating that extra bit of energy to support your muscles. Questions fade in and out of your head: will I make it? Is this the end? This feeling is commonly termed constipation, which can be a facial expression as well because it almost always shows on your face (someone inevitably finds out from your feverish expressions and suppressed replies). This usually ends with them cracking a few jokes, sharing a hearty laugh. But deep down inside, they too can relate because they’ve all been there.

So how can institutions like schools where children are educated have places of such unhygienic stature? This is a fundamental error on the part of a school’s administrative board. Schools take pride in not just educating students, but also teaching them discipline and structure for the rest of their lives. But nurturing proper hygiene practices is an essential part of instilling that discipline and structure, something a Bangladeshi schools usually fail to see. When a school’s toilet lacks the basic amenities a person needs to complete his/her business, students avoid it like a plague. If a school’s toilet isn’t clean or hygienic, students will use it carelessly.

One solution is establishing basic toilet etiquette classes in school so students don’t misuse the toilet (make sure their

Imagine staying in school all day for a certain event with you knowing how dirty and disgusting the bathrooms are. Now add the fact that you have to change into informal clothes in those very bathrooms. Well, this is what you would have to do. You change into your new clothes, biting onto your old ones, hopping on one foot and hoping nine ways to Sunday that you don’t slip on the dirty water mudded on the floor. Next, you get the hell out and avoid drinking and using water for the rest of the day until you are in the save haven that is your home and your home bathroom.

Try doing that in your next music video Beyonce.

-Saria Kareem, 15

I was in grade six when suddenly I realised....code red! It was during lunch break when I made my way to the toilet and realised what had happened. I was embarrassed, flustered and absolutely devastated. And of course, on top of that, I had no idea who to go to. Embarrassed and unable to reach out to my friends, I ended up locking myself in the dirty bathroom until an ayah started knocking. She took me out, was kind enough to explain to me what had happened and tried to take matters into her own hands. Since it was impossible to continue classes that day, I had to undergo a walk of shame to the sick room until my mom could come pick me up. It was an utter nightmare!

-Farhana Samia, 16 streams hit the mark, not the wall) and follow standard procedures (flushing would be great). The school itself should train janitors to make sure toilets are constantly cleaned, and amenities like soap, toilet paper and water (deem yourself lucky if you can’t relate) is never absent. If the school makes an effort into making the toilet a hygienic

and convenient environment, students will make an effort to maintain that environment.

If we can dare to dream of a digital Bangladesh, we can dare to dream of a toilet with soap and water, can’t we?

Because constipation; it demands to be released. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Ticket

Light up!

Illuminating toys This monsoon, Kaymu has introduced a collection of lamps. It comes in shapes of flowers, mushroom-trees, pearls as well as lava lamps, with prices ranging from Tk320 to Tk1,300. To know more, log onto http://www. kaymu.com.bd

news

Kolpokushol:

Bringing the art of innovation to the youth n Samira Sadeque The Summer 2015 workshop by Kolpokushol, an initiative by Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy (MIT) students and alumni, begins today, with 60 participants taking part from Bangladesh.

The workshop will continue for six days and will have students and young professionals from across the country.

Kolpokushol is a platform for students and alumni of MIT to engage with the

youth of Bangladesh and inspire and create new ideas and possibilities for the local community.

The initiative was founded on the belief that our society needs beyond what is being taught inside the classrooms today. It aims to direct and provide the youth with ideas and skills of technical innovation, which they may utilise to bring about social change.

60 participants were selected from a pool of more than 400 applicants for

this workshop, coming from a range of backgrounds including business, the arts, science and technology.

“For innovation, we need the right set of knowledge and skills. Unfortunately in Bangladesh, the education system does not nurture what is required.” says Saif Kamal, founder of Toru - The Idea Tree, the facilitator for this workshop.

“Despite their interest in making changes in various sectors, the youth is unable to develop marketable products

and services, and that is what we aim to address,” he added.

The first three days of the workshop will be live and virtual lectures, followed by three days of product development. The last leg of the event, on June 29, will be a day to present the product the participants developed during their workshop.

The final product demonstration will be open to the public, and will be held University of Liberal Arts Campus A, from 3-6pm. l

South African batsmen Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince shared the highest first-class partnership for Lancashire when they added 501 runs for the third wicket against Glamorgan on Monday. Petersen smashed 286 while Prince scored 261

TALKING POINTS BANvSA, 1ST TEST, DAY 2

Mominul’s rare failure

Sport 26

MAHMUDULLAH CONFIDENT OF GOING AHEAD

27

LANGEVELDT KEEPS TIGERS AHEAD

29

25

DT

THE PARTNERSHIP

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

GOTZE ANSWERS SUSHI GAFFE WITH CHINA GOAL

THE HALF-CENTURIONS

Top-order batsman Mominul Haque has established himself as a wall in the Bangladesh batting line-up. Eleven fifties in back-to-back Tests boosted his image as an ideal Test batsman. Replying to South Africa’s first-innings tally, Bangladesh were at a steady point when Mominul walked in to the middle following Imrul Kayes’ dismissal. The left-hander was expected to carry on from there but he could survive only 14 deliveries and add six runs to the board – a rare failure for Bangladesh’s best Test batsman with a staggering average of nearly 57 after 16 matches.

Steyn’s struggles South Africa spearhead Dale Steyn was expected to pose the main challenge for the Bangladesh batsmen. Prior to the Chittagong five-dayer, there is no doubt that the visitors were relying on the world’s premier Test bowler to be lethal against the hosts. But the opposite happened as the right-arm fast bowler struggled for most of the second day’s play at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Yesterday, Steyn bowled 13 overs in four spells and leaked 46 runs, failing to bag a single wicket and make inroads to the 400-wicket club.

Tamim-Mahmudullah resistance Two quick dismissals, that of opener Kayes and Mominul, could have pushed Bangladesh on the brink of a collapse. But the pressure was eased off by Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah. The duo was clam and resolute against the South Africa bowlers, who were offering them with playable deliveries. But Tamim and Mahmudullah ensured of not giving in to a rush of blood and milked runs at 2.83 per over. The third-wicket pair were together for 31.4 overs and put on 89, the second highest partnership for any wicket against South Africa. The association enabled Bangladesh to cruise to 144 from 55 for 2.

Tamim-De Kock skirmish Cricket being a non-contact sport discourages physical contact. However, the ongoing series between Bangladesh and South Africa seems to have overlooked that notion. Following a conversation, Bangladesh opener Tamim and South Africa wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock got involved in an incident of shoulder barging at the stroke of lunch. Proteas captain Hashim Amla swiftly intervened to disperse the situation.

This was the second such instance in this series.

The previous one also involved Tamim as he was pushed on the shoulder by Rilee Rossouw during the second one-day international. The South Africa cricketer was found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct and was slammed with a fine. l –MINHAZ UDDIN KHAN

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel cuts a frustrated figure as Bangladesh batsmen Mahmudullah (C) and Tamim Iqbal take a run during their 89-run partnership on the second day’s play of the first of two Tests at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

DT

26 Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

BANvSA, DAY 2 SOUTH AFRICA 1ST INNINGS (T. Bavuma 54; Mustafizur Rahman 4-37, Jubair Hossain 3-53)

Overcast skies form over the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday during the second day of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa. Only 10 overs were possible in the final session before rain came pouring down, bringing an end to the second day’s play MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mahmudullah confident of going ahead n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong Bangladesh middle-order batsman Mahmudullah, one of the chief architects behind the Tigers’ solid start in their first innings of the opening Test against South Africa, believes the home side are in an advantageous position following the second day’s play at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan will resume the third day’s proceedings today with the Tigers on 179/4, requiring another 69 runs to draw level with South Africa’s first-innings tally.

Mahmudullah informed that with Liton Kumar Das still to follow, he is hopeful of a substantial first-innings lead.

“The first session will be very important for us [today]. If there is no loss of wicket and if Shakib and Mushfiq put up a partnership, I think that will put us firmly on the driving seat. So, our momentum will pretty much de-

pend on the first [session]. We ended the day with confidence and hope we will be able to carry it forward to [today],” Mahmudullah told the media in the post-day press conference.

The Tigers were slightly taken aback after opener Imrul Kayes and top-order fixture Mominul Haque were dismissed but a cautious partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah took them to safety. The third-wicket pair chipped away for 31.4 overs, adding a valuable 89 runs, and Mahmudullah stated that it was hard work for them at the middle.

“I think it was due to the wicket that we were cautious and took things slow. One will need to work hard to score on this wicket and at the same time, they were also bowling at good areas. Tamim and I had planned to put up a partnership and stretch it as much as possible. But Tamim got dismissed and I followed him soon after. We are still hopeful and expect that Mushfiq and Shakib will take it from here,” said the 29-year old all-rounder.

On the eve of the first of two Tests against the Proteas, many had predicted that the Bangladesh batsmen might struggle against a dangerous bowling attack, comprising Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, three of the world’s top-10 Test bowlers.

The picture however, came out the exact opposite as the tourists’ bowlers were left frustrated for most parts of the second day. Yesterday was the first instance of Steyn walking back to the dressing room after a day’s play against the Tigers without a single wicket to his credit.

“We watched videos of the South Africa bowlers ahead of the series. This is a regular practice and we do it ahead of every series.

We saw videos of Morkel, Steyn, Philander and many others who can bowl. That has helped us a lot I believe. I was personally very comfortable while batting [yesterday]. South Africa have got the best bowling attack at the moment. I think we did a good job [yesterday],” Mahmudullah concluded. l

BANGLADESH FIRST INNINGS (7-0 overnight) Tamim Iqbal b Elgar Imrul Kayes st de Kock b van Zyl Mominul Haque v Harmer Mahmudullah lbw b Philander Mushfiqur Rahim not out Shakib Al Hasan not out Extras (lb 5, nb1)

R

B

57 26 6 67 16 1 6

129 73 14 138 44 5

Total (for four wickets; 67 overs)

179

Fall of wickets 1-46 (Imrul), 2-55 (Mominul), 3-144 (Tamim), 4-178 (Mahmudullah) Bowling Steyn 13-3-46-0, Philander 12-1-22-1 (nb1), Morkel 11-2-28-0, Harmer 19-3-59-1, van Zyl 9-2-13-1, Elgar 3-0-6-1

IN NUMBERS

7

Number of times in Tests that both openers of one team were dismissed by the openers of the other team. On the second day in Chittagong, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes were dismissed by Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl respectively.

2

Previous instances of two Bangladesh batsmen making a 50-plus score in an innings against South Africa - in Chittagong, 2003 and Centurion, 2008. Bangladesh have never had three half-century scores in an innings against South Africa.

89

The partnership between Tamim and Mahmudullah, the highest third-wicket stand - and the second highest for any wicket - for Bangladesh against South Africa. Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar had added 131 for the second wicket, also in Chittagong, in 2003.

5

Broad threatens to call off Chittagong Test n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong

Number of partnerships among Bangladesh’s top-ten stands against South Africa that have come in Chittagong.

Bangladesh have posted 17 stands of 50 or more against South Africa, and seven of those in Chittagong.

Chris Broad, match referee of the ongoing Test between Bangladesh and South Africa, threatened the local organisers that he was mulling calling the match off after the visitors complained of racial abuse by the spectators during the second day’s play at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

According to the venue’s manager, Fazle Rabbi Rubel, a few South African cricketers, including speedster Dale Steyn, were racially abused by the port-city crowd when the tourists were practising at the nets during the lunch-break.

“I was told that some spectators abused Steyn and had thrown a pebble towards him. There was also a cricketer who was racially abused for his colour,” Rubel told the media yesterday.

The South Africa team management later informed about the incident to match referee and former English cricketer Broad, who threatened to call off the match if any such events take place again, informed Rubel. It was later found that the miscreants were only two kids and therefore, no action was taken. l

Number of times Bangladesh have taken a first-innings lead in eight Tests against South Africa - in Dhaka, in 2008.

1

46

The stand between Tamim and Imrul, Bangladesh’s joint second best opening partnership against South Africa.

The only time Bangladesh’s openers posted a 50-plus stand against South Africa was when Al Sahariar and Hannan Sarkar had a 52-run partnership in Potchefstroom in 2002.

13

Overs bowled by Dale Steyn without taking a wicket. He has never bowled 10 or more overs previously against Bangladesh without taking a wicket.

South African speedster Dale Steyn tries to cool down Tamim Iqbal following the scuffle between the Bangladesh opener and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock during the second day of the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday. After the 30th over, the two teams were on their way to lunch when De Kock and Tamim engaged themselves in a war of words. Proteas skipper Hashim Amla, and later Steyn, intervened and cooled down the situation. This was the second such instance of Tamim being involved in a skirmish in the ongoing series. During the second ODI against South Africa, Tamim was involved in a heated exchange with Rilee Rossouw. Rossouw was fined 50 percent of his match fee MI MANIK

67

Number of 50-plus scores for Tamim in international cricket, the most for any Bangladesh batsman. He has 27 such scores in Tests, 37 in ODIs and 3 in T20Is. Second on the list is Shakib Al Hasan, with 63 scores of 50 or more.

DT

Sport 27

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

QUICK BYTES Bairstow replaces Ballance in England Ashes squad England have brought in batsman Jonny Bairstow to replace his Yorkshire team mate Gary Ballance in the only change to their squad for the third Ashes test against Australia starting next Wednesday at Edgbaston. Ballance paid the price on Tuesday for labouring to 23 and 14 in his two innings during England’s heavy 405run defeat in the second test at Lord’s, which allowed Australia to level the series at 1-1.

–REUTERS

Filipe Luis poised for Atletico return: president Chelsea’s Brazil left back Filipe Luis is poised to return to Atletico Madrid after one season at Chelsea where he failed to hold down a regular first team place, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said on Tuesday. The 29-year-old made a mere 26 appearances in all competitions in 2014-15, with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho preferring to use Spain international Cesar Azpilicueta, and Mourinho confirmed on Tuesday that Filipe Luis was on his way.

–REUTERS

Gabon denies paying Messi millions Gabon’s presidency on Tuesday denied paying four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi millions of dollars to lay the foundation stone for a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations stadium last weekend. “The Republic of Gabon denies having paid, or even promised to pay, such a sum of money to the Argentinian international footballer Lionel Messi,” the presidency said in a statement.

–AFP

Mourinho rules out transfer splurge Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists the Premier League champions have no plans to make significant additions to his squad, revealing that he is relishing the prospect of mounting a title defence with the same set of players. Apart from the arrival of striker Radamel Falcao and the departure of goalkeeper Petr Cech, Chelsea have been largely inactive in the summer transfer window while rivals such as Manchester United have spent heavily.

–AFP

Venus comes crashing to earth against Bondarenko Top seed Venus Williams’s bid to win the WTA Istanbul Cup ended at the first hurdle on Tuesday as the American icon lost 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

–AFP

World T20 qualifier to be investigated by ACSU An investigation is to take place into the World T20 qualifier between Afghanistan and Hong Kong played in Dublin on Tuesday. News of the investigation may take some of the gloss off Hong Kong’s five-wicket victory, which booked them a place at the 2016 World T20 in India.

The match has not eliminated Afghanistan, though. They play Papua New Guinea on Thursday in the third qualifying play-off.

–CRICINFO

A jubilant Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team pose for photographs following their arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Durban yesterday. The triumphant junior Tigers thumped their South African counterparts 5-2 in the recently concluded seven-youth ODI series DHAKA TRIBUNE

Langeveldt keeps Tigers ahead n Tribune Report South Africa’s bowling coach Charl Langeveldt believes the first Test is evenly poised at the moment although he kept the hosts ahead in the long run. After rain cut short the second day’s play at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Bangladesh were 179-4 and trail the visitors by 69 runs in the first innings.

Half centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah, and their 89-run third wicket stand, ensured the Tigers reach a comfortable zone as the former Proteas paceman Langeveldt thinks they will be in trouble if the home side register a lead over 100 runs.

“I think it was a really tough day. Bangladesh really batted well. They were patient.

Normally they have the second highest scoring rate. I think our guys bowled really well and Bangladesh batted well.

“I think it is 60-40 in their side. The game is fairly even. If they get a 100-run lead against us, we will be struggling. At the moment, it is fairly even,” said Langeveldt after the end of day two.

The 40-year old expects a better show from the world class pace bowlers at his disposal.

“For any bowling coach you would want more but you will take that. Tomorrow you could take two wickets up front. Both their best batsmen are in now – Mahmudullah played

Muktis hold Mohammedan, Ctg Abahani win at home n Shishir Hoque Veteran striker Enamul Haque’s strike earned Muktijoddha SKS their first point in four games as the all reds held second placed Mohammedan SC to a 1-1 draw in the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Enamul successfully converted from the penalty spot in the 34th minute to cancel the Mohammedan lead taken by Guinean striker Ismael Bangoura 10 minutes earlier. Bangoura’s 14th goal in the league this season came off a goal-mouth melee following a free-kick from Sohel Rana Jr. Meanwhile, for Emily it was his 11th goal in the league. Emily could have doubled the lead inside the first half but Mohammedan goalkeeper Ashraful Haq Rana produced a brilliant save to deny the striker’s diving header. The black and whites appeared stronger after

the breather and although they dominated with maximum possession, lack of quality inside the opponents’ terrain nullified their effort.

The result saw the black and whites regain their second spot although it made Sheikh Jamal DC’s passage to glory more easier as Mohammedan now have 31 points from 16 matches, eight less than the table toppers.

Muktijoddha remained sixth with 22 points.

Meanwhile in the day’s other match, hosts Chittagong Abahani registered their second victory when they edged past Rahmatganj MFS 1-0 at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong.

Yoko Samnick scored the all-important goal for the port city outfits in the 78th minute.

With the win the Chittagong sky blues, who have 10 points from 15 matches, closed the gap to just one point with Rahmatganj MFS at ninth place. They are two points clear of bottom-placed Farashganj. l

unbelievably and Tamim also batted well. Tomorrow could be a different story. It could be overcast. The second new ball is due,” he said.

The Proteas skipper Hashim Amla used part-timers Stiaan van Zyl and Dean Elgar, both picked a wicket each, but kept off-spinner JP Duminy from action. Langeveldt praised the bowlers and felt Amla did what felt right to him.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Dale Steyn remained wicket-less in his 13 overs and gave away 46 runs. The right-arm quickie did not get any assist from the slow wicket, but Langeveldt backed up his former team-mate and said Steyn is a big match player and he will comeback strongly in the game. l

Bangladesh Under 19s grouped with formidable Uzbeks n Tribune Report Bangladesh have been pitted alongside Uzbekistan and Saff nations Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan in Group of the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers, confirmed Asia’s football regulatory body Asian Football Confederation yesterday.

The men in red and green will host the Group A qualifiers after Sri Lanka stepped down from hosting the matches citing internal difficulties.

The qualifiers will run from September 28 to October 6, with all of the matches slated to be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

A total of 43 teams have been split into 10 groups with 16 nations qualifying for the final round, scheduled to be held in Bahrain next year from October 13-30. The 10 group winners and five best runners-up sides will join the hosts in the final round. l

DT

28 Sport

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Memphis Depay (C) of Manchester United scores against the San Jose Earthquakes during the first half of their International Champions Cup match at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California on Tuesday

Van Gaal fury over ‘very bad’ United n AFP, San José Louis van Gaal criticized new signing Bastian Schweinsteiger and his Manchester United team mates after the Premier League giants eased to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.

United recorded a second straight victory on their US tour and never really looked troubled against their mid-table opponents from Major League Soccer.

Juan Mata and man-of-the-match Memphis Depay scored first half goals for United before Brazilian youngster Andreas Pereira added a third in the second half.

But United boss van Gaal was furious at the performance of his team after the break

when he made 10 changes, including the introduction of Schweinsteiger.

“The first half I was satisfied -- the players have performed what we wanted in the defensive organization, and they have created a

RESULT San Jose Earthquakes Alashe 42

1-3

Manchester United Mata 32, Depay 37, Pereira 61

lot of chances, 10, and they scored two goals so I was satisfied,” van Gaal said.

“But the second half I thought we played very bad -- a lot of ball losses, very unnecessary. The only highlight was the goal from Pereira.

“We didn’t give many chances away but we gave possibilities away.

“It was a threat always and that was not necessary.

“Our positions in midfield were not so good as in the first half.”

Asked to assess the performance of new signing Schweinsteiger, van Gaal didn’t mince his words.

“He was also bad,” the Dutchman said, warning it would take time for the German World Cup-winner to settle in at United after arriving from Bayern Munich.

Van Gaal however would have drawn encouragement from the display of Depay, who completed a $38.9 million move to Old Trafford in June.l

AFP

Cambiasso bids farewell to Leicester n Reuters, London Esteban Cambiasso has rejected a new deal with Leicester City and will not return to the Premier League club, the former Argentina international said on Tuesday.

Cambiasso, 34, joined Leicester last August on a short-term contract that has now expired. He helped them avoid relegation in his only campaign at the Midlands club.

“I would like to announce that I have decided not to renew my contract with Leicester City,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.

“I have taken this decision only 24 hours after receiving the proposal from Leicester because I want to give the club as much time as possible to find an alternative.”l

Barcelona edge LA Galaxy n Reuters, Madrid

Luis Suarez (C) of FC Barcelona is blocked by Leonardo (L) as goalkeeper Brian Rowe of the Los Angeles Galaxy blocks a shot during their International Champions Cup game at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on Tuesday AFP

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was pleased they got straight back into their stride with Tuesday’s 2-1 friendly win over the Los Angeles Galaxy but saw plenty of room for improvement before the season begins next month.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez and Spanish midfielder Sergi Roberto struck either side of halftime at a packed Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena in the Spanish and European champions’ opening match of their pre-season tour.

“Considering it was the first pre-season game, after seven days of training with some double sessions, I have good feelings,” Luis Enrique told a news conference after the International Champions Cup clash.

“I liked the team a lot because we played with intensity and we did not make any serious errors but we can still improve in

everything,” added the former Barca and Spain midfielder.

“Without doubt, we are going to be the team to beat and we have to keep improving every aspect of our play. We did things well today but we have to do it again and better.

And we are working on that.”

RESULT Los Angeles Galaxy Meyer 90+1

1-2

Barcelona Suarez 45, Roberto 56

Luis Enrique and his LA Galaxy counterpart Bruce Arena made a host of changes at halftime to give some of their younger players a chance to impress, with Tommy Meyer scoring late on for the Galaxy.

The Barca coach admitted his knowledge of the MLS was patchy but said it was clear the quality of soccer in the United States was improving.l

DT

Sport 29

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Buoyant Australia still face selection issues n AFP, London Australia may have thrashed England by 405 runs at Lord’s on Sunday to level the fivematch Ashes series at 1-1, but they still have to make some selection decisions ahead of the third Test in Birmingham.

The sight of opener Chris Rogers, who made a Test-best 173 in Australia’s first innings at Lord’s, suffering a dizzy spell early on Sunday morning when batting second time around sparked fears the 37-year-old left-hander was suffering from delayed concussion after being hit on the helmet by James Anderson on Friday.

Rogers, who plans to retire after the Ashes, missed Australia’s recent Test series win in the Caribbean after being concussed while batting in the nets.

Australia also have a tricky dilemma to solve when it comes to the question of their wicket-keeper at Edgbaston, where the third Test begins on July 29.

Peter Nevill impressed on debut at Lord’s with seven catches and a breezy 45 in his only innings. But he only got his chance behind the stumps after the experienced Brad Haddin, his mentor at New South Wales, withdrew because of unspecified “family reasons”.

Haddin is still with the tour party, however, and Australia could use their upcoming three-day tour match with Derbyshire starting on Thursday as a way of testing his readiness to return to the international arena.

Far more straightforward was the performance at Lord’s of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, called into the side after Shane Watson was dropped following Australia’s 169run defeat in the first Test in Cardiff.

Marsh weighed in with handy wickets, looking a far more threatening bowler than fellow seamer Watson, and some useful runs.

“It’s always tough to have those decisions to make, one forced and one unforced,” said

DAY’S WATCH Gazi TV, BTV, Star Sports 1 9:30AM South Africa Tour of Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 3

Ten Sports 7:35PM Tour de France 2015: Day 18

Sony Six 3:00AM Caribbean Premier League Eliminator: Red Steel v Tallawahs

Star Sports 2 8:20PM Pro Kabaddi League 2015 Kolkata v Hyderabad

Star Sports 4 ICC World T20 Qualifier 2015 2:30PM Afghanistan v PNG 6:45PM Namibia v Oman

Australia coach Darren Lehmann of his side’s changes at Lord’s.

“We were really pleased with both performances, from Mitchell and Peter.

“I thought they did a really good job for us and injected some enthusiasm in the group, played really well and did their job.”

Australia are still waiting on the latest medical update regarding Rogers’s condition but Lehmann said: “He’s all right.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what the medical staff come up with.”

With Rogers’s participation in the third Test set to be a matter of medical clearance alone, the issue of who keeps wicket in that match promises to be the most taxing issue for Australia.

However, it is one they are particularly well-qualified to answer this trip as panel chief Rodney Marsh, one of Australia’s greatest wicket-keepers, is the on-tour selector.

“Selection’s always difficult, so Rodney and I will have to sit down and work out which way we go,” said former Australia batsman Lehmann.

“We have to get Brad back playing cricket before we cross that bridge.

“It’s just trying to work out what happens moving forward, and we hope he’ll be available for the Derby game.”

Australia left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was mocked by some spectators while going wicketless in the first innings at Cardiff.

But there were no such jeers at Lord’s where a six-wicket haul left him one shy of taking 300 wickets in Test cricket.

“He’s had some difficult times in England in the past, but he’s a different Mitchell Johnson you see playing for Australia now,” said Lehmann.

But just as Australia recovered after losing the first Test, Lehmann warned that England could bounce back as well.l

Australia captain Michael Clarke bats during training at the County Ground, Derby yesterday

Bayern’s Gotze answers sushi gaffe with China goal n AFP, Shanghai A cool finish by Mario Gotze -- who made headlines days earlier over a culinary gaffe -- ten minutes from time propelled Bayern Munich to a 1-0 exhibition match victory over Inter Milan in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The scorer of Germany’s World Cup final winning goal just over a year ago in Brazil

latched onto a defence-splitting pass to calmly round Inter keeper Samir Handanovic and slot the ball into the empty net.

Gotze had hit the headlines in China this week for telling local media he “loved Chinese food, especially sushi”. The dish is in fact a Japanese delicacy.

However the German striker showed where his real expertise lay by providing a match winning goal which delighted the vast majority of the lively 37,431-strong crowd at Shanghai Stadium.

The goal was undoubtedly the highlight of a somewhat dull game played on a very muggy summer evening.

Both teams started brightly but the tempo of the match soon slowed as the European heavyweights struggled to find their rhythm.

Bayern triumphed 4-1 over Valencia on Saturday in Beijing in the first game of their Chinese tour. l

REUTERS

River Plate reach Libertadores final n Reuters, Asuncion River Plate came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Guarani on Tuesday and secure a 3-1 aggregate win that takes them into their first Libertadores Cup final since 1996.

Guarani, bidding to become the third Paraguayan team in three years to reach the final of South America’s equivalent of the Champions League, took the lead in the 61st minute when Fernando Fernandez latched on to a cross after Marcelo Palau had hit the post with a header.

The home side had chances to get the second goal that would take the game to penalties, but also left space at the back and River took advantage in 78th minute when they killed the tie off with a vital away goal on the counter attack. l

RESULT Guarani (PAR)

1-1

River Plate (ARG)

Fernandez 62 River plate win 3-1 on aggregate

Alario 79

DT

30 DOWNTIME

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Self-satisfied (4) 4 Male sheep (4) 8 Financial burden (3) 9 Malarial fever (4) 10 Spoken (4) 11 Garden tool (5) 12 Stringed instrument (4) 14 Tool (3) 15 Fairy (3) 17 Plant juice (3) 19 Tree (3) 21 First man (4) 23 Even (5) 26 Venomous tooth (4) 27 Region (4) 28 Lair (3) 29 Direction (4) 30 Repose (4)

DOWN 1 Mars (6) 2 American state (4) 3 Small cockatoo (5) 4 Sharp blow (3) 5 Variety of quartz (5) 6 Wet, soft earth (3) 7 Observe (3) 11 Rate of progress (5) 13 Kingly (5) 16 Fail to recall (6) 18 Forms walking surface (5) 20 Thin biscuit (5) 22 Neck hair (4) 23 Jurisprudence (3) 24 Before (poet) (3) 25 Consume (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 14 represents B so fill B every time the figure 14 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

DT

SHOWTIME 31

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Theodore Bikel passes

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

KATY PERRY @katyperry SHAME on schools that allow students to have their cell phones on them in class! I imagine it incredibly impairs the learning environment...

Justin Bieber @justinbieber Very soon...

Demi Lovato @ddlovato Surround yourself with those who pick you up when others put you down.

WHAT TO WATCH

n Mithul Roy You may remember Theodore Bikel as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music on Broadway and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, for which he was known best. The 91-yearold Tony award nominee took his last breath yesterday, at the UCLA medical center in California.

The actor played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof more times on stage than even Chaim Topol, who played the role on the big screen. He also starred in several TV shows including The Twilight Zone, Charlie’s Angels, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Worf’s father.

Born in Vienna in 1924, Bikel moved

Beacons 2.0 Multidimensional art exhibition, Beacons showcases Bangladeshi young talents by exhibiting their works on unorthodox art forms like comics, graphic novels, digital illustration, manga, animation, concept arts and so on. The first exhibition held at Zainul Gallery, Charukola last year present different pop-culture based fan art to general art lovers. With similar intentions, the second version is to be held at Drik Gallery from July 24 to July 28.

Drik Gallery House 58, Road 15A (New), Dhanmondi Residential Area, Dhaka, Bangladesh

from Austria with his parents after the Nazi occupation of Austria to British-occupied Palestine, where he began acting in a Hebrew theatre in his teens. He then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where he was spotted by Michael Redgrave who recommended him for the West End premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire. Bikel made his Broadway debut after moving to the US in 1954 and was Tonynominated for The Rope Dancers in 1958 and The Sound of Music the subsequent year.

His multilingualism and talent for accents allowed him to play a wide range of roles on the big screen as a German officer, French commander, Russian submarine captain and US sheriff to name a few, along

with the acclaimed role of the Hungarian voice coach in My Fair Lady. From the 1950s, he began recording albums of folk songs, and co-founded the Newport folk festival where he sang beside Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in 1959. Bikel received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in 2005.

Dedicating much of his life to the betterment of the acting society, he was also president of Actor’s Equity from 1977 and 1982, and later presided the Associated Actors and Artistes of America.

In Bikel’s words: “Retiring – within that word is tiring, and I’m not tired. I don’t believe in retirement, really.” l

Jatra Biroti bulletin n Showtime Desk Thursday July 23 “Bhaab” featuring Shri Shankar Tickets: Tk500 Shri Shankar is one of the senior most mridangam artistes of Kolkata and has been playing this reverberating Carnatic percussion instrument for the past three decades. He is the disciple of late Shri L V Vaidyanathan, who later underwent advanced training from Prof Velukutty Nair of Trivandrum.

Friday July 24 Open mic (line-up depending on audience’s participation) Tickets: Tk300 Saturday July 25 Electro/Acoustic featuring The Speakeasy crew, Don Donadoni and more.

Tea and Phukcha are included in the ticket price. Tickets are available online on www. imdhaka.com.

Venue: Rooftop, 60 Kemal Ataturk Ave, Dhaka 1213 l

The Terminal Zee Studio 6:25pm Viktor Navorski leaves his home in Eastern Europe and arrives in New York airport.

Unfortunately, war breaks out after he left his country and now Viktor finds that the US refuses to recognise his country and refuses entry. He cannot be deported for security reasons. Viktor is forced to remain in the airport until his status can be made definite. But how long would that take?

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna Transformers: Age of Extinction HBO 9:00pm After an epic battle, a great city lies in ruins, but the Earth itself is saved. As humanity begins to pick up the pieces, a shadowy group emerges to try to take control of history. Meanwhile, an ancient and powerful new menace sets its sights on Earth. A new group of humans, led by Cade Yeager, helps Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise up to meet their most fearsome challenge yet: a worldwide war of good versus evil.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing A Nightmare on Elm Street WB 11:33pm Death stalks the dreams of several young adults to claim its revenge on the killing of Freddy Kruger. Chased and chastised by this finger-bladed demon, it is the awakening of old memories and the denials of a past of retribution that spurns this hellish vision of a dreamlike state and turns death into a nightmare reality.

Cast: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz

DT

32 BACK PAGE

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

ALL USED CAR CUSTOMERS NOW BUY CARS ONLINE PAGE 20

MAHMUDULLAH CONFIDENT OF GOING AHEAD PAGE 26

THEODORE BIKEL PASSES PAGE 31

With the end of Eid holidays the transport terminals of Dhaka become crowded as people enter the capital in large from their village homes. The photos were taken at Sadarghat launch terminal and Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/DHAKA TRIBUNE

9th grader gang-raped in Lalbagh n Kamrul Hasan Police found a 17-year-old girl at Lalbagh in the capital who was allegedly gang-raped in the early hours of yesterday.

Sources said the victim, a Class IX student, was visiting Lalbagh with her boyfriend Sujon and was on her way home at Mirpur when she was grabbed and taken to an under-construction building, where she was raped.

The victim filed a case in this regard with Lalbagh police station against three men, one of whom she identified as Saikat Islam Rana, 23, a resident of Lalbagh and a shop attendant at Gausia market, sources said. Police arrested Rana following the case, and also detained the girl’s boyfriend for questioning.

During questioning, Sujon, a bus driver of Zanzabil Paribahan on Babubazar-Gabtoli route, said he was taking the victim home after visiting his uncle’s house in Kamrangirchar on Tuesday evening. It got late as they also visited a few of his friends’ houses and started towards Mirpur around 1am.

When they reached Lohagora Bridge area in Shaheednagar, near Sujon’s house, around 1:30am, he asked his girlfriend to wait beside the road and went to a tea stall to drink water.

When he came back, he found the girl missing. He searched for her for a while before finding out from a pedestrian that his girlfriend had been abducted by three men.

Sujon then notified police, and a police patrol team started looking for her and

found her in the under-construction building around 4:30am, said Inspector Paritosh Chandra of Lalbagh police station.

The girl was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for medical examination around 1:30pm yesterday, he added.

During interrogation, Sujon also claimed that he did not know any of the men who raped his girlfriend, but police suspect that he may be involved with the incident.

“Sujon’s role in all this is suspicious. His statements do not match,” said Lalbagh police OC Moniruzzaman.

But police have yet to get any specific allegation against Sujon, and he is being held for interrogation, he said. Drives are underway to arrest the other two accused, police said. l

‘Oldest’ Qur’an fragments found in UK n BBC

What may be the world’s oldest fragments of the Qur’an have been found by the University of Birmingham.

Radiocarbon dating found the manuscript to be at least 1,370 years old, making it among the earliest in existence.

The pages of the Muslim holy text had remained unrecognised in the university library for almost a century.

The British Library’s expert on such manuscripts, Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, said this “exciting discovery” would make Muslims “rejoice.”

The manuscript had been kept with a collection of other Middle Eastern books and documents, without being identified as one of the oldest fragments of the Qur’an in the world.

Oldest texts When a PhD researcher, Alba Fedeli, looked more closely at these pages it was decided to

carry out a radiocarbon dating test and the results were “startling.”

The university’s director of special collections, Susan Worrall, said researchers had not expected “in our wildest dreams” that it would be so old. “Finding out we had one of the oldest fragments of the Qur’an in the whole world has been fantastically exciting.”

The tests, carried out by the Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, showed that the fragments, written on sheep or goat skin, were among the very oldest surviving

texts of the Qur’an.

These tests provide a range of dates, showing that, with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645.

“They could well take us back to within a few years of the actual founding of Islam,” said David Thomas, the university’s professor of Christianity and Islam.

“According to Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad received the revelations that form the Qur’an, the scripture of Islam, between the years 610 and 632, the year of his death.”

Prof Thomas says the dating of the Birmingham folios would mean it was quite possible that the person who had written them would have been alive at the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

He says that some of the passages of the Qur’an were written down on parchment, stone, palm leaves and the shoulder blades of camels - and a final version, collected in book form, was completed in about 650. l

Last merit list for college admission due today n Tribune Report The results of the 4th and the last merit list for college admission for the academic session of 2015-16 will be published today.

The results will be available on the website www.xiclassadmission.gov.bd any time on Thursday, said Dhaka Board’s college inspector Ashfaqus Salehin.

Around 82,500 students have applied through the online and SMS system for a placement in the fourth merit list from July 13 to 21.

The Dhaka Board inspector further said a total of 10,47,000 students had already enrolled in their preferred colleges according to the first, second and third merit lists. And more than one lakh students are yet to be admitted.

However, 35,000 students from the merit lists could not be admitted as they did not get their preferred institution.

Introduced for the first time, the smart admission system for the XI class faced criticism as it faltered several times due to technical glitches.

The board authorities had to change admission dates resulting in delays for the whole process.

The first merit list was published on June 28, three days after the scheduled date, and around 9,23,105 students were selected.

On July 6, the second merit list picked 17,647 applicants for college admission. And the third merit list, which was published on July 11, nominated 1,08,639 students as eligible.

Salehin said students who would be selected from the fourth list would be able to get admitted in the colleges from July 25-26.

“No one will be left out of the admission process. Everyone will be able to enrol either manually or through the online system,” he added. l

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